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Sun 27th, Day
THREE:
 The
top seeds claimed the titles in all four competitions, as Adrian
Waller, Victoria Bell, Oliver Holland and Emily Whitlock became
National Champions after a hectic weekend of squash at Millfield
School.
Framboise reports
from Millfield ... |
MILLFIELD EN BREF |
WE’LL BE BACK…
 Said
Chris Nutley from England Squash… And “we’ll be glad to see you here
all again!” replied Jonah Barrington, who added, “It’s nice to see
that people realise that there is Squash in the South West…”
It would seem that I’d better get used to the roads around there
then I guess.
 |
CALLING ALL PARENTS…
If you’ve got two minutes, people, please go on our French site,
sitesquash.com. And click on any tournament with a name
that sounds French like. You’ll see that we have dozens and dozens
of tournament reports, sent by clubs, coaches or simply dedicated
parents.
How does it work?
It couldn’t be simpler. Every time there is a junior tournament (or
a regional tournament, senior or vet for that matter), somebody
sends us a little report (a few lines, a few paragraphs work fine),
a few pictures, and the draws/results.
And zoom, that event is talked about. The kids/players are happy to
be recognised, the parents are delighted to see their progenitors in
“print”, the sponsors are happy to see their name all over
sitesquash, and the clubs are proud to welcome an event that get
national coverage.
It’s a win-win situation.
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BOYS U17
FINAL:
[1] Adrian Waller
bt [2] Alex Ingham
10/8, 9/2, 9/6
(57m) |
ADRIAN, CALM AND STRONG…
Adrian Waller is
physically very strong, very fit, and very present on the court. He
may be a bit slow to get out of the front corners, but I’m sure he
is aware of it, and working hard on that. But what impressed me the
most is that he doesn’t use his height and stature as much as you
would think. Actually, what he does best is retrieve difficult shots
that could be winners, and counter attack them beautifully,
delicately I’m thinking actually, just using his opponent's strength
and turning into his own advantage…
Alex Ingham is not as strong physically as his opponent, he
looks quite young actually, and knows how to use his small height
perfectly, as he is able to move very fast, and play the ball quite
early.
Today, I think he probably played far too short far too early. And
yes, he placed some great back of the court drop shots, but how many
times did he play a short ball when his opponent was well planted on
the T….
Still, it was a very competitive match, very good manners from both
players on court, and good refereeing from Jason Foster.
In other words, a perfect ending to a perfect weekend…
|
 "I
just tried and stick in there. I knew that Alex had a few tough
games, that he was bound to be tired, so I just told myself to
stick in there, I’m stronger than him, so I thought I had a good
chance…
"In the third, I started to have a bit of a cramp, so I was not
too sure how it was going to turn, so I slowed down the pace a
bit, so did he, but at the end of the game, it just went away,
and that was such a relief…
"I want to thank Jonah for having us around here, it was a great
atmosphere, Paul and Chris from England Squash, the referees who
did a great job and made a big difference this weekend, and on a
personal level, I would like to thank my dad and my coach Paul
Carter…
 |
"I thought that for junior squash, for kids, it was a great
match, a great controlled squash. Adrian played the ball early,
volleyed very well, he seemed to have a game plan for Alex, he
seemed to drifted a bit away from it in the 3rd, but then came
back…
"It’s tough for junior to keep concentration and discipline,
they can both play the shots, they are both fit, so it all came
down to strategy, to mental control. And that what makes the
difference between junior and senior squash.
"Alex played a superb game today, probably the best squash I saw
him play for a long time. The future for those two looks
promising…"
 |
|
GIRLS U17
FINAL:
[1] Victoria Bell
bt [3/4] Sarah-Jane Perry
9/4, 9/0, 9/0 (15m) |
VICTORIA DOMINANT….
 After
her immense performance of the morning, and her comeback from 2/0
against Welsh Natalie Pritchard, Sarah-Jane Perry was bound
to be a bit tired, both mentally and physically.
But still, she took an excellent start 4/0, but after that, it was
all about how strong and precise Victoria Bell was really…
And even when Sarah-Jane was hitting hard and low, Vic
counterattacked so beautifully she ended up winning the rally
anyway, which must have been so depressing for Sarah-Jane…
A very quick final, 15 minutes. A splendid demonstration from Vic
who didn’t fail to take the title like she did last year… She will
be glad…
|
 "Vic
has been training with me for the past two years now. Last year,
she got to the final of the event, but blew it basically.
