New Zealand National Squash Championships, by Squash Site

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06-Sep:
Auckland Dominate
NZ Team Nationals

Auckland has dominated the teams event at the New Zealand National Squash Champs at the North Shore Squash Club.

The host district swept to the title in both the men's and women's events.

The Auckland men, led by New Zealand number one Kashif Shuja, went through without dropping a single match. Central Districts has finished second, courtesy of a four point victory over Wellington on a countback in the first round of the playoffs.

And the Auckland women also went through undefeated, winning all but two matches along the way. Bay of Plenty's finished second with Central Districts third.

Final placings Men

1. Auckland,
2. Central Districts,
3. Wellington,
4. Canterbury,
5. Waikato,
6. Southland,
7.Bay of Plenty,
8. Northland,
9. Eastern

Final placings Women

1. Auckland,
2. Bay of Plenty,
3. Central Districts,
4. Wellington,
5. Otago,
6. Waikato,
7. Canterbury,
8. Southland

PLAYOFFS...
1st-3rd
Central Districts 2, Wellington 2 - CD wins 125-121 on countback of points won
Auckland 4, Central Districts 0
Auckland 4, Wellington 0
4th-6th
Canterbury 4, Southland 0
Waikato 4, Southland 0
Canterbury 2, Waikato 2 - Canterbury wins 80-68 on points countback
7th-9th
Northland 3, Eastern 1
Bay of Plenty 3, Eastern 1
Bay of Plenty 2, Northland 2 - BOP wins 7-6 on games countback

Women
Round 4
Waikato 3, Southland 1
Otago 2, Canterbury 2 - Otago wins 92-90 on points countback
PLAYOFFS
7&8 Canterbury 2, Southland 2 - Canterbury wins 8-6 on games countback
5&6 Otago 2, Waikato 2 - Otago wins 112 - 96 on points countback
3&4 Central Districts 3, Wellington 1
1&2 Auckland 3 Bay of Plenty 1

04-Sep:
Top Seeds Take NZ Titles
Gary Denvir reports

The top seeds have taken the titles at the New Zealand National Squash Champs in Auckland.

Shelley Kitchen is the new New Zealand women's champion, making amends for her surprise loss to Tamsyn Leevey in the final last year. The world number 13 beat Auckland's Louise Crome 9/1 9/2 4/9 9/5 in the title decider.

And Auckland's Kashif Shuja is the New Zealand men's champion, beating Waikato's Callum O'Brien in the final for the second year in a row. Shuja bounced back from a slow start to win the title 3/9 9/5 9/4 9/1.

The teams event starts tomorrow, with Waikato favoured to take out the women's event, and Auckland top seed in the men's.

Shelley Kitchen

Kashif Shuja

Round One:
Fog causes havoc in Auckland

Preview:
Kitchen aims for
NZ Nats revenge

03-Sep:
Relief for organisers
in Auckland
Gary Denvir reports

Day two of the New Zealand nations went off without a hitch at the North Shore Squash Club, in stark contrast to the havoc on day one.

Flight delays and cancellations due to fog at Auckland airport forced a radical change of the schedule for Friday's opening two rounds, with play eventually finishing at one o'clock in the morning.

The drama off the court has been matched in the women's action on the court, with top seed Shelley Kitchen given a real scare in her semi-final against fourth seed Jaclyn Hawkes. The world number 13 was forced to dig deep to nail a 9/5 9/5 4/9 1/9 9/7 victory.

Louise Crome

And second seed Tamsyn Leevey hit a brick wall in the shape of Louise Crome... the third seed winning through to the final with a 10/8 9/2 10/9 victory over Leevey.

The men's draw has been less dramatic.

Callum O'Brien

Top seed Kashif Shuja is through to the title decider without dropping a game all tournament. However, the defending champion had to work hard to beat fifth seed Martin Knight 10/8 9/7 10/8 in the semis.

