Club Championships 2015

Last Saturday saw the conclusion of the 2015 WSF Club Championships.  Over 60 entries were received across all the events as memebrs battled it out to be crowned Club Champion in their respective Divisions.

A Event:

The final saw the past 2 winners, David Mill and Mark Eugeni battling it out.  The first 2 games were shared but David then took the next 2 to record a 3-1 win.  Mark is the most successful player in terms of Club Championships won and beating him is never easy.  It was a shame more people were not around to watch this high quality match.

B Event:

There were lots of Juniors present in the B draw all looking to make there mark this year.  Barry Leavitt was the top seed with Doug Fields looking to make a charge from the bottom of the draw.  As always seeding meant nothing and the early round saw lots of upsets.  Toby Scott battled through to the semi finals where he would face Kabir Bhangoo and Barry Leavitt and Anis Khan made up the other semi final which was a repeat of the final 2 years ago.  Anis defeated Barry before Kabir held his nerve to put an end to Toby's impressive run 3-1.
  Kabir started well in the final before Anis's experience carried him through to a close 3-1 victory.  Congratulations to Anis!

C Event:

Trevor Charles was the favorite for this event and he made comfortable progress through to the final.   In the bottom half Sam Habib and Hannah Guthrie made it through to the semi final.  This match was probably the match of the tournament as Hannah played some of her best squash to push Sam all the way.  Sam eventually won 3-2 but Hannah should be proud of her efforts and she now looks like a genuine A player.  In the Final Trevor's  court awareness clever ball placement was the difference as he took the spoils to be crowned C Champion.

Woman's Event:

It was great to see so many entires in the Woman's event this year and I hope this division continues to grow.  Two of our up and coming juniors battled through to the final.  Mackenzie Elliott and Hannah Guthrie then played a match of the highest order which attracted various compliments from audience members and passers by.  Hannah won in 4 tight games but both should be proud of the progress they have made this year and the way they played the game with minimal interference and few lets.

40+ Event:

A competitive field started the event with many players having a genuine chance of going all the way.      In the end the top 2 seeds Al Valente and Dave Guthrie battled through to meet in the final.  In a one sided affair Dave Guthrie took the spoils although Mike Wilbur mentioned he had beaten Rod Larson (Dave defeated Rod 3-2 in the semi finals) 3-1 last time they played so he has a real claim to the title. Well done Dave!

Junior Event:

Number 1 seed Aaaron Nagy dropped out with injury before the event started which was a shame and we wish him all the best with his recovery.  The quality of squash throughout was a joy to watch and I get so much satisfaction watching these guys develop and grow on the squash court.  Kabir Bhangoo and Niki Bistrev fought through to the final and what a final it was!  In easily the best performance from Niki this year he really took the game to Kabir playing at a pace I have been pushing him to adopt for a long time!  Indeed it took Kabir by surprise and he found himself 2-0 down before mounting a superb come back to tie things up 2-2.  In the 5th Niki got off to a great start and held onto take the match 3-2.  Again the game was played in a fantastic spirit with few interruptions and both players playing through interference and playing the ball which is great to see.

A Doubles:

Mark Eugeni and Mike McKitterick took on Paul Gebrael and Nik Dimitrijevic in the final.  The current holders took the first before Paul and Nik fought back to square things up.  The next 2 were close all the way through but Mark and Mike found the winners when they needed them and ran out 3-1 winner to retain last years title.

Mixed Doubles:

After a few withdrawals we had one semi final between Dan Petoran and Grace Kim against Adam and Renka Gesing.  The Gesing's showed there greater experience to progress to a final against Doug Fields and Deb McMahon.  Doug and Deb won 3-0 but Adam and Renka put up a good fight in all games and Adam told me he was happy they competed!

The rest of the doubles events are still to be completed.