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).
