|
|
|
 |
British National Racketball Champs 2011
06-08 May, Edgbaston Priory, Birmingham |
Sunday 8th, The Finals
Chris Nutley reports
Still no stopping Hill
 Laura
Hill (Derbyshire)
claimed an incredible seventh National Racketball title with
victory over Lauren Selby (Essex).
Hill - the undisputed queen of racketball was always going
to be favourite in a repeat of last year's final, however it
was nip and tuck in the first and Hill had to fend off
Selby's game ball before taking the first 12/10.
 After
that there was only ever going to be one winner with Hill
able to control the match with some great racketball skills.
In the end it was Hill's title once more - 12/10, 11/7, 11/2
- A fantastic achievement - congratulations.
The call goes out now to anyone out there who wants to
challenge Hill's dominance - she has never lost to a
female competitor ...Vail reclaims
the title
 What
a men's final! Red hot favourite Tim Vail (Sussex)
secured his fourth National Racketball title with an epic
win over Mark Fuller (Northamptonshire).
Fuller got off to a flier and raced into a 4-0 lead. The
vole responded and got it back to lead 8-6. Then Fuller
found his mark and and won the next 5 points to take the
game.
The second followed a similar pattern and again it was
Fuller that held his nerve to take take it and with it a 2
game lead and then at 6-1 up in the 3rd it looked to be all
over. But the vole wasn't done and began what was to be an
heroic comeback. Some marathon rallies ensued before Vole
took the 3rd and kept himself in it with a sublime three
wall boast nick that brought a fist punch into the air!
That seemed to have a negative affect on Fuller and Vail
raced to take the 4th and the although the decider was nervy
there could only be one winner now - and the Vole had his
title, which he last won in 2004, back in his possession -
wonderful stuff!
|
Women's Draw
Men's Draw |
|
Mens
O35.pdf
Mens O40.pdf
Mens O45.pdf
Mens O50.pdf
Mens O55.pdf
Mens O60.pdf
Mens
O65.pdf
Womens O35.pdf
Womens O45.pdf
Womens O55.pdf
The Dunlop Racketball
Championships will return to Edgbaston Priory in May
2012. |
Masters
Finals
Chris Nutley reports
Claire Walker
(Yorkshire) was unstoppable in her Over 35 final against Sam
Mueller (Buckinghamshire) and ran out a comfortable 11/8
11/4 11/4 winner. Mueller must have been hurting after her
five set semi final win and struggled to stay with Walker
beyond the first game.
Matt Baker (Devon) went one better than last year and
claimed the Over 35 title with a monster 88 minute fight
with Richard Davies (Staffordshire). It was a clash of
styles with Baker playing attacking racketball and Davies, a
relative new comer to racketball, playing more
conservatively. Baker took the first but then Davies rallied
and took a 2-1 lead. However in the end it was Bakers
attacking approach paid off and he eventually took it 11/9
6/11 13/15 11/5 11/8.
Jim Lord (Yorkshire) successfully defended his Over
40 crown with a controlled 11/5 11/5 11/6 win over Marc
Thornley (Essex). However there is no double for Lord, who
picked up the Over 35 and 40 titles last year. This time he
listened to his body and restricted himself to one category
and his body held up well – sense prevailed!
A nervous Julie Lawton (Yorkshire) managed to keep a
grip of herself and defeat No1 seed Bev Vatcher (Dorset) is
a well contested Over 45 final. After going 5-0 down in the
opening game Lawton found her length, sneaked the first and
then went on to control the match and won it 11/9 11/9 11/5.
Neil Baldwin (Yorkshire) definitely started as
favourite in the Over 45 final after his opponent Buzby
Williams (Surrey) had toiled to a lengthy 3-2 semi final win
this morning. Baldwin controlled proceedings from the off
and took it 11/5 11/5 11/8.
