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15th
Feb
 10/10
FOR GUILDFORD…
A great win for UniSport Guildford, becoming the first team to beat league
leaders Oberthur Strings Tewkesbury, and they did pretty well on the
hospitality front too ...
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#5: Fiona Geaves lost to Jenny Tranfield
2-9, 9-2, 2-9, 2-9
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JENNY HITS HARD…
You have to admit this is a funny
score:
9/2, 2/9, 9/2, 9/2…
The two ladies gave us a good show, Jenny Tranfield hitting the
ball very hard, keeping the pace up for most of the game. Fiona Geaves
was slightly overwhelmed in the beginning, but got her length and drop
shots perfect in the second. Overall, Jenny kept the control of the shots,
putting a lot of weight on the ball, varying the pace and wrong footing
her opponent beautifully. Fiona never gave up, keeping on retrieving and
placing her precise short shots. But it was to be Jenny’s night…
You know, it’s so nice to see a good ladies’ match with long rallies,
strong pace, lots of attacking and retrieving, good winners, lots of
running…
So, thanks girls, I enjoyed it very much…
Fiona Geaves lost to Jenny Tranfield
2-9, 9-2, 2-9, 2-9
 "In
the Nationals, I didn’t play at my best. Not that I want to find
excuses, but I came back from the States on the Monday, and played my
first round on the Tuesday, and at my age, I just can’t do that
anymore. I just miscalculated my dates.
"I wanted to play in the Vassar, as it’s a friend of mine who
organised it, and it’s only after I booked my flight that I realised
that it was close to the Nationals. So I felt disorientated, heavy in
the legs, and Dominique played very well.
 "Today,
I felt happier, a lot fresher. I should have pushed her to the back
and then played short. I need to get my patience back…
"On a personal note, I just wanted to congratulate you on your site,
it’s a breath of fresh air. It’s the best thing I’ve seen, and I’ve
been around for a few years. I like the fact there are a lot of
photos, it’s easy to read, people can relate to it. It’s a totally
fresh look at the squash world…"
Fiona Geaves |
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 "I
kept the first rally going forever, knowing that she wouldn’t like
it, as she prefers when the rallies are short and when she can play
nice winners…
"I lost my length in the second, and
Fiona was too happy to play beautiful winners. Against her, you have
to keep the pace up, as she like to slow the pace down (the glass
court suits her very well…).
"As for my match with Linda in the semis of the Nationals, I was
very disappointed, as I thought I found a way in for a game and a
half. I should have stuck to my tactics, but I didn’t. On the other
hand, Linda is a very consistent player, she knows what she needs to
do to win, and she sticks to it.
 "One
of my goals is to win a National Title, so after my defeat, I’ve
been moping around for three days!
"But overall, I was happy with my performance, as it was the first
time I played well on that glass court, and I did it against Linda…
"My goal for the next few months is to get to the top six, then to
the top four, and to win a major title."
Jenny Tranfield |
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#4: Jesse Engelbrecht beat Adam Oakley
9-4, 9-3, 9-1
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#3: Neil Frankland beat Chris Clare
2-9, 2-9, 9-7, 9-7, 15-13 |
 "He
played very well to start with, and controlled the ball very well. I
then attacked a bit more, got my length right, and he started to feel
a bit more pressure and made some mistakes. It was also a mental game,
he got three match balls, I got four … It was a great game, one of the
matches you really enjoy playing, really an excellent game.
"As I told you, I wanted to play the Scottish Nationals, but
unfortunately, it falls on the same weekend than the Inter Counties
finals, and as I am County Captain, my preference has got to go to my
County…"
Neil
Frankland |
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 "I
didn’t play too bad at all tonight. I started very well, shame I
couldn’t keep it going, I lost my length and he got a bit sharper.
The rallies got longer, and I started to be a bit negative.
"Neil has very good straight drop shots, tight, precise and short.
Overall, he didn’t make great winners, but he just kept it tight."
Chris
Clare |
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#2: Stephen Meads beat Daryl Selby
9-7, 9-7, 9-4 |
STEVE STILL STRONG
“When will Stephen Meads slow down???”
That’s probably the question that Daryl Selby was asking himself
during his match against former British National Champion Steve Meads
…
In every game, Daryl was in front, 5/1 in the first, 4/1 then 6/3 in the
second, and 4/1 in the third, and every time, that devil of Meads just
kept coming back. The three games were very balanced, and lasted about the
same time (13m, 12m, 11m). As usual, Steve was retrieving everything that
was thrown at him, and also placed some pretty good drop shots.
