news

2007
October 07
Phillip Bull takes National under 17 Grand Prix Title
 

 

Phillip Bull and Robert Downer.

Finalists in Boys Under 17 Prince English Junior Grand Prix 2007

Match result 7/9  9/5  3/9  10/8  9/4
 
The club's top junior squash player, Phillip Bull was on of two Hampshire boys who played the final of the Boys Under 17 Prince English Junior Grand Prix 2007on the all glass court which had been located in the Great Hall of Birmingham University.  It was a wonderful setting and a very different experience for both boys.

 

The tournament started on Friday evening on the University squash courts, followed by two matches on Saturday and a semi final on Sunday morning before the finalists moved to the all glass court.

 

The match was enthralling to watch with some excellent rallies, good retrieving. Robert Downer had opportunities to win the match several times in the fourth game, but somehow Phillip managed to keep in the game, and won the game 10/8.  Phillip’s first match ball in the fifth caused the crowd to groan loudly when he hit the tin.  However he made sure that he did not repeat the error and went on to win the match. 
 
 

September 07
  Under 12's Doubles Championships Competitors with James Neate
                                      (see report below)
Junior doubles events report
There were two junior doubles events this month, the boys 14 & under event took place last week while yesterday it was the turn of the 12 & under juniors to battle it out.
 
                 14's Winners (right) Adam Drysdale & David Darby,
                  Rs/up Karl Grossey & Josh Pauls with Alex Ross
 
The 14 & under boys event saw 8 pairs battle it out in a straight knockout event. Alex Ross who was event organiser/referee on the day reported some excellent quality doubles play and the boys battled out an entertaining three set final with Adam and David eventually coming out on top.
 
 
           12 & under winners (right) Chris Barnett & Andrew Sanders and
                Rs/up Emily Kerr & Alice Thornton with James Neate
 
The 12 & unders event was run as a combined tournament for boys and girls and three boy's pairs and three girl's pairs took part. The event was run on a round robin basis with club coach James Neate in charge of proceedings. Again there was lots of entertaining tennis on view and a large crowd of parents enjoyed some great matches.
The pairing of Chris Barnett and Andrew Sanders were undefeated and took the title while Emily and Alice, flying the flag for the girls, took the runners up spot. 
 
Well done to all and thanks to Alex and James for running two great events. It is hoped to run the 18 & under doubles at a later date.
 
 
  
 
 

 Hampshire Squash Clinic a great success....

Report by Gary Hinton - club squash pro
 
On Sunday 2nd Sept at Winchester Tennis and Squash Club, the first Hampshire Junior Squash clinic was held. The event which had Alex Gough as the headline act was the idea of Simon Walker (Junior Squash Organiser for Hampshire), and Gary Hinton (Head of Squash at

Winchester). Some 60 junior players had previously registered via the Hampshire Squash website, and we had players of both sexes ranging from 10 to 19 years old which is a great testament that squash is alive and well in Hampshire.

 
Alex Gough whose playing career has seen him ranked as high as No. 5 in the World, played an active role in the days' events both on and off the court, and probably the highlight to end the day was a 2 versus 1, where Alex demonstrated why he is still a Top 20 in the World ranked player, beating the opposition 2-0 in a close fought game which had the crowd fully entertained.

 

We fully intend to keep the momentum for Junior squash going throughout the season, and regular updates can be found on www.hampshiresquash.co.uk , said Simon. This idea was very much a pilot, but on the feedback so far we have every intention of repeating the concept again.

 
 
 

£300 raised for SCOPE charity....

The ladies charity doubles event that was held at the club yesterday - Thursday 6th September - was a big success and as a result £300 was raised for the chosen charity SCOPE. Around 40 ladies took part including 5 pairs from the club.
 
Well Done ladies!
  

August 07
USA here we come
We bid farewell to five of our top junior boy tennis players as they all set off to the states on tennis scholarships this month. Josh Girling is off to Newark, New Jersey, Will Allen to Long Island, New York, James Crawford to Cookeville, Tennessee, Tom McCormack to Catawba, North Carolina and Oliver Smith (not in picture) to Tifton, Georgia.
 
