Squash: North tourney showcases top squash action

Northland's biggest squash tournament lived up to its reputation as 124 players turned out to put on a 31-hour display of squash in Whangarei.

Crunching the numbers from the Northland Open Squash Tournament, spokeswoman Sharon Crawford said the event attracted players from the Bay of Plenty to Kaitaia and involved a total of 201 games across a variety of grades.

"The tournament had J graders to A graders competing in their respective divisions with hard-fought five-setters from the top division to the bottom divisions," she said.

The highlights included Alex Grayson beating Michael Sunderland in the men's open final, with Northland players given an opportunity to see two top New Zealand players in action, while local Sacha Pou-Tito took out the women's open final - which went to five sets - over A grader Georgina Shelton Agar.

Other A graders contesting the event were Michael Sunderland and Michael Pittmans and also Kathryn McKay from the Bay of Plenty.

With so many entries, including ones of such high calibre, Crawford said the competition was always going to be tough, but several Far North players had given good accounts of themselves, two winning their respective divisions and six more collecting from the prize table.

Particularly notable was Hamish Browne, who had the misfortune of drawing top seed Alex Grayson in his first game and while he was out in three, the Kerikeri lad had contested every point.

Injuries forced the early withdrawal of Hamish's sister, Paige, and Kaitaia's Nirelle McDonald.

Results

Men's Open: Alex Grayson 1; Michael Sunderland 2; Michael Pittams 3; Reagan Wakeling, Special Plate; Michael Shelton Agar, Plate; Lucas Rosa, Consolation Plate.

Men's Division 1: Bryce Phillips 1; Jack Johnson 2; Ken Manuell 3; Shane Vinac, Special Plate; Nicol Bekker, Plate; Marcus Erihe, Consolation Plate.

Men's Division 2: Keegan Robbins 1; Aaron Randall 2; David McNally 3; Shayden Toka, Special Plate; James Elliott, Plate; John Tito, Consolation Plate.

Men's Division 3: Dave Brown 1; Ben Robbins 2; Warrick Thirkell, Special Plate; Bradley Vuletich, Plate; Jordan Corston, Consolation Plate.

Men's Division 4: Tyson Matiu 1; River Taylor Moore 2; Phillip Bristow, Special Plate; Ned Saunders, Plate; Dan Barr Mitcalfe, Consolation Plate.

Men's Division 5: Jimm Francks 1; Jesse Manuell 2; Cory Ferguson, Special Plate; Devlin Gurr, Plate; Wai Pittman Going, Consolation Plate.

Women's Open: Sacha Pou-Tito 1; Georgina Shelton Agar 2; Kathryn McKay, Special Plate; Julie Gillaly, Plate; Rhonda Lepper, Consolation Plate.

Women's Division 1: MacKenzie Johnson 1; Lauren Crowhurst 2; Olivia Brookland, Special Plate; Nicola Pryor, Plate; Megan Chestnut, Consolation Plate.

Women's Division 2: Tammie Jordan 1; Michele Salmon 2; Bridget Johnson, Special Plate; Denise Guy, Plate; Mirna Manuell, Consolation Plate.

Women's Division 3: Megan Turner 1; Karla Shadbolt 2; Gemma Turketo, Special Plate; Debs Pou-Tito, Plate; Annmarie Holst, Consolation Plate.

Women's Division 4: Michelle Schimanski 1; Karina Allen 2; Tania Toka, Special Plate; Annette Maley, Plate; Tia Saunders, Consolation Plate.

Women's Division 5: Iyra Stewart 1; Samantha Allen 2; Camryn Stewart, Special Plate; Priscilla Brown, Plate; Julie Tulai, Consolation Plate.

Women's Division 6: Kate Harrison 1; Shawna Hawken 2.