SQUASH - North produces 3 more champs

NORTHLAND produced three more national squash champions over the weekend after a successful national junior championships at the North Shore Squash Club.
Sacha Pou-Tito continued her remarkable winning form this season by bringing home the women's division two title.
Pou-Tito beat Bay of Plenty's Donelle Herdman in three sets to reach her final against number-one ranked Waikato player Tait Morris. She won the final easily, beating Morris in straight sets.
While the win was a good indication of how far the B grade player had come, it didn't tell the full story. It must have been very frustrating for the 15-year-old champion to watch some of the junior women's open grade matches, where many people believe she should have been playing.
The current ranking system makes it difficult to rise through the rankings unless you play regularly in the major centres or have a limitless travel budget.
The win however should mean Pou-Tito makes the open division for next year's competition.
Shontelle Goodhew is another player whose real form contradicts her current ranking. Goodhew reached the division two final fairly easily after being ranked in the middle of the field.
In the semifinal, she beat number-one ranked Kimberly Bunn, of Waikato, in three sets before winning the final against Central Districts Rebecca Clifford, again in three sets.
The third Northlander to bring home a trophy was Daniel Notton, but his win wasn't as keenly celebrated by the rest of the team due to the popularity of his opponent.
Notton beat the Bay of Plenty's Damien Hemopo in the semifinal and went on to meet fellow Northlander Kurt Davies in the final, which he won in straight sets.
In the open junior men's competition, Josh Thom took out the title for the second year running, beating Wellington's Evan Williams 3-1 in the final, in a repeat of last year's title decider.
It is the third time Thom has won the title, after winning for the first time in 2005. Auckland's Lui Syder defeated fellow Aucklander Alex Grayson 3-0 to take third place.
It was also the second year in a row Lana Harrison has been in the final. But after losing to Waikato's Joelle King last year, she was not to be denied in 2008, and beat Central's Amanda Cranston 3-1 in the final.
Wellington's Emma Miller beat Otago's Alana Sincock 3-1 to finish third.