Stephen Wall (Sussex) took the Over 50 title by
defeating No1 seed Steve Bateman (Oxfordshire) 11/7 6/11
11/9 11/6.
Bett Dryhurst (Worcestershire) claimed the Over 55
crown to add to her bulging trophy cabinet. The ‘evergreen’
Dryhurst sneaked the first and was made to work extremely
hard by Linda Smith (Devon) for her 13/11 11/7 11/8 victory.
Chris Nicholls (Sussex) survived his second five
setter of the day to pick up the Over 55 honours. However
unlike in the semis when he fell 2-0 down Nicholls got a
decent start against James Murphy before twice getting
pegged back. The 5th was anybodies but it was Nicholls who
maintained his composure to take the national title.
Ian Graham (Sussex) justified his No1 seeding with a
good win over No2 seed John Cockill (Yorkshire). Both the
first two games were close but Graham managed to pull away
from about 6all to take control. The third was really tight
but Graham closed it out and took the title 11/7 11/6 13/11.
Bob Astbury (Warwickshire) was the surprise Over 65
Champion. Unseeded Astbury obviously paid little attention
to the script and ran away with the final against top seed
John Houghton (Warwickshire) – winning 11/5 11/4 11/7. |
|
|
Sunday 8th, Semi-Finals
Chris Nutley reports
Laura Hill (Derbyshire) v Vicky Hynes (Warwickshire)
Hill took this match by the scruff of the neck and dominated
from start to finish showing why is 6 times National
Champion. Hynes a former finalist herself looked to be on
the back foot too often struggling to cope with the pace and
finding the tin too often.
Lauren Selby (Essex) v Sarah Jane Perry (Warwickshire)
This was a well contested match with Perry always in it.
However Selby, last year’s finalist, was the more accurate
player with less unforced errors coming from her racket and
this saw to a fairly comfortable win to reach the final once
more.
Tim Vail (Sussex) v Dominic Hamilton
(Yorkshire)
 Vail
started quickly catching Hamilton off guard with his
trademark kills and trickle boasts. The second game started
in similar fashion with Vail getting to a quick 10-4 lead
before Hamilton mounted a comeback to get to 10-10 before
Vail closed it out 12-10.
In the third Hamilton fought for every point digging deep
calling on all of his retrieval skills to win the game 11-6.
Vail got back to his winning ways in the fourth controlling
the ‘T’ and taking the ball short with flair.
Johnny Harford (Gloucestershire) v Mark Fuller
(Northants)
 Pre
match Harford was the strong favourite for this match with
his higher seeding and Squash pedigree.
However Fuller didn’t agree and ran for everything making
life difficult for Harford who found the 19 inch tin too
high for his liking clipping it far too often. This led to
his frustration and in the end a relatively straightforward
3-0 victory.
Masters
Over 35’s – No1 seed Matt Baker (Devon) is desperate
to lift this title but has been distracted this weekend
slightly by being in charge of the weekend. By his own
admission he didn’t play well against Matt Pugh
(Worcestershire) but managed to win through 11/4 13/11 11/9
– definitely harder than he would have liked! Bakers
opponent in the final will be unseeded Richard Davies
(Staffordshire) who followed up his defeat of the No2 seed
yesterday by defeating Michael Ypes (Dorset)
Over 40’s – Jim won the ‘Battle of the House of
Lord’s’ by putting brother David to the sword in straight
games. Lord, the reigning Over 35 and 40 champion now meets
unseeded Marc Thornley (Essex) who defeated No2 seed Mark
Francis (Yorkshire) with a tough 7/11 11/9 11/9 11/6
victory.
Over 45’s – 3/4 seed Neil Baldwin (Yorkshire)
unseated top seed and hot favourite Rob Watkins (Avon) while
5/8 seed Buzby Williams came through a titanic battle with
fellow 5/8 seed Darren Withey (Buckinghamshire). Williams
had to fight back from 2 games down before taking the 3rd
11/1 and then went on to take it 3-2.