"In my mind, there was no way she could lose this year, but as
Vic has just been through a very bad patch with her squash
recently, she needed to believe in herself, to be positive with
her game.
"So, lately, she suffered a dip in form, and now she has come
back…"
 "The
fact that Sarah-Jane may have been a bit tired may have played a
little role in this, but Vic played out of her skin today.
"Sarah-Jane was on quite equal terms with Vic up to 4/4 in the
first, but after that, she started accumulating the unforced
errors.
"From that moment on, Vic just dominated the game, and of
course, Sarah-Jane could have played better, but I’m not sure it
would have made any difference…"
 |
|
BOYS U13
FINAL:
[1] Oliver Holland
bt [2] Tom Ford
9/4, 9/1, 9/1 (24m) |
SO FAST AND POWERFUL…
You wouldn’t believe it looking at those two, but Tom Ford is
actually 6 months older than Oliver Holland, although Oli, as
his family calls him, looks at least one to two years older.
Young Mr Holland trains with both Paul Hargrave and Keir Worth, and
was just a step in front for the whole match really.
 Tom
never gave up, and will not be awarded the label “could make more
effort”. By Jove, that kid gave everything he had and much more than
that. He saved a match ball to avoid a depressing 9/0, but Oliver
was so powerful, using such a panel of shots, including great
volleying and deception.
I’m looking forward to see these two again in six months time, would
be interesting to see what will happen when Tom grows a bit taller…
|
"It’s not easy to be the number one seed, everybody is out there
to beat you, and they have nothing to lose…
"Oli hit everything right today, good length, his crosscourts
had a good width, he took the ball as early as he could…"
Oliver's dad
"I think this match was a fantastic performance from Oli.
"Today, what made the difference was the pace. Oli was able to
play at such a pace, he didn’t give a chance to Tom, who didn’t
do anything wrong really, but found himself under a constant
barrage of pressure.
"It was a great advertisement for junior squash I thought…"
Coach to both |
|
GIRLS U13
FINAL:
[1] Emily Whitlock bt
[2] Chloe Pearson
9/3, 9/0, 9/0 (18m) |
TEN POINTS…
… is what Emily Whitlock lost during the whole tournament.
That figure says it all about her total domination of this
competition this weekend.
This afternoon, my little swan Chloe Pearson was a bit all
over the place, totally out powered.
She was never able to step to the front, was kept far in the back,
and had so much ground to cover to get to those lovely short balls
that Emily placed at will.
Too powerful, too fast, Emily will be proud of her performance
during the event. Close to perfection comes to mind…
 |
"Of course I’m very proud of Emily!
It seems to be a bit natural for her to go for the throat… She
doesn’t waste energy, does she…
"But you know, it’s not easy, when you are number one seed,
everybody is firing at you, and you can lose at every step.
"Today, she was just too strong for Chloe, she took the ball
earlier, volleyed a bit more, and had a bit more experience.
"Emily has put a lot of work over the years, she worked very
hard, there were a lot of tears also, and nowadays, she is much
more controlled, much steadier…"
 |
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BOYS
UNDER 17 SEMIS
A strong performance from Adrian Waller against a still
hurting from the day before Morgan Hibberd, as Morgan ended
up his quarter final match with cramps, having given all that he had
in the tank….
Morgan displayed some great determination, as he kept on retrieving
all the bullets that his opponent was firing at him, offered us some
long and intense rallies.
Adrian was that much too fit and strong today though, even if a few
unforced errors spoiled his fun a bit …
CLEVER ALEX…
 I’ve
come to know Alex Ingham, as I see him here and there on
the senior circuit, and I’m still impressed with his analysis of
the game. He just doesn’t fall into the going too short too soon
trap, makes sure his opponent is pinned to the back again and
again before attempting to end a rally.
As he was playing a very fit and determined Welsh in the person of
Hywell Robinson, he had to win that rally again and again,
as strong Hywell didn’t give any easy point away.
This was truly a good match to watch. And the Welsh young man will
be happy with his improvement against that little devil of an
Alex…
|
Boys U17 Semis:
Adrian Waller bt Morgan Hibberd 3/0
Alex Ingham bt Hywel Robinbson 3/1 |
 "I
feel better today than I did yesterday morning, my legs are
moving better, and I’m a bit more quick on the ball.
