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 A
new section dedicated to Masters Squash (that's us 35s and over!).
Just as Masters Squash itself is growing so will this section. For
starters here's the English Calendar and a few recent/forthcoming
events.
Feel free to send in notification of your events, and reports &
photos after they've happened ...
masters@squashsite.co.uk
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2009/10 Calendar |
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East
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25-27 Sept @ Moreton Hall |
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West
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30 Oct-01 Nov @ Swindon |
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Midlands |
04-06 December @ Coventry |
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South |
08-10 January @ Broxbourne |
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North |
05-07 Feb @ Pontefract |
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application forms |
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Midlands Masters,
04-06 Dec, Coventry
The Masters continue to become more attended event by event,
this one acclaiming 145 entries and for the statistically
challenged, no 26 of all time since we commenced the circuit 5
years ago!
Coventry and North Warwickshire is having a large extension and
if you were a betting man you would lose because it is the
‘Bridge’ Clubs brainchild and funding. So the two new glass
backs are on temporary hold. The Esporta Club nearby was used as
a back up on Friday night and also for all the Plate events. All
players thought the complex extremely inviting, especially some
of the younger and more virile members.
To the Squash.
The Women’s O50 was combined with the O55 and there was a Round
Robin with Wales’ Lynn Davies meeting Sue Pynegar in the Final.
The match was extremely closely contested and I arrived at 5/5
in the fifth. In fairness to Lynn, she was denied what seemed
like two clear cut penalty strokes which she accepted without
murmur. But Sue stuck in there and went to match ball with a
‘shooter’ and clinched it in the next rally. But Lynn had some
earlier luck as her car was untouched in the Innkeepers car park
where others, including our own Rod Boswell, had their windows
smashed and valuables taken. Kathy Kemp came third, beating Bett
Dryhurst 9/9 3/9 6/9 10/8 9/4 in the 3/4 Playoff.
In the O45’s, Tammy Bennett beat Julia Dolman 9/5 9/4 9/1 but
fell to Bea de Dreu Spitze, from Holland 7/9 0/9 1/9. The Final
was a battle as Fran Wallis, in effect, was running a high
temperature and patently was not well. However, despite a face
the colour of beetroot, you would never have thought there was a
problem as she covered the court at speed and the ferocious pace
she inflicted wore down Bea, whose touch wasn’t up to her usual
standard. Fran eventually took the match 9/2 2/9 9/5 9/5.
The Women’s O40 – Diana Parums nearly caused a major upset when
she took Nikki Fowler all the way 9/0 4/9 3/9 10/8 6/9 and this,
of course, settled the first two places, the event being a round
robin . Di beat Andrea Santamaria 3/0 whilst the latter beat
Linda Winder 9/2 9/5 9/1.
The O35’s was played in two groups. In group one, Beverley
Sawyer leapfrogged England’s hopefuls Sam Mueller and Suzanne
Scarlett with victories over Andrea Santamaria 9/2 9/4 2/9 4/9
9/2 and Scarlett 9/6 9/2 9/2. In group two, Isabelle Tweedle won
her matches 3/0 against Sam Mueller, Lucy Murphy and Kelly
Scott. The Final saw Beverley within a few points of her first
major title when she led 5/0 in the fifth but Tweedle fought
back to record a 9/5 victory and the title.
The Men’s O70 was a Round Robin won by Lance Kkinder with three
victories out of three. His ‘Final’ was against local Martin
Sweeney score 10/8 9/0 9/4. Title no 6 for Lance.
As in the O65’s, a small 6 man Round Robin with Mike Clemson
sneaking your Webmaster in the Final 9/7 9/6 4/9 4/9 9/6. Graham
Fisher took third place having narrowly lost to Clemson having
had match balls 6/9 9/7 9/2 6/9 10/8. Tony Clifford came fourth.
The Men’s O60 saw a very, very strong draw with all the major
contenders in force except for Phil Ayton. Early shock saw Ian
Graham beat Larry Grover 9/0 9/1 9/6 in a systematic display
though consensus was that if Grover had pulled the third back,
as he nearly did, things might have been different. Martin
Pearse rocketed into a 16/0 lead against Chris Ansell and then
struggled to win in the fifth whilst Bob Robinson took out Phil
Godfrey 10/9 9/3 9/1. Geoff Howes looked lack lustre and we saw
none of the ferocious hitting and reverse angles as he subsided
to a 3/0 with Mike Taylor. The latter edged Pearse the next day
9/3 in the fifth whilst Robinson was eventually too clever for
Graham, winning 3/1. Cherlin confused Norman in a variety of
ways , winning 5/9 9/2 9/2 9/3. Cherlin’s Semi with Robinson was
an amusing affair for connoisseurs of the sport. Robinson is
probably his bete noire and diligently plays short when Howard
is at the back. The match fluctuated backwards and forwards but
in the end the Yorkshire edged into the Final 9/3 8/10 7/9 9/7
9/7. At the bottom, Barry Featherstone was untroubled, but his
Final came badly unstuck when he looked the only possible
victor, leading 2/1 and 4/0. Robinson, seemingly down and out,
suddenly produced a string of winners to reduce Featherstone to
an edgy shadow of his former self and won his second Regional
9/5 1/9 1/9 9/4 9/5 to go top of the pile for Broxbourne –
unless Ayton enters!!
