 Read all about how the Welsh players done at the British National Championships 2011. A great week of squash, check out all the reports from all the days as well as the photo's. Two Welsh ladies made it to the semi-finals of their events. Well done to Pat Harris and Lynne Davies who will hopefully go even further next year. CLICK HERE for the full story of the last two days of the British National Championships CLICK HERE to see photos of all the players who took part in the Championships CLICK HERE for the Day 6 report CLICK HERE for the Day 5 report CLICK HERE for the Day 4 report CLICK HERE for the Day 3 report For all the info, draws and photo's from To follow the Welsh Players live |
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
WELSH PLAYERS DO US PROUD AT THE BRITS
TESNI ON THE RISE
words by Damian Burgess
It has been quite a busy few months for Tesni Evans, after Winning the Ladies A event in the north east Wales Open Tesni went straight to London to play at the Coronation Open 2010, $10,000 WISPA event. Tesni then won the Ladies Natioanal Title at the Sport Wales National Centre in Cardiff and has just returned from a successful competition in Edinburgh, Scotland.
In London Tesni played a number of Ladies who are ranked above her on the professional circuit, and had to come through two rounds of qualifying before she played her first round match. “I had to qualify and i was just wishing for a good draw and when the draw came out i felt i had a good chance, ” said Tesni. Tesni reached the quarter-finals of that event losing 3-2 in an hour long match “I had nothing left in the tank after coming from 2 – 0 down”. This great run and great results shot Tesni up the rankings 90 places to number 134. (December WISPA Rankings)
In January Tesni won her first National Title at the SWNC in Cardiff, beating Hannah Davies, fellow north Wales player and good friend. “I was so happy to win the title of Welsh Champion being my first one! I knew i had a chance seeing the draw and going in to the tournament being favourite but its never that easy.” Tesni had to play Sasha Cocks and Abbey Hicks on her way to the Final, Hannah was not seeded to meet Tesni in the final but Hannah played a great game against number 2 seed Beth Winstanley to set up the all north final “Hannah in the final, having played her many a time (all the time) i came through and won it. Very happy to win and hope to get some more along the way”
The Artemis Open Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland is the biggest BSPA event of the year and this year was no different. Tesni would again have to qualify to make it to the first round of matches. Again i had to qualify but this tournament was a very strong one so i was just wishing to get through to main draw having seen the people in qualifying!
She did not disappoint, getting through to the qualifying finals Tesni was drawn against Julianne Coutice from England, Tesni had lost to Courtice in the U19 Final of the Junior British Championships 3 – 1. This was also a prelude to the British National Championships later this month where the pair meet in the qualifying stages again. “I’ve played Julianne a lot and lost the last time 3-1 in the British Closed Final. I wanted revenge!”
Tesni did get revenge coming through 3 – 2 after being 2 – 1 down and said “that’s 1 – 1, I guess our match at the Nationals next week is the decider” Tesni was now in the main draw of the event and was unlucky to draw number 2 seed Orla Noom from Holland. “i know Orla is a good player and i was just going to dig in and make her work for it and i did, i lost 3-1 playing well but she was just to good in the end closing out the match.” Tesni lost to Orla Noon the number 2 seed 3 – 1 but kept the Dutch lady on court for 48 minutes, Orla went on to become runner up in the event loosing 3 – 0 to number 1 seed Dominique Lloyd-Walter from England.
