England
Celebrate European Championships Double In
Amsterdam
England
men and women win
European title for 16th successive year
It took well over four
hours in just three matches for
England
to beat long-time rivals France 3/0 in the men's final of the
European Team Squash Championships after the
England
women's team also defeated
Netherlands 3/0 in the other final
at Frans Otten Stadion in
Amsterdam to record the double for
the 16th successive year.
Hosts
Netherlands
made up for the disappointment of losing to
France in
yesterday's men's semi-finals to beat
Germany
in the bronze medal play-off, while the women's bronze medal went to
France who beat Ireland
2/1.
With
France now boasting two
players in the men's top five, the stage was set for a dramatic men's
final which would go to the wire. Both countries' national coaches had
acknowledged on the eve of the final that France - runners-up for eight of
the past nine years - had a good chance to win the title for the first
time after building up a two-match lead by their world top five stars.
But powerful and focussed
performances by
England players meant that the script failed to materialise. First on
were the second strings - with England left-hander Peter Barker
facing Thierry Lincou, the former worlds champion from Marseille
whom he had never before beaten.
Barker, ranked 12 in the
world, earned a game ball in the first game - but his experienced
opponent, the world No5, came back to take the game and the expected
lead. But Barker was in defiant mood - and after 90 gruelling minutes
battled to an 8-10, 9-7, 9-1, 10-8 victory to put
England in the lead.
James Willstrop
led England's next
attack - the world number three taking on long-time rival Gregory
Gaultier, ranked one place higher. It was another high-octane
encounter in which the Englishman's opening game lead was cut back when
Gaultier, the reigning British Open champion, took the next two.
Midway through the fourth,
Gaultier collapsed with cramp in his left leg. After treatment by the
team's physio, the 25-year-old limped back onto court only to throw away
the game shortly thereafter.
Despite cutting back a 5-1
lead by Willstrop in the decider, Gaultier was clearly hampered by his
injury and Willstrop went on to claim a 9-7, 2-9, 7-9, 9-1, 9-3 win after
the 101-minute marathon.
It was left to fourth
string Adrian Grant to clinch overall victory for England when he
beat Julien Balbo 9-1, 9-2, 9-6 in 65 minutes in his first ever
meeting with the Frenchman.
"I think the results speak
for themselves," said team captain Lee Beachill, the squad number
three whose match against Frenchman Renan Lavigne was not played.
"The performances by Peter and James were just outstanding - and, although
we were all ready to perform when we needed to, those guys really pulled
out something special and thoroughly deserved the wins they achieved.
"It just proves what a
great team spirit we've got - no-one wanting to let anybody down and
everybody so focussed.
"It was also a great debut
for Joey (Barrington)
who has really made himself a strong member of the team and, although he's
only just joined us for the first time, he's fitted in as if he's been
with us for years," added Beachill, the former world No1 appearing in his
ninth European Championships."
Netherlands team manager
Peter Berden was delighted with his squad's performance in taking
the men's bronze medal. "I am very happy - especially as ours is a young
squad. Our fifth player Piedro Schweertman was 8-2 down in the
fourth game of his match, and fought back to win it and then take a 5-0
lead in the decider.
"It was also an emotional
occasion for us as it was Sjef van der Heijden's last appearance as
our National coach. A podium finish was what he wanted and it was good
that we achieved that for him."
Despite losing to the
Netherlands, fourth place marked Germany's best finish since 1996. But
notable too was the outcome for
Switzerland, who lost to
Wales
in the play-off for fifth place - but secured their first time in the top
six since 1990.
Luxembourg
recorded the highest finish by a non-seeded country by finishing in 18th
place. Serbia,
in their maiden appearance in the event, finished an impressive 23rd.
The
England women's team
extended their remarkable record to 31 titles since the inaugural women's
event in the Netherlands in 1978. The top seeds - in their sixth
successive final against Netherlands - showed their determination in the
first match when third string Alison Waters, ranked 11 in the
world, despatched Dutch opponent Karen Kronemeyer 9-0, 9-5, 9-0 in
just 24 minutes.