The O55’s also had a very strong entry – early problems saw
Stuart Hardy having to withdraw a with a long standing knee
injury after just sneaking past Peter Smith, in obvious
discomfort. Peter Leary suffered a surfing injury last year and
isn’t the same player, as yet, that he once was. He got involved
in a lengthy battle with Mick Broomhall who edged it 9/2 2/9 9/0
6/9 9/7. In the Quarters Keith Jones beat John Duckworth 3/0 and
Ian Holmes beat Phil Collins 5/9 9/4 9/3 9/2 . Mark Cowley was
too good for everyone and after beating Broomhall and Holmes
took out Jones in the Final 9/5 9/4 9/6.
The O50’s saw some very easy victories in the early rounds, the
first major battle was (a battle) between Avons Mark Taylor and
Steve Barlow. Plenty for the Marker who must have wished he was
somewhere else. Barlow went through 9/5 9/3 5/9 8/10 9/2. Jeremy
Goulding had to retire at 1/1 with James Ockwell and Chris
Harland progressed easily to the No 1 seed Richard Millman. The
latter,, the previous weekend, just scraped Harland in the ICC,
9/7 in the fifth. Not so this time, his analytical mind must
have gone into overdrive working out what not to do and more
importantly, what to do. Harland admitted he was left well
behind – 4 points. Poor Ockwell fared little better in the Final
as Millman had an answer to everything 9/2 9/0 9/2. His
Transatlantic flight home would have been a happy one.
The O45’s saw Andy Smith blitzing Robin Chipperfield and Nick
Peel, before Eamonn Price kept his seeding in the Quarter Final.
Darren Withey had a lengthy battle with Ray Burke 4/9 0/9 9/2
9/2 8/10 which the Army veteran won. James Hyatt and Greg Loach
were untouchable, then the latter ran out of steam when the two
met, Hyatt winning 6/9 9/5 9/2 9/0. Price though, is a rather
determined individual, especially when the chips are down and
Hyatt was given hardly a favour in a hard fought Final, the
Herts player winning 9/6 9/4 9/5.
The Men’s O40 Final was uncontested as David Youngs had to rush
home as his daughter was taken ill. Kevin White, not losing a
game on his way 3/0’s v Karl Hardy and Glen Ragou. The latter
had his monies worth 11/9 7/11 10/12 11/7 11/8 victory over
Steve Ward. Surprise was Simon Street taking out Rob Watkins
12/10 14/12 4/11 11/7 before Youngs somewhat restrained him,
closing down all his options in a 11/5 11/1 11/4 success.
Finally the O35’s saw some very (very) long matches. Jago
Nardelli does not do drops, so every match is a combination of
power hitting and length, until the opponent is deemed tired
enough not to be able to reach a drop to the front. And this
group are all amazingly fit and quick. Jonathan Gallacher was
despatched 8/11 11/7 11/9 14/12 and Ian Cox, who could be Jago’s
squash twin, did exactly the same to Mike McLaughlin 7/11 10/12
12/10 11/7 12/10. Barny Elworthy, another identikit player, then
took up the cudgels with Nardelli 5/11 13/11 11/5 11/7. Then, of
course, there is Jamie Goodrich. It would be interesting to see
who hits the ball the hardest out of Nardelli, Cox and Goodrich.
Possibly the Norfolk policeman. In the Semi’s, Goodrich beat his
County colleague 11/6 7/11 6/11 7/11 and Nardelli’s Final with
the Norfolk player was a real humdinger. In the end, Nardelli
prevailed 11/7 in the fifth, the last match on court to conclude
a highly entertaining weekend.
Many thanks to Coventry and North Warwicks plus Mo and Liz, the
two main organisers, who did a sterling job, backed up by
Sophie, and Oz. Also Nick and Debs for the food, Esporta for the
loan of the courts and Christine, Ellis and Giz for the marking.