"Today, I took control of the game, and had to try and finish
the point somehow, as Morgan was just returning all the shots,
and the match could have been very very long, so I had to take
my chances, and was bound to make a few errors…"
 |
"Alex Ingham played
beautifully today, he started slow, but as he reads the game
perfectly, he is able to put the ball where it should be… It
was only a matter of time before he would take the game, even
if Hywell fought hard."
 |
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GIRLS
UNDER 17 SEMIS
VIC ONLY JUST….
 I
was struck by the resemblance between those two girls, Victoria
Bell and Kimberley Hay, both physically and in their
games. They both hit, run, and retrieve all shots they can put their
strings on… There was nothing between them, and the 3/0 score
doesn’t reflect how close this match was.
 To
summarise it, I would say that Kimberly is 15 and Victoria 16, and
therefore, Victoria is that much strong physically.
Once again, like the other matches, nobody gives up even led 2/0,
and Kimberly dug in and fought as hard as she could.
But Vic was just that much quicker on the ball, that much stronger
in the rallies and she took the third and final game 10/9…
SARAH-JANE UPSETS
THE DRAW…
Natalie Pritchard from Wales was seeded to win the match, and
we all thought she was well on her way when she got herself a
comfortable lead 2/0, especially as Sarah-Jane Perry was
playing unforced errors by the bucket… But Sarah Jane showed some
amazing guts, and clawed back, taking the third quite easily.
Now recomposed, the Welsh girl shot to 6/1, and really should have
closed it out. But she “lost her legs and her brain”, as she
commented later on, and found herself forced to play a decider.
The momentum now with her, Sarah-Jane hit the ball as hard as I ever
saw a junior play, and varied her pace with delicate flicks all over
the place… Natalie, disheartened, could only see the points
stringing away from her, and ended up losing the match she should
have closed out in the fourth…
|
Girls U17 Semis:
Victoria Bell bt Kimberley Hay 3/0
Sarah-Jane Perry bt Natalie Pritchard 2/3 |
|
ROBERTSON'S VERDICT
 Natalie
was seeded to win the match, but Sarah-Jane has improved her
movement immensely. At 6/1 and 2/0, Natalie should have won the
match, but all credit to Sarah-Jane, she didn’t put her head down,
and at the end of the day, deserved to win.
This was probably the age group we thought that we could win the
title of, so, a bit disappointing for Natalie.
For the other two, Jordan and Matthew, they knew they were playing
top seeds that were stronger than them.
Now, for Hywell, a good surprise as last time those two played for
the National Championship U 15 final in March ’05, Hywell only
score 4 points! So a big improvement there…
We are really glad to have had a presence in each age group, and
I’m sure the players look forward to play the 3rd4th play off, as
they still have got a chance to finish 3rd…
Welsh
National Coach
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BOYS
UNDER 13 SEMIS
 Sorry
people, but the minute I came back in the arena, the first U13 semi
between Oliver Holland and Jordan Davies was already
over.
I didn’t have a chance to see any of it, but Mr Davies, Jordan’s
dad, told me with a nice smile, “it was a very good game, they both
played well, cannot complain”…
In the other semi, Tom Ford was yet again very dominant, and
hurt Matthew Sidaway terribly with his volley drop shots in
particular, but his strength is how well he distributes the game,
with calm and precision.
Matthew was a bit overwhelmed in the first two games, but never
mentally gave up.
If he has a little tendency to look in the direction of his support
group a bit too often for his own good, he knows how to fight, came
back blazing from 2/0, putting more pressure on his opponent,
showing a great determination and character although he finally lost
3/0.
Still, one of those good games, played in a good spirit, and looking
forward to the final Tom against Oliver…
|
FULL DRAWS &
RESULTS
Boys U13 Semis:
Oliver Holland bt Jordan Davies 3/0
Tom Ford bt Matthew Sidaway 3/0 |
"Tom is very intelligent, his awareness of where is opponent is
and where the ball should go is excellent.
"But what is even more important, is that he enjoys the
competitiveness, he enjoys playing his game of squash…."
Tom’s coach |
|
GIRLS UNDER 13 SEMIS
EMILY NO TROUBLE
 In
this one, I had the feeling that Welsh Hannah Williams didn’t
really believe that she could win this match, and the good placement
and precision at the back from number one seed Emily Whitlock
seemed to frustrate and discourage her even more as the match went
along.