Second seed Callum O'Brien has also made the decider without a blot on his record, setting up a repeat of last year's final with a 9/3 9/7 9/0 win over third seed Campbell Grayson.

New Zealand Nationals 2005 - MEN North Shore Club, Takapuna
Round One &Two Sep 02	Quarters Sep 03	Semis Sep 03	Final Sep 04
1. Kashif Shuja (Akl) 9/1 9/1 9/0 Whaiora Moeke (BOP)	Kashif Shuja 9/0 9/5 9/5 Graeme Wilson	Kashif Shuja 10/8 9/7 10/8 Martin Knight	Kashif Shuja 3/9 9/5 9/4 9/1 Callum O'Brien
8. Graeme Wilson (Akl) 6/9 9/5 9/0 2/9 9/1 Michael Bill (Waik)
5. Martin Knight (Wlg) 9/7 10/8 9/7 Gar Duberly (Akl)	Martin Knight 6/9 9/1 6/9 9/6 9/5 Josh Greenfield
4. Josh Greenfield (Wlg) 9/2 9/1 9/2 Grant Craig (Cant)
3. Campbell Grayson (Akl) 9/1 9/1 9/1 Chris McEldowney (CD)	Campbell Grayson 9/3 9/5 9/0 Sam Atkins	Campbell Grayson 9/3 9/7 9/0 Callum O'Brien
6. Sam Atkins (Akl) 9/2 9/7 9/2 Evans Chileshe (Cant)
7. Willie Bicknell (Wlg) 9/6 9/1 3/9 9/6 Paul Tuffin (CD)	Willie Bicknell 9/1 9/0 9/6 Callum O'Brien
2. Callum O'Brien (Waik) 9/3 10/8 9/3 Tim Preston (Cant)

First Round:
1. Kashif Shuja (Akl) bt Adrian Mennell (Sth) 9/0 9/0 9/1
Whaiora Moeke (BOP) bt Nigel Lloyd (Akl) 9/2 9/6 9/5
Michael Bill (Waik) bt Nigel Hobson (Waik) 9/5 9/0 9/0
8. Graeme Wilson (Akl) bt Craig Endres (Waik) 9/7 9/7 9/5
5. Martin Knight (Wlg) bt Tini Moeke (BOP) 9/4 9/0 9/0
Gary Duberly (Akl) bt Tim Williams (Cant) 9/2 9/7 9/6
Grant Craig (Cant) bt Paul Kennett (Waik) 10/9 9/5 9/10 10/9
4. Josh Greenfield (Wlg) bt Matt Spooner (CD) 9/0 9/0 9/1
3. Campbell Grayson (Akl) bt Brent Lewis (Nthl) 9/2 9/1 9/0
Chris McEldowney (CD) bt Kade Atkinson (Cant) 9/3 7/9 9/2 9/5
Evans Chileshe (Cant) bt Josh Thom (Akl) 9/7 9/4 9/3
6. Sam Atkins (Akl) bt Glen Carson (CD) 9/3 9/0 9/6
7. Willie Bicknell (Wlg) bt Mark Millar (Wlg) 8/10 9/5 9/5 9/5
Paul Tuffin (CD) bt Grant Linton (Akl) 9/1 9/6 8/10 9/1
Tim Preston (Cant) bt Kent Darlington (CD) 1/9 9/1 2/9 9/4 9/1
2. Callum O'Brien (Waik) bt Greg Johnston (Cant) 9/2 9/0 9/5

