Carlisle, September 2006

At the recent County Squash Tournament, Windscale Squash Club provided entries at four of the six age group levels and were relatively successful with two championship finalists, both ending up as runners -up, and a plate finals winner.

At U.13 Boys, Adam Telfer had a comfortable win over Elliott Armstrong in his first round match, winning 3-0 losing only a single point in the process. However in the second round against much stronger opposition he found the match much tougher. Losing the first game to nil, he fought back well in the second game, taking it to nine-all, and but for claiming a let ball to probably win the game, played on, losing the serve and the deciding point, to go two games down. In the third game Adam gave away three easy points and shortly after retired injured, giving the match to his opponent Freddie Simpson Cassidy from Barrow, who eventually went on to win the competition.

In the U.13 Girls, Courtney Musson and Hannah Crichton flew the flag for the club. First up was Courtney against Victoria Watson, and her better control and placement of shot was too much for Victoria, and she deservedly won 3-0, although six, one and five points against her made the games seem close, she always had enough in hand to move up a gear, had it been required. Hannah having had a first round bye, had her first match in the semi-final and was up against an 'old foe', Emma Carruthers, the two having met previously in competition on numerous occasions. Hannah always had the edge comfortably winning 9-2,9-3,9-3; having carried on her good summer team squash form into early season, to book a first county final. Courtney's semi-final game was against the much stronger Kayley Scott, the previous years Champion. The first two games were a blur, with Courtney failing to worry the scorers, and it was a pleasant return to her previous match in the third, as she served well and played thoughtful controlled squash to take a 6-0 lead. However Kayley proved her credentials as number 1 seed by reeling off the next nine points to make her way to the final. The following day saw a reversal of fortune for Hannah in the final against Kayley. Rallies were a scarcity, as if either player didn't win the point on an un-returnable serve, the next stroke by the server was usually to win the point. Kayley won the first game comfortably 9-3, with Hannah unable to gain good length, or to get the ball past her opponent. The second game saw Hannah produce more of the form she had showed the day before, good serving and volleying, forcing Kayley to play from the back corners, and stretch to reach accurate drops at the front. At 6-6 the game was well balanced but Kayley pushed home her power advantage and won the second game 9-6. At two games down Hannah had a mountain to climb and to her credit she never stopped trying, but Kayley pushed on taking the third 9-1, to wrap up her domination of this age group for the second year in a row.

At U.15 Boys, Owen Barrett, due to football commitments missed the main competition matches and went straight into the plate. His first test against Joshua Brinnicombe was over very quickly, winning 9-0,9-0,9-0, testament to the time he has put in on court with the clubs coaches. In the Final of the plate competition on the Sunday, it was a nervous Owen who took to the court against Philip Sanderson from Carlisle. Not settling into his game at all in the first game he was soon on the receiving end of Philips rallies and lost comfortably 9-1. However after a good think about his squash in the interval, he produced some excellent serving and game control in the second to reverse the score-line of the first, making it one all. Visibly settled and much more confident in his play, he commanded the 'T' in the next two games, forcing his opponent all round the court, to cruise to victory, 9-1,9-3, winning the match 3 games to 1.

In the U.17 Boys, Liam Barrett, having been awarded a first round bye, actually played a very late entrant, Will Box, and had to work hard for his win. The first game was easy for Liam 9-0, as Will struggled to match Liam's fitness and court coverage. But the second saw Liam, perhaps a little over confident after the easy opener, make some basic errors, gifting Will cheap points, enabling him to put pressure on Liam. This game could have been won either way, before Liam closed it out 9-7, mightily relieved to be two up, and not all square. Liam resumed routine squash in the third game when the exertions of the second took their toll on Will, and Liam wrapped it up 9-1 to progress, 3-0. The second round game mirrored the first, in that easy opening and closing games were sandwiched around a tougher second, where his opponent Peter Knox asked some more searching questions of Liam. However at 9-0,9-4,9-1, it was still a fairly comfortable passage to the semi-final. Here Liam met Philip Glencross and beat him 3-0, in the same fashion as the two previous rounds. Forceful, controlled squash, tested out his opponent in the first game, taking him to a 9-3, winning margin. Allowing Philip 5 points in the second was enough to keep Liam on top, and closing down the match for the loss of only 1 point in the third game, ensured Liam a fairly comfortable ride into the final, 3-0. In the Final on Sunday, Liam was up against last years U.17 Champion Michael Bell, and so a tough game between the top two seeds was expected. It didn't let anyone down as the two of them produced the best squash seen all weekend. The first game was closely contested with neither player able to gain the initiative, and it turned out that Michael kept his nerve to win the opener 9-7. Liam raised his game and the pace of the rallies, forcing Michael onto the defensive and having to retrieve ball after ball. Not surprisingly Liam easily won the next two games for the loss of only 4 points and looked set to add the new age group title to his list of wins. However Michael was not about to lose his title that easily and picked up his game in the fourth when all seemed lost. Liam began this game as he had ended the previous two, well on top, and was soon leading 8 points to 3, match point. Staring defeat in the face Michael played some remarkable squash to get on level terms by taking the game 10-9, to deny Liam the match just yet. Galvanised by his comeback Michael pressed on and now it was Liam's turn to stage a fight-back, however Michael wasn't to be denied his crown and won the deciding fifth game 9-7, to win the match 3 games to 2, in an excellent spectacle of junior squash.