2005 Event

Lengthorn & Handley
claim Youngs Cup

Rebecca Colthup reports

The crowds here at Wimbledon were treated to two great finals ...

Laura goes one better ...

Both players started well, with some tight long rallies. However Laura soon started to dominate, she kept Carla in the back corners and then, with her opponent behind her she won the rallies with beautifully weighted drops and boasts.

Carla tried in vain to have the game played at the fast, hard pace that she enjoys but Laura was having none of that and she controlled the match from start to finish with a good variety of lengths and touch shots.

Laura won 9/3 9/4 9/2 in 25 minutes to become Wimbledon champion, going one better than her runner-up spot last year.

First title for Scott ...

The game started with an epic rally that seemed to last forever. Scott looked determined, a man on a mission!! He moved Peter around the court, took the ball early and put Peter under pressure. Peter tried to get in front of Scott and when he did he played some superb winners.

The first game was very close with both players hitting a series of winners and a couple of errors but at 9-9 Peter made two mistakes to hand the game to Scott 11/9.

Right from the word go in the second game Scott picked up the pace and forced Peter into hitting six errors and with Scott hitting five drop shot winners he soon took the game 11/2. The third game was a lot closer, both players had their chances.

Peter tried to slow the game down and cut out the errors and Scott tried to keep Peter under pressure with the fast pace and tight drops.

They exchanged match and game balls but it was Scott who capitalised on a mistake to win the game 11/10 (3-1) and the match 3-0 to pick up the Wimbledon trophy for the first time.

This is Rebecca Colthup for SquashSite
at the Wimbledon Cup,  signing off  >>>>>>>>
  

18-Mar:
Seeds Suffer in Youngs Semis

The top seeds for the Youngs Wimbledon Cup all came safely through their lunchtime semi-finals at Wimbledon Racquets & Fitness Club, but the evening semi-finals saw three upset results as Scott Handley and Peter Genever came through to the men's final, while in the women's event Carla Khan beat top seed Pamela Nimmo to set up a meeting with Laura Lengthorn, who reversed last year's final as she defeated defending champion Rebecca Macree ...

Men's Semi-Finals:
[3/4] Scott Handley bt [1] Joey Barrington       11/9, 7/11, 11/8, 4/4 rtd (45m)
[3/4] Peter Genever bt [2] Stacey Ross           9/11, 7/11, 11/9, 11/6, 11/3 (62m)

Women's Semi-Finals:
[3/4] Carla Khan bt [1] Pamela Nimmo            8/10, 9/5, 9/7, 9/3 (63m)
[2] Laura Lengthorn bt [3/4] Rebecca Macree   9/7, 9/4, 4/9, 9/5 (53m)

Drama at Wimbledon
Rebecca Colthup reports ...

Good morning squash site readers,

Last nights semi finals were full of drama, tension and unfortunately a few arguments!!

The first semi final on court was Pam Nimmo against Carla Khan.

I missed the first 15 minutes of the game and when I joined the match it was only three all in the first, the game was very scrappy and we had decision after decision. Carla was the first to get into her stride and soon found herself 8-6 ahead. Pam saved the first two game balls and pulled it back to 8-7 but when she conceded the serve with another error she threw her racket with considerable force against the side wall which quite rightly bought a conduct warning from the referee.

Carla couldn’t convert the four game balls she had and two errors handed the first game to Pam 10-8. Pam was finding the going very tough, Carla was playing a very fast pace and forcing Pam into making the errors.

Pam was struggling with her backhand and gave away far too many stokes throughout the match. She kept informing the audience that ‘today just wasn’t her day’ With things not going Pam’s way she began to argue with the referee at every decision and during the fourth there was an ugly confrontation on court with Pam telling Carla exactly what she thought of her!! Not something that I thought I would see on a squash court.

Carla to her credit didn’t get involved and she didn’t let it phase her and ran out the winner  to reach her first Wimbledon Cup final.