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COMMITTEE MEETING & SWINDON TOURNAMENT
There was a Committee Meeting at Swindon and the Minutes will be
published in due course. Two salient issues that are important
were discussed and decisions made.
1) That the Men’s & Women’s Age Groups will continue together,
even though saturation point from the logistical angle is fast
approaching. Each Tournament will have a separate venue for the
Friday night except where there are 7 or more courts.
2) Women’s Selection criteria – The status quo will remain for
2009/10 but will be reviewed and possibly changed at the British
Closed in Feb 2010. However, there are some new rules
implemented immediately
a) Women are still allowed to enter 2 events, however……
b) We are introducing the following format
c) For 5 or less entrants, there will be a Round Robin
d) For 6 or 7 there will be 2 groups of 3 or 4 Round Robin with
each group playing off on the Sunday
e) For 8+ a straight draw (with MONRAD)
May I remind you, as a result of this, you may be called upon to
play more than four times in one day and if you have entered in
two events you must be available from 3pm on the Friday
afternoon. There will be no doubling up of matches if two
players are playing each other in different age groups.
We are anticipating larger entries in the Women’s section in the
future. The Committee would prefer entrants to only enter one
event as there should be enough squash ...
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WEST OF ENGLAND MASTERS
NOVEMBER 2009
Chairman's Report
 Enough of
the politics (over on the left), now the Squash. Circa 140
entrants and the biggest ever draw. The Wessex Club, under the
expert guidance of Dean Watkins hosted the Friday night
for the Men’s 50 and 55 and I apologise for not scheduling more
there as South Marston ran late and players were still playing
well after 11pm.
The downside was we had a plethora of drop outs on the
Thursday/Friday. We are monitoring the names as one or two are
becoming regular last minute absentees ? I know getting a
Doctors certificate is not easy but other Countries adopt this
in a draconian fashion so we might have to do the same… It plays
havoc with the draws as we always try and reschedule when they
become lopsided through withdrawals. We have all come to play
Squash and not claim easy points with a walkover (I got a
rollocking from one player over such an incident). The old
saying – you can’t please everyone all the time etc etc!
The Women’s O35/O40 - A seven draw, saw Sam Mueller remove third
seed Andrea Santa Maria 6/9 3/9 9/5 2/9 before falling to
Isabelle Tweedle. Nikki Fowler was a class apart in
this group and replicated the same in the 40 section, where Di
Parums shaded Isabelle Tyrell 7/9 9/2 9/5 9/2 in the Quarter
Finals.
The O45’s saw Tammy Bennett overcome a fightback by Jo Brown to
sneak it 9/6 in the fifth but Fran Wallis was in top
form. Helen Gould fell to Beau de Dreu Spitz, the Netherlands No
1, a regular player at the British Open and European
Tournaments. The Final was worth watching. Fran’s facial
expression when the Ref made a couple of mistakes (very easy to
do with the tin as it was) were worth the admission money alone,
but the simple fact was that this was one of her best ever
performances against one of the top World players and Fran was
delighted with her 9/5 2/9 10/8 9/0 title win. Her game has
improved dramatically with the introduction of a trickle boast
and even a couple of drop shots!
The Women’s O50 saw Jane Law overcome 30x World and National
Champion at Squash and Racket Ball Bett Dryhurst but then fell
to the all action Helen Gould whose Pointfore Raquet
certainly hits the ball at maximum velocity! Lynn Davies , the
Welsh No1 is entering all our Regionals (Ladies from Scotland,
Ireland and Wales, you are more than welcome!) and doing very
well indeed, thank you. She again beat an out of sorts Karen
Hume who will no doubt train ferociously for the rematch in
Coventry. However, Helen owns the rights to the ‘West’ as she
lives just down the road and kept going forward to negate Lynn’s
front game, running out a 9/6 9/6 9/5 winner.
O35 PARS is certainly accepted in the younger age groups, as
anticipated, simply because the pace is so extreme and the
retrieving so good that it shortens the matches to an acceptable
level. Matt Fiveash scraped in against Gary Milner then another
battle with James Powley before losing out to Ian Cox. Barney
Elworthy sneaked Mike McLaughlin, two newcomers but then fell to
Clive Ewins. The Final - Cox certainly brings
entertainment to the proceedings, always attempting nirvana and
PARS certainly suits his game. Clive found life far more
difficult than he anticipated and the match score 12/10 9/11
11/1 13/11 gives a slight indication!. Moreover, the two lads
played everything even when it was a clear cut stroke. Great to
see.