In the January WISPA rankings Tesni had moved up one place to 133 in the World, a great achievement already at such a young age. When I asked Tesni about life on the WISPA tour she said “I am really enjoying playing on the Wispa tour. I am getting to meet new people and playing different people from different places who are of really good standard is good and is hopefully improving my game”
Tesni now heads to Manchester to play in the British National Championships, not the easiest of qualifying draws for our own Welsh National Champion but after coming through qualifying in other draws we hope to see Tesni Evans’ name in the first round in Manchester. Tesni will again play Julianne Courtice in her first match on Monday 7th February, if Tesni wins she then plays Kirsty McPhee of Ponterfract. Good luck to Tesni Evans and of course all of the Welsh players heading up to Manchester this month. www.nationalsquashchamps.co.uk
In other WELSH WISPA NEWS
In November last year Deon Saffrey, World number 109 and Welsh Ladies number 1 was seeded 8 in the Santiago Open in Spain, Deon amazingly played out of her skin to reach the Final of the $6,000 WISPA event, losing to number 4 seed Olga Ertlova of the Czech Republic. Olga played Tesni Evans in the first round and on the way to winning the final beating number 1 seed Nouran El Tourky of Egypt.
Deon is in the main draw in Manchester for the National Championships, she plays number 1 seed and a repeat of her first round last year against Jenny Duncalf who is also number 2 in the World.
SQUASH ON SONG IN TYWYN
On Wednesday 19th January the staff and children of Ysgol Penybryn in Tywyn, Gwynedd were delighted to host a mini squash presentation by Squash Wales represented by Mike Workman Director of Coaching based in Cardiff, Steph Roberts a Coach Activator based in Bethesda and John Batty the local Coach at Dysynni Squash Club in Tywyn. The visit was part of an ongoing programme to provide children with the opportunity to experience squash and give them an exit route to a local club so that they can play on a regular basis.
Mike's usual enthusiastic presentation worked wonders and approximately 120 pupils had great fun honing their newly found skills on the portable walls. It was a very rewarding experience to witness the terrific response by the children, not only in playing mini squash in good spirit, but also taking part in an impromptu talent competition..
We had volunteers to sing and play the piano and a moving performance of the Welsh National Anthem by four young girls. Yes, Tywyn has talent and potential. This just leaves two unanswered questions. How many have got the X factor? Namely, the desire to play squash at a high level and why does Mike, who is so moved by the Anthem, support Liverpool? Joking apart any child who wishes to enjoy playing squash at any level will be welcome at their local club.Squash Wales and Dysynni Squash are indebted to Mrs Wynne‐Pugh and her staff for their hospitality.
Words by John Batty
A GREAT WEEKEND OF TOP WELSH SQUASH
words by Damian Burgess
On the weekend of the 14th to 16th January 2011 the top squash players from around the country came to the capital to battle it out in the POINTFORE Welsh National Championships. With over 100 entrants and more than 350 matches played over two and a half days it was a busy weekend for all.
Matches begun on the Friday afternoon with players playing their first round matches in the B, C, D and E Grades. A great atmosphere was building at the Sport Wales National Centre in Cardiff and players were getting in the mood for a great weekend of squash.
The Saturday morning saw all other grades commence including the Men’s and Women’s A grades. Matches started very early on the Saturday with players rolling out of bed to play at 9am sharp, an early start also for the referees and tournament staff - the coffee machine was much appreciated. The atmosphere was building through the morning and there were great crowds on the glass back courts for the Men’s and Women’s A grade - top seeds Peter Creed in the Men’s and Tesni Evans in the Women’s were through as well as all other seeds.
Quarter Finals were scheduled for Saturday evening and the crowds were still at SWNC, Men’s top seed Peter Creed bt Dave Haley and number two seed Jethro Binns bt Matthew Crowley. In the Women’s, top seed Tesni Evans bt Abby Hicks in the first Semi Final but number 2 seed Beth Winstanley was beaten by 3 to 4 seed Hannah Davies, and an all North Wales clash was set for the ladies Final. Mike Workman was very pleased that nearly all his seeds in all grades were through to the Sunday.
Sunday was set to be a busy day for players, referees and tournament staff although injuries were forcing players to pull out across all grades. The intense weekend of squash was taking its toll on the players.
Another early start for all with matches again starting at 9am - yes 9am on a Sunday morning. Well done to all who played before their breakfast. As well as Semi Finals and Finals there were playoffs for positions scheduled for Sunday.
