A magnificent seven Furness table tennis players took on the best the country had to offer at the English Schools Individual Championships in Doncaster.
Under-13s Cumbria table tennis champion Emily Bolton (left) and runner-up Caitlyn Walker (right)
Ranked number five nationally in her age group, but playing against opponents from the next age range up, Emily began with wins against Kent’s Yumeng Li and Leicestshire’s Vanessa Wilson.
Her final group game saw her against Maria Tsapitsinos, from Berkshire, who is ranked one place higher nationally.
As expected, it was a very close match which went to a fifth game, which Emily just lost.
The Askam youngster still progressed to the knockout stages, but this early defeat made her route more difficult.
In her first knockout match, opponent Lea Dickinson, from Nottingham – ranked one place below Emily – came to the table in great form and was soon 2-0 ahead.
Emily took the third end and in the fourth found her best attacking form to bring what had seemed an unlikely win in the fifth.
This put her into the quarter-finals, where she met Sussex’s Emma Torkington, seeded two and ranked 15 places above Emily at cadet level.
The Dowdales pupil played good attacking points but her opponent produced quick counter-hits and ran out an 11-8, 11-9, 11-8 winner.
The results bode well for Emily next year, when she will be one of the more senior players in this age category.
One of the surprise performances of the day came from a present Askam player.
Katie Sedgwick had not even made it into the Askam Village School side for the team event before Christmas, but was now at the national finals after several months of dedicated practice resulting in her improvement.
In her opening match she went down 3-1 against Cambridgeshire’s Abbie Stacey.
Next up was the impressive Tin Tin Ho, already ranked in the top 10 at under-18s level while still at primary school. Katie played well and won several points with shots past her illustrious opponent.
With two matches played, Katie settled down and began enjoying the event, playing some of her best table tennis. With consistent returning, she defeated Northants player Ellie Soloman 3-0 and finished with a flourish against Kay Wong, from Shropshire, also 3-0.
Katie has another year at this age group and, having won more games than she lost at this year’s event, shows much promise.
A second member of the Sedgwick family, Katie’s older sister Eleanor, represented Cumbria in the under-16s girls and was one of several county players having their first taste of a major event.
She played extremely well and had a very good match against number six national junior Yolanda King, of Sussex.
This should inspire the Dowdales pupil to continue playing and aim for a return with her sister next year.
Another young player who has made good progress this year is Ben O’Flynn.
This was also his first experience of a big tournament and he discovered that once he was in the rallies he was a match for any of his group opponents, winning some impressive top spin points.
He won several ends and his closest match came against William Pearson, from Staffordshire. The St Columba’s youngster won the first game but narrowly lost the second. He was losing 10-8 in the next but fought back and took the game. He then had a chance of victory when the fourth went to deuce, losing 12-10. The decider was also close but went to his opponent, 11-8.
Under-13s Cumbria county winner Anton Vacca
He was an organiser’s nightmare as he was involved in some of the longest tussles in his group.
He played well against the England number three cadet Helshan Weerasinghe, from Kent. Three of his other matches went to deciding sets and his clever mix of tight consistent push play and sharp counter hits upset all his opponents.
He deserved to come away with a win, but will definitely have gained vital experience at this level.
In the under-16s boys, Furness Academy pupil Ryan Smith is probably the most improved player over the past 12 months in the area. He began confidently, defeating Joel Myers, from Cornwall, and followed up with a closely-fought match against Matthew Mccormick, from Cheshire.
He was only a few points away against highly-ranked Jjunior opponent Liam McTiernan, from Berkshire.
The final Cumbria player to take the table was Matthew Bruce, of Barrow Sixth Form, in the under-19s.
His event included four of the top 10 juniors nationally, so progress beyond the group was always going to be difficult.
There was another Barrow connection in the event, with Michael Griffiths representing Devon.
His grandparents live on Walney and his aunt, who was there supporting, is Karen Griffiths, head of PE at St Bernard’s.
Bruce could be happy with his win against Alan Caffery, of Warwickshire, and some close encounters in his other four matches.
All seven Furness players were a credit to Cumbria and showed why they are county champions.
They gained those honours at an event which saw 46 competitors from across Cumbria going head-to-head at Kirkby Stephen Grammar School.
Ryan Smith and Matthew Bruce met in the under-19s final, which produced some fast spin attack rallies.