All five have been associated with the club for many years and Julian Godfrey has been working very closely with them as a squad at the club. While Julian is sorry to see them go  - it will leave a gap in the club junior set up - he was keen to encourage them to go for the opportunity that the states scholarships will give them. The boys will enjoy the best facilities available as they focus on their tennis in the USA, and the Collegiate tennis circuit will give them plenty of competition over the next 4 years.
 
I am sure you will join us in wishing them success.
 

July 07
Junior Tennis Successes
Winchester junior tennis players have done well in the past week with particularly good results at the Pit Farm Open in Guildford...see below
 
Juliet Fox had a great result at the weekend winning the first open tournament that she has entered. Juliet won the 11 & under age group girls event at the Totton and Eling Open.
 
Pit Farm Guildford - results

U I8 Boys Singles Winner - Will Allen 6-4 7-6 against Josh Tingle

 

U16 Girls Singles Winner - Hannah Crawford 6-3 4-1 against Charlotte Ames who retired not feeling well

 

U14 Girls Singles Winner - Hannah Crawford 6-3 6-2 against Yasmin Coleman of Sussex

 

Hannah & Charlotte reached the Girls Doubles U18 final but had to scratch due to Charlotte not feeling well

 

Katie Beeton reached the semis of the U14 & U16 Singles 

 
 
Southampton - Grade 5 Girls 12 & Under event

Winner Emily Kerr  - Emily beat fellow club member Miriam Chapman Rosenfeld 4-1, 5-3 in the final

 
 

Winchester - Grade 5 Boys 12 & Under event

Runner Up Miles McDowall - Miles was runner up to Richard Bekoe from Totton
 
10 & Under Sucess
At an even younger level the club is enjoing success.....our 10 & under boys team have won their box league in the Hants & IOW Junior summer league and now go on the next stage of this Hampshire county event. Well done to the Winchester team of Will Coward and Austin Gwillam
 
Cameron in his first tournament....
 
Also competing recently was another club member Cameron Dadkah who you may have seen regularly practicing at the club.
 
 
Winchester Tennis and Squash Club Wheelchair Tennis Player, Cameron Dadkah, recently competed in his first tournament at Graves Tennis and Leisure Centre in Sheffield.   Despite being drawn in the same group as a number of adults, he managed to reach the final of the Consolation draw when he lost to an experienced player who competes at a much higher level.   Although overwhelmed by the occasion, Cameron did well by beating a player in the semi-final, who was ranked above him by the Wheelchair Tennis Association (WTA) 6-4, 6-4.

 

Cameron, who is 11, has been playing wheelchair tennis for a year and is coached by Sue Epsley.   He has improved enormously particularly in the last four months with his forehand stroke being complimented by one of Great Britain Wheelchair Tennis players at Sheffield.  Cameron’s movement around the court has also improved greatly in recent months. Well done Sue! 

 

Cameron will be attending a two-day tennis camp in August at the invitation of WTA for additional coaching by the Great Britain Wheelchair Tennis coaching team.  Keep it up Cameron!
 
thanks to his dad Nass Dadkah for the report....
 
Slazenger Open - report
Winchester hosted another successful Open tennis tournament last week despite the weather trying its best to spoil the occasion. 
 
The referee of the event Andy Fyfe had a difficult time throughout the week with many rain delays and matches being played  up till 10pm on some evenings. However, the event did get completed and a rain interrupted finals day produced some scintillating tennis with a few surprise results.
 
Despite over 20 nationalities being represented in the ITF 18 & under event and the Tennis Europe 16 & Under event it was English players who dominated.

 

The ITF 18 & Under boys event was won by Suffolk’s Ashley Watling. Watling who is the Suffolk county number one and is ranked 41 in the country beat the number one seed and number eleven in the country Mathew James from North Wales 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. This was a great result for Watling who was unseeded in the event.

 

In the Girls ITF 18 & under event, Sussex county number one Olivia Smith had a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 win over Yvanna Kurlak from Notts.

 

The Tennis Europe 16 & under boys event saw the number 7 and 8 seeds battle it out in a three set final. Mathew Thomson, UK number 9, beat Dan Regan UK number 8 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to take the title.

 

The girls 16 & under event was won by Heather Watson from the Channel Islands. Heather the number two seed beat Middlesex’s Hannah Toro 6-3, 7-6.

