Te Awamutu Squash Club Women's D Team: Back row: Megan Hopping (from left), Karen Ferguson, Rachel Downard, Kirsten Beck. Front: Rechelle Dunn, Helena Hudson.
Te Awamutu Squash Club Women's D Team: Back row: Megan Hopping (from left), Karen Ferguson, Rachel Downard, Kirsten Beck. Front: Rechelle Dunn, Helena Hudson.
Building on a strong start to the 2023 squash season, the Te Awamutu Squash Club once again demonstrated a formidable presence during the winter rounds of interclub competition, securing finals berths for four men’s and two women’s teams.
Thanks to indomitable and gutsy performances, the Te Awamutu men’s teams (A, B, D and F) achieved a clean sweep of victories, while the women’s D team also secured a pennant victory through a nail-biting performance.
Leading the men’s competition, the Te Awamutu A team showcased strong form in their pursuit of retaining the coveted division one title, which they had clinched during the Spring Interclub Pennant.
Displaying convincing and consistent performances throughout the Winter Pennant, the third-seeded men’s A team seemed on course as they entered the semi-finals atop the standings.
Here, they confronted a determined Hamilton opposition that tested the strengths of the entire team.
Te Awamutu Squash Club Men's A team: Jason Dudli (from left), Mark Seager, Liam McDonald, Connor Hill, Craig Watkinson. Absent: Mike Lanting.
The team’s impressive performance persisted in the final match, as the men’s A team elevated their game to secure a composed and clinical 3-1 match victory against Morrinsville, successfully retaining the division one title during the main season of competition.
Similarly, the men’s B team encountered their own challenges and setbacks, beginning the pennant slowly because several injuries affected the team.
The team managed to regroup effectively in the latter half of the competition, comfortably finishing atop the table heading into the finals.
Eager to maintain their gained momentum, the men’s B team delivered standout performances in their semi-final and final against Taupiri (4-0) and Leamington (3-1), respectively, thereby securing a division-two victory for the club.
Also celebrating victory on home turf were the men’s D team, whose consistent and focused efforts throughout the pennant resulted in only one loss en route to the finals.
Despite their numerous successes throughout the season, their final match against the second-ranked Morrinsville team was a thrilling showdown, with the pennant ultimately being decided by countback points after concluding the night with a tied match score of 2-2.
Crucial to the countback victory was the impressive performance by the team’s youngest player, Judd Quigley, who maintained his composure to achieve a clinical 3-0 match win.
Te Awamutu Squash Club Men's B Team: Kyle Auditore (from left), Stephen Early, Patrick Downard, Austin Furniss, Cliff Nightingale. Absent: Ivan Liddell, Gregg Tickelpenny.
This accomplishment was further supported by nail-biting five-set matches in which seasoned players Grant Burr and Evan Roose dug deep to secure vital game and match points, ultimately tilting the victory in favour of Te Awamutu by the end of the night.
Lastly, illustrating resolute determination, the men’s F team had to exert maximum effort to attain a hard-fought victory against a highly favoured Lugton team, which had twice overcome Te Awamutu and maintained its lead in the division standings during the round-robin competition.
Despite a slow start to the night with a challenging 0-3 loss against third seed Jesse Forbes, who was a considerably higher-graded player, the team rallied fervently, with top seed Paul Higham evening the standings to 1-1.
What followed was a dominant display of squash, as second and fourth seeds Troy Richardson and Phanus Janse van Rensburg secured impressive 3-0 match wins, clinching an unlikely victory for the Men’s F team.
This accomplishment is particularly noteworthy considering that five out of the eight players were participating in their first year of competitive squash for Te Awamutu.
In the women’s division, Te Awamutu faced yet another countback victory to secure the sole Women’s Winter Pennant in an unforeseen final against a determined Taumarunui team.
Te Awamutu Squash Club Men's D Team: Andrew Flay (from left), Judd Quigley, Evan Roose, Gavin Longstaff, Grant Burr. Absent: Troy Morrison, Mikaere Ngarimu.
The Women’s D team had exhibited strong competition throughout the pennant, suffering only one match-tie loss on their path to the finals.
They anticipated a similarly dominant Hamilton team in the finals. However, an unexpected semi-final upset by the fourth-seeded Taumarunui over Hamilton set the tone for their eventual final match against the Women’s D team.
The final match turned out to be an intensely thrilling performance for both teams, featuring significant wins and unexpected losses.
Ultimately, the key difference in the final countback of points was attributed to the strong game points secured by all members of the Te Awamutu team.
The Te Awamutu Squash Club extends its gratitude to all opposing teams for contributing to another outstanding pennant, filled with riveting rivalries and exceptional squash.
The club eagerly anticipates the upcoming Spring Pennant and encourages anyone interested in trying out squash to explore the Te Awamutu Squash Club Facebook page, as numerous opportunities are available for those wishing to get involved.