Daryl played very well indeed, but as the match wore on, the pressure of
the Grinding Machine started to erode Daryl’s confidence, and he found
himself going for more and more dangerous shots, increasing the unforced
errors.
I have the feeling that Daryl is on a learning curve at the moment. I saw
his match against Simon Parke where he played a very good match, and again
tonight, he has nothing to be ashamed of, quite the contrary. The only
thing I did feel was that his discussions (not arguments, let’s be clear
here) are maybe not helping him with his concentration and his
consistency...
When will Stephen Meads slow down??? I don’t think he will, you know |
 "Every
time I seemed to get in the lead, I kept giving it back to him, I
wasn’t able to capitalise. But Steve has so much experience, he put
the pressure on me, and my margin for error got smaller and smaller.
I think I played well, but I ended up playing too tight near the
tin.
 "But
still, we had some epic rallies in there! It also gave me a lot of
confidence to play well against Steve, and to be able to make him
work hard. But you know, when you play against him, he doesn’t give
anything away, and it doesn’t become easy…
"About my match at the National against Parke, he just gets
everything back: you think that you’ve played a winning shot, not
only it comes back, but it comes back THAT close to the tin…"
Daryl
Selby, 22 |
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#1: Stacey Ross lost to Ong Beng Hee
9-6, 1-9, 6-9, 11-13 |
GREAT NUMBER ONES…
It was such a pleasure to see Ong Beng Hee again. I hadn’t seen the
young man since Canary Wharf, just after he left the Chingford Camp to
move up north. He was in turmoil, trying to change his life around. Last
night, he seemed a very happy boy, much more balanced, and as fit as ever…
 We
were in for a treat, as Beng Hee's and Stacey Ross’ games match
perfectly, and although the result for the overall match was already won
for Guilford, nobody left, let me tell you…
When Stacey plays well, he is just outstanding in precision and touch. As
Ong was very determined to win the encounter, the rallies were of a high
standard, pretty good squash, both trying to wrong-foot the other, great
attacks, volley kills nicks for Ong, amazing drop shots and volley drop
shots for Stacey, both retrieving as if their bank account depended on it…
We had some breathtaking rallies…
But Ross’ inconsistency offered too many opportunities to the Malaysian,
who was only too happy to seize them. I would have been happy if Stacey
got the fourth, it was so close, as he saved a match ball and got four
game balls. But it was not to be.
Ong now flies to the TOC with a nice warm feeling in his bags, a good
match, a good victory… May it be an omen for a young man who works hard,
and deserves a bit of a break…
 "It
was a long journey to arrive here! I travelled from Harrogate, and as
I’m off to the States for the TOC, I had my two big bags with me.
Unfortunately, the cab driver left me at the wrong place, and I had 25
minutes to walk with my bags… I was not overjoyed…
"Stacey played well in patches but I’m happy with the way I played.
"In the past year, I’ve turn around my life completely, and I’m
getting there. At the moment, I train with two extremely good coaches,
David Pearson and Malcolm Willstrop, and I play with the England Squad
boys (Nick, James, Lee and Adrian).
"I’ve been concentrating on my attacks, as the defensive game was
never a problem for me, as I am physically very strong. My next goal
is to come back in the top 8 (my best ranking was 7).
"In the TOC, I play a qualifier, and then, if I win, I’ll get Peter
Nicol. As I trained with him for years, I would love to beat him.
Hopefully, I will catch him on his bad day… on his VERY bad day..!"
Ong Beng Hee |
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Ong Beng Hee
 "I played
very well in patches, but not overall. I have the feeling that I
need to have the opportunity to play more matches at that level,
which is not easy to get. But I’m happy because it’s good to play
people of that standard…"
Stacey
Ross |
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UniSport Guildford 3 Oberthur Strings Tewkesbury 2
Stacey Ross lost to Ong Beng Hee
9-6, 1-9, 6-9, 11-13
Stephen Meads beat Daryl Selby
9-7, 9-7, 9-4
Neil Frankland beat Chris Clare
2-9, 2-9, 9-7, 9-7, 15-13
Jesse Engelbrecht beat Adam Oakley 9-4, 9-3,
9-1
Fiona Geaves lost to Jenny Tranfield
2-9, 9-2, 2-9, 2-9
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"I
was very nervous. I’m about to go into the U17, and hopefully, I
should be ranked next year. I’m going to try and train with Sue
Wright. 
"He
was very nervous, and kept sending loose shots in the middle. So I
didn’t slam the ball, and we had a few good rallies. He is a good
player, he just needs to relax a bit…"