The final of the Division 1 men’s interclub for 2018 was won by Squashways – led out by Oliver Johnson who made pretty easy work of the Burnside #1 Scott Gardiner who chased the ball around to no avail for 25 mins or so.
Next up, the young up-and-comer Caelum Betteridge took on the season Mark Revis and controlled the match well to even the scoreboard for Burnside.
The deciding rubber of the night pitted the soon to be departing Nick Wilson against Burnside’s secret weapon Chris Wiringi.
Nick came out firing and secured the first game, before the gutsy Wiringi fought back to win the second game.
Both players worked hard throughout the next two sets with Wilson claiming the victory and the shield for Squashways in 4 sets.
Congrats to the dominant Squashways for yet another Men’s Division 1 title and thanks to Paul Growcott for hosting and setting out the feast which was shared by all the division 1 teams contesting final round matches
There were some great matches for all teams on good warm courts. Most of the matches and the rubbers were very competitive and the games went quite long into the night. Last match finished at 2230 hours.
Most notable point was that at 67 years of age Wayne Seebeck was older than the combined ages of the whole Hoon Hay team. In this case age didn’t win but was great to see such a strong team of young players.
Last players off were from the lower graded teams and their matches were highly competitive going right down to the wire.
All teams stayed right to the end for the supper and prize giving which was great. Thank you to Christchurch Football for great courts and a warm lounge – made the whole evening very enjoyable.
Results:
Division 2 Winners- Hoon Hay 1
Division 3 Winners - Christchurch 4
Division 4 Winners – Burnside 4
Division 5 Winners – Christchurch 6
Firstly, a big thank you to Deb Salisbury from Burnside Squash Club for coming down and opening the club up and being a great host. Thanks to Simon from Mt Pleasant who helped with the dishes at the end of the evening, and for all players and supporters for the atmosphere during the evening. Thanks to Scott Gardiner from Squash Canterbury board for coming down to present the awards.
Tight matches within this tie, sometimes the 3 nil score line doesn’t show the true reflection of the toughness of the games that were played.
The night started out with Ian and Rocco, with a 3-nil win to Mt Pleasant, which set the scene for the second match which was a hard-fought battle in 5 between Simon and Thomas. Third match between Dave and Jack went to Jack in 4, which set the scene for the last game, with the scores being tied at 6 all. Brett and Martin’s game was a good show of mastery of length and drops, with the win going to Brett 3 nil. Mt Pleasant being the victors 9/6. It was great to hear the seniors acknowledging the juniors and complementing them on their improvement through the competition.
Back Row: Jess Wilson (IC Committee Member), Iain Campion, Brett Saunders & Scott Gardiner (SC Board Member)
Front Row: Simon Turner & Dave Barron
When playing squash, you never know what can happen, whether it be while you are playing or when you are marking/umpiring. Tonight, was the night Devon (Football) received her L plates for umpiring. At one stage, Devon was sitting making the calls and after the matches, there were two very helpful wise men giving her some vital feedback, thanks Ross Minehan & Scott Gardiner for your wise words towards Devon, I know it was greatly appreciated.
To the games now, again these matches were tight and there was a lot of thinking required on court as to how each player was going to get the winning edge. Oscar and Khawaja started the night with a fantastic 4 setter, great straight shots not to mention the movement around the court, with Oscar coming out on top. Jimmy and Heather also went to 4 and have to say there were some great shots from Heather which had Jimmy stumped at times, but hey we do pay for the whole racket not just the strings, well done Jimmy for getting the win. Ethan and Albert’s game also had some great movement and shots, it was a pleasure to watch, with Ethan getting the better of Albert in 3 sets. Finally, Devon and Qazi took the court, this was a win to Qazi in 3, but it was great to see both players smiling throughout the whole match. Well done to Football on your win, 9/5. It was said during supper that it was probably the best supper had during the whole round, it did look pretty good, and everyone agreed they had good battle each week.
Back Row: Oscar Cunningham, Devon Kellor, Scott Gardiner (SC Board Member)
Front Row: Ethan Peddie, Jimmy Stewart, Jess Wilson (IC Committee Member)
Due to some very unforeseen circumstances Malvern ended up defaulting two players, but in true Malvern fashion, the players and supporters turned up and played in great spirit. The two matches that went ahead, were tough games, there was nothing left on the court in the end. Chris and Matt battled it out in 4, but it easily could have been viewed as best of 7 not 5. Tim and Hamish carried on the tradition and decided to go one better and have a 5 setter. Well done to Burnside for your win, 12/3. It was great to hear two players within the Burnside team have improved their grading by 400-500 points during this round.
Back Row: Ian Gardiner, Scott Gardiner (SC Board Member) & Chris Appleby
Front Row: Tim Sullivan, Theo Fujii & Jess Wilson (IC Committee Member)