 

In the Men’s Open, Dorset’s Ben Pritchard won the title for the second year. Ben stopped the 18 & under winner Ashley Watling from adding to his 18 & Under title with a 3 set win 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in the final.

 

In the Ladies Final Lereesa Easterbrook beat one of the country’s top junior players Jennifer Ren in a championship tie break decider 10-7 after sharing the first two sets 3-6, 6-2.

 

Local interest in the event was maintained by the progress of Winchester’s Charlotte Ames in the girls 16 & under doubles event. Charlotte and her partner Lucy Roze went down in a three set final 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to the new doubles title holders Josie Inverdale and Charlotte Windley.

 

Hannah Crawford reached the semi finals of the Girls 14 & under events while Will Allen did well to progress to the third round of the ITF 18 & Under.
 
Other club players Ollie Smith, Katie Beeton, and Emily Kerr all did well to progess to the second round of their respective events.
 
 
 
some of the finalists from finals day
 
Tennis Finals Day Report
The finals of the Club’s annual tennis championships took place on Sunday. This year’s tournament, which is kindly sponsored by Winchester based County Windows, produced some thrilling finals with many matches going to three sets. After an exceptionally wet start to the finals day, with some matches being played in the rain, some matches were actually played in sunshine in the afternoon. A rare occurrence over the past few weeks!
 
Will Allen took the Men’s Singles title after a compelling three set win over the number two seed Josh Girling. Will who had already produced a great performance in the semi finals to beat number one seed James Neate, triumphed 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. This completed a double for Will as he also won the Boys 18 & Under event, beating James Crawford 6-2, 6-1 in the final.

 
 
            Will and Josh with Club Chairman Chris Davies
 
Another multiple event winner was Hannah Crawford who retained her Ladies Singles title with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Nicki Thornton and also won the girls 18 & under event beating Katie Beeton 6-1, 7-6 in the final. Hannah can also add another singles title if she wins the 14 & Under event which is still to be completed. She also added the mixed doubles title to her collection, partnering brother James to a tight 7-5, 7-6 win over Ghouls Fox and Josh Girling.

 
 
 
Hannah and Nicki with Tennis Chairman Bob McRobert
 
The Ladies Doubles title was an entertaining match and it saw the veteran pairing of Monica Finlayson and Judy Ames triumph over the junior challenge of Hannah Crawford and Charlotte Ames 7-5, 2-6, 6-2.

 

Full results of the club championships are listed further below.  All the photosm will shortly bappear on the club website photo gallery.

 

             MENS SINGLES            Will Allen                      bt         Josh Girling                               7-5, 3-6, 6-4

           
 

            MENS DOUBLES          Josh Girling/                  bt         Mark Finlayson/

                                                James Crawford             Mark Dryden                              w/o

 

            MENS VET SINGLES                            to be completed

 

            MENS VET DOUBLES                           to be completed            

 

           

           MENS H’CAP                David Trew                     bt         Tim Sinclair-Wilson                    6-7, 6-1, 6-0

           SINGLES

 

            LADIES SINGLES          Hannah Crawford          bt         Nicki Thornton                           6-3, 6-4

 

            LADIES DOUBLES        Monica Finlayson/          bt         Hannah Crawford/                       7-5, 2-6, 6-2

                                                Judy Ames                                Charlotte Ames             

 

            LADIES VET                 Nicki Thornton               bt         Monica Finlayson                      3-6, 6-2, 6-3

            SINGLES

 

           
            LADIES VET                 Judy Slaney/                 bt         Monica Finlayson/                      3-6, 6-1, 6-3
            DOUBLES                     Julie Byers                                Nicola Ellis
 
 
            LADIES H'CAP              Denise Bruss                bt          Anna Taylor                              6-4, 3-6, 6-2
            SINGLES

           

            MIXED DOUBLES          Hannah &                      bt         Ghouls Fox/                              7-5, 7-6

                                                James Crawford             Josh Girling

           

           
            MIXED VET                   Judy Slaney/                 bt         Ghouls Fox/                              6-3, 6-3

            DOUBLES                     David Trew                                 Pete Sly

 

 

 

            BOYS U18                    Will Allen                      bt         James Crawford                        6-2, 6-1

 

            BOYS U16                    Ashtey Pauls                 bt         Karl Grossey                             6-1, 6-3