It was Furness Academy pupil Ryan who dominated, taking the title with a straight games win.
He would also take the under-16s crown with a victory over James Turner, of Millom, in the final.
In the under-13s boys, all four of the St Bernard’s national finalists team were playing, together with Matthew Coverdale and Jack Walker, from Dowdales.
Anton Vacca and Brendan Trainer made the final, the former winning 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 to take the title.
There were a group of young players in contention for the boys under-11s title, with four Year 4 players among the best on show.
It was one of these young players who caused the biggest upset in the group stages, as Max Webster, from Storth School, upstaged older brother Elliot in three straight games to finish top of his group.
The second group had a top-three finish of St Columba’s players.
Finlay Edwards finished third, with James Lashmar taking second spot – the only player to take a game against Ben O’Flynn – who topped the group.
Max and Ben made the final. It was the Walney youngster who began in confident style, keeping the points going with top spin shots from both wings as he looked to find the opening for winning hits.
He took the title, completing a clean sweep in the boys events for Barrow players, in straight games.
The girls under-11s was one of the closest events for several years.
Although all the matches played were won in straight games, three of the four players managed to win against each other.
Under-11s Cumbria champion Katie Sedgwick (right) and runner-up Caitlyn Walker (left)
In the last match of the group, Tara defeated Caitlyn.
This meant that the organisers needed a calculator to total up the points won and lost.
With each player having played about 100 points it came down to a one-point difference in favour of Katie, making her the girls under-11s champion.
In the final event, Emily Bolton took the under-13s girls title when she beat young Dane Ghyll player Caitlyn Walker.
FULL CUMBRIA SCHOOLS ROLL OF HONOUR
Boys Under-19s Champion: Ryan Smith (Furness Academy). Runner-up: Matthew Bruce (Barrow Sixth Form).
Boys Under-16s Champion: Ryan Smith (Furness Academy). Runner-up: James Turner (Millom School).
Boys Under-16s Champion: Anton Vacca (St Bernard’s). Runner-up: Brendan Trainor (St Bernard’s)
Boys Under-11s Champion: Ben O’Flynn (St Columba’s). Runner-up: Max Webster (Storth School)
Girls Under-13s Champion: Emily Bolton (Dowdales). Runner-up: Caitlyn Walker (Dane Ghyll)
Girls Under-11s Champion: Katie Sedgwick (Askam). Runner-up: Caitlyn Walker (Dane Ghyll).
The northern finals of the English Schools’ Table Tennis Association Championships took place in Blackburn.
St Bernard’s under-13s girls were third in England last year and hopeful of making the national finals again.
Their opening match against De Ferrers Technical College, from Burton-on-Trent, was won by a quite comfortable margin of 6-2.
However, the second match, in effect the final, was against north east champions, Northfield School, from Billingham, and was far from easy.
Robyn Holden found it hard against the top-ranking players and it was a rearguard action that brought their wins.
It looked as though St Bernard’s were going out when Emily Cotton was 2-0 down, but she fought back to gain the win.
There were further wins from Louise Keneally and, vitally, from Katie Linton that earned a draw.
The games count-back was level and the girls faced an agonising wait while the points totals were confirmed, giving St Bernard’s victory by just seven points and a place in the national finals.
Keneally was the player on top form, winning all four matches. Linton won three, Cotton two and Holden won once.
It was a great team effort and one where every point won had a bearing on the match.
Encouraged by the girls’ performance, St Bernard’s under-13s boys started their quest for a first national finals place with a resounding 8-0 win against Graham School, from Scarborough.
This put them through to the final against De Ferrers Technical College.
Again St Bernard’s showed invaluable strength-in-depth.
Top players James Coward and Brendan Trainor were both beaten by the opposition number one, but then everything went the way of St Bernard’s in a 6-2 win.
Both Anton Vacca and Ross Ahern won all their matches, with Coward and Trainor winning three from four.
St Columba's School Under 11 Girls Team
Mia Gwynne and Tyra Rushton were impressive, winning all their matches. Sophie Ridgway won twice and Jenny Williams won once.
Williams also went to five games in two other matches, a great performance by a player still only in Year 4, two years younger than her team-mates.
The final looked a harder proposition, and so it proved against Village school, from Thornaby-on-Tees.
