LEE HORTON REPORTS
ESSEX players stamped their mark on the English Junior Championships (EJC) last weekend in Birmingham with Elise Lazarus claiming the Under-17 crown and several of her county team-mates putting in exceptional performances.
The three-day event staged at Edgbaston Priory and the University of Birmingham saw nearly 300 juniors competing across eight categories for the coveted title of English Junior champion.
Elise justified her top seeding by defeating Girls Under 15 runner-up Eve Coxon (Oxon) in the final, adding a third title to her collection. Elise, the 2017 British Junior Open Under 17 finalist and 2016 British Junior Championship winner was in impeccable form and didn’t drop a game all weekend. Essex’s Alice Green was off her game slightly and was edged by Coxon in the quarters finishing the tournament in fifth place. Eleanor White grabbed 14th place in a hugely competitive field.
Ollie Green (right) claimed 4th in the Under-15’s
Ollie Green continued the excellent form that bagged him the Essex Junior Open U-15 title the previous week by taking a superb fourth place at the English. He overcame Jordan Stewart, Jack Bloomfield and Josh Perkins before falling to number one seed and eventual title winner Sam Todd from Yorkshire. Great effort, Ollie.
Connaught’s Yusef Sheikh lost just one match in the Under-13 tournament, and that to eventual runner up Ben Beachill in the third round. Yusef, coached by Dave Webster who was in Birmingham all weekend with his young charges,started as a 5/8 seed. He overcame Alexander Broadbridge 3-0 in his opener before edging Ben Parlour in an amazing match that saw the Essex player 3-2 (4-11 11-6 7-11 14-12 12-10). That battle left Yusef up against it in his match against Beachill and the Yorkshire boy, who is the son of former World No.1 Lee Beachill, took it 3-0. But Yusef recovered to notch up two further wins against Jack Mahon 3-0 (11-7 11-7 11-8) and Christopher Chak 3-2 (11-7 9-11 4-11 11-5 11-3) to finish the tournament in fifth place. Jonah Bryant clinched his first championship title after dispatching second seed Beachill 3-1:(11/8 ,19/17, 5/11, 11/8).
HANNAH MORLEY finished sixth in the U-13’s
And there was an amazing performance in the girls’ Under-13’s from Colchester’s Hannah Morley. Ranked 10th by England Squash, Hannah, another Essex Junior Open winner, busted the seedings wide apart finishing a superb sixth. With her coach Lauren Selby in her corner, Hannah overcame Florence Kersley 3-0 in her opening match before winning a brutal match against England nine seed Lauren Hall, 3-1 (9/11, 14/12, 11/8, 12/10). She was beaten by a strong Asia Harris in round three but bounced back with a 3-0 win over Amy Campbell-Wynter sealing sixth place. Fabulous performance, Hannah.
Hannah trains at the Off Wall Squash Academy in Colchester alongside Emma Bartley who lives just over the county border and represents Suffolk. Emma, another player coached by Lauren Selby, reached the final without dropping a single game producing some terrific squash. The final was won by last year’s runner-up Torrie Malik (Sussex) who justified her top seeding
Boys Under 19
Second seed Charlie Lee (Surrey) claimed the Boys Under 19s and his third Championship title in style with a 3-0 victory over top seed and 2016 runner-up Kyle Finch (Hampshire). Fresh back from injury, Lee controlled the pace of the final superbly, not giving Finch, the 2016 British Junior champion a chance to impose his own game, winning 11/8, 11/6 ,11/7. Essex’s Aaron Allpress took 16th place. A decent a showing considering he has been injured and unable to train for six weeks or so.
Boys Under 17
One of the biggest upsets came in the Boys Under 17s event when no.1 seed Oscar Beach (Lancs) was toppled by [5/8] Lewis Anderson (Warcs) in the semis. Anderson went on to meet three-time EJC champion Jared Carter (Hants) in a thrilling five-setter which could have gone either way until 15-year-old Carter emerged victorious, 11/8, 10/12, 11/6, 9/11, 11/7.
Girls Under 19
The Girls Under 19 event was contested by two-time championship holders and top seeds Lucy Turmel [1] and Grace Gear [2]. Turmel (Suffolk) put on a clinical display against Gear (Herts) winning 12/10, 11/6, 11/4, claiming her first Under 19 title.
Girls Under 15
Top seed Lydia Robinson (Yorks) made her way through the championships, relatively untroubled until she met second seed Maia Pannell (Dorset) in the Girls Under 15 final. Spectators were treated to a topsy-turvy five-setter which saw Robinson race out to take a 1-0 lead. Pannell soon replied, taking the second but Robinson came back to take the third. Determined not to surrender her first Championship title, Pannell snatched the fourth then the fifth, winning 7/11, 11/2, 9/11, 11/9, 11/8. Essex Ellie Hewes finished a creditable 11th, an impressive performance considering she has not trained properly for six months because of school commitments. Great job, Ellie.