The first triple-header of the 2024/25 Optasia Squash Super League Produced Incredible Ties across the Country As The Leamington Royals and The Coolhurst Cavaliers registered victories, while a bonus point for the Chichester Centurions after a draw against St George’s Knights kept them at the top of the table.
Twelve thrilling matches awaited fans at the Leamington Lawn and Tennis Club, St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club and the Coolhurst Tennis & Squash Club, with the likes of French No.1 Victor Crouin, World No.14 Aly Abou Eleinen, Canadian No.1 Hollie Naughton and World No.18 Melissa Alves all taking to the court for their teams.
In a close-fought encounter, The Centurions drew against the second-place Knights to maintain their spot as league leaders. Noah Meredith, who on their last outing was involved in a 4-0 rout over the Bexley Ballers, failed to get his team off to a winning start as Knights captain Miles Jenkins scored a quick-fire 11-8, 11-5 win.
Torrie Malik and Katie Malliff got the team back on track with dominant performances to claim victory over Asia Harris and Alicia Mead respectively.
Curtis Malik battled against Knights’ Charlie Lee, and despite a 0-2 loss, the points collected across the four matches (in no small part thanks to Torrie Malik dropping just five points) were enough to earn the side a bonus point.
Coolhurst Cavaliers were represented by Aly Abou Eleinen, alongside Egyptian compatriots Mariam Metwally and Hana Ismail as well as Club Hero Joe Green, and the team collected their first win in the League after a confident 3-1 display over the Bexley Ballers.
The closest fought content came in match one, as The Ballers’ Rana Ismail took on sister Hana Ismail of the Coolhurst Cavaliers. The match came down to a sudden death in the third game, and Rana claimed the win.
The tie was restored to parity after a strong performance from Cavaliers Club Hero Joe Green, despite several incredible feats of athleticism from his opponent Dylan Roberts, including dives and strong winners.
It came down to Egypt v France as The Cavaliers relied upon Mariam Metwally and Aly Abou Eleinen to take home the win, while Melissa Alves and Sebastien Bonmalais looked to get their side their first win of the season.
It was the Egyptians who won out, as Metwally and Eleinen both took 2-1 wins to secure a 3-1 victory over the Bexley Ballers.
Elsewhere, the Bristol Buccaneers were hoping for a strong debut as they started the League campaign against the Leamington Royals, but the Warwickshire-based side were simply too strong as they earned an assured win over the Bristol team.
James Peach secured the sole point for his team with a win over the Royals’ Owain Taylor, but impressive showings from Olivia Besant, Lucy Turmal and Victor Crouin all clinched victory for Leamington to go into third place
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Results:
Leamington Royals 3-1 Bristol Buccaneers
James Peach [BB] bt Owain Taylor [LR] 2-1: 4-11, 11-6, 11-2
Olivia Besant [LR] bt Yasshmita Jadishkumar [BB] 2-0: 11-7, 11-8
Lucy Turmel [LR] bt Hollie Naughton [BB] 2-1 11-9, 10-11, 11-2
Victor Crouin [LR] bt Patrick Rooney [BB] 2-0 11-6, 11-10
Coolhurst Cavaliers 3-1 Bexley Ballers
Rana Ismail [BB] bt Hana Ismail [CC] 2-1: 6-11, 11-9, 11-10
Joe Green [CC] bt Dylan Roberts [BB] 2-0: 11-8, 11-10
Mariam Metwally [CC] bt Melissa Alves [BB] 2-1: 7-11, 11-7, 11-8
Aly Abou Eleinen [CC] bt Sebastien Bonmalais [BB] 2-1: 11-6, 10-11, 11-4
Chichester Centurions *2-2 St George’s Hill Knights
Miles Jenkins [SGK] bt Noah Meredith [CC] 2-0: 11-8, 11-5
Torrie Malik [CC] bt Asia Harris [SGK] 2-0: 11-2, 11-3
Katie Malliff [CC] bt Alicia Mead [SGK] 2-0: 11-6, 11-8
Charlie Lee [SGK] bt Curtis Malik [CC] 2-0: 11-6, 11-9
