Report by Derek Tootill

Junior Squash

The next Junior Graded competition sponsored by Skanco will be held at the NSC on Sunday 18th October.

Entry forms are now available at the NSC squash centre and Onchan Squash Club, or can be downloaded from the Isle of Man Squash Racquet Association (IOMSRA) website.

C League

International Divers (220) v All About Gardens (142)

Mike Crosbie was the only winner for Gardens, despite creditable debut performances by Jasneet Singh and Sarah McChesney, and the welcome return to team squash of Graham Clague.

The Racketeers (89) v Habib European Bank Lions (221)

The Racketeers achieved their first game victory this week thanks to Brian Woodard’s superb performance in the final game of the evening.

Woodard narrowly won the first two games before Zaeem Jafri came back fighting in the third game. 

The fourth game had by now attracted quite an audience to see how the set would finish.  Brian comfortably won to take the set and brought home the first but not the last Racketeer game win.

Unfortunately, it was Racketeers' only win of the night.

B League

Onchan Juniors recorded their first win of the season in a close contest against SMP at Onchan.

Aleyn Taggart took the second before losing to John Smith 3/1.

Meanwhile, Mason McLarney took a two-game lead against Vicky Watterson but needed a decider to win through. 

Alex Cave took the first game before Jon Morley romped through the next three games.

Nathan Quilliam let slip the second against Laura Smith but quickly regained the upper hand to win through 3/1.

With the match tied at 2-2, Jason Crease took a 2/0 lead over Mark Hotchkiss who clawed his way back into the match to take a close third.

Crease regrouped to win the match for juniors by the narrowest of margins.  Many thanks to Roy and Pauline at Onchan Squash Club for their ongoing support of the junior team.

Island Exhaust Systems (214) v Jewel Tech (195)

That year’s champions took three games and enough points to take victory in this close and thrilling encounter.

Shaun Callow overcoming Ian Sheard by a single point, while Gary Corlett lost  by only three to Lee Loughran, both after five games.

Roy’s Rockets (208) v Verve Consultants (201)

This was a very close match in points.  The closest and longest game, nip and tuck all the way, was between Tom Whiteway and John Williams; Whiteway eventually won by two points.

All the other games were decided in straight sets - Mark Grace, Garreth Roome, Mark Henson and Phil Shaw beating Pat Russell, Graham Parrington, Charles Pimblett and Stuart Highy.

A League

Gamers (123) v Motorvation (124)

Tom Whiteway took the first and fourth games before Pat Russell’s luck held out as he won by a single point.

Mike Hayler's  recent competition experience saw him chalk up a solid victory over Mike Hebden.

Last on court were the top seeds Ashley Skyes and recent competition winner Hamish Thornton, who was up against Ashley Sykes.

It was a joy to watch two players apply the ethos of sportsmanship to a very competitive game; a quick pace and some inventive shots saw Sykes take the match in three games.

Island Restorations (135) v Cains Advocates (95)

Steve Baker was first to fourteen in the first two games before Paul Barnett took them both 15-14.

The third game was a little more straight forward with the Island Restorations man taking an early lead which he never lost.

Next on court, Island Restorations team sponsor Colin Crawshaw played Rob Boyles of Cains.

This was Boyles’ first game in two years, leaving him a little rusty and allowing Crawshaw to take a comfortable 3-0 win.

Dave O'Neill against Steve Gaylor is usually a long drawn out affair. On this occasion O’Neil took a 2-0 lead before Gaylor fought back in the third.

With Gaylor 13-11 up in the fourth, a decider was on the cards until O’Neil overhauled his tiring opponent to close out the game and match and give Island Restorations a 3-0 win over last season's champions.

For more information and full match reports, go to www.iomsra.com