Nottinghamshire Squash

This weekend saw the County Championship being held at Nottingham Squash Club. The tournament had a total entry of 35 players which meant that we were able to hold an event for almost all of the categories.

Play started on Saturday lunch time with the 1^st rounds taking place. In the “A” event, Number 1 seed Eddie Charlton did not waste any time dispatching Chris Clements 3/0. Number 2 seed Mark Fuller was handed a bye as his opponent failed to turn up leaving him fresh for his Semi-final.  Andrew Fowley was up against the 3^rd seed Nick Hargreaves where he took the 1^st game before Nicks long rallies starting to tell and Nick ran out winning 3/1.The final match in the “A” saw Number 4 seed Arthur Moniter take on his team mate Karl Murray, both players where hitting well and moving even better but Arthur always looked in control and went through 3/0, were he would face another team mate and Number 1 seed Ed Charlton. In the “B” event we saw John Fox take on Mark Green in what was a highly entertaining match with both players giving all they had to try and secure a place in the 1^st round, after a long hard fought 40min match John just pitted Mark 3/1 but what a great start. We also so Carl Jennings take on Park junior Tom Bains the standard was such that might have thought you were watching a final, Carl taking it 3/0 but well played to both players.  In the Over 35’s there was an action packed match between Adam McQuilkin and John Fox, after some hotly contested rallies and some firm marking Adam ran out winning 3/1 and booking a place in the semi-finals.

Saturday s late season saw the semi-final taking place with some interesting (on paper) matches taking place, The “A” semi’s saw Eddied Charlton take on Arthur Moniter, and Mark Fuller pitted against Nick Hargreaves, both resulted in 3/0 to the top two seeds, but again both matches showed the quality of squash that we have in Nottingham and also wetted the appetite for the final on Sunday. In the “B” semi’s Carl Clements had a tight match against Dave Coghlan 3/1, with Dave showing glimmers of his past form, but just not strong enough. The other semi had Jonathan Williams pitted against Carl Jennings, and after playing each other during the season this was expected to the close, but Carl did not let John get going and ran out a comfortable 3/0 winner. In the Over 35’s Karl Murray bet a tried looking Carl Jennings 3/0 to book his place in the final, in the other semi Adam McQuilkin game up just short against Alastair Parsons, with Alastair taking it 3/0. The Men’s Over 55’s saw the top two John Limb and Alan Turner both progressing to the final with 3/0 wins.

Finals Day on Sunday started with the plate finals, in the Over 55’s, Ernest Radford beat Howard Clarke 3/0, with both players working hard Ernest had just a few to many shots for Howard but well played to both. The Over 35’s plate final saw a re-match between John Fox and Mark Green. After just under 50minutes in a match full of running and commitment John edged out Mark 3/2, but what a game. The “B” plate saw Tom Bains pitted against Dave Coghlan in a match that was too tight to call, Dave got off to a flyer going 7-0 up before Tom started a comeback that saw him take the game 10-9. This seemed to rock Dave and Tom strolled through the 2^nd winning 9-1, in the 3^rd Dave knew he had to move up a gear, and in a tight game lasting over 10minutes he was back in it winning 7-9. This however was as far as Dave could go, and some good lengths and thoughtful play from Tom saw him win the 4^th 9-1 and the match 3-1.

The “B” final saw Chris Clements take on Carl Jennings, in what was an epic 65minute final. It started slowly with both player feeling the effects of yesterday, once both player started moving there was some great squash and some amazing retrieving from Carl, which left Chris stating  “have I got to win every rally 3 or 4 times before I get a point” sums up the effort that both of this players put in. Chris finally ran out winning 3-1 but what an amazing match, which received a standing ovation from the crowd.   The Over 45’s final started the same way that the “B” final finish with a long 1^st rally with each player thinking that they had won the rally 2 or 3 times, but this was the highlight of the match with a clinical Lloyd Pettiford winning his first county title 3/0. The Over 55’s saw John Limb take on his good friend and teammate Alan Turner, after a tight first match John took control and ran out a 3-0 winner.

The Over 35’s final was played on Saturday evening as work commitments meant that Karl Murray could not attend on Sunday, after a one sided first game which Karl took 9-0, Alastair started a comeback but fell short losing the next two games 9-6, 10-9, congratulation to Karl. The Ladies “A” and Over 35’s where combined and the final was contested between Sue Pyneger and Deborah Anthony, with Sue proving a little too strong for Deborah winning in straight games 3-0.

And so to the “A” final contested between the 1 and 2 seeds Eddie Charlton and Mark Fuller, earlier in the season these training partners faced each other in the Yorkshire league which saw Mark come out on to 3-0, so the opportunity for revenge and the chance of his first county title was all the motivation Eddie needed. The pace was high and the standard was of the highest quality with Eddie showing all the determination that has moved him into the world top 80, but Mark was also showing why he is so hard to beat. Eddie to the first 11-6, and after a tight start to the second game which saw Mark take a 4-3 lead, Eddie then took control and won the game with some tight lengths and front corner nicks 11-5. Into the third and again Mark looked like he was edging it 4-2, but Eddie found another gear and marched on to take the third and the County Championship 3-0.

I would just like to finish by saying a big thank you to all who took part and supported the event and also to Nottingham Squash Club for their continued support of the event. We are now looking ahead and planning the next Championship, which after talking to the players will be held in October, so the majority of players felt that October suited their diaries better.