Over 50’s – Here’s a surprise, a final with the top 2
seeds – Steve Bateman (Oxfordshire) and Stephen Wall
(Sussex) who defeated Mike Phillips (Cornwall) and Mark Hurd
(Dorset) respectively.
Over 55’s – Neal Pickersgill couldn’t follow up his
performance of yesterday when he did for the top seed and
fell to 3/4 seed James Murphy. The second semi was a tough
one that went to five. Former champion Rob Shay
(Warwickshire) took a commanding 2 game lead but couldn’t
quite keep up the momentum and let Chris Nicholls (Sussex)
get back into it and eventually reach the final with a 12/14
8/11 11/5 11/4 11/4 win.
Over 60’s – Top 2 seeds again reach the final. Ian
Graham (Sussex) looked in great form as he defeated Peter
Watt in 3 while John Cockill (Yorkshire) had to endure a
marathon 3-2 encounter with Alvin Ranson. Ranson took the
first before Cockill took control and forged a 2-1 lead only
for Ranson to fight back and ensure it went to five – but
ultimately it was Cockill who survived.
Over 65’s – Wins for No1 seed John Houghton
(Warwickshire) and Bob Astbury (Warwickshire) over BexPegg
(Worcestershire) and Tony Thomas (Warwickshire)
respectively.
Women’s Over 35’s – The women’s seedings are looking
pretty good as top seed Claire Walker (Yorkshire) eased
through to the final whileNo2 Sam Mueller (Buckinghamshire)
had to fight hard to repel Sue Smith (Derbyshire) – a great
match that finished 9/11 11/2 11/8 10/12 11/9.
Women’s Over 45’s – Bev Vatcher (Dorset) defeated
Bettina Harvey in 4 while Julie Lawton (Yorkshire) took out
Lesley Sturgess (Derbyshire) in 3.
Women’s Over 55’s – Red hot favourite Bett Dryhurst
(Worcestershire) reached yet another final after a
competitive 3-0 win over Valerie Molineux and now faces No2
seed Linda Smith (Devon) who fought back after losing the
1st to Gloria Saunders to take it 3-1.
|
|
|
|
|
Sunday Schedule
|
Saturday 7th,
Day TWO Part Two
Chris Nutley reports
Men's Quarter-Finals:
Tim Vail (Sussex) vs Anthony Graham (Gloucestershire).
Tim Vail booked his place into the Men’s semi finals with a
3-1 victory over 5/8 seed Anthony Graham. The first was
close, Vail took an early lead only for Graham to take 4
points on the trot to get to game ball at 10-9. Vail hung on
and clawed his way back into it and managed to take it
14-12. The second was one to forget for Vail, with Graham
keeping the pace up and storming into a good lead courtesy
of Vail's errors.
The lead turned into an 11-0 win and the momentum clearly
with Graham going into the third as he once again ran into a
4-0 lead. It looked as if the writing was on the wall for
Vail but he had other plans, fighting his way back into the
game and taking it on a tie break 12-10. The tide seemed to
have turned as the momentum swung back into Vail's favour,
this time he was the one who took an early lead and
eventually closed out the match taking the 4th 11-6.
Dominic Hamilton (Oxfordshire) vs James Snell (Devon).
 After
Hamilton’s nail biting 3/1 victory he commented “That was so
hard I almost gave it the fist pump”.
Mark Webster Hamilton’s biggest fan summarised the match:
“It was a well contested hard fought match with some
miraculous retrieving. Dominic mixed it up and attacked
more. I think Snell thought he could run Hamilton off
court.”
Johnny Harford (Gloucestershire) vs Joel Hinds
(Derbyshire).
Two recent converts to racketball and professional squash
players set a precedent by agreeing to lower the tin for
their match to shorten the rallies of this gruelling game!
Harford won easily in straight games and commented after the
match: “Lets stick to racketball it’s the only easy win I
get over Joel”.
