European Junior U19 Team Squash Championships,
Stavanger, Norway
Reports
Final
Semi Finals
Quarter Finals
Qualifying Finals
Qualifying Round 1
Reports
England
Retain Title In Dramatic European Junior Final
In a dramatic climax to the 25th staging of the European Junior
U19 Team Squash Championships in the Norwegian city of
Stavanger,
England
upset top
seeds
France
2/1 to win the European Squash Federation event title for the 23rd
time.
The team championships proved to be highly competitive, with 15 teams battling
it out over four intense days - with favourites France hoping to achieve a
‘grand slam’ after winning both the earlier individual titles, but facing
determined opposition from second seeds England, third seeds Switzerland,
and Germany, the fourth seeds.
"In an inspired change of strategy,
England
rested their squad number one Adrian Waller and fielded a revised team of Joe
Lee, Neil Cordell and Victoria Lust for the final against France," commented ESF
Technical Director Martin Wren.
Joe Lee,
the recently-crowned British Junior champion from
Surrey,
opened proceedings in the final - taking on in-form Frenchman Gregoire Marche.
The 18-year-old from Aix-on-Provence arrived in Norway fresh from his
first triumph in a PSA Tour event in Austria - then claimed an unexpected
triumph in the men's Individual championship before extending his unbeaten
record through the team event.
But Lee,
son of former England Junior international Danny Lee, was in impressive
form against
Marche,
defeating the European champion 9-1, 9-2, 9-6 in 46 minutes. "Joe was in total
command over Greg in what was an object lesson in how to play squash," added
Wren.
Yorkshireman Neil Cordell faced France's Lucas Vauzelle in the
second match - and battled for more than an hour against his 17-year-old
opponent to win 9-7, 9-6, 9-5 in 64 minutes to secure the coveted title for
England.
"Neil and Lucas played a really hard match with Neil making fewer mistakes but
also deserving to win by his ability to get back to basics when it mattered -
playing tight wall shots in order to recover seemingly poor situations,"
explained Wren.
In the best-of-three dead rubber which followed,
France
gained small consolation when Camille Serme, the record three-time
women's European champion, despatched Victoria Lust 9-0, 9-2.
England team manager David Campion was delighted with his team's
performance: "The squad worked really hard throughout the event and conducted
themselves extremely professionally. We were completely aware of how strong
France were - and, to their immense credit, Joe and Neil produced the goods when
it mattered in the final.
"The competition in this event gets stronger every year - but we were focussed
throughout and handled the situation really well," added the jubilant Campion.
In the play-off for third place,
Germany
upset Switzerland 2/1 - but fourth-placed Switzerland were able to celebrate
their first finish in the top four since 2002.
Wales
beat British rivals
Scotland
2/1 in the
play-off for fifth place. "Wales deserve special mention – finishing fifth
overall with a very young squad, all of whom are eligible to play next year,"
added ESF delegate Wren. "Two of the squad, Tesni Evans and Sam
Fenwick, are only 15 years old!"
But
Scotland's
sixth place finish also represented their best result for more than ten years.
"The European U19 Championships played over the past nine days in
Stavanger
have proved to be an outstanding success," stated Martin Wren. "A success for
Stavanger who are celebrating the title of European City of Culture, 2008; a
success for the hard working organisers, for the players, coaches and
supporters; and for ESF for whom this is the flagship Junior event.
"The Championships were organised by Norges Squash Forbund, and ESF owe a huge
vote of thanks to President Mike Off, General Secretary Reidun Ribesen,
as well as John Eriksen and the army of volunteers who helped make these
Championships so successful. Thanks, too, to Jens Kragholm, the
Championships Referee from
Denmark.
"In
summary, this was an excellent event, thoroughly enjoyed by players and
supporters alike. The ESF is proud that this event has provided a platform for
European junior squash at the highest level and we look forward to more of the
same when the event is hosted by
Germany
next year," Wren concluded.
France &
England To Meet In European Junior Final
Defending champions England will take on top seeds France in the
final of the European Junior U19 Team Squash Championships after
2/1 semi-final victories in the European Squash Federation event
in the Norwegian city of Stavanger.
France, led by newly-crowned men's individual
champion Gregoire Marche, defeated fourth seeds
Germany.
Lucas Vauzelle put the favourites ahead with a 9-2, 9-5, 9-3 win over
Carsten Schoor, before Marche sealed the final place after beating
Florian Silbernagl 9-5, 9-1, 9-2.
