IOMSRA League titles decided – Team AON, Outcasts and Island Exhausts Vets crowned champions
Team AON are A league champions again, finishing with a 4-1 win over closest rivals Cannel Print this week, and remaining unbeaten since Christmas. Chris Cave and Mason McLarney secured good 3-1 wins against Junior players Oliver Williams and Oliver Wait. Then Pat Fitzpatrick made the match score 3-0 with a win over fellow Academy coach Ben Peach. Resistance from Cannell Print came through their captain Thomas Whiteway who beat AON Captain Robin Crease in three close games and senior player Rob Colquitt who battled hard for five games but just failed to get the win over Robin’s younger brother Jason. Team AON have had a good season and are very worthy champions.
Mid Court Crisis (MCC) finished their season with a close fixture against Crazies. Crazies started well with 3-0 and 3-1 wins in the bottom string matches through Adam Corcoran and Mark Webster-Smith. MCC fought back and levelled the match score with 3-1 wins through Malcolm Levy and Rob Boyles. The deciding match was between Crazies much improved James Ramsey and MCC stalwart Paul Barnett. This was a very close match with James pulling back from 2-0 down to even the score 2-2, before Paul clinched the fifth14-12 to give MCC the match win.
The B league winner was decided when Outcasts played Sharks this week, with Outcasts coming into the fixture above Derivco Sharks on points but Sharks ahead on the number of matches won. After some tough matches Outcasts proved to be too strong for Sharks and took the fixture 4-1, 233-175. Sharks only victory was at number one with James Ramsey getting a good result against a returning Chris Cave. At number two Toby Woolard beat Alan MacNair 3-1, then Nathan Quilliam had a point to prove, finding himself playing at three after having been dropped from his more usual number one spot, and beat Dave O’Neill 3-0. At four Angus Hopkinson had a good 3-1 win and then in the fifth string match Liam Davies made up for last year’s loss against David Freer by beating him 3-0. As victors the Outcasts took the Winter League, and with them already having won the Autumn League, they have been crowned Division B champions for 2019/20.
The Junior Academy played their final league match against Racketeers Pioneers and enjoyed a fantastic win. Their progress throughout the season has been outstanding and the Junior Academy team have really shown they are well worthy of competing in the B league. The stand out result was Emma Leith beating Dad James, Emma dug in well and in the end her exceptional technique gave her the advantage in the fifth. The overall result was 3-2, 201-216 so it was a very close match. Watch out next season B league… the Juniors are coming for the title!
Island Exhausts Vets finish as C League Champions, although this final fixture proved to be a difficult one for them and they only just maintained their unbeaten record against a strong Dohle Stars team. Peter Sharples, Les Callow and Mark Stratford got the Exhausts off to a winning start with 3-0 wins in the lower order matches. It was good to see Vicky Watterson back on an Island court and giving Mark a good run for his money, there were plenty of long rallies with much of the play being from the back of the court. Les and Peter had too much experience for their opponents but both Phil Butler and Harry Douthwaite were competitive throughout. At the top of the order neither Richard Cretney nor Ian Sheard could make much headway in their matches with both Angus Hopkinson and Peter Baker dominating the court. Angus played good, canny squash throughout wearing down Richard in some long rallies while Peter played a good mix of length combined with some powerful controlled hitting to secure the top two matches for Dohle . Island Exhausts Vets are to be congratulated on winning the league and retaining their trophy.
Buchanan & Pitts Misfits middle order of Terry Holt, Stephen Pitts and John Watterson, played to their strengths and secured the bonus points in their fixture against Junior Academy C team. Juniors number one Beth Jones had a good 3-0 win but the match of the night was between Elliot Henson and Cai Lewis, the latter making only his second appearance for the team. Cai’s youth, determination and fitness proved decisive in their epic five game encounter.
It has been good to be able to get back on the courts and finish the leagues for this year. The Prize Presentation and end of season social will take place on Saturday 1st August at Pulrose Golf Club, a great event for all squash players to mark the end of the season and celebrate the game.