Mark Fuller (Northamptonshire) vs Tom Phipps (Bucks).
Fuller made short work of his semi against a very tired
Phipps who had earlier dispatched 5/8 seed Neil Chambers
(Dorset). It’s unlikely to be that straight forward tomorrow
as Jonny Harford lies in wait.
Women's Quarters:
Laura Hill (Derbyshire) vs Matilda Parslow (Yorkshire).
 Hill,
the record 6 times National Champion eased into the
tournament with a straight forward 3-0 victory over Matilda
Parslow.
Asked how to boost the female entry into the event Hill
commented: “I think each male playing should bring a female
with them to also play”.
Vicky Hynes (Warwickshire) vs Karen Bealey (Devon).
Hynes made short work of her quarter final with Karen Bealey
and took it 11/1 11/3 11/2. As clinical as this was you kind
of feel Hynes is going to have to move up a gear when she
faces Laura Hill tomorrow if she is to stop Hill reaching
yet another final and a possible seventh title.
Sarah-Jane Perry (Warwickshire) vs Zoe Mellis (Surrey).
Perry was too strong for Mellis and ran out an easy 11/9
11/6 11/5 winner.
Lauren Selby (Essex) vs Natalie Lawrence (Somerset).
Another semi final awaits Selby after never looking in
danger against Lawrence and took it 11/5 11/5 11/4.
The Masters
In the Men’s Over 35 favourite Matt Baker (Devon) now
faces 3/4 seed Matt Pugh (Worcestershire) in the semi
finals after Pugh beat Staffordshire’s Ian Dinwiddy in 3.
The bottom half of the draw has been ripped apart with both
the No2 and 3/4 seeds falling . No2 Christian Turner (Devon)
fell to Richard Davies (Staffordshire) who has
emerged as the dark horse of the field. Davies, who had
evaded the seeding panels view came out firing on all
cylinders and took an early 2 game lead.
Turner fought back to take the third and it got extremely
close in the fourth before Davies emerged triumphant .
Davies now faces Michael Ypes (Dorset) who eased past
3/4 seed Adam Grilli (Essex).
Another major seed fell in the Men’s Over 40’s with 3/4 seed
Simon Martin (Buckinghamshire) falling to Marc Thornley
(Essex) in an entertaining 9/11 11/8 7/11 11/6 11/8
encounter. Thornley now has to tackle No2 seed Mark
Francis (Yorkshire) who overcame Ben Phillips
(Oxfordshire).
In the Over 45’s the top of the draw went to seed so top
seed Rob Watkins (Avon) now faces 3/4 seed Neil
Badwin (Yorkshire) in the semi’s. In contrast the bottom
half No2 seed Patrick Osborne (Essex) fell to 5/8 seed
Buzby Williams (Surrey) while 3/4 seed Ian Cawthorne
(Yorkshire) failed to deal with 5/8 seed Darren Withey
(Buckinghamshire).
Williams who upset the seedings on his debut entry into the
event commented: “I’ts Just about fun”. He then went on to
say he was here for the tournament preparation, to work on
his mindset and is aiming to get a cap for the England over
50s squash team.
Neal Pickersgill came through a titanic battle with
Over 55 favourite and No1 seed Richard Waller
(Warwickshire). Pickersgill surrendered a two game lead and
then just about kept in the decider but always seemed to be
fighting to stay in it - eventually it went to Pickersgill
12/10 11/8 8/11 8/11 12/10 - he now faces 3/4 seed James
Murphy. The other semi is the expected No2 seed Rob Shay
(Warwickshire) against 3/4 seed Chris Nicholas (Sussex).
Men’s Over 60 3/4 seed Peter Watt (Warwickshire) just
about survived his quarter final with Roger Kenyon
(Merseyside). Kenyan twice fought back to level the game
scores before losing out to Watt in a great 11/9 9/11 12/10
8/11 11/8 battle. Fellow 3/4 seed Alvin Ranson
reached the semis but he also had to dig deap to repel the
attack of Graham Greensall (Warwickshire).
