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Fri 26th, Day One:
An early start in Manchester
Chris Nutley reports
The Tecnifibre British Under 17/13 Championships got under
way at the unearthly time of 9.00am this morning at the National
Squash Centre in Manchester. The event has attracted 170 of the
very best juniors from around the country, all in search of a
coveted British title.
The early rounds have seen
no real upsets with all the top seeds progressing without any real
scares. Top seeds in this year's Boys' Under 17 Championships are
Sammy Chambers (Cambridgeshire) and Ben Coleman
(Essex), both of whom will be looking for their first national
title. After a long injury layoff, 3/4 seed Chris Fuller
(Northamptonshire) is now back to full fitness and will be keen to
push the top two seeds all the way to add to the Under 13 title he
won in 2003. Completing the top four line-up is three times
National Champion James Earles (Yorkshire) who should prove
hard to beat.
Kimberley Hay
(Northumbria) heads the Girls' Under 17 seedings and is hot
favourite to add to the Under 13 and 15 crowns that she has already
amassed in her junior career. She is scheduled to meet No2 seed and
reigning Under 15 Champion Millie Tomlinson (Derbyshire) in
Sunday’s final.
In the Under 13
Championships
Peter Joyce
(Avon) and Millie Pughe (Yorkshire) are the No1 seeds, but
will face determined competition from the likes of Ashley Davies
(Derbyshire) and
Fiona May Murphy
(Wales).
The Championships involve
a heavy schedule, with matches running from 9.00am on Friday 26
October through to the finals which are scheduled for the afternoon
of Sunday 28 October. Any visiting spectators will be welcomed free
of charge.
Tecnifibre
became the headline sponsors of the British Junior National
Squash Championships following the conclusion of a three-year
agreement between England Squash and Smash Sports Limited,
distributors of Tecnifibre in the UK & Ireland.
Nevin ousts Eyles ...
The Tecnifibre
British Under 17/13 Championships was dramatically brought to life
this afternoon when Manchester’s very own Ray Nevin fought
back fabulously from 2 games down to defeat the No3 seed and three
times National Champion James Earles (Yorkshire) in a 75 minute
thriller. Ray, a member of Nick Taylor’s Squash Academy was
unseeded for the event but he was quietly confident prior to the
start and commented that he had a great draw and felt that he could
cause problems for all the seeded players in his half of the
tournament. Ray now moves on to meet 9/16 seed Nicholas Hopcroft
(Surrey) who he beat recently in an England Squash Grand Prix.
Could Ray become the first unseeded player to win the Under 17 crown
– if today’s performance was anything to go by who knows!
Elsewhere in the Under 17 Boy’s event No1 seed Sammy Chambers
(Cambridgeshire) and Ben Coleman (Essex) notched up two
comfortable wins apiece. Both Under 17 Girl top seeds, Kimberley
Hay (Northumbria) and Millie Tomlinson (Derbyshire)
looked at ease, winning without the need to find second gear.
Things start to hot up tomorrow with two further rounds, concluding
with the Quarter Finals in all four categories as the big guns start
eyeing the British titles on offer
...
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Tecnifibre
National U13/U17 Championships 2007
