Beds County Championships 2015
LDSC Players dominate at County Championships
Lewsey Sports Park was once again the host venue for the annual Bedfordshire County Championships and when the aroma of deep heat had cleared and the tears mopped up it was LDSC players who had taken all the main prizes by the close of competition on Sunday afternoon.
It was an early start for the elite men as reigning champion, Steve Davies, despatched Alberto Elfasi in quick time, whilst on the other courts Nathan Derrick and Joe Elfasi did likewise to their opponents. However, 7 times past winner Steve Barlow from Bedford went down fighting to youngster Declan Osborn, eventually losing 3-2. Osborn followed that win up later in the day with a win against Bedford’s Jules Cooper, returning from action in Afghanistan, to reach the semis where he was joined by Davies, Derrick, and surprisingly by Bedford’s Ivan Schimanski, who benefitted from the withdrawal through injury of Elfasi during their match.
Sundays semi-finals were pretty one-sided affairs with Davies and Derrick triumphing against Osborn and Schimanski respectively. The final was a treat though as Davies took the first before a great come-back by Derrick to even things up, then suddenly Derrick imploded towards the end of the third and Davies ultimately retained his crown.
In the B category, there was little trouble for the top seeds as Phil Hales of Mowsbury joined LDSC’s Stephen Axford, Ashley Norman and Paul Main in the semis. Hales beat Axford surprisingly easily to set-up a repeat of last years final against Main. Unlike last year though there was no real drama as Main won with a bit to spare 3-0.
For the first time in over a decade there was a women’s event, showing a return for the investment by the County in women’s squash supported by Team Beds and Luton. Aching limbs were the order of the day as Debbie Main ran out winner without dropping a game, albeit Alison Parles should have prevented that being 9-5 ahead at one point in her match against Main before succumbing in a tie break.
In the juniors the U11 category was won in imperious fashion by LDSC’s Sophia John, currently ranked in the top 20 in England, who edged past club mate Dilan Sheemar in the final.
The Under 15 title was won by Sheemar’s elder brother Rahul who finished ahead of surprise package, Flitwick’s Sam Dennis who lost an earlier match against LDSC’s Aran Flynn, but benefited from Flynn’s slip ups elsewhere.
The Under 17s winner, LDSC’s George Allen was no surprise, but debutant Bedford’s Fabian Cooper did well to reach the final beating LDSC’s Amy Rigby along the way. That defeat perhaps paved the way for one of the most closely fought matches of the weekend for 3rd/4th place where home boy, Sean Davies, beat Rigby for the first time in his life in a five game thriller to remove a monkey that has been on his back for some time!
Final positions:
Mens A
1 Steve Davies
2 Nathan Derrick
3 Declan Osborn
4 Ivan Schimanski
Mens B
1 Paul Main
2 Phil Hales
3 Stephen Axford
4 Ashley Norman
5 Scott Richardson
6 Jeff Bulled
7 Colm McNelis
8 Jay Patel
Women
1 Debbie Main
2 Alison Parles
3 Laura Bowater
4 Anita Gates
Under 11
1 Sophia John
2 Dilan Sheemar
3 Natalie Main
4 Lily Main
Under 15
1 Rahul Sheemar
2 Sam Dennis
3 Aran Flyn
4 Sam Lewis
5 Connor Seymour
Under 17
1 George Allen
2 Fabian Cooper
3 Sean Davies
4 Amy Rigby
5 Alex Axford
6 Arjun Vainkangar
7 Ross McKenzie
LDSC Players dominate at County Championships
Lewsey Sports Park was once again the host venue for the annual Bedfordshire County Championships and when the aroma of deep heat had cleared and the tears mopped up it was LDSC players who had taken all the main prizes by the close of competition on Sunday afternoon.
It was an early start for the elite men as reigning champion, Steve Davies, despatched Alberto Elfasi in quick time, whilst on the other courts Nathan Derrick and Joe Elfasi did likewise to their opponents. However, 7 times past winner Steve Barlow from Bedford went down fighting to youngster Declan Osborn, eventually losing 3-2. Osborn followed that win up later in the day with a win against Bedford’s Jules Cooper, returning from action in Afghanistan, to reach the semis where he was joined by Davies, Derrick, and surprisingly by Bedford’s Ivan Schimanski, who benefitted from the withdrawal through injury of Elfasi during their match.
Sundays semi-finals were pretty one-sided affairs with Davies and Derrick triumphing against Osborn and Schimanski respectively. The final was a treat though as Davies took the first before a great come-back by Derrick to even things up, then suddenly Derrick imploded towards the end of the third and Davies ultimately retained his crown.
In the B category, there was little trouble for the top seeds as Phil Hales of Mowsbury joined LDSC’s Stephen Axford, Ashley Norman and Paul Main in the semis. Hales beat Axford surprisingly easily to set-up a repeat of last years final against Main. Unlike last year though there was no real drama as Main won with a bit to spare 3-0.
For the first time in over a decade there was a women’s event, showing a return for the investment by the County in women’s squash supported by Team Beds and Luton. Aching limbs were the order of the day as Debbie Main ran out winner without dropping a game, albeit Alison Parles should have prevented that being 9-5 ahead at one point in her match against Main before succumbing in a tie break.
In the juniors the U11 category was won in imperious fashion by LDSC’s Sophia John, currently ranked in the top 20 in England, who edged past club mate Dilan Sheemar in the final.
The Under 15 title was won by Sheemar’s elder brother Rahul who finished ahead of surprise package, Flitwick’s Sam Dennis who lost an earlier match against LDSC’s Aran Flynn, but benefited from Flynn’s slip ups elsewhere.
The Under 17s winner, LDSC’s George Allen was no surprise, but debutant Bedford’s Fabian Cooper did well to reach the final beating LDSC’s Amy Rigby along the way. That defeat perhaps paved the way for one of the most closely fought matches of the weekend for 3rd/4th place where home boy, Sean Davies, beat Rigby for the first time in his life in a five game thriller to remove a monkey that has been on his back for some time!
Final positions:
Mens A
1 Steve Davies
2 Nathan Derrick
3 Declan Osborn
4 Ivan Schimanski
Mens B
1 Paul Main
2 Phil Hales
3 Stephen Axford
4 Ashley Norman
5 Scott Richardson
6 Jeff Bulled
7 Colm McNelis
8 Jay Patel
Women
1 Debbie Main
2 Alison Parles
3 Laura Bowater
4 Anita Gates
Under 11
1 Sophia John
2 Dilan Sheemar
3 Natalie Main
4 Lily Main
Under 15
1 Rahul Sheemar
2 Sam Dennis
3 Aran Flyn
4 Sam Lewis
5 Connor Seymour
Under 17
1 George Allen
2 Fabian Cooper
3 Sean Davies
4 Amy Rigby
5 Alex Axford
6 Arjun Vainkangar
7 Ross McKenzie