Their number one, Megan Eden, was a very strong player for this age group.
Nevertheless, Gwynne had the opposition coach and the player herself worried. Her containing and counter-attack ploy almost caused an upset, with the match going to five games and only won at 11-9 in the decider.
Gwynne defeated the number two, while Sophie Ridgway won in straight sets for a 2-1 lead.
Despite Jenny Williams taking games in both her matches, the only other result to go the Walney school’s way was Tyra Rushton’s four-game win against Kristen Brown.
The St Columba’s girls should be proud of getting so close to the national finals.
At the parallel regional event held at Grantham, St Bernard’s under-16s girls were making it a hat-trick of national finalists.
They achieved this with two 5-3 victories.
Despite not playing league or national tournaments this year, hard-hitting number one Anna Donohue led the way, unbeaten in all four matches.
Shannon Trainor, Emily Edwards and Adele Bassett all won two matches.
Two other Cumbria teams played at Grantham, Askam under-11s boys and Dowdales under-13s boys.
Both teams achieved good individual performances, but were unable to make progress through the group stages.
St Columba's School Under 11 Girls Team
South Cumbrian teams won six of the seven events at the county finals, held at the Barrow Table Tennis Centre, while there were three champions and three runners-up at the North West event.
The Cumbria finals saw Holy Family, Dane Ghyll and Storth in the under-11s girls qualifying group.
Dane Ghyll and Holy Family had a close match, which just swung in the former’s favour, 5-3.
Ife Bamigboye and Megan Turnough were unbeaten, while Jessica Livesey featured strongly for Holy Family with two wins.
Holy Family went down 6-2 against Storth, Livesey winning twice.
The decider between Dane Ghyll and Storth was as close as possible.
Two wins each for Caitlyn Walker and Bamigboye secured a draw for Dane Ghyll. The teams were level on countback, but Dane Ghyll won on points, 288-287.
This put them into a final group against Askam and St Columba’s.
Despite some close matches, and a win each for Walker and Bamigboye, Dane Ghyll were unable to prevent their opponents facing off in the final once more.
Wins from Mia Gwynne and Tyra Rushton put the Walney team 2-0 up, before Sophie Ridgway edged Jasmine Halcrow in a real tight affair, coming from two games behind to win for St Columba’s.
Another win for Gwynne made it 4-0, before Askam staged a fightback with wins from Katie Moncrief, Jasmine Halcrow and Robyn Halcrow.
The title was secured for St Columba’s when Rushton came to the table and beat Robyn Halcrow in three games.
In the under-11s boys event, the same two schools reached the final.
Askam knocked out last season’s champions, Holy Family, with a 6-2 win, Brandon Corrie and Luke Greenway winning for Holy Family.
Askam also defeated a St Columba’s B team by the same score, Columba’s winners Louis Rourke and Ryan Cotton.
Luke Reid won all four games played for Askam, with Keir Shepherd winning three from three, Lee Irving and James Wallis two each, and Lian Knowles one.
On the other table, St Columba’s were comfortable winners against Dane Ghyll and beat Storth 7-1. Dane Ghyll lost 5-3 against Storth, Luke Maddox, Aaron Solsby and Cameron Bell all winning.
St Columba’s top pairing of Harry Mellen and Ben O’Flynn started the final against Askam powerfully and recorded straight-game wins against Reid and Shepherd respectively. Morgan Gwynne added to the total with a four-game success against Wallis.
The next three games saw the match hanging in the balance.
Knowles gained Askam’s first win, beating Lashmar.
Then Reid and O’Flynn showed some top-quality table tennis. The St Columba’s player took a two-game lead, but the Askam number one showed his fighting qualities and drew level.
Only at the end of the decider did O’Flynn find enough to take the win.
Gwynne still needed to hold on against Shepherd, before Mellen confirmed St Columba’s as champions.
One of the most keenly-awaited finals came in the under-13s girls, where both St Bernard’s and Dowdales had reached the national finals last year.
Emily Bolton presented with Primary School International Table Tennis Championships trophy
Robyn Holden pulled one back for St Bernard’s against Ebony Miles after a close battle.
Despite this win, and Louise Keneally’s victory against Hannah Grimes, it was Dowdales who looked to have victory in sight when they led 4-2, Amy Moncrief and Miles both contributing.
But there were two further twists in the match.
