The Dunlop National Junior Racketball Championships 18-19th June at the Hallamshire, Sheffield.

A clean sweep for the Falconer brothers and Townley sails through all rounds in the girls U19 to reach the no. 1 spot

It has been an eventful weekend at the Hallamshire tennis and squash club in Sheffield which once again hosted the National Junior Racketball Championships. There were 8 categories in total – girls and boys U13, U15, U17 and U19 but  four draws as the U13 and U15, U17 and U19 were merged together to create more matches in each event. All were played in the MONRAD format except the U13 and U15 girls which were based on a round robin. Official UK racketball Price blue balls were used for all categories except the Boys U17/19 which used a black ball.

For all photos click here and check out our facebook page. Make sure you Like it!

Final Results

Boys Under 19/17

Girls Under 19/17

Boys Under 15/13

Girls Under 15/13

DAY 1

The first day saw the first rounds through to the quarter finals. In the BU13/15 the number one seed (for both U13 and U15!) Harry Falconer (Lincolnshire) sailed through his first match against Matt stocks, a resident Hallamshire player, winning 3-0. This result was repeated against James Cumiskey (Worcestershire) in the next round with another 3-0 success. The number 2 seed Joseph Yerrell, number 3 seed Alex Musselwhite (South Yorkshire) and the number 4 seed Joe Sibley (Leicestershire) also all had 3-0 wins in their first matches to remain in their seeding positions for the next round.  

The GU13/15 round robin consisted purely of girls from the Hallamshire who have played each other many a time before but the competitive edge was shown between them over the weekend. Lucy Ward, the number 1 seed, was first on court against Grace Spink and pushed through to win 3-0 with some great pickups and consistent shots. At the same time Chloe Widdowson was on court next door against Isabel Chalmers in a closely contested match which finished with Chloe taking the fifth game 11-8 after an 8-11 loss in the fourth.  Charlotte Jagger, the fifth player in the round robin was later on court against Lucy Ward, Lucy continued her winning streak to win her second match of the day 3-0.

In the BU17/19 the older Falconer brother, Hamish, sailed through his first match against opponent Jonathan Pitts (Warwickshire) winning 3-0 to then meet 4 seed Elliot Knight (Kent) in the next round. This was a gruelling match lasting 80 minutes with Hamish winning the 1st, 4th and 5th game 11-8, 11-2 and 11-5. Elliot was proving a tough opponent in the 2nd and 3rd games to take them 11-8, 11-8. The number 2 seed Charlie Yerrell and number 3 seed Oliver Palmer (Warwickshire) both won their first matches 3-0 to then meet in the semi finals where Palmer upset the seedings beating Yerrell 3-0. Resident Sheffield player Oli Turner (U17 category) lost to Oliver Palmer 3-0 in his first match but was a definite opportunity for a Sheffield player to reach the higher seedings throughout the rest of the weekend with his skilful match play and corkscrew boasts that proved to win a fair few points!  

The GU17/19 draw had the fewest matches but had some brilliant ones nonetheless, particularly a second round match with Alicia Sewell (a resident Hallamshire player) against Emma Stallworthy from Chapel Allerton which seemed to go on and on! 2 of the games went to two clear with Alicia taking the 1st 14-12 and the 4th game 18-16, Emma appeared  on top of the match during the 2nd and 3rd which she won 11-8, 11-5 but Alicia pushed on to win the 5th 11-3. The number 1 and 2 seeds, Lucy Townley (Cheshire) and Jade Thompson (Yorkshire) flew through their first rounds both winning 3-0. Both are actually squash players as their primary sport and had hardly picked up a racketball racket before the weekend! The Hallamshires resident top junior girl Sophie Mullins won her first match 3-1 against Sarah Gill, another Hallamshire player, but then was drawn against Jade Thompson in her next match where Jade proved too strong with her powerful drives to the back corners and deceptive trickle boasts.

DAY 2

Day two saw the finals and the playoffs with players battling it out to reach their highest possible ranking. The BU13/15 matches gradually lasted longer and longer throughout the day as opponents were getting closer in standard as the rounds went on. The final consisted of Harry Falconer (Lincolnshire), a British Junior Open squash quarter finalist, a British closed winner’s trophy and a semi finalist at the English Championships...all in the U13. His opponent was Alex Musselwhite, an U15 player from the Hallamshire. Alex remained in the game holding the rallies to win the 2nd game 11-9 but lost the 1st 11-6, the 3rd 11-8 and Harry picked up his game even more in the 5th to win 11-0. Considering Harry is only 12 he’s showing talents above his age to win both the U13 and U15 events. Alex Musselwhite deserved a good rest after the final as his semi final match against Joseph Yerrell was a demanding one too; going to 5 games which he just cinched 11-9 in the fifth. Joseph followed on to finish in 3rd after beating Joe Sibley 3-0 in the 3/4 playoff.

The GU13/15 round robin format continued on day two with the final matches being played in the afternoon. The rankings were decided on the number of matches won per player with the clear winner being the athletic Lucy Ward who comfortably won all of her games 3-0. Grace Spink followed closely behind winning 3 out of her 4 matches to take 2nd place then followed by Charlotte Jagger to take 3rd place. Hopefully next year we will see an influx of more players in this category, as well as the others, to further develop racketball and the national junior rankings.

The Falconers continued their brilliance in the BU17/19 final where Hamish met 3 seed Oliver Palmer in the final. Oliver was yet to lose a game going into the final and so all were expecting a long, gruelling battle on the show court but Hamish’s accurate lengths and ability to reach all shots was just that bit too much for the also top quality player Oliver. The rallies were long lasting and steady with both players exhibiting their and accuracy and precision placement of the ball. The first game was close with Hamish taking it 11-7, the 2nd was closer at 11-8 and like his brother Harry, Hamish upped the pace of his game to win the 3rd 11-4. Also like his brother, Hamish falls into the younger of the U17 and U19 groups being only 15 and so also won both categories! Hamish shall definitely prove an even tougher opponent in the years to come as he gains even more experience and can only get better. One to look out for in the future pro tournaments and rankings. Elliot knight who gave Hamish a tough semi final match ended the tournament in 3rd place knocking Charlie Yerrell down a spot to number 4 after a 3-1 encounter. Hallamshires Oliver Turner made 5th place in the whole draw but runner up in the U17 to provide some success for the home venue!

Whilst the Falconers were dominating in the boys events it was Lucy Townley in the GU17/19 that sailed through all her rounds winning 3-0 to meet Jade Thompson in the final. Considering both are primarily squash players they showed their natural racket skills in the transfer from squash to racketball with some brilliant vollies and tight, accurate forehand and backhand drives. They have played each other many a time before in squash but this was their first racketball contest which ended with Lucy winning 3-0, though the games were close and Jades fighting spirit kept her in the rallies Lucy just had the edge with her powerful drives tight into the back corner. The Hallamshires Sophie Mullins came 3rd in the rankings closely followed by Matilda Rae Parslow (Yorkshire) who came 4th overall but 1st in the U17.

Overall the weekend was a huge success and big congratulations and thanks to all the competitors for providing some brilliant matches for the spectators. Thanks also go to John Mullins, all the all the referees, parents and staff at the Hallamshire for making the event run so smoothly. This event is only in its 2nd year and already is a prestigious date to put in the calendar and one than can only get bigger and better year on year. The dates for next year are already decided...the 21st and 22nd April 2012 shall be the next National Junior Racketball Championships so make sure to write it down and we look forward to another successful weekend!