New Zealand Nationals 2005 - WOMEN North Shore Club, Takapuna
Round One &Two Sep 02	Quarters Sep 03	Semis Sep 03	Final Sep 04
1. Shelley Kitchen (Nthl) 9/1 9/1 9/3 Rachel McLeod (Akl)	Shelley Kitchen 9/3 9/0 9/4 Kerry Wickett	Shelley Kitchen 9/5 9/5 4/9 1/9 9/7 Jaclyn Hawkes	Shelley Kitchen 9/1 9/2 4/9 9/5 Louise Crome
Kerry Wickett (Akl) 9/0 9/4 9/0 8. Kathryn Austin (BOP)
Trina Moore (Akl) 9/4 9/4 9/6 Shona Kaio (Waik)	Trina Moore 9/0 9/2 9/1 Jaclyn Hawkes
4. Jaclyn Hawkes (Ota) 9/1 9/3 9/0 Lisa Cowlard (Akl)
3. Louise Crome (Akl) 9/2 9/0 9/1 Jackie Laurenson (CD)	Louise Crome 9/0 3/9 9/7 9/1 Joelle King	Louise Crome 10/8 9/2 10/9 Tamsyn Leevey
6. Joelle King (Waik) 9/3 9/5 10/9 Paula Darlington (CD)
7. Angie Toal (Waik) 6/9 9/5 5/9 10/8 9/7 Jenny Gearing (Wlg)	Angie Toal 9/5 9/0 9/4 Tamsyn Leevey
2. Tamsyn Leevey (Wlg) 9/3 9/1 9/1 Tracey Walker (BOP)

02-Sep:
Fog causes havoc
at NZ Nationals ...
Gary Denvir reports

Auckland's foggy weather has wreaked havoc on the opening day of the New Zealand National Squash Championships at the North Shore Squash Club.

Flight cancellations and delays have seen a number of players unable to get to Auckland on time for the opening rounds, forcing organisers into a major reshuffle of the schedule.

Two players decided to play their first round in Wellington, while the Central Districts players opted to rent a van rather than waiting for a later flight. This plan came unstuck when the van broke down on the journey to Auckland, resulting in a two hour wait for a replacement. Consequently, the CD team eventually arrived at the club eight hours late.

World number 13 Shelley Kitchen was unaffected by all the drama, playing her first two rounds before many had even arrived at the courts. Kitchen cruised into the quarterfinals with a 9/1 9/1 9/2 thrashing of Auckland's Kay Hoffman in the opening round, followed by a 9/1 9/1 9/3 demolition of another Aucklander, Rachel McLeod.

And second seeded Wellingtonian Tamsyn Leevey also made light work of her opening two matches. The btending champion crushed Timaru's Liz Young 9/2 9/0 9/1, before thrashing Bay of Plenty's Tracey Walker 9/3 9/1 9/1.

Top men's seed Kashif Shuja was another who managed to get through his first two matches, winning both in straight games. The btending champion opened his campaign with a crushing 9/0 9/0 9/1 win over Southland's Adrian Mennell, before downing Bay of Plenty's Whaiora Moeke 9/1 9/1 9/0.

Second seeded Remuera clubmate Callum O'Brien only played one match though, easing to a 9/2 9/0 9/5 win over Canterbury's Greg Johnston.

Full results to come when two rounds completed ...

Preview:
Kitchen aims for
NZ Nats revenge

Preview:
Kitchen aims for NZ Nats revenge

New Zealand squash star Shelley Kitchen has some unfinished business to attend to before heading overseas again to ply her wares on the WISPA World Tour.

Kitchen has been back in the country for the last three weeks, staking a claim for a place in the New Zealand team for January's World Doubles Championships in Melbourne, and ultimately the Commonwealth Games two months later.

The world number 13 is now set to head back offshore for another three months, but first, there's a little matter of the New Zealand National Championships at the North Shore Squash Club this weekend. Kitchen missed out on the title in 2004, after a surprise loss to Wellington's Tamsyn Leevey in the final. The 25-year-old Northlander's now gunning for revenge. "It was really disappointing to miss out last year, and I'm determined to make amends...hopefully I'll get the chance to turn the tables on Tamsyn in the decider."

Meanwhile, btending champion Kashif Shuja is again the top seed for the men's title. The world number 63 is expected to meet Remuera clubmate Callum O'Brien in the final, in a repeat of last year's title decider. O'Brien, the world number 76 has had some time on the sidelines with a stress fracture of the foot this year, but is now back on deck and aiming to go one better than in 2004.