158 competitors made for an electric atmosphere at New Plymouths Kawaroa Park Squash Club over the weekend. The Central District had their Open tournament sponsored by Janes Gallery. Top seeds Lana Harrison and Allan Bailey took the title but not without a battle,
Bailey was looking like he was in trouble in the men’s open final going 1 game down first up and the second was very close for the touch player, but his opponent local boy Max McDonald had to default the remainder of the match and the title after injury meant he was unable to continue. The Men’s Open match for 3/4th however turned out to be the match of the tournament with a huge battle between Braedyn Henderson of Matamata Squash Club and Lana Harrison of Henderson Squash Club in Auckland. With several of the games going into overtime it cam down to the fifth game and a lot of referee decisions for Lana Harrison to come out the victor looking somewhat exhausted after playing 6 high level matches over the weekend as she played in both the men’s and women's draws. While Harrison had to settle for third in the mens after losing to Max McDonald (NP) in 5 sets in the mens draw, her run in the women's was easier as she dominated the field with only Tamsyn Leevey (NP) ex commonwealth games star, challenging and taking a game from Harrison in the women's final but was unable to stop her taking the title in a quick 4 games. Other division winners were:
Men’s Div 1- James Matthews (Hawera)
Women’s Div 1- Tanissha McNeil (Edgecumbe)
Men’s Div 2 - Shandon Scott (Whanganui)
Women’s Div 2 - Emily Braithwaite (Reporoa)
Men’s Div 3 - Logan Terrill (Kawaroa Park)
Women’s Div 3 - Lorinda McKay (Kawaroa Park)
Men’s Div 4 - Connor Gracie (Reporoa)
Women’s Div 4 - Aimee Brewster (Whanganui)
Men’s Div 5 - Scotty Payne
Women’s Div 5 - Natalie Hall (Reporoa)
Men’s Div 6 - Craig O’Sullivan (Kawaroa Park)
Women’s Div 6 - Arnika Watson (Kawaroa Park)
Men’s Div 7 - Braith Kalin (Kawaroa Park)
Women’s Div 7 - Bailee Riddick (Kawaroa Park)
A huge thank you to the amazing organisers for another well run tournament and to the sponsors Janes Gallery and Subway.