Astrid
Kern
provided a consolation point for the underdogs after despatching
France's
Laura Pomportes 9-5, 9-1 in the best-of-three 'dead' rubber.
It
was Victoria Lust who clinched the victory which maintains
England's
100% appearance record in European Junior Championships' finals since the
inaugural event in 1984.
British Junior champion Joe Lee put
England ahead against
Switzerland,
beating Reiko Peter 9-6, 9-3, 9-2. But the third seeds fought back,
courtesy of 2007 European Junior champion Nicolas Mueller, who defeated
England number one Adrian Waller 9-6, 9-2, 9-5.
However,
Victoria Lust - runner-up in the women's individual championship - overcame
Jasmin Ballman 9-1, 9-1, 10-9 to set up a repeat of the 2007 team final.
Top Seeds
On Course For
Stavanger Final
Top seeds
France
and title-holders
England
are on course to meet in the final of the European Junior U19 Team Squash
Championships after straightforward wins in the quarter-finals of the
European Squash Federation event in the Norwegian city of
Stavanger.
France beat surprise quarter-finalists
Netherlands
after Gregoire Marche and Antoine Camille gained 3/0 wins
in the first two matches. Melissa Meulenbelt gained some consolation for
the No10 seeds with a 9-7, 9-3 win over France's Laura Pomportes in the
third 'dead' rubber.
Second
seeds
England, who have never failed to reach the final
in 24 appearances in the championships, scored their fourth 3/0 win in the event
after beating Scotland,
the No8 seeds.
England face third seeds Switzerland
in one semi-final, while France take on fourth seeds
Germany in
the other.
Champions
March On In
Stavanger
Newly-crowned European Junior squash champions Camille Serme
and Gregoire Marche led favourites
France
to a comfortable victory over ninth seeds
Denmark
in the first qualifying round of the European Junior U19 Team Championships
on the opening day of action in the European Squash Federation
event in the Norwegian city of
Stavanger.
France will now face
Scotland, the No8
seeds, in the final qualifying tie before the event moves into the knockout
stage. In the other Pool A clash, Scotland prevailed 2/1 in a close battle with
Denmark.
Seconds seeds
England
were also untroubled in their two opening qualifying bouts in Pool B. The
title-holders beat both
Netherlands
and hosts
Norway
3/0 - and now look forward to taking on
Belgium
in the final qualifying round.
Netherlands, the No10 seeds, caused the only upset on day one by beating seventh
seeds Belgium 2/1. Tim van der Pluijm was the Dutch hero, recovering
from two games down to beat Alexis Broka 1-9, 3-9, 9-0, 9-4, 9-6 in the
decider.
Final:
[2]
ENGLAND bt [1] FRANCE 2-1
Joe Lee
bt Gregoire
Marche
9-1, 9-2, 9-6 (46m)
Neil
Cordell bt Lucas Vauzelle 9-7, 9-6, 9-5 (64m)
