Northumbria Squash took a 9 team contingent to Nottingham for the 2021-22 Junior Intercounty Championships last weekend. All the teams put up an excellent showing and enjoyed a great weekend of squash!
Girls U11s (Lucy Ulyatt, Meera Jatania & Louisa Westwood)
This team booked their place in the main event after a 2-1 win over Yorkshire in the Groups in Nov 2021. In the 1st round, the girls lost 3-0 to a strong Essex team who eventually finished 3rd. In the next round, they put up a valiant effort against Hampshire, but lost 2-1 to finish 7th/8th overall!
Result: 7th/8th in Main Event
Boys U11s (William Brocklehurst, Mateo Ridley, James Southern & Edward Perry)
The boys U11 team missed out on the main event but had a very successful weekend in the plate event. They were unbeaten against their opposition in Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire A and Surrey B and won the event convincingly!
Result: Plate Winners
Girls U13s (Isla Cook, Ebony Holmes & Sophie Crockett)
Isla, Ebony and Sophie finished 3rd in a well-contested plate event beating both Hertfordshire and Hampshire B 2-1, only losing to Warwickshire B who took maximum points to win the plate title.
Result: 3rd in Plate
Boys U13s (Ducan Rutherford, Aidan Mahoney, Sam Tufton, Leo Blackett, James Ulyatt, Charlie Armstrong)
The U13s team came 2nd in their group in Nov 2021 to advance to the main event, but, unfortunately, they lost 5-0 in the 1st round. The team backed up well with a 4-1 victory against Buckinghamshire to finish a very respectable 5th place overall, with their only loss coming to the eventual event winners Warwickshire A!
Result: 5th in Main Event
Girls U15s (Shae Paterson, Ava Naisbitt & Kate Naisbitt)
The girl’s team were on form in the U15 plate event beating both Kent and South Wales 3-0 and dropping only a single game in the process! This left them comfortably top of the group and well-deserved plate winners!
Result: Plate Winners
Boys U15s (Sam Ponente, Dan Toole, Matthew Ansell, Tom Watts & George Gray)
In the plate event, the U15s faced some stiff competition in their match against Essex A and unfortunately lost 5-0. Not deterred by their loss they bounced back in the 2 remaining matches, winning both 4-1 to finish 2nd, only behind the dominant Essex A team.
Result: Plate Runners up
Girls U17s (Annabelle Satow, Mia Smith & Evie Patterson)
Annabelle, Mia and Evie were in a very strong group in the plate event, but still managed to finish in 3rd place. They beat Kent A 2-1 in a well-contested match, as well as taking a game off of a good Suffolk team.
Result: 3rd in Plate
Boys U17s (Lewis Cruz, James Taylor, Joe Elliott, Matthew Mahoney, Ben King & Ben Tudor)
The boy’s U17 team faced 3 very competitive teams in their plate group. They showed their ability and determination by beating all 3 of their opponents by 4 matches to 1, which proved enough to top the group and win the event, edging out Warwickshire B by just 7 points!
Result: Plate Winners
Boys U19s (Saim Aiston, Kieran Mahoney & Matthew Dyter)
Sam, Kieran and Matthew made an excellent start to their plate group, beating Hampshire B by 3 matches to 0. They followed this up with a narrow 2-1 win over Lincolnshire to set up a title decider with Surrey A. Unfortunately, the team lost out 2-1 and so finished as plate runners up!
Result: Plate Runners up
Overall this event was a great success and showcased our junior talent on a national level! We are very proud of the achievements of our juniors this weekend and we hope to build and improve upon it for next year!
Big thanks must go to all the parents and coaching staff over this and all, county weekends. It wouldn’t be possible without you!
Fantastic effort by all our teams. Great honour for all the players to have represented the county and of course massive kudos to Liam Gutcher and his team for making it all possible!
👍👏👊😊