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FINALS:
[1] Elise Lazarus (Eng) 3-2 [2] Kace Bartley (Eng)
10/12,
11/7, 9/11, 11/3, 11/5 (44m)
[1] Joel Makin (Wal) 3-1 [2] Richie Fallows (Eng)
11/7,
11/7, 8/11, 12/10 (69m)
Day three concluded the 9th BU23 Championships, with the two
favourites claiming their first BU23 titles in two great battles
in front of packed crowds at Hunts County SC.
Elise Lazarus fought back from 0-1 and 1-2 down against 2nd seed
Kace Bartley in the 44min Women’s final. Bartley snatched the
1st having been well down and took full advantage of Lazarus’
casual unforced errors that crept in.
A more consistent 2nd game from the #1 seed brought it back to
1-1, only for Bartley to respond positively in a close 3rd game
and forge another lead closing out 11/9. Bartley lost her
advantage and all the momentum she had built in a disjointed 4th
game, with the referee’s becoming increasingly involved in the
contest.
At 2-2 a poor start from Bartley handed Lazarus a great platform
at 5/0 up, and she closed out 11/5 to become the youngest
British Under 23 Champion in the 9 year history of the event @
Hunts County SC.
Joel Makin weathered a spirited Richie Fallows fight back from
0-2 down, and clinched the National title on extra points in a
dramatic and tense 4th game of a wonderful last match of the
Championships.
Two close games both went to #1 seed Makin, with the Welshman
producing mature and disciplined squash in the key points at the
end of both games to close out both 11/7, and leave Fallows
facing a massive mental and physical challenge.
The 2nd seed responded with more assertive and positive squash,
to take the 3rd 11/8 as the tension built dramatically.
Nothing
separated the players in the 4th, with the increasing
physicality (and debate on ‘lines’ to/from the ball) testing the
referee and players relationship to the point of “Conduct
Warnings” being given to both players ......... only ramping up
the pressure and tension on court and in the crowd!
Fallows lost the chance to take in to a decider with a game ball
at 10/9, and when presented with two opportunities to isolate
and shut out Fallows, Makin converted both to claim the Under 23
title in his last opportunity to do so.
Saturday, Day TWO:
Top seeds through to finals at Hunts County
Day two of the event marked the Quarter and semi-finals in both
competitions and the matches definitely lived up to their
billings, with some fantastic encounters!
The upset of the morning in the men’s draw came from Joe Brooke
scalping 3/4 seed Harry Falconer in straight games, setting up a
semi-final spot against top seed Joel Makin, who defeated Adam
Corcoran 3/0.
Ashley Davies and Richie Fallows met in the opposite semi, after
both won without dropping a game. Although, Nicholas Wall made
life tough for second seed Fallows, taking two of the games into
tie-breaks over three hotly contested games.
Over in the Women’s draw there were no upsets to the seedings
but there were some hard fought battles with all of the top
seeds, other than Kace Bartley, taking four games to win. Alicia
Mead and Jasmine Hutton both recovered from a game deficit to
defeat Charlotte Jagger and Mari Taylor respectively.
The finalists for both draws were decided in the evening session
of play, with the top seeds in both showing their quality in
front of great crowds.
Top seeds Joel Makin and Richie Fallows will meet
in the Men’s and Elise Lazarus will take on Kace
Bartley in the Women’s final.
Makin continued to cut through the top half of the draw and
dispatched this morning’s giant killer Joe Brooke 3/0 in just
under the half an hour mark. Richie Fallows was in equally fine
form, taking out Ashley Davies in three.
Lazarus, fresh from taking silver in the individual European
Junior Championships, backed up this morning’s win with another
impressive 3/1 win. Kace Bartley managed to take down Jasmine
Hutton in the longest match so far in the Women’s event,
convincingly taking the forth set after a nip and tuck first
three games.
Sunday’s finals will see new British U23 Champions crowned in
both categories and promise highly entertaining and competitive
matches! Play-off rounds start from 11:30am, with the Women’s
final at 2pm and the Men’s following on at 2:45pm.
Friday, Day ONE:
This years’ event began with the Men’s Open 1st
round, with 10 players competing for 5 places in the Men’s 2nd
round and the opportunity to compete in the Monrad phase for
places 1-16.
Robert Thirst (Norfolk) & Dylan Martens (Northamptonshire)
provided the match of the round in a 53min battle that went to
wire, with Martens narrowly taking the victory 11/8 in the 5th.
Second round places in the Main Draw were also secured by
Michael Andrews (to play Joel Makin), Jack Miterer (to play Joe
Brooke), Gus Beecroft (to play Aaron Allpress) and George Sawrey-Cookson
(to play Nick Wall).
The busy evening session saw every Men’s player take to the
court for the second round of matches and all bar the top four
seeds competing in the Women’s first round. All the evenings’
matches went to seeding, with the exception of Gus Beecroft
taking out 5/8 seed Aaron Allpress over four games, in the
longest match of the night.
5/8 seed Joe Brooke had a bit of a scare after dropping the
first game against James Wyatt, but won the next two
convincingly before closing out a tight forth game.
In the Women’s draw, local hopes were dashed as Hunts County
players Emily Fuller and Tayla Mounter both lost in three to 5/8
seeds Charlotte Jagger and Alice Green respectively.
The line up for tomorrow’s Quarter-finals offers what are bound
to be some fantastic encounters as players fight for a place in
the semi-finals! The action starts from 12am.
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Men's Draw & Results
Women's Draw & Results
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British
U23 Champs 2017