The second match featured
Vanessa Atkinson, a ten-time Dutch national champion, ranked nine
in the world, and Vicky Botwright, the England number one ranked
one place lower and also trailing 3-8 in the pair's head-to-head tally.
Putting behind her a rare
England defeat in
the earlier qualifiers, Botwright took the first game for just a single
point, then maintained her composure to clinch the second after a late
comeback by Atkinson.
Botwright continued to
pile on the pressure - and disappoint the partisan local crowd - and
finally beat Atkinson 9-1, 10-8, 9-3 after 36 minutes to win the match -
and secure the title for
England.
Squad number three
Jenny Duncalf made it maximum points for
England when she beat
Annelize Naude 9-4, 9-1 in the best-of-three dead rubber.
"What really pleased me
was that the coaches had faith to pick me - and that gave me extra
confidence," said a jubilant Vicky Botwright, the
England captain, after her
triumph. "This week's been a bit of a turnaround for me - as I haven't
been playing that well recently.
"And I wanted to do my
best to win, to take the pressure off the others. If Vanessa had got a
game, it could have turned things around."
When asked about the
pressure of maintaining
England's supremacy in the
event, Botwright explained: "We don't take anything for granted - we
don't underestimate anyone. Yesterday's semi-final against France was a
good example. That could have been a tricky tie, but we were very
professional and did what we had to do."
Botwright's smiles were
even wider as she revealed that she was now engaged to Australian
international Stewart Boswell. "We were out for a walk on a lovely
sunny Sunday some weeks ago when I noticed that Stewart was rummaging
around in his coat - and I wondered what he was doing. To my complete
surprise, he asked me to marry him! We're hoping to find a date next May,
if there is suitable gap in both of our squash commitments!"
In the play-off for third
place, seventh seeds
France
beat Ireland
2/1 to win the bronze medal for only the second time - and
Germany
defeated Denmark
2/1 to take fifth place.
But perhaps the most
notable achievement in the lower order was recorded by
Wales,
the eight seeds who beat
Belgium
2/0 in the play-off for seventh place to record their highest finish of
all-time.
Men's
Final:
[1]
ENGLAND bt [3] FRANCE 3-0
Peter Barker bt Thierry
Lincou 8-10, 9-7, 9-1, 10-8 (90m)
James Willstrop bt
Gregory Gaultier 9-7, 2-9, 7-9, 9-1, 9-3 (101m)
Adrian Grant bt Julien
Balbo 9-1, 9-2, 9-6 (65m)
Lee Beachill v Renan
Lavigne (dead rubber - match not played)
3rd place play-off:
[2]
NETHERLANDS bt [5] GERMANY
3-1
Laurens Jan Anjema bt
Simon Rosner 9-1, 9-6, 9-4
Piedro Schweertman lost
to Patrick Gaessler 5-9, 9-2, 3-9, 9-8, 5-9
Dylan Bennett bt Tim
Weber 9-4, 9-5, 7-9, 9-1
Tom Hoevenaars bt Stefan
Leifels 9-1, 9-1, 9-1
5th place play-off:
[4] WALES bt [10]
SWITZERLAND 4-0
Alex Gough bt John
Williams 10-9, 9-3 ret.
Lewys Hurst bt Benjamin
Fischer 9-1, 9-5, 10-8
David Evans bt Marco
Datwyler 9-3, 9-2
Rob Sutherland bt Marcel
Straub 9-1, 9-5
7th place play-off:
[8]
SCOTLAND bt [11] SPAIN 3-1
Alan Clyne lost to Borja
Golan 5-9, 1-9, 1-9
Jamie MacAulay bt Victor
Montserrat 9-1, 7-9, 9-2, 9-1
Stuart Crawford bt
Alejandro Garbi Caro 9-1, 9-4, 9-5
Chris Small bt Eduardo
Gonzalez 10-8, 9-0, 9-0
9th place play-off:
[6]
IRELAND bt [12] FINLAND
2-2 (Ireland
win 8-6 on games countback)
Liam Kenny lost to Olli
Tuominen 9-7, 7-9, 1-9 ret.
