South West added three more gold medals and the overall Tonge Trophy to an impressive haul at the Inter-Regional Finals.
Having won four of the six team finals in the morning, the region also dominated the individual events, ensuring they finished well ahead of the other regions in the overall standings.
The South West champions at RAF Cosford were Gemma Kerr in the Cadet Girls, and the two Under-11s – Jakub Piwowar and Chloe Kay.
Breaking the South West’s stranglehold, Fraser Kent won the Cadet Boys’ title for South East, Felix Thomis of Southern was the Under-13 Boys’ champion and London’s Scarlett Anders won the Under-13 Girls.
All that meant that Kerr, Piwowar, Kay and Thomis were double gold medallists from the weekend.
For South West, Gemma Kerr said: “It’s been such a great weekend, we are so close as a region and were always supporting each other. It’s such a happy feeling that we all did well.”
Overall finishing positions: 1 South West, 2 North West, 3 South East, 4 East, 5 Yorkshire, 6 East Midlands, 7 West Midlands, 8 Southern, 9 London, 10 North East
All pictures by Michael Loveder – click here to view more photos from day two on our Flickr page
Cadet Boys
Fourth seed Fraser Kent won the title for South East as he defeated North West’s unseeded Liam Bibby 3-0 (11-7, 15-13, 11-9) in the final.
The bronze medallists were Owen Brown (SE), who lost in four to Bibby, and Ben McDonald (NW), who lost in three to Kent.
Kent said: “I was expecting to do well but not as well as I have done. I got a little bit lucky with the draw because all the top players knocked each other out, but throughout the weekend, my mental game got better and I started to believe more.”
Top seed Che Goulbourne was beaten by McDonald in the first round, losing 3-1 (13-15, 11-8, 11-6, 12-10), and McDonald went on to defeat second seed Ricardo Bolanos 3-2 (6-11, 10-12, 11-8, 12-10, 11-9) in the quarter-finals.
In the first round, Bibby came roaring back from 2-0 down to defeat West Midlands’ Alex Lee 3-2 (7-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8).
Goulbourne had been upset 3-1 by James Courtney of North West in the groups but still managed to go through in second place.
Also in the groups, East Midlands’ Ben Robertson got above McDonald (NW) on countback despite losing 3-1 to the third seed. It was Dylan Tynan’s (SW) 3-2 victory over McDonald which proved crucial and, with Robertson beating Tynan 3-0, it all meant Robertson went through.
Dan Hearne-Potton of East also got above the top player in his group, overcoming Herbie Sage (SW) 3-2 (13-11, 7-11, 16-14, 9-11, 11-7).
Cadet Girls
Gemma Kerr beat South West team-mate Mari Baldwin 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-9) to take the gold medal. There was another South West girl on the podium – Angharad Beman was defeated in four sets by Baldwin in the semi-finals. The other bronze medallist was Amillia Baker (WM), beaten in five by Kerr.
Kerr said: “It’s amazing. It’s been a really tough day because it’s really hot in the hall and we had to play game after game, but it was worth it in the end.”
In the groups, Samadhi Udamulla (E) got above Lucy Vernon (EM) into second in Group 1, behind top seed Kerr – who Udamulla took to five.
Top two in Group 3 played out a five-setter which went with seeding as Scarlett O’Neil defeated Sophie Rinnhofer 3-2 (10-12, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 13-11).
In Group 5, Kirsty Maull (WM) rose from second to top the group ahead of Helena Dicken (EM), who she beat in four.
Under-13 Boys
Felix Thomis was in top form as he went through the competition without dropping a set, culminating in beating Toby Ellis 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-6).
The bronze medallists were Todd Stanmore, beaten 11-6, 15-13, 13-11 by Southern colleague Thomis, while Ellis of the North West came through against top seed Bertie Kelly (SW) 3-2 (10-12, 12-10, 11-7, 6-11, 6-11).
Thomis said: “It’s really good. I didn’t drop a set in the individuals which I’m happy about, and I kept on fighting, which I’m happy about.
