U13 Inter-County

Bishop’s Stortford Squash Club hosted the final stage of the National U13 Inter-County championships last weekend in which Herts won the division.  The other 3 counties making it to the final stage were South East Wales, Warwickshire and Essex, and all teams played each other over the 2 days.  

The first match for our county side was against Warwickshire and although John Cussen (R3 Stevenage) lost 1-3 in a tough first match, straight wins for nationally ranked Adrian Waller from Hazelwood Squash Club, and local Stortford boys Oliver Dixon, Daniel Sciberras and David Price sealed a 4-1 victory and got the Herts team off to a good start.  On the Saturday afternoon, Herts second match was against SE Wales who had beaten Essex 3-2 earlier in the day.  

This was to be a tough struggle and things looked grim when our numbers 3 and 5 (Daniel and Tom Elliot) both lost 0-3.  Our strength in depth saved the tie for us however as Adrian, Oliver and David each cruised through 3-0 wins to take the match 3-2.  Herts final game on Sunday morning was the local derby against Essex and although we were on the brink of a memorable achievement, there was still much work to be done.  We didn’t make the best of starts when, at number 5, Tom Elliot lost 2-3 in a close fought match after being 2-1 up.  David Price levelled tenaciously at number 4, winning 3-2 in one of the most entertaining games of the weekend.  

It was left to Daniel to secure the winning points for the league with a 3-2 victory in an extremely close match at number 3.  Oliver, perhaps mindful that Herts had already won the league, lost uncharacteristically 1-3.  But an awesome performance from Adrian (currently England number 4) ensured we won the tie against our local rivals.  The division title qualifies Herts U13 for a place in the Premier division next season, putting them among the top 8 counties in the country – great news for the county juniors!