           

            BOYS U14                    Karl Grossey                 bt         Adam Drysdale                          6-3, 6-1

 

            BOYS U12                    Andrew Sanders            bt         Miles McDowall                         6-2, 6-1

           

            BOYS U10                    Daniel Hemingway         bt         Freddie Cotton                           6-4, 6-0

 

 

            GIRLS U18                    Hannah Crawford            bt         Katie Beeton                             6-1, 7-6

 

            GIRLS U16                    Katie Beeton                 bt         Sophie Smith                             6-2. 6-1

 

            GIRLS U14                                Hannah Crawford v Emily Kerr                             to be completed

 

            GIRLS U12                    Emily Kerr                     bt         Miriam Chapman-Rosenfeld        6-4, 6-3                        

            GIRLS U10              round robin event             winner Amelia Cobb      runner up Juliet Fox                   

May 07

Winchester Juniors take the Hampshire Cup title in convincing style.
Our boys junior squash team achieved success recently when they beat the holders Lee-On-Solent 4-1 in the final of the Hampshire Cup
The team of Simon Retter, Scott Finlayson, Joe Leman, Phil Bull & Richard King pictured below (l-r) were without their regular #3 due to a serious illness to James Heyes. We all wish him a speedy recovery.
 
 
Other squash news.....
World number 64 Suzie King has joined the coaching team. She is available for individual and group lessons.

Two Winchester juniors break into the national top 10. Well done to Phillip Bull who is number 7 in the boys under 17's and Emily Heyes #who is number 9 in the girls under 15's national rankings.

Hannah wins Eastleigh Junior Open
 
Hannah Crawford had an excellent victory in the recent Eastleigh Tennis Open which was held at The Hampshire Club.

The event is a grade 3 level tournament and attracts top juniors from outside of the region and this makes Hannah’s success all the more impressive. After a tough semi final where she beat Kent’s Francesca Fawkes in a third set match tie break, Hannah went on to win the final beating Elizabeth Toms from Sussex 6-4,6-4.

Another club member enjoying success recently is Graham Neale. Graham who is captain of Great Britain veteran’s tennis reached the finals of the national clay court vets championships.

There is plenty of activity at the club this month as juniors and seniors contest the club’s annual tennis championships. The championships are sponsored this year by local firm County Windows who are celebrating their 55th anniversary this year and they are pleased to be backing the club and local sport. The club’s annual championships is always a popular event and this year is no exception with 180 players taking part providing over 400 entries in the various singles and doubles events across all age groups.  Don't forget the club finals day takes place on the 1st July.


March 07
 
   
Western School children with club coach Sue Espley, coach asst Ollie and Anthony Arkwright of Lindesays Arkwright
 
Over 60 children from Western School enjoyed a free taster tennis and squash coaching clinic today at the club. Led by tenns coaches Sue Espley, Andy Sheridan, Paul Boyd Leslie, James Neate and a team of coaching assts the children enjoyed a mini tennis coaching camp. Meanwhile on the squash courts, squash coaches Gary Hinton and Alex Philips were introducing the children to squash.
 
This follows on from a similar day held last month for a different school year group and is part of the club's development programme that aims to attract many new juniors to tennis and squash.
 
The backing of Lindesays Arkwright plus additional government funding through Sportsmatch will allow the club to expand it’s schools outreach programme introducing tennis and squash to children in Winchester and the surrounding district. Schools already benefiting from the programme include Western Primary, Weeke Primary and Harestock Primary with their children visiting the club for free taster coaching clinics.

Anthony Arkwright, a Director of Lindesays Arkwright Estate Agents and club member said
 
“As a local company we are really pleased to be able to support children in our own community and it is particularly satisfying to be part of a project that offers sporting and healthy lifestyle opportunities for young people”

 

We are really pleased to have the backing of Lindesays Arkwright and Sportsmatch. It enables us to support junior sport in the local community and give children the chance to enjoy playing tennis and squash. The schools programme will bring lots of children to the club and let them have a go under the supervision of our coaching team. Ultimately we want to introduce and retain as many children as possible in the sport and this is the first stage in that process

 

February 07

Junior Tennis Success at Thornden Tennis Tournament
 
   
Emily Kerr - Andrew Sanders - Miriam Chapman-Rosenfeld             David  Darby         Adam Drysdale
 
Winchester emulated last years sucesses at the Thorden Junior Tennis Open during half term with winners and runners up in a number of events.
 
