European Juniors- England reign in Spain
14th May 2009by Ben Taylor
The listing was posted by England Squash
England successfully retained their titles in the European U15 & U17 Junior Team Squash Championships in Spain - beating second seeds Czech Republic 3/0 in the U15 final, and overcoming surprise opponents Scotland 2/0 in the U17 climax of the European Squash Federation event in Girona.
Emily Whitlock, the 15-year-old from Cheshire who was in last year's winning U15 squad, led England to success in the U17 final with an 11-9, 11-1, 11-5 win over Scotland's Mhairi Charlton. Team-mate James Earles, 16, from Hull, clinched the title when he beat Greg Lobban 11-1, 11-7, 12-10 – leaving the final 'dead' rubber un-played.
However, reaching the final was a notable achievement for Scotland, the ninth seeds who upset second seeds France and third seeds Wales en-route to the climax – and recorded their best success since 6th place in 2007!
Portugal marked their maiden appearance in the event by winning the play-off for 13th place.
Top seeds England were equally dominant in the U15 final, which they also reached without dropping a game. It was 14-year-old Victoria Temple-Murray who led the way with an 11-3, 11-7, 11-5 win over Czech Kristina Alexova. Team-mate Oliver Holland, the British U15 National champion from Nottinghamshire, put the result beyond the Czech opponents' reach after beating Martin Svec 11-4, 11-4, 12-10.
Lancashire's Matthew Sidaway gave England maximum points after an 11-4, 11-6 victory over Jan Ryba.
Spain, the 11th seeds, celebrated their best-ever finish event – taking fourth place after losing to third seeds Wales in the third-place play-off.