Edinburgh show well at Scottish squash tournament

On the first weekend of November, the University of Edinburgh's squash squad enjoyed a fruitful trip to the Scottish Universities Squash championships in Aberdeen. The men claimed the runners-up spot, whilst the women not only took the title but third place as well.

Two men’s and two women’s teams made the journey, but the men’s first team was preoccupied with the BUCS Premier championship so only their second and third teams took part here.

The men’s second team consisted of Mahmoud Moaz, Walter Cabot, Nigel Anthony, Alex Iveson and Elliot Bourge. They had a promising start as they beat a slightly weaker St Andrews side 5-0, with the each player winning their match in straight sets 3-0 to book a place in the quarter finals. Up next were Robert Gordon University, playing at home, but the boys wasted no time as they crushed their opponents 4-1.
A bigger challenge awaited them in the next round, though, as they were drawn to play title holders and number-two seeds Glasgow University. Iveson and Bourge got the team off to a brilliant start, beating their opponents 3-0 and 3-1 respectively. Thereafter Anthony sealed the win with a strong performance winning 3-0.

This upset set up an Edinburgh derby in the final against Napier University. Things began well with Edinburgh winning at positions 4 and 5, showing the strength of the team down the order. Napier responded with two wins through their top two players, whose experience as Scottish internationals proved too strong. It all came down to the final match between the number threes, Edinburgh’s Nigel Anthony and Napier’s Fraser MacDonald, where Anthony lost a hotly contested battle in the last set of the match. A brilliant result overall earned the boys silver medals.

Edinburgh women’s first team went into the championships as title holders and first seeds. The team, consisting of Lizzie Barry, Freya Kerry, Amanda Thorman and Kirsty Macdonald, began their campaign by beating their own second team 4-0. They then overcame Robert Gordon (3-1) to book a place in the final against Dundee.

Macdonald put Edinburgh in the lead with a straightforward 3-0 victory; this was closely followed by another 3-0 victory, for Barry. With confidence reaching its peak in the Edinburgh camp Kerry secured the title by winning her match with one more game to go. This returned the girls to the BUCS championships and sustained their control over Scottish competitions.
The women’s second team doubled Edinburgh’s success by securing third place. Representing were Lucy Mackenzie, Jessica Harvey, Laura Halley and Anna Mattinson, and the girls recovered from the initial defeat to their teammates to beat Robert Gordon and Glasgow Caledonian, to achieve another great result for the squad.

The men’s third team were slightly less fortunate as they were drawn to St Andrews firsts in the opening round. The boys were very close to winning, however, with Chris Thompson, John Constantine and Pete Harvey all losing in respective deciding sets in a dramatic defeat. Richard McClay secured a win at the number two spot with the team losing 4-1 overall. The team did, however, finish the weekend in the tenth place – beating Glasgow seconds and Aberdeen seconds.