In the Men’s Semi Finals number 2 seed Jethro Binns went out to Nic Birt 3 – 1. In the other semi, Peter Creed beat Greg Tippings 3 – 0 in a hard fought contest. This set up a Final which was identical to one of the Semi Finals of last years National Championships between Nic and Peter, arguably one of the best matches of last year, which lasted
more than 80 minutes and going to 5 games - three of the games were decided in a tie break with one going to 18/16.
The Women’s Final was played early as Tesni and Hannah are both from North Wales. Tesni has recently had success on the Women’s Pro Tour (WISPA) and has climbed up 90 places in the rankings over the last few months.
Hannah fought hard in every rally but Tesni was too strong and controlled the key rallies in the match, Tesni came through to win 3 – 0, her first, but surely not her last, Welsh Senior National Title. In the Ladies B, Nia Kenward won all of her matches, Jo Watkins was runner up. In the Ladies Over 45 Sian Johnson bt Lynne Davies 3 – 2 to win the title. Well done to Tesni and to all the ladies who entered. It’s good to see women’s squash on the rise in Wales.
To the Men’s A final, Peter Creed, current Welsh number one, defending National Champion and world number 123, against the experience of Nic Birt. Last year this pair met in the Semi Final, Creed winning that one 3 – 2, 11/9 in the fifth. Both players started this years Final with a fast pace, some quick fire rallies were mixed in with long and well thought out rallies. The crowd behind court 1 filled every seat and were not disappointed by the standard of the final. After 2 games it was tied one all, then after some well constructed rallies Peter pulled a lead in the third and there was no looking back from there. Peter won in four 3 – 1 and had defended his title.
In the Men’s over 45 last years winner Richard Murphy was against last years runner up Ian Fenner- Evans, the men put on quite a show of squash, the rallies were relentless and both worked very hard for each and every point. Richard was controlling many of the rallies and his consistent length and working boasts were catching up with Ian. In one rally in the third game Ian must have run the equivalent of 50 court sprints, the crowd behind court two were appreciative of the effort by both players. Richard Murphy came out on top 3 – 0, a great game of squash.
The Men’s Over 35 was won by last years B grade winner Paul Barrell, the Welsh ranked number 10 equipped with a new beard looked strong in all his matches. The Over 35’s played a round robin format, with 4 matches each.
Thank you to Robert Wilde and Bob Burgess for their time and efforts in taking all these amazing photo’s of the event. To view more photo’s from the event go to http://picasaweb.google.com/orangesquash2010
Thank you again to all who took part, the sponsors Pointfore for their support and prizes for the event, the staff at Squash Wales, the Sport Wales National Centre, the referee’s and volunteer’s, the parents of any juniors who took part and again to everyone who took part, without you we could never hold an event. Hopefully next year we will have more entrants from more clubs from all around Wales.
PLEASE SUPPORT SQUASH IN WALES.
ORANGE SQUASH GYA OPEN 2011 STARTS YEAR WITH BANG
words by Damian Burgess,
Glan Yr Afon Leisure in Cwmbran again played host to its annual squash championships, now in it’s third year. The competition has grown since it first began in 2009 with 16 entrants in the first year, last year the 2010 event attracted players from further afield and had 30 entrants. This years event was by far the best event in it’s short history, 40 entrants with 9 of them south Wales Premier Squash players.
Christmas and New Year had long gone and the snow had left us too, if not for a small flurry on the morning of the first day of the competition to bring panic to the tournament director Damian Burgess. In the 24 hours leading up to the first serve 9 people had withdrawn from the event, some with flu, others with injuries or work commitments. Luckily there was a strong reserve list and 8 of the spaces were filled along with one unlucky/lucky entrant playing in two grades to fill up any blank spaces.
