Carlisle held their first ever England Squash Sanctioned Bronze competition over this weekend (26^th/27^th November) and 11 of Windscales juniors entered in various age groups and categories.

Girls under 11.

Ashton Telford got the competition off to a flying start and was a comfortable winner against her less experienced opponent Abbie Smith from Carlisle, winning 3-0, 11/5, 11/2, 7/2 (Abbie withdrew) with some great squash from a very petite player. This unfortunately put her up against the number 1 seed in her next round Erin Vitty from Northumberland. Ashton struggled to cope with the older more experienced Erin, but constantly tried her best and played throughout with a smile on her face despite losing 3-0, 0/11, 1/11, 3/11. Jordan Corlett wasted no time in her only game of the day being seeded against Rebecca Smith from Carlisle winning 3-0, 11/3, 11/2, 11/4. All that remained now was for the third member of Windscales players in this category to follow the previous examples, however Kaitlyn Carruthers was up against the already more experienced Michelle Tang from Workington, and despite pushing her very close in the first game, Michelle's greater game nerve held at the crucial time winning the opener 11/9, and alas for Kaitlyn the next two were also lost 3/11, 5/11, a great attempt from Kaitlyn.

Boys under 15.

Two representatives here, Dominic Corlett who had a tough first game in Daniel Harrison, and despite looking up for it in the warm-up, succumbed as soon as the heat was on. Daniel out-powered Dominic in the opener 11/0, and the second quickly followed with more of the same, Dominic managing a point this game 1/11. Only in the third game did it look as though he had a plan, and moreover was trying to stick to it and amass some points, Dominic had his chances in this third game but Daniel was too game savvy and with an audacious cross-court volley nick to win the game 11/7  sewed things up 3-0. Dominic's opponent withdrew in his second match gifting him a bye. Sam Nichol played Bradley Frain from Whitehaven in his first match, and could/should have taken the opener as an out of sorts Bradley sneaked the game 12/10. Sam was undeterred having pushed Bradley close in the first and was going ok in the second, only for the more experienced Bradley to focus more and pick his game up and claim the second 11/7. The third saw Bradley more game sharp, and Sam a little disillusioned with not yet having anything to show for his good work, and Bradley claimed the third 11/5 and the match 3-0. Sam's second game saw him beat Andrew Haydon 3-0 with some more good squash throughout the match, winning 11/8, 11/1, 11/7, to prove to himself that consistency and patience will prevail in the end.

Boys under 13.

Ross Singleton blasted his way through his first match, not in terms of hammering the ball, but clearly wanting to get on and off as quickly as possible. Jacob Lancaster from Carlisle struggled to see which way Ross or the ball was going as the 'pocket rocket' won in three straight games 11/0, 11/2, 11/0, to progress. His second game was altogether more predictable from Ross, as he mixed great lengths with poor boasts, and poor serves with well thought out rallies, but in the end got the job done. John Kemp from Wigton was his opponent and he played his part in a thrilling if nail-bitingly close 5 game match. Ross took the opening game 11/9, and John took the second 11/8. Ross hung on in the third and took it to a tie-breaker, eventually taking it 12/10 to lead again, but John again dug in and took the fourth 11/8, to make it a 1 game 'shoot out'. This game ebbed and flowed with neither player able to get too far ahead, but Ross played much better squash when it mattered to win this crucial 5^th game 11/8 for a relieved 3-2 victory. Brandon Groggins opened up his account with a nice 3-0 win against Kieron Doran from Whitehaven, claiming the first two games both 11/4, and following this up with an 11/1 final game. Like Ross, Brandon's second game was a much tighter and longer affair as befits a Monrad type competition, his opponent Cameron Hamilton from Northumberland pushed Brandon into a tie-breaker in the first game, but Brandon held on to win 12/10. The second was a much shorter game as Cameron forced Brandon into making errors and it was the visitor who won that game 11/5. Brandon lost the third also to go behind and this knocked his confidence slightly as Cameron edged ahead with an 11/9 game to lead 2-1. Brandon snatched at a few balls in the fourth game when he had his opponent out of position, and but for those crucial mistakes who knows how the game might have developed, as it was Cameron had game ball and with a fist pump to prepare himself served out the game and match 11/7, and a 3-1 win.

Boys under 17.

Michael Hobbs took no time at all to despatch his first round opponent Joe Howson, winning easily 11/4, 11/1, 11/1, for a good 3-0 opening match, which saved him a bit of energy in readiness for his next game against Elliott Carr from Northumberland. Michael beat Elliott in the first game 11/8 playing some great, steady, sensible squash, and was only just short of making it 2-0 in the next game, as Elliott clawed a game back from the death 12/10. The brain has to accommodate what is a one all score-line, when the mind is saying it should be two nil! Therein lies the conundrum, and it was Michaels failing on this occasion, from being in the heart of the game it all petered out before him as he let the next two games slip by 4/11, 6/11, to lose 1-3 from a position of parity if not authority. Peter Wallace to be honest 'faffed' about in his first match, and his focus was 'who knows where', against Elliott Atkins, a player not incapable of taking a mile if given an inch, and so it turned out. Peter won the first game 11/7, which to be honest flattered Elliott slightly, and although Peter took the second easier still at 11/5, the writing was on the wall as Peter played some wayward squash, allowing Elliott far too much to hit, and keeping him in rallies that he should have been buried in. The third game saw Elliott deservedly take the points 11/8, and Peter having let his game slip was finding it increasingly difficult to raise it up to his usual efficient standard. So at 2-1 up and with an upset on the cards Peter 'pulled his finger out' - was it something Dad said? Moving more sharply and hitting better squash shots Peter claimed the fourth game 11/6, and the match 3-1. A similar match score, 3-1, was his afternoons result against Alex Kirkpatrick from Northumberland, but a more contrasting set of performances there couldn't have been. Now he was focussed, determined, playing percentage squash, and flashing winners to all areas of the court when available. Winning the opening two games for the loss of 7 and 5 points respectively, he slipped up right at the end of the third to lose it 9/11, but was good value for his win in 4 games with an 11/7 result to tie up the match.

Boys under 11.

Tim Outhwaite a young player of no mean ability but a fraction laid back, showed good potential against Matthew Harrison from Whitehaven, and pushed the already slightly more experienced 7 year old in the first game to lose it 7/11. Tim when he had the chance hit good tight driven lengths and lifted and dropped the ball at just the right times to pressure Matthew into mistakes, and could have taken the second game only to lose it in a tie-breaker 12/10. Even in the third game he had his chances only just losing 11/7 for a 0-3 loss, but he certainly shouldn't be too disheartened at this defeat as the signs were there that with a little refined application, he has the shots to outmanoeuvre his opponent on court.

Boys under 17.

Jackson Holliday, playing up an age group found the going a little tougher than usual in his first game as he came across Lewis Wake. Jackson lost 0-3 but that's only half the story, right in the opener it was only decided in the tie-break as Lewis held on for a 12/10 win. A little 'put out', Jackson was right in the second game also, but became angrier with himself and his errors, and his focus therefore became more wayward. The second game was lost, another close one that could have gone either way 9/11, giving Jackson a mountain to climb. The mountain (red) mist was beginning to descend on Jackson, and some poor shots and decisions made Lewis's job easier than it should have been, especially as there really wasn't anything between the two players' shots and ability, but Jackson couldn't hold it all together, and lost the third game also 11/6.