Steve Richardson lost to
Heikki Kononen 5-9, 9-5, 7-9, 7-9
Derek Ryan bt Matias
Tuomi 9-0, 9-5, 9-6
Arthur Gaskin bt Erno
Teitti 6-9, 9-6, 9-5, 9-0
11th place
play-off:
[9]
DENMARK bt [7] SWEDEN 4-0
Morten W Sorensen bt
Badr Abdel Aziz 9-7, 9-4, 9-0
Kim Poulsen bt
Carl-Johan Lofvenborg 5-9, 9-7, 9-5, 9-2
Rasmus Nielsen bt
Christian Drakenberg 9-3, 9-4, 9-0
Kristian Frost Olesen bt
Rasmus Hult 9-3, 9-0, 9-0
13th place
play-off:
[13]
ITALY bt [16] BELGIUM 4-0
Jose Facchini bt Wim van
Asten 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Andrea Torricini bt Sam
van Brusselen 9-2, 9-6, 9-1
Andrea Capella bt
Gregory Lecerf 9-1, 9-5
Simone Rocca bt Mats
Raemen 9-3, 9-3
15th place
play-off:
[14]
AUSTRIA bt [15] HUNGARY
2-2 (Austria
win 8-7 on games countback)
Aqeel Rehman lost to
Mark Krajcsak 5-9, 5-9, 0-9
Christian Coufal lost to
Daniel Varga 9-3, 9-1, 8-10, 4-9, 1-9
Jakob Dirnberger bt
Marton Szaboky 9-2, 9-2, 9-4
Stefan Brauneis bt David
Reiser 9-6, 9-1, 8-10, 9-7
17th place
play-off:
[18]
CZECH REPUBLIC bt
LUXEMBOURG 3-1
Pavel Sladecek bt Nathan
Sneyd 9-4, 9-2, 9-0
Ondrej Ertl bt Vincent
Pauli 9-2, 9-3, 9-0
Lukas Jelinek lost to
Daniel Hutchines 9-5, 6-9, 1-9
Jaroslav Cech bt Daniel
Kaiser 9-0, 9-3
19th place
play-off:
[17]
ISRAEL bt [19] SLOVAKIA
3-1
Nadav Wilensky bt Marek
Manik 9-4, 9-3, 9-3
Nir Zisman bt Marek
Zvoncek 9-2, 6-9, 3-9, 9-5, 9-0
Nir Arkin bt Peter
Kviecinsky 9-5, 9-6, 9-6
Ari Gitelband lost to
Tomas Toth 5-9, 3-9
21st place
play-off:
PORTUGAL bt SLOVENIA
3-1
Andre Lima lost to
Klemen Gutman 2-9, 2-9, 3-9
Ivo Mendes bt Rozie
Langus 1-9, 9-1, 9-6, 9-7
Joao Caiano bt Miha
Kavas 10-8, 9-2, 9-1
Matthew Theodoris bt
Martin Mosnik 9-0, 9-5
23rd place
play-off:
SERBIA bt [20] UKRAINE
2-2 (Serbia
win 7-6 on games countback)
Dennis Drenjovski bt
Roman Dolynych 9-7, 10-8, 9-1
Vukasin Petrovic bt
Rusian Sorochynskvi 10-8, 10-8, 9-4
Ivan Djordjevic lost to
Dmytro Shcherbakov 1-9, 1-9, 1-9
Bratislav Zivadinovic
lost to Oleksiy Davydenko 8-10, 9-7, 9-10, 6-9
25th place
play-off:
[21]
LATVIA bt [23] RUSSIA 3-1
Alexander Pavulans bt
Alexei Severinov 8-10, 9-5, 9-3, 9-6
Margers Zeitmanis lost
to Pavel Sergeev 9-2, 5-9, 9-5, 7-9, 9-10
Arnis Tihvinskis bt
Roman Fetisov 9-1, 9-4, 9-7
Kaspars Purgailis bt
Viacheslav Perfiliev 9-2, 9-2, 9-3
27th place
play-off:
[22] GIBRALTAR bt [24]
ISLE OF MAN 2-2
(Gibraltar win 7-6