The competition began on the Friday evening with first round matches in the C and B draws, number 1 seed Greg Dainty of UWIC in the B draw cruised through the first round along with number 2 seed Sophie York from Swansea. Saturday morning saw the start of the A draw and all the seeds made it through in this one, all the competitors were happy to get some squash under their belts after the Christmas break along with seeing old faces from the squash scene in south Wales. The big shock of the Saturday came in the A grade Quarter Final where number 1 seed Harry Booth crashed out 3 – 1 to Joe Broad of String, Swansea. Joe played exceptionally well but had he peaked too soon? All other seeds made it through to the Semi Finals in the A draw.
Sunday was Finals day, players were playing off for each position from 9.30 in the morning and the competition was fierce through out the grades. An early Final in the C grade saw Brett Nowell of Cwmbran edge out teammate Russell Wilkins. The B Final was to be contested between the number 1 and 2 seeds after they made it through their semi finals. In the A grade number 2 Neal Brooker of UWIC was knocked out in the Semi Final 3 – 2 by number 3 seed Huw Griffiths of Strings, Swansea. In the other semi a tired looking Joe Broad lost to number 4 seed Ian Fenner-Evans of Caldicot 3 – 0.The B Final included some great squash and both players dug deep in front of the crowds on Court 2 at the club. Sophie York looked tired after 3 days of squash and was beaten 3 – 0 by Greg Dainty who had had the easier route to the Final.
In the A Final two premier players would face off, Strings v Caldicot, Youth v Experience, Huw Griffiths v Ian Fenner-Evans. The games were tied at 1 – 1 and both players looked to move each
other off the T and gain some control of the match, after putting Huw under a lot of pressure Ian was rewarded with some uncharacteristic unforced errors from Huw. After 58 minutes on court the new orangesquash Glan Yr Afon Open Champion 2011 was Ian Fenner-Evans, taking the match 3 – 1. A well deserved winner who played very consistently throughout the competition. Here are some words from Ian Fenner-Evans “ A players perspective...
The majority of players complained of the turkey, stuffing, chocolate, wine, beer and general Christmas excesses as they dusted off their squash kit for the first tournament of 2011. However, I am sure all were secretly grateful for the opportunity of some calorie burning, and in this respect the Orange Squash GYA Open did not disappoint. The monrad format was a real success with the majority of players saying how much they enjoyed playing 3 or 4 matches. This said, some players were left begging for mercy and were heard to say at the end - "I can't take any more!".There was a great atmosphere at the club with plenty of support for the matches and friendly banter exchanged. The feedback from all players was that this was an excellent event enjoyed by everyone. Several factors contributed to this success and the players would like to thank Chris Naye for the non-stop marking, the Glan yr Afon club for its warm welcome and use of its facilities, and finally Damian Burgess for his organisation and tireless efforts to ensure the event took place and ran efficiently and to time. A great event - thank you.”
Joe Broad, said "The Glan Yr Afon tournament was a big success this year with a strong field of players. The competition was run very smoothly, with a great friendly atmosphere. With a lack of senior tournaments in south wales this was a great chance to get some competitive matches in before the start of the squash wales season. This tournament should definitely be a permanent fixture in the squash wales calendar!"
Thank you all for attending this competition; thank you to Glan Yr Afon Club on being great hosts, the staff at the club, to Chris Neye on Refereeing all weekend, anyone else who helped with refereeing and thank you, the players who turned up.If you did miss out this year not to worry, we will again be working hard next year to bring you another bigger and better event. From Damian Burgess and Orange Squash, Thank you again.
www.orangesquash.me.uk
POINTFORE SPONSORS WELSH SENIOR CLOSED SQUASH CHAMPIONSHIPS
POINTFORE SPONSORS WELSH SENIOR CLOSED SQUASH CHAMPIONSHIPS
Pointfore already sponsor a number of events with Squash Wales including the development junior competition series. Now Pointfore is to sponsor the most prestigious senior squash competition on the Squash Wales Calendar.