Emily Cotton started a St Bernard’s revival by beating Moncrief.
In the final match, Grimes held a 2-1 lead after taking two deuce games. Katie Linton then suddenly found her touch and, with her own deuce-winning game took a 3-2 win.
This left the match score at 4-4, however, Dowdales took the Cumbria title with a superior games ratio of 16-12.
The rivalry continued in the under-13s boys event.
Both teams had comfortable victories against Dallam School to reach the final, where the strength in depth of St Bernard’s took them to the title.
Anton Vacca won both of his matches, while Ross Ahern beat Adam Brown and Brendan Trainor defeated Chris Lloyd.
St Bernard’s number one James Coward defeated Dowdales number two Jack Walker in four games.
Walker did make his mark with a straight games win over Ahern.
The star of the Dowdales team was number one Luke Walker, who finished undefeated with wins against Trainor and Coward, without dropping any games.
The final event of the Cumbria championships was the under-16s boys.
Here, St Bernard’s gained another win against Dowdales, 6-2.
Stefan Weatherburn and Dien Curtis won both their matches, while Tom Clements and Oliver Shipley both won one. The Dowdales wins came from Daniel Armstrong and Aaron Murray.
However, neither team could match the strength of the visitors from Dallam School, who only lost two matches in the three rubbers they played.
James Turner, of Millom, won one of those and proved the top Furness player, winning five of his six matches.
It was Cumbria girl power that led the way at the North West Finals against the best teams from Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Shropshire.
The under-13 girls teams from Dowdales and St Bernard’s gained wins against Sir Thomas Boteler High School, from Warrington, and, in very close matches, also defeated Bramhall High School.
The two teams then met for the second time this season, St Bernard’s reversing the result from the Cumbria finals to beat Dowdales.
Bolton was again the pick of the Dowdales players, while Holden showed she has returned to form with good attacking displays.
St Columba’s under-11s girls also enjoyed a good day.
They started their group with a draw against St Mary’s Preparatory School, Blundellsands.
Rushton and Gwynne both won their two matches, while Ridgway and Jenny Williams took games to give the Saints the count-back advantage.
They won their next match against Bradley Primary, from Nelson. Again Rushton and Gwynne won their matches, but there was a notable win for Williams, who is two years younger than her team-mates.
This put them into the semi-finals against Nevill Road, from Stockport, a team who always do well in the North West Finals.
Rushton and Gwynne continued their good form, however Neville Road led 4-3.
Williams played Rana Rofifah in the last match and, although she lost, she won two vital games, enough to take St Columba’s into the final on count-back.
Cumbria’s other representatives, Askam, also made progress from the group but were narrowly defeated by Bradley in the semi-finals.
This meant a replay for Bradley and St Columba’s, and in this match the school from Nelson played with more confidence.
Gwynne and Rushton remained unbeaten, but not before both players had dropped games against Aminah Daar.
Although Ridgway and Williams did not win their matches, they both won important games that meant the score was tied after count-back.
The organisers then had to calculate the total points won and St Columba’s took the title, having won four points more than their opponents.
St Bernard’s under-16s girls beat Lancashire representatives, Garstang, but then met a team they have been keen rivals with since their under-13s days, Bramhall High School.
On this occasion, the Stockport team took the win, but St Bernard’s still qualified for the regional heats.
Perhaps the most impressive performance of the day from a Cumbrian team came in the under-13s boys.
There were 10 teams from as far as Ludlow competing, with the two Cumbria representatives in different groups.
Dowdales finished as group runners-up and progressed to the semi-finals, while St Bernard’s eased through their group and gained impressive wins in both the semi-finals and final to beat Garstang and Calday Grange, West Kirby.
In the under-11s boys, the result went against the form book. Cumbria champions St Columba’s topped their group with victories against Buildwas Primary, from Shropshire, and Oldham Hulme Grammar School, O’Flynn winning all his games.
Askam also made good progress.
Although beaten by Garstang Community Primary, they won against St Mary’s Preparatory School to put them into a semi-final with St Columba’s.
This match was a completely different story to the county final.
Askam Village School Under 11 Boys Team
Askam raced into a 2-0 lead as Shepherd beat O’Flynn and Reid defeated Mellen.
Gwynne pulled a match back by beating Irvine, but the Askam lead was stretched with wins from Knowles and Reid, in a five-game battle against O’Flynn.
