By Calum Fraser and Will Wainewright
York Mens Firsts 2 – Leeds Firsts 3
York Ladies Firsts 4 – Bradford Firsts 0
York’s squash teams enjoyed varying degrees of success during their BUCS travels on Wednesday, with the ladies firsts winning against Bradford but the mens firsts going down to Leeds.
The mens team knew their game against a recently relegated Leeds first team would be one of the hardest fixtures on the calendar, but still fancied their chances on the back of some good recent form. But even the fetching moustaches grown by Paul Atkinson and Tom Lee for Movember were not enough against a formidable Leeds side.
In the first match Matt Johnson took control of the game with some tidy play and took advantage of his opponent’s errors to take a 1-0 lead. Despite a tight second game the match was soon wrapped up 11-6, 12-10, 11-5, Johnson stating his pleasure at picking up his maiden victory for the firsts.
It was a different story for the charismatic Matt Brennan, who was never really allowed to get into a rhythm by his Leeds opponent until he was two games and match point down. Brennan was bitterly disappointed with his performance but he has made big strides this season and there should be more to come from the flexible Barnsley boy.
With the match poised at 1-1, Tom Lee stepped onto court against an old teammate looking as though he had something to prove. Some intense play from Tom allowed him to take the first game and led to his disgruntled opponent launching his racket at the ceiling in anger. But the Leeds player came out firing to win the next three games, ending Lee’s four match unbeaten run.
Second seed Atkinson started strongly his opponent and sneaked the first on a stroke 11-9. The next two games were shared before Leeds forced a dramatic deciding game, which Atkinson was unable to take. However, he can leave with his head held high after producing such a display.
With the tie lost, first seed Fraser came out to please the crowd, overwhelming his opponent with some exhibition style squash. A valiant effort from the York team shows the improvement made this season by everyone and it will not be long before they start picking up the wins needed to climb the table.
Victory was the order of the day for the ladies side, however, the four players losing just a game between them during their trip to Bradford. Wins for Emily Russell, Charlotte Gregory, Hannah Sisman and captain Ciara Wilder secured the win, who stated her delight at the professional manner of the performances from her players.
“We came here to do a job and we did it,” she said of her team, who are really starting to gel and look like realistic play-off contenders this year. The squash sides will next be in action on Wednesday.