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| PETER CREED V NIC BIRT SEMI FINAL 2010 WELSH NATIONAL CHAMPS |
Over a hundred top male and female players are expected to take part in the tournament – which is a compulsory event for those seeking selection for the Welsh national team.
It will be held at the Sport Wales National Centre that is now home to the Squash Wales office.
Through a grading system the tournament is open to Welsh players of a wide range of ages and levels, with around 400 matches planned for the event that starts on the evening of Friday 14th January 2011.
Among the top players expected to take part are Jethro Binns, Nick Birt, Greg Tippings, Over 35 Welsh Masters Champion Matthew Crowley and Over 45 Welsh Masters Champion Richard Murphy. Not to forget our Welsh Number one, world number 123 and defending Champion of the Welsh Nationals Peter Creed.
Some great squash should be on display throughout the grades on all three days of the event, be sure to come and support squash on any day, the event is FREE to watch.
WELSH UNDER 18/UNDER 20 TEAMS FINISH RUNNERS-UP
WELSH UNDER 18/UNDER 20 TEAMS FINISH RUNNERS-UP
In the first match on the Saturday Wales narrowly lost to England 3-2. Hannah Davies got Wales off to a winning start with a 3-0 win over Chloe Pearson before Matt Sidaway levelled it for England with a 3-0 win over Nyall Driscoll. Then Tesni Evans put Wales ahead again with a 3-0 win over Victoria Temple-Murray. Will John then took Tom Ford on and although he lost 3-0 the games were very close and Will created chances to win both the first two games before losing them 11/9 and 14/12 so it was left to David Haley who took on Adam Auckland and he lost a narrow 3-1 encounter, having won the first he lost his way a little before picking it back up and got edged out 11/9 in the fourth. A really good solid team performance and a 3-2 loss.
Wales come 2nd in the Under 18 & Under 20 Test Matches
Wales Under 20 mixed team came second in the Test Matches at Lilleshall beating Scotland twice, and although losing twice to England, pushed them all the way.
In the second match Wales defeated Scotland 3-2. Nyall was on first and after being unwell for a month he was starting to visibly look unwell and struggle and went down 3-0 to Greg Lobban. The girls then put Wales back up 2-1 with comfortable victories for Tesni and Hannah. Chris Ferguson then defeated David Haley 3-0 to level the scores at 2-2. Will John stepped up and despite narrowly losing the first game took control by levelling with another tight second game v Ewan Urquhart and then moved away with some quality squash to secure a 3-1 win and a 3-2 Welsh win.
Now to Sunday and with Nyall withdrawing unwell Jordan Davies stepped up to play in the Under 20s. So match 3 v Scotland a 4-1 emphatic win for Wales. Again the girls got Wales off to a flyer with comfortable 3-0 wins and the victory was secure when Jordan defeated Ewan Urquhart 3-0. David then beat Greg Lobban 3-0 before the only loss when Will John lost 3-1 to Chris Ferguson in very long hard match where Will maintained a very high brand of squash mixing attack and defence very well –so 4-1 Wales.
The 4th and final match saw Wales take on England and start within an hour of finishing the last one! But although losing 4-1 it was a very valiant performance as a team and one to be proud of. Hannah Davies was on first and lost 3-2 to Victoria Temple-Murray and then after his earlier very hard match Will John tired and went down 3-0 to Adam Auckland. Tesni Evans then pulled one back by beating Chloe Pearson 3-0 and keeping her unbeaten record for the weekend before Jordan Davies had a cracking game with Matt Sidaway before going down 3-1 so victory for England. Tom Ford then completed the match with a very hard fought 3-1 victory against David where in each game David had his chances but couldn’t quite take them but was a super match.
England 1st – 91 points
Wales 2nd – 75 points
Scotland 3rd – 43 points
“So well done the players who made Wales proud and played as a team and performed very well in this high standard squash arena and a well worthwhile test for them”.
Andrew Evans North Wales Regional Performance Officer
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