One department she may have a look at, her serve is not up to
scratch, and in that age group, where serve plays such an important
role, she is probably missing out here. Emily is well aware of that,
and her lob serves are superb…
A SWAN IS BORN…
 Young
Chloe Pearson is as gracious and delicate looking as a swan,
and I must say, her calm, her total control on court made her stand
out from the rest of the crowd I must say…
Add to that the fact that her opponent was very nervous, probably
put a bit too much pressure on herself, and you have a pretty good
picture of how the match unfolded…
But I was really impressed by Chloe, her perfect composition, her
relaxed style, her fluid and easy movement is rather impressive.
 And
quite incredibly, she’s already got the “Greg Gaultier shot”, you
know, the deception one, hit the ball one way while looking the
other one…
Millie Pughe did her best, she is physically strong, covers a
lot of ground, and possesses a great crosscourt lob. But today,
Chloe was just too much in control…. |
FULL DRAWS &
RESULTS
Girls U13 Semis:
Emily Whitlock bt Hannah Williams 3/0
Chloe Pearson bt Millie Pughe
3/0 |
 "I
used to get nervous and worked out when Phil used to play, as it
was his livelihood, and everything depended on that.
"But I’ve learned since then that what I feel has absolutely no
bearing on the outcome of the match…
"As far as Emily goes, it’s totally unnecessary to put pressure
on her, they are only kids, this is junior squash. She does her
best. It’s just a squash match after all…"
 |
|
CAMP’S POSTING…
 The
point of view of David Campion, England Squash Performance
Coach
Chloe Pearson really impressed me today, she is great mover, she’s
got a good squash brain, she is very relaxed and possesses a lot of
composure, and she never looks stressed. I think we are going to
have a great final.
For the boys U13, Oliver and Tom won their game rather comfortably,
and should played a great game against each other.
For the U17 girls, Sarah Jane showed a lot of character and
determination, and Natalie maybe got a bit tired in the 4th… A very
good performance from Sarah Jane…
|
Sat 28th, Day TWO:
Two rounds of action in each
draw today, Round 3 (last 16) in the morning, and Quarter-Finals in
the evening ... Framboise reports from Millfield ... |
BOYS UNDER 17 QUARTERS
What
is remarkable about Junior squash, is that all depends on the
“maturation” of each player.
Some are very “adult like”, I’m thinking about Adrian Waller,
Hywell Robinson or Sam Wileman, or very “young like”,
such as Adam Murrills or Alex Ingham.
This evening for example, on court 1, we had two “adults like”
Adrian Waller against Sam Wileman, a physical and pretty
traditional game, whereas on court 2 a two-handed backhand from
Manchester's Adam Murills against Morgan Hibberd, a game with
many more short shots, nice touches, running all over the place…
Adrian dominated his opponent I wouldn’t say easily, but
still, never really looked in danger there, 3/0. With a “Ramy
Ashour” kind of physic, he is playing a solid squash, maybe would
need to vary his game just a bit more.
For Morgan, although he finally won 3/1, it was another
matter.
David Campion, England Squash Junior coach, said that "it was
the best game of the whole weekend, with Adam coming to life after
the second game and starting to play. Those two played some cracking
squash…"
Hywell Robinson was up 2/0 rather easily when he started to
slow down and had a few trouble finishing the match out.
All credit to Stephen, who hung in there, but quite logically bowed
down to a physically stronger opponent…
Alex Ingham seemed much more as his ease than he appeared to
be this morning. Ben was today no match for the Guilford boy,
although he still played some lovely winners and never gave up…
|
FULL DRAWS &
RESULTS
Boys U17 Quarters:
Adrian Waller bt Sam Wileman
3/0
Morgan Hibberd bt Adam Murrils 3/1
Hywel Robinson bt Stephen Wykes 3/0
Alex Ingham bt Ben Molyneaux 3/0 |
 "I
was in control of the match, but in the second, he was up 5/1
and started to make too many mistakes. I was able to get back in
there and had a bit of a run to be honest."
 "In
the third, the hard work produced in the earlier rounds started
to take its toll, and I had a big drop of energy. But I’ll be
resurrected for tomorrow, early bed and plenty of
carbohydrates!"