Victoria
Lust lost to Camille Serme 0-9, 2-9
3rd
place play-off:
[4]
GERMANY bt [3] SWITZERLAND 2-1
Florian
Silbernagl lost to Nicolas Mueller 5-9, 0-9, 2-9
Raphael
Kandra bt Reiko Peter 4-9, 9-1, 9-1, 9-6
Sina
Wall bt Jasmin Ballman 9-4, 9-3, 9-0
5th
place play-off:
[6]
WALES bt [8]
SCOTLAND
2-1
Hywel
Robinson bt Lyall Paterson 9-5, 9-3, 9-2
David
Haley lost to Christopher Ferguson 5-9, 5-9, 8-10
Natalie
Pritchard bt Lisa Aitken 3-9, 9-3, 9-3, 9-3
7th
place play-off:
[5]
CZECH REPUBLIC bt [10] NETHERLANDS 2-1
Petr
Martin bt Rick Penders 9-4, 9-0, 9-4
Roman
Svec bt Tim van der Pluijm 9-0, 9-0, 9-4
Klara
Janoskova lost to Milou van der Heijden 9-5, 5-9, 5-9
9th
place play-off:
[7]
BELGIUM bt [9] DENMARK 2-1
Sam van
Brusselen bt Casper Grauballe 9-6, 5-9, 9-3, 9-3
Robin
Schreurs lost to Philip Tran 7-9, 10-9, 2-9, 3-9
Toke van
Wesemael bt Sally Skarrenborg 9-5, 7-9, 9-5, 9-0
11th
place play-off:
[12]
SPAIN bt [11] FINLAND 2-1
Carlos
Cornes Ribadas lost to Henrik Mustonen 0-9, 0-9, 1-9
Damian
Arosa Rodriguez bt Ville Hiltunen 9-7, 9-3, 9-0
Carla
Fernandez Vazquez bt Nina Saari 9-1, 9-0, 9-0
13th
place play-off:
[13]
SWEDEN bt [14] IRELAND 2-1
Christoffer Ohlsson lost to Neil Martin 6-9, 9-7, 9-4, 2-9, 4-9
Johan
Detter bt Colm Dolan 9-7, 9-2, 9-1
Eira
Mooney bt Sarah Corcoran 9-2, 9-7, 9-3
15th
place play-off: [15]
NORWAY bye
Semi-finals:
[1]
FRANCE bt [4] GERMANY 2-1
Lucas
Vauzelle bt Carsten Schoor 9-2, 9-5, 9-3
Gregoire
Marche bt Florian Silbernagl 9-5, 9-1, 9-2
Laura
Pomportes lost to Astrid Kern 5-9, 1-9
[2]
ENGLAND bt [3] SWITZERLAND 2-1
Joe Lee
bt Reiko Peter 9-6, 9-3, 9-2
Adrian
Waller lost to Nicolas Mueller 6-9, 2-9, 5-9
Victoria
Lust bt Jasmin Ballman 9-1, 9-1, 10-9
5th -
8th place play-offs:
[6]
WALES bt [10]
NETHERLANDS 3-0
Sam
Fenwick bt Tim van der Pluijm 9-6, 9-7, 5-9, 9-7
Hywel
Robinson bt Rick Penders 9-3, 9-6, 9-0
Natalie
Pritchard bt Melissa Meulenbelt 9-6, 9-7
[8]
SCOTLAND bt [5] CZECH REPUBLIC 2-1
Christopher Ferguson bt Roman Svec 9-6, 9-2, 2-9, 9-4
Lyall
Paterson lost to Petr Martin 3-9, 1-9, 9-4, 9-10
Lisa
Aitken bt Anna Klimondova 9-6, 9-1, 9-5
9th -
12th place play-offs:
[9]
DENMARK bt [12] SPAIN 3-0
Philip
Tran bt Damian Arosa Rodriguez 5-9, 9-0, 9-0, 9-3
Casper
Grauballe bt Carlos Cornes Ribadas 9-5, 8-10, 4-9, 9-2, 9-3
Sally
Skarrenborg bt Carla Fernandez Vazquez 9-1, 9-6
[7]
BELGIUM bt [11] FINLAND 2-1
Alexis
Broka bt Ville Hiltunen 10-8, 9-2, 6-9, 9-1
Sam van
Brusselen lost to Henrik Mustonen 3-9, 1-9 ret.
Toke van
Wesemael bt Tia Knuutila 9-3, 6-9, 9-1, 9-3
13th -
15th place play-offs:
[14]
IRELAND bt [15] NORWAY 2-1
Colm
Dolan bt Kjeil Fjellgard 9-2, 9-0, 9-4
Neil
Martin bt Simon Nordstat 9-6, 9-2, 9-0
Sarah
Corcoran lost to Amanda Aakeson 7-9, 6-9, 3-9
[13]
SWEDEN bye
Quarter-finals:
[1]
FRANCE bt [10] NETHERLANDS 2-1
Gregoire
Marche bt Rick Penders 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Antoine
Camille Petrucci bt Tomas de Paauw 9-5, 9-5, 9-4
Laura
Pomportes lost to Melissa Meulenbelt 7-9, 3-9
[4]
GERMANY bt [6] WALES 3-0
Florian
Silbernagl bt Hywel Robinson 7-9, 5-9, 9-5, 9-1, 9-7
Raphael
Kandra bt David Haley 9-1, 9-0, 9-2
Sina
Wall bt Natalie Pritchard 9-7, 9-3
[3]
SWITZERLAND bt [5] CZECH REPUBLIC 3-0
Nicolas
Mueller bt Petr Martin 6-9, 9-4, 9-3, 9-2
Reiko
Peter bt Roman Svec 9-7, 9-3, 9-5
Jasmin
Ballman bt Anna Klimondova 3-9, 9-3, 9-3
[2]
ENGLAND bt [8] SCOTLAND 3-0
Adrian
Waller bt Lyall Paterson 9-3, 9-2, 9-2
Joe Lee
bt Christopher Ferguson 9-1, 9-0, 9-1
Victoria
Lust bt Lisa Aitken 9-3, 9-3
9th -
15th place play-offs:
[9]
DENMARK bt [15] NORWAY 3-0
Casper
Grauballe bt Simon Nordstat 9-4, 9-2, 9-0
Philip
Tran bt Kjeil Fjellgard 9-2, 9-0, 9-2
Anna
Sophie Ornfeldt bt Amanda Aakeson 9-2, 9-3
[12]
SPAIN bt [14] IRELAND 3-0
Carlos
Cornes Ribadas bt Neil Martin 9-1, 1-9, 9-5, 0-9, 9-5
Damian
Arosa Rodriguez bt Colm Dolan 9-1, 6-9, 9-1, 10-9
Carla
Fernandez Vazquez bt Cheryl Ennis 9-1, 9-1
[11]
FINLAND bt [13] SWEDEN 2-1
Henrik
Mustonen bt Christoffer Ohlsson 9-1, 9-2, 9-0
Ville
Hiltunen lost to Johan Detter 5-9, 0-9, 3-9
Tia
Knuutila bt Matilda Ravn-Holm 9-1, 9-7, 9-1
[7]
BELGIUM bye
Final qualifying round
- Pool A:
[1]
FRANCE bt [8] SCOTLAND 3-0
Gregoire
Marche bt Lyall Paterson 9-5, 9-5, 9-7
Lucas
Vauzelle bt Kevin Moran 9-7, 9-0, 9-0
Camille
Serme bt Lisa Aitken 9-1, 9-1, 9-0
Final
positions: 1
France, 2
Scotland, 3 Denmark
Pool B:
[2]
ENGLAND bt [7] BELGIUM 3-0
Joe Lee
bt Sam van Brusselen 9-0, 9-3, 9-7
Neil
Cordell bt Robin Schreurs 9-0, 9-3, 9-3
Kimberley Hay bt Gaetane Hitchins 9-2, 9-0, 9-5
[10]
NETHERLANDS bt [15] NORWAY 3-0
Rick
Penders bt Simon Nordstat 9-4, 9-2, 9-0
Tomas de
Paauw bt Sigurd-Martinius Stray 9-0, 9-0, 9-4
Milou
van der Heijden bt Amanda Aakeson 9-1, 9-1, 9-0
Final
positions: 1
England, 2
Netherlands, 3 Belgium, 4 Norway
Pool C:
[3]
SWITZERLAND bt [6] WALES 3-0
Nicolas
Mueller bt David Haley 9-2, 9-0, 9-2
Reiko
Peter bt Sam Fenwick 9-7, 9-3, 9-3
Jasmin
Ballman bt Tesni Evans 7-9, 9-3, 9-5, 2-9, 9-7
[11]
FINLAND bt [14] IRELAND 3-0
Henrik
Mustonen bt Neil Martin 9-0, 9-3, 9-0
Ville
Hiltunen bt David Tighe 8-10, 9-1, 9-0, 9-0
Tia
Knuutila bt Sarah Corcoran 9-4, 9-4, 9-0
Final
positions: 1
Switzerland, 2 Wales, 3 Finland, 4 Ireland
Pool D:
[4]
GERMANY bt [5] CZECH REPUBLIC 3-0
Florian
Silbernagl bt Petr Martin 9-5, 9-3, 0-9, 9-2
Raphael
Kandra bt Roman Svec 9-5, 9-4, 9-2
Sina
Wall bt Anna Klimondova 9-5, 9-1, 9-4
[12]
SPAIN bt [13] SWEDEN 2-1
Carlos
Cornes Ribadas bt Christoffer Ohlsson 9-5, 9-2, 9-5
Damian
Arosa Rodriguez lost to Johan Detter 1-9, 1-9, 2-9