The semi line up in the Men’s Over 65’s is top seed John
Houghton (Warwickshire) against Bev Pegg
(Worcestershire) and Bob Astbury (Warwickshire)
against Tony Thomas (Warwickshire). Thomas put paid
to No2 seed Chris Isaacs (Warwickshire). Although he lost
the first he quickly turned things around and ran out a
comfortable 3-1 victor.
Astbury made the semis with a fantastically entertaining win
over Peter Curwen (Yorkshire). The match was a great
exhibition of how racketball should be played with both
players determined to play everything and run for every
ball. Curwen was always chasing and somehow managed to level
the games at 1all and 2all. Some of the rallies were brutal
and on numerous occasions Curwen looks to be out on his feet
and unable to move. But then as the next rally begun he
somehow seemed to loosen up and off he went again. In the
end it was Astbury who had the edge and closed it out 11/7
8/11 12/10 9/11 11/5 – brilliant stuff!
The Women’s Over 35 got underway with relatively straight
forward wins for 3/4 seeds Kathryne Milne (Surrey)
and Sue Smith (Derbyshire). They now face Claire
Walker (Yorkshire) and Sam Mueller
(Buckinghamshire) in the semi finals.
In the Over 45’s the top 2 seeds Bev Vatcher (Dorset)
and Julie Lawton (Yorkshire) processed to the semis
with ease. However 3/4 seed Helen Cann (Merseyside) couldn’t
hold onto her 2 game lead and lost a great fight to
Bettina Harvey 2/11 7/11 11/8 12/10 12/10. The other 3/4
seed Lesley Sturgess (Derbyshire) also had to fight
hard before sneaking into the semi final with a 11/4 10/12
11/6 3/11 11/9 win over Christine Park (Northumbria).
The Women’s Over 55’s also began – the semi finals line up
is top seed Bett Dryhurst (Worcestershire) v
Valerie Molineux (Worcestershire) and second seed
Linda Smith (Devon) v Gloria Saunders (Kent).
On today’s age group performances the seeding committee may
need to be recalled to answer a few queries!!!
|
|
|
|
Draws
|
Friday
6th, Day ONE:
Chris Nutley reports
 The
National Racketball Championships kicked off on Friday
evening amid beautiful sunshine in Edgbaston.
For the men's open it was a busy few hours with two rounds
to get through. Double former champion Tim Vail
(Sussex), sporting a slightly fuller figure since his last
victory here in 2004 kicked off his campaign with a stutter.
Vail lost the first to Ben Brown (Yorkshire) before
finding his feet taking a tight second to level things
before stepping up a gear and easing to victory 9/11 11/7
11/2 11/3.
Lee Jemmett (Essex) caused the first upset to the
seedings. After just surviving his first round clash with
Michael Tolman (Yorkshire) 3-2, Jemmett went on to dispatch
9/16 seed Michael Robinson (Yorkshire) in straight games.
His reward is a R3 meeting with squash pro James Snell
(Devon).
Jemmett's county colleague Elliot Selby ensured that
even in Daryl's absence the Selby name remains in the draw
with a marathon 3/2 victory over 9/16 seed Galen Le
Cheminant (Cambridgeshire). Selby was twice pegged back
after taking game leads before finally quelling Le
Cheminant's resistance and taking it 11/7 7/11 11/7 11/13
11/9 - a great battle!
Tom Phipps (Buckinghamshire) was almost another
casualty in R2 - after taking a 2-0 lead Phipps lost his way
and almost lost it to Matt Badger (Kent). Badger sneaked the
next two before taking a 5-2 advantage in the decider.
However he wasn't able to keep the momentum going and
allowed Phipps to retake the initiative and with it the game
and match 11/8 11/3 10/12 9/11 11/7.
