Thame’s young squash players shine in one day tournament

RACQUETS November one-day tournament was definitely a case of quality over quantity, with fantastic nail biting matches being played by our the club’s junior entries.

Having smaller draw sizes meant Racquets’ players got the opportunity to play matches best of five, challenging both their endurance and mental strength.

The tournament was split into two round-robin competitions, with four players in each. The B tournament included 10 year-old Jack Turner who fought hard to win one of his matches, despite only picking up a squash racket for the first time eight weeks ago – a young talent to look out for in the future!

Grit and determination was shown by the youngest entry, Myles Glover, approaching every match with a positive attitude and a big smile! The B tournament was eventually won by Thomas Taylor who kept his cool throughout the whole event, finishing with a convincing 3-0 win in the final, over Richard Wheeler.

The competition couldn’t have been tighter in the A tournament, made up of four improver players from Racquets. Wildcard, Anthony West, rocked a few boats with a powerful forehand, and managed to take games from the club’s more experienced players; another one to watch out for!

Representing the girls was Allegra Michopoulou who was placing the ball well all day, and was involved in one of the most exciting matches of the tournament, playing eventual winner Artie Shrimpton. Both players were hunting down the volley and attacking the ball at every opportunity. Coach, Chloe Marshall, commented: “who knew one of the first matches of the day would be so thrilling! Both players showed great awareness of the game, attacking the ball and hitting into space.”

After a string of tough matches, Artie secured his gold medal, defeating good friend and rival Alex Glover 3-1.