on games countback)
Anthony Brindle lost to
David Norman 6-9, 9-10, 1-9
Christian Navas lost to
Richard Corlett 9-3, 4-9, 4-9, 7-9
Stephen Shacaluga bt
Kevin Watterson 9-5, 9-2, 9-1
Nicholas de Haro bt
Lyndon Cheetham 9-1, 9-4, 9-3
Women's Final:
[1]
ENGLAND bt [2] NETHERLANDS
3-0
Alison Waters bt Karen
Kronemeyer 9-0, 9-5, 9-0 (24m)
Vicky Botwright bt
Vanessa Atkinson 9-1, 10-8, 9-3 (36m)
Jenny Duncalf bt
Annelize Naude 9-4, 9-1 (17m)
3rd place play-off:
[7]
FRANCE bt [5] IRELAND 2-1
Maud Duplomb lost to
Laura Mylotte 7-9, 10-8, 3-9, 2-9
Isabelle Stoehr bt
Madeline Perry 9-4, 9-2, 0-9, 3-9, 10-8
Camille Serme bt Aisling
Blake 9-2, 9-7, 9-4
5th place play-off:
[4]
GERMANY bt [3] DENMARK 2-1
Katharina Witt bt
Marie-Louise Feddern 9-5, 9-4, 9-5
Kathrin Rohrmueller bt
Line Hansen 9-5, 10-8, 2-9, 3-9, 9-7
Sina Wall lost to Ellen
Petersen 4-9, 3-9
7th place play-off:
[9] WALES bt [11]
BELGIUM 2-0
Stacey Preece bt Ankie
Nedee 7-9, 9-3, 9-3, 9-5
Deon Saffery bt Charlie
de Rycke 9-6, 9-3, 9-1
Natalie Pritchard v
Annabel Romedenne (dead rubber - match not played)
9th - 11th place
play-offs:
[8]
SPAIN bt [6] SWITZERLAND
2-1
Xisela Aranda Nunez bt
Gabriela Hegi 9-6, 9-5, 9-0
Elisabet Sado Garriga bt
Olivia Hauser 9-1, 9-7, 9-3
Stela Carbonell lost to
Gaby Schmohl 3-9, 1-9, 0-9
[10]
ITALY bt [8] SPAIN 2-1
Veronica Favero Camp
lost to Alicia Alvarez Riaza 1-9, 6-9, 1-9
Manuela Manetta bt
Elisabet Sado Garriga 9-7, 9-6, 9-2
Sonia Pasteris bt Xisela
Aranda Nunez 7-9, 9-7, 9-2, 9-2
Final positions:
9: Italy; 10:
Spain; 11: Switzerland
12th place play-off:
[15]
SCOTLAND bt [13] AUSTRIA
2-0
Lisa Aitken bt Theresa
Gradnitzer 9-3, 9-0, 9-1
Frania Gillen-Buchert bt
Birgit Coufal 3-9, 10-9, 9-3, 10-9
Claire Kidd v Pamela
Pancis (dead rubber - match not played)
14th place
play-off:
[12]
CZECH REPUBLIC bt [14]
FINLAND 3-0
Hana Vagnerova bt Pia
Ojata 4-9, 9-2, 6-9, 9-3, 9-1
Lucie Fialova bt Lotta
Vuorela 10-8, 9-3, 9-6
Olga Ertlova bt Saara
Valtola 5-9, 9-5, 9-0
16th place
play-off:
SWEDEN bt [16] RUSSIA
3-0
Lovisa Forstadius bt
Olga Petrukhina 9-3, 9-0, 9-0
Anna-Carin Forstadius bt
Irina Assal 9-6, 9-3, 9-0
Anna Detter bt Ekatarina
Glinchikova 9-3, 9-4
18th place
play-off:
GREECE bt UKRAINE 3-0
Nikol Pozidou bt
Anastasiya Netrebchuk 9-0, 9-2, 9-1
Zeta Tzamalouka bt Nina
Taraschkevych 9-1, 9-1, 9-0
Eliza Kargioti bt
Anastasia Spivak 9-2, 9-1