TOWIE girls rule the roost at British juniors

Essex girls ran riot in Manchester with three out of the four Technifibre British Junior Championships winners coming from the county.

It is a brilliant return for the Essex county programme  which places huge importance on girl’s squash, an area which is too often neglected.

The youngest winner was Alice Green who dominated the Under 13 event showing her pure athlecism and tactical maturity. In the semi final Green knocked out the number 1 seed in devastating style and followed this up with a 3-1 win in the final.

In the Under 15 event the classy Elise Lazarus cruised through her rounds and won the tournament without dropping a game. Elise has only just turned 13 but looked capable of pushing players in the older age groups.

Lastly Anna Kimberley won her first British title with a confident victory over Lily Taylor in the final of the Under 19 event. Anna demonstrated her physical superiority and aggressive play throughout the tournament and the title never looked like it was going anywhere but to Essex.

Lauren Selb,y the Essex Junior girls coach, was delighted with the performances but still feels there is huge strides still to be made. “”The girls played excellently and they showed how hard work pays off. Their victories should help to inspire more girls to play and develop in Essex. Plenty of work to do but things are heading in the right direction,” she said.

Finals day at the National Squash Centre was kicked off by the Girls Under 17 final, an all-Kent battle between top seed and last year’s champion Georgina Kennedy of Park Langley, and 2012’s Girls under 15 winner, and second seed Amelia Henley from Rodmersham.

The match got off to a great start, the two girls battled hard, and in an extremely close game Henley just managed to sneak the win 13-11. Once the second game got under way it was clear that Henley had been inspired, and she flew through the points, and gain a 2 games to 0 lead. The 3rd game came and went in the blink of an eye. Kennedy showed courage but could not quite reach her best on the day, to give Henley the title 3-0 in just 23 minutes.

AMELIA HENLEY BT GEORGINA KENNEDY 3-0: 13-11, 11-8, 11-2 (23)

BU17 FINAL

The Boys under 17 final was between two Yorkshire team mates; top seed James Peach, and 3/4 seed Jack Cooper. Cooper played exceptionally well yesterday to take out 2nd seed Patrick Rooney and his form continued into the first game. Peach however did not sit back and take this, and proved why he is the top seed to take the game 11-7. The second game was even closer than the first, with Peach taking the win 11-9. The third and final game topped off a great final, with Peach triumphing 3-0 to take the championship.
JAMES PEACH BT JACK COOPER 3-0 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 (30)

GIRLS UNDER 19 FINAL
The Girls under 19 final was between top seed Anna Kimberley of Essex and second seed Lily Taylor of Leicestershire. Kimberley came out all guns blazing and stormed to a 11-3 win in the first game. Taylor stepped up her game in the second and fought hard to bring it back level at 1 game all. The final 2 games were a great display of composure by Kimberley and Taylor showed her determination, but unfortunately it just wasn’t enough to beat the number 1 seed, who takes the title of girls under 19 British Junior Champion.

ANNA KIMBERLEY BT LILY TAYLOR 3-1 11-3, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6 (32)

BOYS UNDER 19 FINAL
The top two seeds in the boys under 19 competition, Richie Fallows of Essex and Angus Gillams of Hertfordshire had an epic battle to become the owner of the prestigious Don Sanderson Cup. Both boys started well, and some exceptionally long and intense rallies were seen. Gillams pushed on however and was soon wheedling a 2-0 lead. Fallows who never gives up, stepped up his game in the third and won 11-6. Gillams came out on tremendous form for the 4th game, and soon saw a 7-3 lead. Fallows again showed his tenacity and brought it back to 11 all. Tension was running high as the last few points were played, but Gillams kept a steady head and became the new boys under 19 British Junior Champion.

ANGUS GILLAMS BT RICHIE FALLOWS 3-1 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 13-11 (65)

Gu17 3/4 playoff
The Girls under 17 3/4 playoffs was one of the matches of the day. The 2 3/4 seeds, Elin Harlow of Wales and Kace Bartley played an epic match which lasted a staggering 42 minutes. Both girls showed great spirit and some fantastic squash abilities, but in the end Harlow just clinched it 3-2.

ELIN HARLOW BT KACE BARTLEY 3-2 10-12, 11-5, 12-10, 9-11, 12-10 (42)

BU17 3/4 PLAYOFF
The Boys 3/4 playoff was between number 2 seed Patrick Rooney of Merseyside and 3/4 seed Bradley Masters. The score does not do justice to just how close this match was. Masters played fantastic and showed great sportsmanship, but Rooney was just too good in the end, and took the 3rd place trophy.

PATRICK ROONEY BT BRADLEY MASTERS 3-0 11-8, 14-12, 11-6 (30)

GIRLS UNDER 19 3/4 PLAYOFF
The 9/16 seed Rhianne O’Donnell has showed everyone just how good she is this weekend, and came to play off for the 3rd place trophy against Welsh player Jenny Haley. The first 2 games were incredibly close, but Haley took her game to the next level to win the trophy 3-0.

JENNY HALEY BT RHIANNE O’DONNELL 3-0 11-8, 11-8, 11-3 (20)

BOYS UNDER 19 3/4 PLAY OFF
Lyell Fuller of Devon takes the 3rd place trophy in the boys under 19 category after Ashley Davies of Derbyshire had to withdraw after yesterdays match due to injury.