 "I
needed a few rounds to get into it, and the more balls I hit
when I go through, the better I play. I also think that the
match this morning that I won 3/1, only just, was a wake up
call, and tonight, I raised my game for the occasion…"
 |
|
Stephen Wykes |
Adam Murrils |
Sam Wileman |
GIRLS UNDER 13 QUARTERS
The outcome of the match between Emily Whitlock and Hannah
Shipley was never in doubt, as young Hannah was a bit outplayed
today. She was obviously put under a lot of pressure, and made error
upon error, which gave more and more confidence to her opponent.
The Whitlocks
Bad luck for adorable Georgina Ingham (yes, the sister of
Alex, of course), who was having the hard task of playing number two
seed Chloe Pearson.
I must say I was quite impressed by the intelligence of the game
that young Georgina displayed tonight, not to mention her
determination and battling skills, as she came back from 2/0 to only
accept defeat 9/7 in the 5th… |
Girls U13 Quarters:
Emily Whitlock bt Hannah Shipley 3/0
Hannah Williams bt Victoria Temple-Murray 3/1
Millie Pughe bt Brogan Lane3 /2
Chloe Pearson bt Georgina Ingham
3/2 |
 "Emily
was a bit too strong for her opponent today.
"She didn’t spend too much energy, but you’ve got to, there’s a
lot of pressure on those girls…"
"She is playing well, but she is just smaller than everybody
else.
"So, she needs a smaller racquet. Well, either that or she needs
to grow up really quickly!
"But she knows where to put the ball, and she played good
squash…"
Georgina's dad |
|
CAMP’S POSTING…
The point of view of David
Campion, England Squash Performance Coach
The under 17
competition was really competitive for me. The match that stood out
was Morgan Hibberd and Adam Murrills (3/1, 9/7 in the
4th), it was the competitiveness of the match, a lot of heart and
resilience from both of them. They didn’t sit back, they didn’t wait
for it to happen, and they both displayed good athleticism and ball
control.
Adrian Waller benefited from the World Juniors in NZ, he had
a good tournament, and looked pretty comfortable today. He is the
obvious favourite for the title. Adrian has won the U13 and the U15,
he’s got a good pedigree and knows how to win this kind of
competition. But on the other side of the draw, he’ll face some
stern opposition from Alex Ingham.
Millie Tomlinson shone today, she played well this morning,
coming back from 2/0 in 84m to win 3/2. Good match, she played well
but tonight, Natalie Pritchard, number 2 welsh girl, was just
a bit too strong for her.
Under 17 boys and girls is pretty strong this year, Good strength
and depth, a lot of competitive matches.
In the Under 13 Emily Whitlock is hot favourite for the
title, and in the boys Oliver Holland and Tom Ford, a
left hander, are really tenacious, both of them, and maybe there is
a bit of a gap between them and the rest of the pack.
It should be an interesting day tomorrow, I’m looking forward to it…
|
FIRST TIME IN MILLFIELD…
When
you look on the map for Millfield School, Street, England, as in the
far low arm of England, miles from everywhere it seems, you wonder
why on Earth you would put a squash academy there.
And once you step in, you wonder how on earth are you going to tear
yourself away from this place…
Situated on a huge peaceful, calm, green, airy, spacey, with statues
and tall trees at each step you make, I discovered Millfield's Jonah
Barrington Academy. “Past, Present, Future”, it says on the board.
 Well,
that’s exactly the feeling I got once I passed the double doors that
lead to the squash courts, actually the six courts facing each other
where the Championship is held.
On the walls, the photos of the past… On the courts, the present,
with all those kids battling to get to the next round, always one
more round… And the future, the younger ones avidly looking,
learning, stealing away images, information, knowledge…
Guys, if you’ve never been to a Junior Event, you do not know what
you're missing…
 |
|
|
 MIKE’S
POSTING…
The point of view of Mike
Harris, England Squash Performance Coach
I tell you what, I saw some fantastic girls matches today, first Jane
Allman and Emma Molyneux, with Jane so hungry on court, and Emma
coming through all well, and then, just finished, Millie
Tomlinson and Chloe Marshall. Two very competitive squash
matches, great performances.
To be noted as well, Ky And Morgan Hibberd, from Manchester,
also Hywel Robinson, from Wales, against Sammy Chambers,
good squash, played in a good manner, but still, very competitive.
