Young Whanganui squash player Maximus Matthews wins national title

Maximus Matthews with his U15 title. Photo / Supplied

Whanganui Squash Club's Maximus Matthews recently became the national champion for his age group after winning a tense final at the Squash Junior Nationals.

Matthews took out the U15 division at the national tournament held in Lower Hutt earlier this month in a nail-biting final against the top seed and fellow Central teammate Brodie Bennett from Tararua.

The Cullinane College student was the second seed and started the competition with a bye, then beat seventh seed Fergus Hill from Waikato 3/0.

Into the semifinal, he came up against the talented Zac Laing from Northland and beat him 3/0 as well.

This set up the clash against his teammate and top seed Bennett, who had also dominated while going through the other side of the draw.

It was a brutal battle between the two players that produced some amazing squash in all areas, showing off their fitness and determination to never give up.

Matthews finally came out the winner in the fifth set where he was down 10-7 match ball and clawed his way back to take it out 12-10 in the decider to clinch his first national title.

Also playing in the same U15 individual draw was fellow club member Thor Darlington who was seeded 4th but lost a tough quarter-final against the 5th seed Theo Gannon of Wellington.

Darlington had to pull out of his 5th/6th playoff match against Sam Watson from Stratford after injuring his shoulder two points into the match.

Matthews' brother, Darius, was also playing in the U13 draw and finished 6th but showed his determination throughout his matches working hard and getting a few sets against higher-graded opposition.

Matthews was also part of the Central Junior team that played the teams event following the individual draw.

While seeded 8th they finished 9th. They are a very young side with all the players under 17 or younger.

Matthews had the huge task of playing in the number 2 spot of the playing four and, with their reserve injured on the last day of the individuals, he had to play every match.

Matthews carried himself well and, while he didn't win any team matches, he showed he has the talent to mix it with the higher-graded players after losing 3/2 to a B1 player in the national squad and an A2 player 3/1.