Carla
Fernandez Vazquez bt Eira Mooney 0-9, 9-3, 9-5, 9-6
Final
positions: 1
Germany, 2
Czech Republic, 3 Spain, 4 Sweden
Qualifying rounds - Pool A:
[1]
FRANCE bt [9] DENMARK 3-0
Camille Serme bt Anna Sophie Ornfeldt 9-0, 9-3, 9-1
Gregoire
Marche bt Casper Grauballe 9-0, 9-0, 9-5
Antoine Camille Petrucci bt Lau Ulrik Kiehn 9-6, 9-0, 9-0
[8]
SCOTLAND bt [9] DENMARK 2-1
Lisa Aitken bt Sally Skarrenborg 9-1, 9-1, 9-1
Lyall Paterson lost to Casper Grauballe 9-5, 9-3, 6-9, 7-9, 2-9
Christopher Ferguson bt Philip Tran 9-1, 9-1, 9-0
Pool B:
[2]
ENGLAND bt [10] NETHERLANDS 3-0
Victoria Lust bt Melissa Meulenbelt 9-7, 10-8, 9-0
Joe Lee bt Rick Penders 9-1, 9-1, 9-0
Neil Cordell bt Tim van der Pluijm 9-0, 9-0, 9-1
[7]
BELGIUM bt [15] NORWAY 3-0
Toke van Wesemael bt Amanda Aakeson 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Sam van Brusselen bt Simon Nordstat 9-1, 9-1, 9-1
Alexis Broka bt Kjeil Fjellgard 9-0, 9-1, 9-0
[2]
ENGLAND bt [15] NORWAY 3-0
Kimberley Hay bt Amanda Aakeson 9-1, 9-0, 9-0
Adrian Waller bt Simon Nordstat 9-0, 9-1, 9-3
Neil Cordell bt Kjeil Fjellgard 9-0, 9-0, 9-1
[10]
NETHERLANDS bt [7] BELGIUM 2-1
Milou van der Heijden bt Toke van Wesemael 9-5, 9-1, 9-6
Rick Penders lost to Sam van Brusselen 1-9, 1-9, 9-10
Tim van der Pluijm bt Alexis Broka 1-9, 3-9, 9-0, 9-4, 9-6
Pool C:
[3]
SWITZERLAND bt [11] FINLAND 3-0
Agapi Kazamia bt Nina Saari 9-2, 9-0, 9-0
Nicolas Mueller bt Henrik Mustonen 9-3, 9-4, 10-8
Reiko Peter bt Ville Hiltunen 9-3, 9-4, 9-6
[6] WALES bt [14]
IRELAND 3-0
Tesni Evans bt Sarah Corcoran 9-0, 9-5, 9-1
Hywel Robinson bt Neil Martin 9-1, 9-0, 10-8
David Haley bt Colm Dolan 4-9, 9-3, 4-9, 10-8, 2-1 ret.
[6] WALES bt [11]
FINLAND 2-1
Natalie Pritchard bt Tia Knuutila 9-1, 9-2, 9-7
Hywel Robinson lost to Henrik Mustonen 3-9, 4-9, 1-9
David Haley bt Ville Hiltunen 5-9, 9-5, 10-8, 9-3
[3]
SWITZERLAND bt [14] IRELAND 3-0
Agapi Kazamia bt Cheryl Ennis 9-2, 9-0, 9-0
Reiko Peter bt Neil Martin 9-4, 9-4, 9-3
Lukas Burkhart bt David Tighe 9-2, 9-0, 9-3
Pool D:
[4]
GERMANY bt [12] SPAIN 3-0
Sina Wall bt Carla Fernandez Vazquez 9-1, 9-1, 9-1
Florian Silbernagl bt Carlos Cornes Ribadas 9-1, 9-0, 9-4
Carsten Schoor bt Daniel Pascual Martinez 9-2, 9-0, 9-2
[5]
CZECH REPUBLIC bt [13] SWEDEN 3-0
Anna Klimondova bt Eira Mooney 9-6, 9-1, 9-2
Petr Martin bt Christoffer Ohlsson 9-6, 9-3, 9-6
Daniel Mekbib bt Johan Detter 9-3, 10-8, 10-9
[4]
GERMANY bt [13] SWEDEN 3-0
Astrid Kern bt Matilda Ravn-Holm 9-1, 9-0, 9-0
Florian Silbernagl bt Christoffer Ohlsson 9-0, 9-1, 9-5
Raphael Kandra bt Mans Asp 9-0, 9-0, 9-2
[5]
CZECH REPUBLIC bt [12] SPAIN 3-0
Klara Janoskova bt Ana Arosa Rodriguez 9-4, 9-1, 9-5
Petr Martin bt Carlos Cornes Ribadas 9-1, 9-4, 9-2
Roman Svec bt Daniel Pascual Martinez 9-3, 9-5, 9-3