You don’t want players to smile at each other, that’s not the point,
is it. But you can still play very competitive squash in a good
atmosphere…
|
Jane Allman and supporters ...
G17 Round 3:
[9/16] Emma Molyneaux bt [5/8] Jane Allman
5-9, 9-2, 7-9, 9-5, 9-6
(63m) |
MATCH OF THE DAY
NOT A SISSIES’ GAME…
Oh. My. God.
Boys and girls, if you picture the ladies game as a polite
encounter between two players hardly moving and playing drop shots
from the back, I strongly advise you to have a look at two
remarkable girls, Jane Allman (from Millfied Academy) and Emma
Molyneux (from Manchester Academy).
 Those
two ladies are physically very strong, very determined, Jane
probably hitting the ball a bit harder, Emma possessing a few
lovely deception and volleys that wrong footed her opponent a few
times. The rallies were furious, there is no other way to describe
them really. So much passion, so much will, so much emotion. It
was one of those classics really.
If Jane (Millfield) has great return of serve and powerful shots,
her forehand technique is a bit weak, but her biggest problem is
that she doesn’t move out of the way from the right front corner
fast enough. She is fully aware of that fact, and working her best
to remedy to it, she confessed…
She was up 2/1, and could/should have closed it out, as Emma
looked really tired and out to be honest. But somehow, the
Manchester girl got some energy back in the decider, Jane lost a
bit of concentration after getting two conduct strokes right at
the start of the fifth.
From that moment on, Emma had her nose in front, and never let the
Millfield gem pass her again. It took several match balls for Emma
to advance to the quarters.
But as those matches are played later this afternoon, she’s bound
to be tired…
|
"In the fifth, I told myself to go flat out on each rally, to
give everything I had, I wanted to much to win….
"I think that Jane put her head down at the start of the 5th a
bit, after two decisions of the referee.
"She hits the ball so hard and so well, you want to make sure
that your length is good to keep her behind you…"
 "At
the start of the fifth, Jane got penalised twice, that gave Emma
a 2/0 up lead and a good platform. It was not an easy match to
referee, as there were a lot of confrontations, but I thought
that Jill did a pretty good job…
"I never saw Jane so anguished on a court before, she was really
battling out there, but as the match unfold and the pressure
increased, her brain cells seems to disappear! She had some
brain-spasms, where her senses would come back to her, but the
rest of the time, the brain was not connected anymore!!!! But a
good match, a very good match from the two of them today…
"Jane won the under 15 European Championship in Germany last
year, but hasn’t been selected for the under 17 this year, which
was a very big blow to her and has hit her hard… I hope that she
will get a call soon…"
Jane's Coach |
|
B17 Round 3:
[5/8] Ben Molyneaux bt
[9/16] Anthony Graham
9-7, 9-3, 7-9, 9-4 (58m) |
FAST AND FURIOUS…
A game I only glanced at, but which
seemed really intense. And that fact was confirmed to me by the ref
who related that it was an extremely friendly game, never discussing
a decision, telling their not up, etc.
And I was even told that Anthony Graham, who unfortunately
lost, was giving everything he had, and performed out there as a
circus acrobat…
Well, that could be the start of a new career, couldn’t it??? |
"We played a very good game, Ben has got some cracking shots,
he’s got those great angles, and he is really fit. No, I
thought he played very well today…"
 |
|
SPOTLIGHT ON…
STEPHEN WYKES
B17 Round 3:
[9/16] Stephen Wykes bt
[3/4] Oliver Dixon 9-5, 9-2, 9-2
(39m) |
Coached by Tim Vail, Stephen is a
player to watch. If he is not as strong physically I feel than some
of the other players of his age, he makes up for it with a superb
touch (Tim Vail style), and a solid strong hit that passed his
lefthander opponent Oliver Dixon a few times…
A good performance for the Chichester young player today, some high
quality squash from both players, long rallies, but a Stephen that
seemed to have maybe a few more variety of shots in his bag…
"Stephen is progressing nicely, I would gladly say. If he ends up
playing like Tim Vail, I’ll be happy (although I would like him to
be a bit fitter, no offence Tim).
"But in Chichester, he has two great role models, Tim for the
racquet skills, Peter Genever for the fitness and strategy, so if he
can inspire himself from those two, he won’t be far off…"
 (Dad) |
MARTYN BALLANDS, LEADING THE WAY…
I am so blessed, I tell you. When I arrived last night a bit late, I
didn’t have a clue where I was going.