“Todd was the hardest match. I struggled against him because we both know each other really well.”
Ollie Rampton of East was the surprise package in the group stage, rising from No 3 to win Group 5 thanks to two five-set wins. First, he came from 2-0 down to beat top-ranked Harry Yip (SE) 3-2 (5-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-6) and later beat Ethan Nankivell 9-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-1, 11-9 to cement the group win. Yip beat second-ranked Sam Lowe to salvage a place in the knockouts.
Ehsan Jawadi (Y) beat London’s Harry Derecki in three to climb above him to top Group 7, while in Group 6, Ethan Eaketts (E) rose above No 2 Adam Dennison (NW) to go through with group winner Benjamin Greve. And it was a similar tale in Group 6, where Tom Powlesland (SW) got above Liam Murphy (NW) into second behind Thomis.
Under-13 Girls
Scarlett Anders, seeded fifth, beat the top two seeds in five sets in the semi-finals and final to take the gold.
The London player first overcame Niamh Scarborough (NW) 3-2 (11-8, 11-3, 7-11, 5-11, 12-10) in the last four before beating top seed Lauren Loosemore (SW) in the final, again seeing her opponent come from 2-0 down to level before winning 3-2 (11-6, 11-7, 8-11, 12-14, 11-7).
The other bronze medallist was Megan Jones (WM), defeated in four by Loosemore.
Anders said: “I feel very relieved because when I played Maliha Baig in the group stage, I lost and I got upset, but I built myself back up to beat everyone who was put in front of me. I believed in myself.”
That defeat was in Group 5, where the top two swapped places as Baig (E) beat Anders in four.
Anna Piercey (S) climbed from three to two in Group 1 to follow Loosemore through.
Under-11 Boys
Jakub Piwowar turned up the power to defeat Yorkshire’s Lennon Maughan-Staves 3-0 (11-1, 11-6, 11-6) in the final.
South West player Piwowar beat Cameron Driver in three in the semi-finals, but the other semi was a lot different as Maughan-Staves came from 2-0 down to beat North West’s Louis Cheung-Turner 3-2 (10-12, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6).
Piwowar said: “I felt a bit of pressure because it was the first time I had been the top seed, so I’m happy to win. I think I was playing better than on Saturday.”
In the first round, seventh seed Fred Jones (EM) was sent out by Ralph Pattison of East in four games (11-7, 11-9, 10-12, 11-2).
Toby Fletcher (WM) withstood a comeback by South West’s Logan Macey to complete a 3-2 (12-10, 12-10, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9) victory.
In the groups, Ben Mold (NE) defeated higher-ranked Joseph Dennison (NW) to win Group 5. Mold won their clash 3-1 (11-6, 5-11, 11-9, 13-11).
In Group 2, Felix West (SW) got through from third ranking to follow group winner Maughan-Staves into the knockouts.
Macey rose from third to second in Group 4, above Kushagra Verma (SE).
Under-11 Girls
Chloe Kay of South West was the champion, beating Sienna Jetha of London 3-1 (11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5).
The bronze medals went to Freya Wynne of East Midlands, defeated in four by Kay, and South East’s Emily Cheung, who went out in five to Jetha.
Kay, who beat her sister Gypsie in the quarter-finals, said: “I didn’t think I could win because I knew there would be a lot of good players, so I’m really happy.”
Performance of the group stage as by Mia Longman (Y), who went through from fourth place in Group 1, winning all three matches, including coming from 2-0 down to beat top-ranked Caron Charles (SE) 3-2 (7-11, 11-13, 12-10, 12-10, 11-8). Charles went out as second-ranked Eva Eccles of East also went through, herself winning in five against both Charles and Rachel Lane (NW).
Cheung took Group 4 on a three-way countback, progressing from third place along with Gypsie Kay from second as top-ranked Gabriella Tonev (E) went out.
Marissa Brooks (E) came through from third position in Group 3, overtaking Jessica Morris (NW). Top-ranked Chloe Kay won the group.
Second-ranked Wynne survived in Group 2 after a three-way countback behind the top player and group winner Jetha.