[3/4] Carla Khan bt [1] Pamela Nimmo
        8/10, 9/5, 9/7, 9/3 (63m)

The next match on court was Laura Lengthorn and Rebecca Macree.

Rebecca retired from the circuit 13 months ago and at times he lack of competitive match play showed, she was often just that half a yard off the pace but she still has some great shots. It took Laura some time to get used to Rebecca’s unorthodox game but eventually took the first 9-7.

Laura then got into her stride and had Rebecca constantly on the backfoot and she took the second 9-4. Rebecca decided to resort to arguing with the referee and asking for absolutely everything, this unsettled Laura and she lost her concentration and Rebecca won the third 9-4.

The amount of energy that Rebecca had used to win the third soon took its toll. Rebecca even tried to leave the court to argue with the referee, it was more for a breather than anything else!! Laura kept her cool and won the fourth 9-5 to take the match 3-1.

[2] Laura Lengthorn bt [3/4] Rebecca Macree  
       9/7, 9/4, 4/9, 9/5 (53m)

The third mach on court was between Stacey Ross and Peter Genever.

There wasn’t much to choose between the two players tonight. Both players looked relaxed and played some superb squash.

Genever took an early lead in the first but at 9-8 Stacey played three outright winners to take the game 11-9. Stacey looked very positive in third, playing the game with consistent accuracy. He opened up an early lead, which Peter couldn’t close. 11-7.

Stacy started the third full of confidence and quickly found himself 7-2 up and looked the most likely winner. But Peter wasn’t ready to conced the match, he did what he does best, he dug deep, cut out any errors and made himself very difficult to break down.

Stacey became frustrated by his lack of opportunities and suddenly we were at 9-9, a forehand crosscourt nick and Peter was 10-9 ahead, he took the game at the first attempt. The start of the fourth was very close, both player varying the pace, playing some beautiful winners that were appreciated by the crowd.

From 6-6 Peter took control of the match taking the next five points to secure the fourth 11-6. Now there looked like only one winner – Peter, all the momentum was with him. Genever raced into a 5-0 lead and never really looked back, taking the final game 11-3. What a comeback.

[3/4] Peter Genever bt [2] Stacey Ross
           9/11, 7/11, 11/9, 11/6, 11/3 (62m)

The final match of the day was between Joey Barrington and Scott Handley.

The momentum of this match kept swinging between the two players. Joey race into a 6-1 lead, playing a series of superb winners, Scott weathered the storm and replied with a series of winners of his own to pull it back to 9-7. Joey made a couple of unforced errors and Scott took the first 11-9.

The second started the same as the first Joey raced into 6-0 lead and again Scott came back but this time Joey had a big enough lead to take the game 11-7. I called time to get the players back on to court for the start of third, Joey was a little slow and I reminded him that he needs to be on court when I call time to which he replied ‘are you a school teacher?’ to which I relied ‘in a previous life!’

This bought a smile to Joey’s face, he had been struggling with injury and a times during the match had looked in considerable discomfort so it was good to see him smile.
The injury started to take its toll on Joey and it was Scott’s turn to race into an early lead. Joey did all he could to try and reel Scott back in but Scott took the game 11-8.

I have to admit to a bit of a blooper during the third, Joey asked for a let to which I gave my decision, stroke to Handley!! A member of the audience shouted ‘school teacher!!’ Whoops, it had been a long day. Both players laughed and I went more than a litle red!!

The start of the fourth was very close. At 4-3 Scott played a forehand boast, Joey lunged for the ball and slipped, almost doing the splits. This aggravated the groin injury that he had been carrying throughout the match and although he did try to play on the injury forced him to retire at 4-4.

The match was played in a great spirit and it was a shame that it ended this way and I wish Joey a speedy recovery.

[3/4] Scott Handley bt [1] Joey Barrington      
          11/9, 7/11, 11/8, 4/4 rtd (45m)

Ok ... fff to the finals now .... speak to you later !!!

Rebecca Colthup