The St George’s Hill Knights, Leamington Royals and Chichester Centurions all recorded home wins on an action-packed night of Optasia Squash Super League action, defeating the Bexley Ballers, Coolhurst Cavaliers and Bristol Buccaneers, respectively.
The Knights delivered the performance of the night, recording a clean sweep win over the Ballers to take home the maximum five points on offer. Elsewhere, the Royals defeated the Cavaliers by a 3-1 scoreline and the Centurions claimed victory over the Buccaneers, having won more games across the four matches after the teams couldn’t be split at two wins apiece.
The results see the gap at the top of the table narrow to just two points, with the Centurions sitting on 16 points and the Royals close behind them on 14 points. Meanwhile, the perfect five points recorded by the Knights sees them leapfrog the Cavaliers into third position in the table.
Read below for the individual reports and results from each of the three fixtures. If you missed out on the action, full replays are available to view on the England Squash YouTube Channel.
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Leamington Royals v Coolhurst Cavaliers
The Leamington Royals narrowed the gap at the top of the Squash Super League table to just two points after recording a 3-1 win over the Coolhurst Cavaliers.
Wins from Victor Crouin, Lucy Turmel and Rory Richmond were enough to see the Royals claim their third win from four outings so far this season.
After the Royals’ Rory Richmond had got home side off to a winning start with an 11-5, 11-4 victory over Luke Bishop, World No.52 Simon Herbert levelled the tie at one match apiece.
The Cavaliers player was made to work hard as he edged past compatriot Ben Smith in the Men’s U25s match by an 11-9, 11-8 scoreline, in a match that was ultimately decided by fine margins.
Just five spots split the two players representing both teams in the women’s match, with World No.20 Sarah-Jane Perry of the Cavaliers taking on World No.25 Lucy Turmel from the Royals.
In a match that was punctuated with a number of refereeing decisions and traffic in the middle of the court, it was eventually Turmel who got the better of her England teammate to seal an 11-7, 8-11, 11-7 win to the delight of the home crowd.
French No.1 Victor Crouin ensured there would be no way back into the tie for the Cavaliers as he romped past German National champion Raphael Kandra in 21 minutes. Crouin delighted the crowd with several eye-catching winners on his way to an 11-3, 11-4 victory.
Leamington Royals v Coolhurst Cavaliers
Rory Richmond [LR] bt Luke Bishop [CC] 2-0: 11-5, 11-4 (21m)
Simon Herbert [CC] bt Ben Smith [LR] 2-0: 11-9, 11-8
Lucy Turmel [LR] bt Sarah-Jane Perry [CC] 2-1: 11-7, 8-11, 11-7 (38m)
Victor Crouin [LR] bt Raphael Kandra [CC] 2-0: 11-3, 11-4 (21m)
St George’s Hill Knights v Bexley Ballers
St George’s Hill Knights recorded a clean sweep win over the Bexley Ballers in front of their home fans thanks to individual victories from Miles Jenkins, Sophie Fadaely, Alicia Mead and Joel Makin.
Club Hero Jenkins got his team off to the perfect start after recording a 2-1 win over Jack Webster. Despite losing out in a second-game sudden death tie-break, Jenkins responded well to take the third 11-4 and seal the first win for the Knights.
Second on court was Sophie Fadaely who overcame last-minute replacement Jasmine Thirst in straight games. Thirst, who was only named in the line-up mere hours before the match after the injury withdrawal of Georgina Kennedy, fell behind early doors and could never quite get herself back ahead on the scoreboard, falling to an 11-2, 11-5 defeat.
World No.46 Alicia Mead subsequently secured the first victory of the season for the Knights with a controlled performance on the all-glass court inside St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club, overcoming Rana Ismail by an 11-7, 11-3 scoreline.
After missing out on the team’s last two matches in the Squash Super League, World No.5 Joel Makin marked his return to the Knights team with a hard-fought win over the ever-dangerous Mohamed Abouelghar.
Despite the Egyptian racing out of the blocks and clinching a tight opener, Makin remained composed to move through the next two games for the loss just nine points and seal the perfect 4-0 win for the Knights.
St George’s Hill Knights v Bexley Ballers
Miles Jenkins [SGK] bt Jack Webster [BB] 2-1: 11-3, 10-11, 11-4 (32m)
Sophie Fadaely [SGK] bt Jasmine Thirst [BB] 2-0: 11-2, 11-5 (12m)
Alicia Mead [SGK] bt Rana Ismail [BB] 2-0: 11-7, 11-3 (20m)
Joel Makin [SGK] bt Mohamed Abouelghar [BB] 2-1: 9-11, 11-5, 11-4 (40m)
Chichester Centurions v Bristol Buccaneers
The Chichester Centurions edged past the Bristol Buccaneer to maintain their strong start to the season and remain at the summit of the Squash Super League table.
Despite the 2-2 scoreline in games, the Centurions took the win after claiming a higher total of games (5) across the night compared to the Buccaneers (4).
Chichester got off to the dream start though Tim Vail, who wrapped up a 2-0 win over James Snell. After racing into an early 5-1 lead in the first, Vail never looked back, needing just 21 minutes to claim an 11-7, 11-4 win.
After the Buccaneers’ Wai Iynn Au Yeong had brought the tie level with a strong win over Megan Light, it was time for World No.22 Tesni Murphy and World No.25 Katie Malliff to take the court – with the match as close as their rankings suggested.
The momentum swung both ways over the opening two games, but in a stop-start third it was the Buccaneers’ Murphy who managed to inch away at just the right time. The Welsh No.1 moved to three match balls up, and despite a brief scare as Malliff saved two of these opportunities, Murphy held on to take the crucial win.
Up-and-coming star Jonah Bryant claimed yet another win for the Centurions in what is proving to be a superb season for the 19-year-old, defeating England compatriot Patrick Rooney in straight games.
Bryant delivered an eye-catching performance in front of the home fans inside Chichester Racquets & Fitness Club, overcoming an early deficit to eventually record an 11-4, 11-8 win after 25 minutes of play.
Chichester Centurions v Bristol Buccaneers
Tim Vail [CC] bt James Snell [BB] 2-0: 11-7, 11-4 (21m)
Wai Iynn Au Yeong [BB] bt Megan Light [CC] 2-0: 11-6, 11-5 (16m)
Tesni Murphy [BB] bt Katie Malliff [CC] 2-1: 11-4, 5-11, 11-9 (36m)
Jonah Bryant [CC] bt Patrick Rooney [BB] 2-0: 11-4, 11-8 (25m)
