RESULTS: European Club Championship, Belfast, Ireland
Men’s quarter-finals:
Aberdeen (Scotland) bye
Paderborn (Germany) bt Neudorf (Austria) 3/1 Borja Golan bt Chris Ryder 11-3, 11-1, 11-8 Simon Rosner bt Kashif Shuja 11-6, 11-5 Peter Nicol lost to Stefan Leifels 8-11, 10-12 Tim Garner bt Andreas Freudensprung 11-7, 11-6, 11-8
Valence (France) bt Intersquash (Sweden) 2/2 Nicolas Mueller lost to Kristian Frost Olesen 7-11, 11-7, 7-11, 6-11 Gregoire Marche bt Amr Ramsy Swelim 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 Steven Finitsis lost to Rasmus Hult 9-11, 11-5, 7-11 Antoine-Camille Petrucci bt Ahmed Abdel Aziz 11-3, 11-13, 15-13, 11-4
Black & White Worms (Germany) bye
Semi-finals:
Paderborn bt Aberdeen 3/1 Borja Golan bt Daryl Selby 11-1, 11-7, 4-11, 10-12, 12-10 Simon Rosner bt Alan Clyne 11-6, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6 Peter Nicol lost to Simon Parke 11-6, 6-11, 7-11 Tim Garner bt Alistair Gorrie 11-6, 11-2, 11-9
Black & White Worms bt Valence 2/2 David Palmer bt Nicolas Mueller 12-10, 11-7, 11-7 Davide Bianchetti lost to Gregoire Marche 14-12, 6-11, 6-11, 4-11 Marcus Berrett lost to Steven Finitsis 11-5, 5-11, 9-11, 9-11 Andre Haschker bt Antoine-Camille Petrucci 11-4, 8-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6
Final:
Paderborn bt Black & White Worms 3/1 Borja Golan bt David Palmer 11-4, 11-9, 11-6 Simon Rosner bt Jens Schoor 11-8, 12-10, 11-5 Peter Nicol bt Marcus Berrett 12-14, 11-4 ret. Tim Garner lost to Andre Haschker 7-11, 7-11, 7-11
3rd place play-off: Aberdeen bt Valence 3/1 Daryl Selby bt Nicolas Mueller 11-9, 10-12, 11-3, 14-12 Alan Clyne bt Gregoire Marche 12-10, 11-6, 4-11, 11-4 Simon Parke lost to Steven Finitsis 7-11, 5-11 Alistair Gorrie bt Antoine-Camille Petrucci 7-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-9
Final:
Belfast Boat Club bt Edgbaston Priory 2/0 Madeline Perry bt Victoria Lust 11-9, 5-11, 11-1, 11-4 Senga Macfie bt Lauren Selby 11-3, 2-11, 11-3, 11-2 Zoe Barr v Julianne Courtice (match withdrawn)
3rd place play-off: Mulhouse bt MeerSquash 2/1 Isabelle Stoehr lost to Natalie Grinham 4-11, 3-11, 7-11 Gaby Huber bt Orla Noom 11-6, 11-7, 11-3 Sara Guebey bt Nikki van der Heijden 11-4, 11-1, 11-3
Belfast & Paderborn Win European Club Crowns
Hosts Belfast Boat Club and defending champions Paderborn have emerged triumphant in the European Club Championships, the European Squash Federation event staged in Ireland for the first time in Belfast.
Former world champion Peter Nicol, from Inverurie in Aberdeenshire, found himself facing Aberdeen Squash Club in the semi-finals as he led Paderborn to success in the men’s event.
Belfast squash star Madeline Perry, the 12-time Irish champion from nearby Banbridge, delighted the home crowd by leading Belfast Boat Club to success in the women’s event. After overcoming Dutch champions MeerSquash in the semi-finals, the hosts took the lead over defending champions Edgbaston Priory in the final when Perry beat the English club’s number one Victoria Lust 11-9, 5-11, 11-1, 11-4.
And former Scottish champion Senga Macfie, recent winner of both the British Open O35 & O40 titles, clinched victory after beating Lauren Selby 11-3, 2-11, 11-3, 11-2.
Paderborn celebrated a record seventh title in the first all-German men’s final since 2004. Fresh from hosting the highly-successful 2011 Men’s World Team Championships last month, the club brushed aside 2009 champions Aberdeen 3/1 in the semi-finals before facing national rivals Black & White Worms in the final.
Top-ranked Spaniard Borja Golan and local hero Simon Rosner, the German number one from Paderborn, gave the defending champions a 2/0 lead with wins over Australian David Palmer and German Jens Schoor, respectively.
And after German world championship star Andre Haschker raised Worms’ hopes with a straight games win over Paderborn stalwart Tim Garner, it was left to fellow Englishman Nicol – the former world No1 and world champion who has represented Paderborn with distinction for more than ten years – to ensure the club’s historic seventh title after taking the second game against Italian Marcus Berrett, in a match which finished 12-14, 11-4 (ret.).