Andrew Sanders & Emily Kerr won the boys and girls 12 & under singles events with another club player Miriam Chapman Rosenfeld taking the runner up place. Miriam also took runner up  in the 12 & Under doubles.
 
David Darby and Adam Drysdale were runners up in the 14 & under boys doubles while Katie Beeton also took a runners up spot in the girls 14 & under doubles. Katie already had success earlier in the week winning the Salisbury Open Girls 14 & under singles event.
 
In the boys 16 & Under doubles Winchester winners were Karl Grossey and Charlie Dryden while Charlie also took runners up spot in the Boys 18 & under singles event losing to another Winchester member Jamie Smallman.
 
So all in all a good week for the club.
 
 
New Fitness Class starting  - Tuesday evenings
Starting Tuesday 13th March - a new class is added to our schedule - TOTAL BODY WORKOUT with Amelia 
 
incorporating high low impact - conditioning and step
 
If you would like to try it out simply come along on the night - starts 7:35pm members £3.50 non members £4 - no charge for Gold members.
 
FREE Trial session for Lukes Circuit Training Class - Sundays and Thursdays
If you haven't tried one of Lukes Circuits before - take this opportunity to try it out - you might get hooked!
 
Thursdays at 6:30pm Sundays at 10:00am - free trial available to members who haven't done the class before. Just quote the free trial offer at reception when you arrive for your class
 
Junior Mix  Saturdays 3:30-5:30  - starts Saturday 3rd March
Note  - for juniors who are able to play & score full court tennis.
 
Starting this Saturday 3rd March junior tennis players can enjoy our Saturday afternoon junior mix in sessions. The session will be supervised by a club coach and for a nominal fee of £2 the juniors will be able to enjoy two hours of organised tennis.
 
These sessions will provide a great opportunity for junior players to get on court without the difficulty of having to arrange partners to play against. It will also help them to meet other junior members outside of their regular coaching groups.
 
Club Coach, Paul Boyd Leslie will be in charge of the first session. Junior members of any age can simply turn up, check in with Paul and he will make sure that they have an enjoyable two hours at the club.
 

3 January

The club has been very quiet over the festive period but should soon be back to full swing - the tennis coaching courses get underway today while squash coaching starts from Monday 8th January. This is traditionally the time when we all start our fitness regime in earnest and we hope to see you all back in the gym this week.
We are also inviting tennis and squash members to take up our New Year offer of two months fitness for only £45. That should get you started and then it is our aim to get you committed to a longer term fitness programme. Interested? Contact the club now and book your induction session.
Similarly if you have any friends with fitness minded resolutions - let them know of our offer.
Finally can I also remind you about the upcoming social tennis event on Saturday 20th Jan. We would like to see some new faces at this one - open to all abilities and great fun.



2006
22 November    

reActivate physiotherapy clinic is now firmly established at the club . reACTIVATE are specialists in the treatment and rehabilitation of sports injuries.
Other ares of expertise include medico-legal - accupuncture - sports massage - pre and post surgery rehabilitiation -home visits
for further information and appointments - call 01730 233025


15 November    

Following Tim Robson's departure in October I am pleased to announce that Julian Godfrey will take up the position of Head Tennis Coach at the club.
I am sure that most members already know Julian as he has been part of the coaching team here for the last 10 years. Julian is the Hampshire men's Team Captain and prior to Winchester, he was head coach at Lee on Solent and was a coach on the Slater Squad with David Lloyd.
There is also a change in the way the coaching programme operates at the club. Previously it was effectively a business operating at the club with all coaches contracted to the head coach.
The programme has now been brought "in house" and will be managed by the club under the direction of Julian. All other coaches will now be contracted directly to the club to provide coaching services as required. This will give the club more control over how the coaching programme develops and will also mean that any surplus income generated from coaching will be reinvested in the club.
There will be no significant changes to the programme in the next few months. We are reviewing current arrangements and will plan for the Spring season when more daylight and greater court availability will give more opportunity to alter and add to the programme where necessary. for further information and appointments - call 01730 233025