 So
it's on to R3 for the men and a few intriguing encounters -
Tim Vail v Pete Billson, James Snell v Lee Jemmett, Ted Jeal
v Jonny Harford to mention a few.
The Men's Over 45 draw also got underway on Friday - there
were wins for Paul Brooks (Merseyside), Darren
Saunders (Kent), Timothy Barker (Warwickshire),
Greg White (Oxfordshire) and Russell Cox
(Essex). The seeds now await in R2 with Rob Watkins
(Avon) heading the field and looking to go one better than
last year when he lost the Over 40 final to double champion
Jim Lord (Yorkshire).
Saturday sees the start of the other age groups and the
women's open. The undisputed Racketball No1 Laura Hill
(Derbyshire) begins with a R1 match against Matilda Parslow
(Leicestershire) while No2 seed Lauren Selby (Essex)
lines up against Natalie Lawrence (Somerset).
|
|
|
Laura Hill aims for National Racketball
Title number seven
The Dunlop British National Racketball Championships kicked
off today at the fantastic facilities of Edgbaston Priory
Club in Birmingham.
 Laura
Hill (Derbyshire) is seeded to retain her crown and
claim an incredible seventh title. Last year Hill proved her
dominance of the female game and strolled to the title
without dropping a game. Once again her main challenge is
likely to come from No2 seed and last year’s beaten finalist
Lauren Selby (Essex). Warwickshire duo Vicky Hynes
and Sarah-Jane Perry are also in the hunt and are
scheduled to meet Hill and Selby in the semi’s respectively.
A different name is due on the men’s cup as six times
champion and world squash No12 Daryl Selby (Essex) hasn’t
entered, favouring a trip to Las Vegas and Peter Barker's
stag party!
 In
Daryl’s absence Tim Vail (Sussex) returns after an
absence of a couple of years and is looking to turn back the
clock and take his first title since 2004. The two times
champion is the number one seed but will not have an easy
ride to the final. He is scheduled to meet Pete Billson
(Lancashire) in Round 3, former European Under 19 Squash
Champion Anthony Graham (Gloucestershire) in the
Quarters and then possibly Dominic Hamilton
(Yorkshire) in the Semis.
The bottom half of the draw has opened up with the
withdrawal of No2 seed David Campion (Yorkshire) due to a
back injury. This should leave it to the likes of 3/4 seed
Jonny Harford (Gloucestershire) and 5/8 seeds Joel
Hinds (Derbyshire) and Neil Chambers (Dorset) to fight
it out for a spot in the final.
In addition to the open championships there is also a full
complement of age group categories ready to do battle over
the weekend. England Squash & Racketball duo Matt Baker
(Devon) and Jim Lord (Yorkshire) are favourites for
the Men’s Over 35 and 40’s. Rob Watkins (Avon) and
Steve Bateman (Oxfordshire) have moved up age groups and
head the seedings in the Over 40’s and 45’s. The Over 55’s
has a local flavour with an expected final between
Warwickshire pair Richard Waller and Rob Shay.
Reigning champions Ian Graham (Sussex) and
John Houghton (Warwickshire) look to retain the titles
they claimed last year.
In the Women’s Over 35 category former squash professional
Claire Walker (Yorkshire) leads the charge while
Bev Vatcher (Dorset) looks to add the Over 45 crown to
the Over 40’s she picked up last year and Bett Dryhurst
(Worcestershire) drops down to the Over 55’s but remains the
favourite.
Matches start on Friday evening and full schedules are
planned for Saturday with finals starting at midday on
Sunday. Entrance is free and all spectators are most
welcome.
The competition structure for Racketball is now thriving
within the UK with local and regional events being run by
England Squash & Racketball in addition to the UK Racketball
series.
If you are interested in participating in any of these
events or something more local contact your Regional office
or visit
www.englandsquashandracketball.com or
www.UK-racketball.com
|
Draws
|
| |
|