The O40’s saw some very tough encounters. Steve Evans, wrongly
seeded, sorry, my mistake, just lost to David Youngs, who
obviously was affected for his Semi against Rob Watkins 12/14
11/9 12/10 10/12 9/11 tells you all you need to know. Watkins
earlier had a thriller with Nick Jones who in turn sneaked
Andrew Eilfield 11/8 7/11 8/1 11/6 9/11. Steve McLoughlin
edged Steve Ward 3/2 and then took out No 2 Glen Ragou 3-1.
McLoughlin, as fit as a butchers dog, certainly benefited from
Watkins marathon the night before and the new England Committee
Member claimed the title 11/9 10/12 3/11 8/11.
Back to normal, the O45’s scorelines weren’t anything so
dramatic! Mark Hildred pushed Eamonn Price whilst local hero
Paul Clark took out Marvin Rust who had removed 3/4 seed James
Ockwell, very, very late on the Friday. Adrian Jaski
claimed James Hyatt as a scalp and when Eamonn led 10/9 10/8 8/3
in the Final, it seemed a foregone conclusion. But the Middlesex
player came back from the dead to take it 8/10. However, Price
closed out 9/4 to record another title.
The O50’s saw Peter Alexander, eligible for the O55’s, making
life hard for himself, especially as the normally lovable Ian
Bradburn was just the opposite (on court, that is!). Chris
Harland found Jeremy Goulding very tough but the shock was No 2
seed Dermot Hurford not recovering from a week in New York and a
torn adductor, to lose to Keith Hinds, who then had to retire
himself against Chris Harland. Bradburn (Lancs) v Harland (Yorks)
as the Wars of the Roses Final saw the former too sharp and
focussed as he took yet another title – 8/10 9/6 9/5 9/3.
The O55’s – First big surprise was Peter Leary, re-introducing
himself to Masters Squash, going out to Mike Tidy 9/5 2/9 10/8
10/8. Tidy then removed Alistair Niven before falling to Phil
Collins 9/1 9/0 7/9 9/2. Stuart Hardy sneaked Paul Reader but
then fell to another re-introduction after an injury lay-off, in
the shape of one Keith Jones. Jonesy went 9/10 6/9 down
but Hardy’s morning battle reduced his stamina and the Berkshire
player went through 3/2. The Final saw Collins lead 6/0 but when
Jones gathered himself there was only one winner. New kids on
the block, but Jonesy turns 60 soon!
The O60’s. Missing an injured Howard Cherlin, this group is
really competitive with some newcomers intent on winning a
‘cap’. Early battle saw Irish International Terry Norman give
Bob Robinson a scare, the Yorkshireman edging it in the fifth.
Mike Taylor gained revenge over Martin Pearse easily and Chris
Ansell had to retire due to health problems. Will he go and see
a Doctor? Barry Featherstone had to struggle big time
against Phil Godfrey, but then eased to the Final despite
dropping a game to Geoff Howes. Robinson’s Saturday saw him
remove Larry Grover and Mike Taylor but after a bright start in
the Final Robinson’s touch deserted him as Featherstone’s
relentless retrieving saw him pull ahead.
The O65’s saw Adrian Wright (despite an overdose of sleeping
tablets to allow him some non worrying time) win yet another
title over newcomer Graham Fisher who had earlier beaten Mike
Clemson 9/0 10/8 9/6. Fisher then removed a seemingly very tired
Nick Topman who was (is) expected to be a major force in this
age group, having struggled to subdue another newcomer, John
Nicholson 3/2. In the 105th (or something like that!) battle
between Tony Clifford and Len Froggitt, the latter, this
time, went home happier!
The O70’s saw travelling partners John Woodliffe and
Lance Kinder also playing for the umpteenth time. This fixture
was in doubt earlier when John Preston looked likely to overturn
Woodliffe but the latter is made of sterner stuff. However, the
favourite pulled himself together winning 3/2 and then taking
Lance out in the Final.
Finally, thanks to Paul Cripps and all the staff at South
Marston, Paul Clark, Mark and Rose for all the organising on
site, Dean Watkins at Wessex and Jack and Stan for the
Refereeing on Sunday.
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East of England Masters 2009
Moreton Hall Health & Squash Club
Chairman's Report
The first Regional was played in glorious sunny weather at
Moreton Hall, Health & Squash Club, Bury St Edmunds - exactly
the same as last year, with a lot of sunbathing. Moreton Hall
has just been voted Britains best place to live, with an average
age span of 93 years. As the place has only been built in the
last 15 years, it seems the Daily Mail might have used a bit of
artistic licence (allegedly).
