It’s Green for go as Alice lifts English National crown

by | Mar 23, 2015

ESSEX’S Alice Green stormed to her second English National title on Sunday adding the Under-15 crown to the U-13 prize she bagged a year ago.

Alice from Billericay, who plays at Club Kingswood but is coached by Off the Wall Squash coach Paul Selby, powered through five rounds of action at the Championships in Birmingham before lifting the title in front of a sell-out crowd.

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PUT IT THERE, CHAMP: Sporting Laura Neil (left) offers her hand to winner Alice Green after their U-15 final

“Alice was incredibly focused throughout the tournament as was by far the strongest player there,” said coach Selby, who was in Alice’s corner during the entire event. “Alice played some terrific squash, particularly in the semi-finals against Karina Tyma from Avon which was a fantastic match. Karina has the same coach as men’s world number one Mohamed El Shorbagy so she is a highly accomplished player. Alice beat her in the recent French Open so winning again is particularly encouraging, especially as Karina currently holds a higher England ranking. She is two and Alice is ranked four.”

Alice, who is not 14 until next month, faced Northumberland’s Laura Neill in the final. After her testing 3-1 win over Tyma, hopes were high of a repeat performance in the final. But Alice’s power-game dipped slightly although she still had enough in hand to roll out a 3-0 victory. Alice and the extremely likeable Laura are great friends, and maybe that released the pressure valve slightly.

“That sometimes happens,” added Selby. “After a high-intensity match players sometimes slacken off slightly. Fortunately, Alice had enough in hand to take her second English title. They sit very nicely alongside her British Under-13 Championship success.”

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TEAM GREEN: Alice and brother Ollie

Alice’s younger brother Ollie Green kept the Essex flag flying in the Under-13’s. He finished a superb fourth, losing a close semi-final battle with number one seed Sam Todd. “Ollie had a fabulous tournament too,” added Selby. He played some great squash to get to the last four and to push Todd all the way was testament to Ollie’s improvement. He’s a great character who entertained the crowd enormously with his squash and his comedic personality. He’s a pleasure to coach.”

Lexden’s Joel Braddock got away to a flying start with an impressive 25-minute 3-0 win over Wycliffe student Alex van Blerk in the U-13’s. That pitched him against number two seed Adam Goad which went the way of the favourite 3-0. The experience though served Joel well and he went on to produce his best squash in the next round taking down Daniel Neil 3-0. A further impressive 3-1 against Jamie Carmichael, aided by some words of wisdom from coach Paul Selby, saw Joel finish in a highly creditable 11th place.

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Ellie Hewes (left) debates a crucial point

Colchester’s Ellie Hewes (right) delivered a mixed bag of performances to take fifth place in the girls’ Under-13’s. An opening first-round win over Asia Harris augured well but Ellie’s focus went walk-about in the third round when she crashed to Maia Pannell 3-1. That denied her a place in the top four but she regained her composure with two further victories over Emma Bartley and Yorkshire’s Laura Longfield securing fifth place.

Aaron Allpress’s weekend was highlighted by a brutal 56-minute, third-round victory over Yorkshire’s Yusef Forster. The Lexden player trailed 1-0 and 2-1 but dug deep to pull off a tremendous 3-2 win that drained the emotions and reserves in equal measure. The encounter, however, took its toll with Aaron not reaching the same levels in his final two matches although his final position of 12th in the country must be seen as a huge leap forward.

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Haydon Smith (right) putting in the hard yards against number one seed Jared Carter

Colchester’s Haydon Smith (left) came up against top seed and eventual U15 champion, Jared Carter in the first round. Understandably, Haydon was a little nervous in the opening game and that showed in his play as the game ran away from him 11-2.

As the second game progressed Haydon began pushing Jared to the back of the court playing some controlled points as he settled and grew in confidence. The favourite took the game to five but Haydon was competing and improving.
By the third game, and with nothing to lose, Haydon was beginning to play really well and Jared knew he was in a match. He pushed Jared all the way but the lad proved why he is the top of the pile and ran out a winner in that game 11-7. Haydon had nothing to be ashamed of and gave it his all.
Harry Kitchens faced 9/16 seed Lewis Anderson in his opening game with the hint of an upset in the air. Harry found his range early and produced some good, attacking points. The game was tight at five all before Harry played some loose points allowing the opener to run away from him. But he made Anderson work for it.
The second game was an epic as Harry raised his game an intensity. The Southend lad reached game-ball at 10-9 but couldn’t close it out on that point. Game balls were shared, but eventually going the way of Anderson 18-16. Glorious squash and effort.
harryThe third was tight too. Harry got his nose in front mid way but got squeezed out to 8 to lose 3-0, much to the relief of a shattered  Anderson. But Harry gave absolutely everything (as our picture shows).
Both boys played tough opposition in the plate too, with Haydon competing well in an incredibly tight match against the eventual plate runner up Julian Standish. At 2-2 it looked like anybody’s match. But in the fifth, Haydon’s levels dropped marginally and the match ran away from him 3-2.
Harry was up against the eventual Plate winner Daniel Wells, a big lad who hits the ball like a steam train. Harry competed well,  got his nose in front in the third, but had to surrender the spoils to the stronger player.