16 Northern Squash members contested the second annual Andy Lee Memorial tournament on the weekend of 24th and 25th June 2017 and it truly was played in the spirit of our late Andy Lee.
The tournament was a handicap event played over Saturday and Sunday night with the 16 members split into four groups of 4. The games were played first to 15, PAR scoring, sudden death at 14 and the vast majority of matches were closely scored affairs. The winners of each group were decided by highest number of wins followed by highest number of points, and then highest winning margin to decide ties.
The final standings, consolidated over both evenings were as follows:
| Pos | Name | Handicap | Sun | Sat | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Aynsley | -15 | 45 | 45 | 90 |
| 2 | Tom Cornell | -14 | 45 | 45 | 90 |
| 3 | John Thompson | -12 | 45 | 45 | 90 |
| 4 | Matthew Thompson | -12 | 45 | 45 | 90 |
| 5 | Roger Tames | 0 | 44 | 37 | 81 |
| 6 | Michelle Robertson | 6 | 42 | 36 | 78 |
| 7 | Stuart Mitchell | -2 | 38 | 38 | 76 |
| 8 | Dave North | -6 | 33 | 40 | 73 |
| 9 | Tony Cornell | 10 | 27 | 44 | 71 |
| 10 | Joel Birch-Machin | -8 | 37 | 32 | 69 |
| 11 | Chris Johnson | 4 | 32 | 37 | 69 |
| 12 | Kieran Mahoney | -4 | 25 | 41 | 66 |
| 13 | John Blenkinsop | 8 | 32 | 34 | 66 |
| 14 | Peter J Thompson | 12 | 34 | 28 | 62 |
| 15 | Clive Lucas | 2 | 36 | 14 | 50 |
| 16 | Gordie Robertson | -10 | 9 | 24 | 33 |
The top four players were drawn out of a hat to contest the semi-finals (also played as handicap games) and the matches were:
Mathew Thompson 15-4 Tom Cornell
Bob Aynsley 15-14 John Thompson
Mathew Thompson then faced Bob Aynsley in the final on the show court, Court 1. In what turned out to be a thrilling and exhausting final, Mathew Thompson narrowly beat Bob Aynsley 15-11 to become the winner of Andy Lee Memorial tournament 2017!
Congratulations to Mathew Thompson and well done to Bob Aynsley for playing such a brilliant and entertaining final, in such a great sportsmanlike manner.
As Andy Lee's daughter, Bridget was unable to make it to the tournament she sent some well-chosen words and thoughts which everyone appreciated. In her place, Chairman of Squash, Clive Lucas presented the trophy to Mathew.
Thanks to everyone who took part and made the event such a blast. In particular I'd like to thank Julie Cornell, Dave North, and Clive Lucas for all their help and support.
See you next year!
