DUNLOP NEWCASTLE NORTHERN JUNIOR OPEN SPONSORED BY QS LAWSON & THOMPSON Last weekend saw the annual junior squash extravaganza that is the Northern squash club junior open. Once again we were able to welcome juniors from all over the country to sample our North East hospitality and cakes ( thanks to the cake stall put on by volunteers to raise funds! ). There was also lots of great quality squash to feast on.
We were delighted to announce that QS Lawson & Thompson would, once again, be our headline sponsors with Dunlop supplying the prizes and Sport Newcastle / Northumbria Police also supporting the event. Just under 100 junior players entertained some large crowds with excellent squash over the weekend, culminating in the finals on Sunday afternoon.
The U11 boys final saw Joseph Billany from Durham & Cleveland beat Ethan Brown ( Tynemouth ) 3 – 1 and then in the U11 girls final Northern twins Kate and Ava Naisbitt battled it out in the final ... this time Ava came out on top over Kate 3 – 1. Number 1 seed Jessica Weatherspoon ( Durham & Cleveland ) never lost a game throughout the whole tournament , including her final against Holly Shepherd from Yorkshire. In the boys event top seed Toby Simpson ( Durham & Cleveland ) made his way serenely to the final where he met Northern junior, Will Johnson. Will hit some fine form to upset the seedings and take the title with a 3 – 0 win.
Tom Walsh ( Tynemouth ) was attempting to retain his U15 boys title against Sam Ayston (Jesmond) and he did so but only after a very hard earned 3 – 0 win. Katie Barker upset the seedings by defeating top seed Beth Dean ( Jesmond ) in the final of the U15 girls event , thus keeping the main sponsor , her father Tim Barker , happy!
The U17 boys event was an all Northern affair with Andrew Shipley taking on Matthew Thompson, who is new to this age group. Matthew expended a lot of energy in a very close first game and then Andrew ran away to a 3 – 0 win. In the U15 girls event , Northern`s Harriet Wight , took on Michelle Tang from Cumbria. Harriet really rattled top seed Michelle in the first two games, before just losing out 3 – 1 in a very hard fought game.
Another all Northern affair in the U19 girls where County players Megan Evans and Erin Vitty fought out the final. Megan won 3 – 0. Harry Little ( Jesmond ) stepped up an age group to play in the U19 event and had to work really hard with three 3 – 2 wins to win the trophy. In the final he beat Sam Gibbon from Durham & Cleveland.
As well as five main event winners and four runners up , Northern also had many plate winners in Tom Cornell, Timmy Frankel, Sam Ponente , Will Young , Emma Delgaty and Anna Moore. The junior committee were out in force and should be congratulated for making it such a well run event. Thank you Kevan Mahoney , Jem Stach , Charlie Ponente, Denise Thompson , Julie Cornell, Jane Shipsey , Jane Johnson and also to all the parents who donated cakes to the cake stall. This bronze level sanctioned event is now recognised as one of the best in the country and long may that continue.