But Martyn Ballands not only indicated to me the way to come to
Millfield School from the A303, but also made sure he was waiting
for me at the corner.
So, my first image of Millfied was that funny looking man with blond
hair in a cyclist's outfit, running in front of my car to show me
the way…
Mmmm.
Then, he picked me up from the B&B this morning… on his bicycle.
So I followed him all the way from Glastonbury to Street, making a
few happy cars behind me, as they all had to follow…
They know how to take care of you in this place…
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THE WIMBLEDON CREW
Phil Rushworth and Claire Bailey are in charge of
the Wimbledon Junior Squad this weekend ...
Katie Wilson won her first match in a fantastic style, with
same great serve and a good range of shots from the front, 9/0, 9/1,
9/0. In the last 16 Emily Whitlock proved a really tough number one
seed and didn’t allow Katie to get in the front at all. Katie was
not on her game, but will gain plenty of experience from this match.
David Smith lost in the last 16, but made up for it in the
plate against two strong players. This weekend, David got frustrated
as he felt he wasn’t finding his length consistently enough, and
he’ll learn to be more patient from this tournament….
 Peter
Winzeler lost to Anthony Graham, the 9/16 seed, in his first
match. He made 8 errors from the back in the first game, which
didn’t help him! First game lost 9/2. Peter turned things around
with some patient and well constructed rallies to move ahead 7/3 in
the second, only to revert back to playing too short too early,
quickly losing the next 6 rallies. Game to Anthony 9/7.
The third game continued much the same as the end of the second
game, with Peter playing too short and making too many errors to go
down 9/2.
Peter played well in his first plate match, dominating the T,
comfortably wining 3/0. He is in a much better tactical frame of
mind for the remainder of the plate competition.
Anna Measures reached the second round of the Girls under 13. |
Claire lets Phil get on with the report ...
Anna Measures |
Top Juniors Head
For Millfield School
The British Under 17/13 Squash
Championships will take place this weekend at Millfield School
in Street, Somerset, for the first time. The event will see almost
170 of the top juniors from around the country converging on the
renowned school in search of a coveted British junior title.
Millfield School, which enjoys an international reputation for
sport, is home to the legendary six-times British Open champion
Jonah Barrington and his Squash Academy. The school is extremely
successful at squash and is a dominant force in the England Squash
National School Championships, in which they have held both the
Boys' and Girls' Under 19 titles for the last four years.
Top seeds in this year's Boys' Under 17 Championship are Adrian
Waller (Hertfordshire) and Alex Ingham (Surrey). Adrian
will be looking to go one better than last year - when he was
runner-up to Surrey's Joe Lee - and add the Under 17 to the British
Under 13 and Under 15 titles that he has already amassed. Alex, the
2005 British Under 15 champion, will be sure to provide stiff
competition.
Victoria Bell is the No1 seed in the Girls' Under 17 event
and will also be aiming to build on last season where she was
runner-up in the Under 17 and bten semi-finalist in the Under 19
Championships. In the latter, the 16-year-old from Carlisle came
extremely close to reaching the final with match balls against
Sussex's Rachel Willmott – who went on to win the title. The No2
seed, who comes into the event with two British Under 15 titles
already to her name, is Natalie Pritchard of Wales.
In the Under 13 Championships, Oliver Holland
(Nottinghamshire) and Emily Whitlock (Cheshire) will start as
hot favourites for the titles - but will face determined opposition
from the likes of Tom Ford (Gloucestershire) and Chloe
Pearson (Warwickshire).
The Championships involve a heavy schedule with matches running from
9.00am on Friday 27 October with the finals scheduled for the
afternoon of Sunday 29 October. Any visiting spectators will be
welcomed free of charge.
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All categories will
be run as knockout draws with the Quarter-Finals onwards played as
monrad (ie: Quarter Finalists all play on to a final finishing
position).
All 1-8 place matches are compulsory and withdrawals will
be treated as losses for ranking purposes. All players must enter
the plate if they lose their first match in either
Round 1 or Round
2. Players who get a bye in the first round, then lose their first
match in Round 2 will be entered into the plate.
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"As
long as Sarah-Jane was playing her game and not making too
many errors, she was always in control of the match, as
Natalie could never settle. 
