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18 November 2024
The 2024 junior county closed squash tournament took place at the Club last Sunday and what a competition it turned out to be! With a record entry of 42 players the courts were buzzing from 10am until 5pm, and we saw the juniors displaying their skills with some superb squash. Many thanks to Gary Leggett for the superb organisation and to all of the parents and helpers who marked games and encouraged the kids, win or lose.
Well done also to all the players, who competed so valiantly – we hope to see you next year and also at the upcoming Northants Grand Prix event on 3rd December. Details are here.
The age group results in detail were as follows:
U11 Mixed – Winner Isabelle S; Runner-Up Florence S
Our youngest age category was a great advert for our coaches as the juniors showed off their newly acquired skills. There were lots of very tight matches in the group stage, with Isabelle the only player to win all of her matches. The other finalist came down to “games won” with Isabelle’s younger sister Florence just pipping Oscar and Ernest by a single game. So, the stage was set for the two sisters to battle it out in the final, with Isabelle’s ability to hit a length just winning the day 11-2, 11-9, despite a strong fightback by Flo (and some excellent drop shots!) in the second.
U13 Girls – Winner Laura B; Runner-Up Niamh P
A small entry for our U13 girls saw BMS friends Emily, Niamh and Laura put aside their friendships for a while to compete fiercely in a best of five group and we saw some fine squash. Emily put in a battling performance before going down 3-1 to both Niamh and Laura, which set the stage for a deciding match. In the event, Laura’s greater match-play experience counted, and she managed to beat Niamh 3-1, after losing the first game 11-10.
U13 Boys – Winner Alex D; Runner-Up Ryan O
A bigger entry for the U13 boys saw it run as a knock-out with a plate for those that lost their first match. It was a tough event to call with lots of good players in the mix to make the final. In the main draw, Alex proved too strong for Thomas in the first semi, despite some beautiful backhand play down the wall from Thomas. In the other semi, Omar from the Beds Academy at Mowsbury played very well against 2nd seed Ryan, but just could not get over the line in either game. And so, to the final between good friends Alex and Ryan. The first game was really close, with Ryan pushing Alex all the way, but as is often the case, that first game settled Alex and he played his best squash in the second to triumph 11-9, 11-2.
The plate final between Oscar and Samarth followed a very similar pattern, with Oscar’s speed and fierce forehand just proving enough to take an exciting first game 13-11 against Samarth’s silky touch, helping him to settle and power through the second game 11-3.
U15 Boys – Winner George C; Runner-Up Oliver L
The U15 boys was also run as a knock-out with a plate competition. In the main event, George showed his talent by winning through to the final without dropping a game, beating Anthony in the semi. In the other half of the draw, Oliver did the same, beating Nathanial in the semis, who has previously had a great battle 2-1 with Alfie in the QFs. On to a titanic final between George and Olly. George started strongly, taking the first 11-8, before Olly fought back hard coming from 10-8 down to save two match balls and take the second 13-11. So, to the decider and what a game it was with some superb skills and athleticism on display from both players – with the tension heightened by a lost ball late in the game and an injury to George after he threw himself into the back corner to retrieve and dying length. Olly led 9-7 but George managed to cut out the errors and take the game 11-9 and with it the title. A superb match!
In the plate final, Nick took on Ben in another great advert for the sport at junior level. Ben managed to win a very close first game 14-12 after saving a game ball, before Nick fought back hard to take the second game easily 11-4. The decider was tight all the way through and tied at 9-9, before Ben managed to play two great points to take the game 11-9 and the match.
U17 Girls – Winner Annabel D; Runner Up Charlotte D.
The final of the U17 girls saw the two sisters competing for the umpteenth time in a major final. As might be expected with these two highly competitive girls, there was a bit of (polite!) needle, with the marker having to earn his corn. Annabel got off to a flying start, taking the first two games 11-9, 11-8 before Charlotte fought back to take the third 11-5 and it looked like we might be heading for five. But Annabel had other ideas and played really well in the fourth to take it 11-6 and the match 3-1. Superb squash on display!
Boys U17 – Winner Robbie L; Runner-Up Toby S
It was also great to see the quality of the squash in the U17s boys, which was run as a single round-robin group. Robbie showed his match play experience and all-round ability to win all of his group matches 2-0, but the other results were so tight that it came down to a count-back of “points won” to determine who would progress to the final to face Robbie. In the event Toby edged out Lewis and Matthew by a single point – tight! – and very tough on Lewis and Matthew.
Toby played really well in the final and came so close to taking the first game, eventually losing it 12-10. But this effort had taken its toll and Robbie’s excellent shot making ability shone through in the second as he raced to a 9-4 lead, eventually securing the second game and the title 11-6.
Boys U19 – Winner Michael C; Runner-Up Abhinav R
The boys U19 competition was also run as a round-robin event and was fiercely competitive, with half the group games going to a decider. Michael won all his group matches to make the final, although he had to work hard to subdue Ruben by an 8-11, 11-9, 11-4 score line. Who would face Michael in the final effectively came down to the last group match between Bedford School friends Abhinav and Ruben, which was a real humdinger! Abhinav eventually winning 11-6, 10-11, 11-9.
His exertions in the prior match seemed to have taken a lot out of Abhinav and he did not seem to have much left in the tank for the final. Once Michael settled down, he showed his full range of skills to win 11-5, 11-1, 11-5 and take the U19 title.
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