A record turnout of 129 saw a few late injury withdrawals, but
we are getting close to logistical saturation ...... at Swindon
we will have to use the second club, Wessex.
Starting with the Women's, there were four in the Round robin
O50, Lynne Davies was the overall winner, a crucial 3/2
over Karen Hume contributing, the latter coming in second place
with Sue Pynegar third.
The O45 was Fran Wallis's as usual, as she beat Julie
Dolman and Tammy Bennett in the Final.
The 40's and 35's were decimated by illness and injury with
Nikki Fowler the number 1 seed pulling out ( from both ) &
SamWillis's long standing knee injury curtailing her tournament.
Di Parums was ecstatic to not only become a Committee
member at the Election, but also to beat Andrea Santa Maria 9/1
9/2 9/2 and then arch rival Linda Winder in the final.
The 35's saw Susie Scarlett get a bye to the final where she
lost to Isabelle Tweedle 3/0, the latter having beaten
Santa Maria and Sam Mueller.
The Mens 70 saw Malcolm Gillham sneak past Lance Kinder (who put
his vacant Sunday to good effect by rearranging a non-squash
event to his wife's delight). At the other end Irishman Tom
Hannon took out Tony Seare. The final saw Hannon take a 2/0
lead and run out winner.
The 65's saw Jimmy Evans fall to the webmaster, as did "The Don"
Froggitt. Sussex' Graham Fisher removed a strangely lethargic
Tony Clifford, and Mike Clemson popped up again in the final
with our man Ian Wright. A fluctuating match saw Wright's
power and determination edge it 3/2.
The 60's was a very strong draw. Geoff Howes beat Rod Boswell
for the first time, 3/1and then nearly put Howard Cherlin
out, leading 2/1 and 6/3. An easy winner was missed and Cherlin
dug in and ground out a hard won victory.
Martin Pearse gained revenge over Chris Ansell in a long match
but found Cherlin a bridge too far in the semi final. Barry
Featherstone, as usual was too tough and fit for his early
opponents, but found Channel Islander Larry Grover a tougher nut
to crack, sneaking it 8/9 9/5 9/5 10/8. The final saw Cherlin,
despite an overdose of Merlot, too clever and his variations of
pace proved too much for Featherstone.
In the 55's Peter Smith beat Mick Broomhall 10/8 in the 5th, a
very sporting game. Unfortunately Peter met our new champion,
Mark Cowley next round.
At the bottom end Stuart Hardy, fresh from Tel Aviv with 1 hours
sleep and a tummy bug, struggled initially with his early
rounds, beating Brian Hawkes who had knocked out Paul Reader,
and then gaining a very good victory over Ian Holmes, who
doesn’t like playing the left hander - he has never beaten him.
Phil Collins cruised through until he met Cowley. The Final was
a Cowley masterclass, and his court speed & pace was just too
good on the day.
The 50's was an Ian Bradburn one man band, how he does it I do
not know, considering the liquid intake I witnessed on Saturday
night. Poor Jeremy Goulding, a very talented player was unable
to make any dent in the Wigan player's armoury, losing 0/9 0/9
4/9 in the final. Earlier Colin Shields had gone down to Simon
Evenden wearing his Barbadian beach shorts.
The 45's saw a late withdrawal from Eamonn Price, so Greg
Loach appeared at the top of the draw. First seeding upset
was Darren Withey losing to Martin Levens 6/9 3/9 0/9 and the
latter then took out Paul Clark 3/2. John Cordeaux met Greg
Loach in the semi and led 2/0 and 6/0 - and lost. Full marks to
Greg for his comeback. In the bottom half Adrian Jaski found
Martin Levens too tough and the Suffolk player won 9/2 in the
5th. The final was a battle with a very tired Loach claiming his
first Regional 3/1.
The 40's had PARS, which certainly shortens some lengthy matches
- ok for the organisers but not popular with a lot of the
players. Pete Goodings went out to Andrew Eilfield, who in turn
lost to German based James Piddington. David Youngs at
No.1 cruised through all his matches, accounting for Glen Ragou
in the Final, the latter having won a marathon against Steve
McLoughlin.
The 35's saw Kevin White as a very late injury withdrawal which
left the field clear for Ian Cox to reach the Final. Jamie
Goodrich's energy never diminishes and he reached the final
via Barny Elworthy before beating his Norfolk team mate 11/13
11/8 11/8 9/11 11/9 in a hard fought battle.
Two major tournaments are now over, the Regionals progress to
Swindon in four weeks time.
Thanks to Peter, Judy el al at the club for all the hospitality,
and the ESR markers.
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