Saints rallied as both Mellen and Gwynne posted wins, but it was Irvine who won the decisive match against Lashmar in another gruelling five-game battle. The win meant Askam qualified for the regional heats despite losing for a second time against Garstang when the two met in the final.
CUMBRIA ROLL OF HONOUR
Under-19s Boys Champions (not played for): Barrow Sixth Form.
Under-16s Boys: Champions – Dallam School. Runners-up – St Bernard’s.
Under-16s Girls: Champions (Not played for) – St Bernard’s.
Under-13s Boys: Champions – St Bernard’s. Runners-up – Dowdales.
Under-13s Girls: Champions – Dowdales. Runners-up – St Bernard’s.
Under-11s Boys: Champions – St Columba’s. Runners-up – Askam.
Under-11s Girls: Champions – St Columba’s. Runners-up – Askam.
NORTH WEST ROLL OF HONOUR
Under-16s Girls: Runners-up – St Bernard’s.
Under-13s Boys: Champions – St Bernard’s.
Under-13s Girls: Champions – St Bernard’s. Runners-up – Dowdales.
Under-11s Boys: Runners-up – Askam.
Under-11s Girls: Champions – St Columba’s.
Emily Bolton (front, second right) presented with Primary School International Table Tennis Championships trophy
ASKAM Village School pupil Emily Bolton enjoyed great success when she was selected to represent England in the Primary School International Table Tennis Championships in Blackburn.
Bolton played eight matches and won seven, results which were particularly impressive as she was playing against the number one and two players from each country.
Her seven victories helped England emerge as overall winners of the tournament.
England’s first opponents were a strong Wales team, with Bolton’s first match against Welsh number one Beth Roberts.
In a nip-and-tuck encounter, Bolton finally came out on top of a five-end thriller 3-11, 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-3.
Her next opponent, Lauren Cundy, proved less of a challenge as she dispatched the Welsh number two 11-3, 11-8, 11-7.
Bolton teamed up with England number one, Tin Tin Ho to comfortably take the doubles 11-7, 11-7, 11-5. The final match score was a 5-5 draw, with Bolton and Ho winning all their games.
Next up for England were Guernsey, with Bolton beating their number one, Chloe Le Tissier 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6. Next came Naomi Priest, who Bolton defeated 11-3, 11-3, 11-4.
Again, Bolton and Ho teamed up to good effect, taking the doubles 11-0, 11-3, 11-9. The final match score was 10-0 to England.
Scotland were England’s next opponents and Bolton’s first match saw her overcome Lucy Elliott, the Scottish number one, 11-3, 14-12, 11.5.
Next came Donna Gillon and again, Bolton won three-straight, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8.
In the doubles, Bolton and Ho continued won comfortably 11-9, 11-3, 11-2. The final match score was England 10 Scotland 0.
England’s final opponents were Ireland.
Although Bolton is in her last year at primary school, her first opponent, Emma Ludlow, was 16 months older than her. She lost 7-11, 10-12, 5-11.
She was soon back on track though, with a hard-fought encounter against Irish number two Meadrh Slattery, that saw her win 6-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 13-11.
Once again Bolton and Ho combined to great effect to comfortably win the doubles 11-9,
11-1, 11-9. The final match score was 7-3 to England.
This was enough to give England overall victory and they were presented with their gold medals by the mayor of Blackburn.
The following day, Bolton competed in the individual competition.
She won three out of her four group games, beating Hanneke Wiersma, from Scotland, 11-6, 11-1, 11-7, Rachel Vivian, from Guernsey, 11-3, 11-2, 11-1 and Sarah Cooney, from Ireland, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-4, but lost her last match against Laura Edward, from Wales, 11-2, 11-4, 9-11, 2-11, 7-11.
At the quarter-final stage, Bolton was drawn against the only girl to have beaten her in the team event – Emma Ludlow.
By now, the Askam schoolgirl was getting the measure of her opponent, but couldn’t quite defeat her, losing 4-11, 6-11, 12-10, 9-11.
Bolton’s teacher and coach Stephen Cairns said: “Everyone at Askam Village School is very proud of Emily and believes that with her level of dedication and undoubted natural talent, she has an exciting International career ahead of her.”
Article courtesy of the North West Evening Mail.
