Connaught Junior Open 2003There are 2 reports. Read Connaught
Squash Update by Rem Fran &
Julian Perretta and Report by: Dudley Fuller Over 80 young players took part in the Connaught Prince Junior Open at The Connaught Club in Chingford last weekend. Events ranged from mixed Under 11’s up to 19’s Boys. World No I Peter Nicol got the tournament off to an exciting start by playing 2 exhibition matches and signing autographs for eager fans. Many nationally ranked players took part, so standards were very high and competition was fierce over the 3 day event. Local Essex players played very well, with Luke Gray winning the Boys U17 final, Scott Gledhill winning the Boys U15 final and Myriam Hardy winning both Girls U15 and U17 events. In fact the most thrilling game of the weekend was the boys U17 final between Luke Gray (Essex) and Neil Desai (Surrey) which lasted an exhausting 1 hr 40 mins. Desai was 2-0 and 8-2 up in the third game when Gray stuck in and with gritty determination and skill fought back to win the game 3-2. Trophies and Prince Contracts were awarded to winners by Dutch international player, Laurens Anjema (no.59 in the world) and winner of two PSA Events. Laurens currently trains at the Connaught, as does Peter Nicol. The tournament was such a success that the Connaught plans to run this as an annual event. Fran Perretta Herts Report by: Dudley Fuller Yes it was a very good weekend with Adam Fuller winning the Connaught Junior Open U19 title. In summary Adam's route to the final was as follows: 1st round against Adam Amos - 9/0 9/0 9/0 The final was a much harder match than the score suggests and there was some outstanding play from both players. Connaught is Peter Nicol's club and both he and his coach Neil Harvey were present during the weekend with Peter signing autographs on his posters and the kids free tournament T-shirts. Peter also played a top club player in the break between the afternoon and evening sessions on the Friday immediately followed by an exhibition match with another pro - Dutch I think. The other Herts players to enter this tournament were:Jonathan Fuller - U17 won his first match and
lost his next to the eventual winner, Luke Gray (Essex) PS Oli and Tim both made it to the semi-finals; u15 and u13 respectively. Both lost 3/0, Oli to Chris Sherman, Tim to Sammy Chambers. from John Dixon Herts report by: Dudley Fuller |