Cawston Causes Some Shocks!
There was an entry of 73 players for the recent London Academy 2 Star across Boys U11s, U13s, U15s and U18s and Girls U13s, U15s and U18s.
U18s Boys:
In the Boys U18s Ben Cawston (Ha), who had only finished in seventh place in the U15s, caused sent shockwaves through the event, by winning the U18s Boys Band 1 event, despite only being the ninth highest ranked player in the event. There were 25 players in the U18s Boys and they were placed into bands 1 or 2, depending on where they finished in their initial groups. His first unexpected win was over no. 2 seed, Musa Sharif-Ali (Mi), which was 3-0. He then progressed to the quarters with a first round win over Shayan Naserbakht (Mi). In the quarters he Regan O’Neil 3-0, before a massive win over Shaquille Webb-Dixon 3-0 in the semi & another quality win over top seed Olamide Wuraola (Sy) in the final 3-1. Wuraola had knocked out Sharif-Ali and Jake Mitchell en route to the final. The U18s Boys Band 2 event was won by Siddhant Rawal (Mi), who defeated Kai Davis-Francis in the semis and Hassan Jiwajee (Mi) in the final.
U15s Boys:
There were 34 players in this event, with the top player from each initial group going to Band 1, the second placed player going into Band 2, and so on down as far as Band 6. Band 1 consisted of Mitchell, Webb-Dixon, Ben Foster (K), Gus Thomis (Bk), Wuraola and Matthew Daish (Ha). Webb-Dixon won all five of his matches to win the event, with Wuraola in second place with four wins. Band B was won by Cawston, with Nathan Knowles in the runners-up spot. Band C was won by O’Neil.
U13s Boys:
This was in the knockout format, similar to U18s Boys, but had 27 entrants. Depending on initial group finishing position, players were separated into three bands with knockout rounds. No. 1 seed, Ben Foster came through to win Band 1, knocking out Theo Achampong (Mi), Kai Ghazi-Timms (Mi) and Reiss Vydelingum (K) in the final. Vydelingum’s route to the final was not straightforward. He lost 3-0 in the group to rising star Ghazi-Timms, but then had an excellent win to put out no. 2 seed, Matthew Daish (Ha) in the quarters. He then defeated Carl Breindel (Mi) in the semis. Band 2 was won by Jake Dale (Mi), who beat Jaycee Chan (Mi) in the final. 8-year-old Naphong Boonyaprapa (Nk) did well to win Band 3, overcoming the challenge from Ryan Enstone in the final.
U11s Boys:
This event, which had 17 entrants, belonged to top seed, Ghazi-Timms, who won all of his matches and was not extended to five sets by anyone. Second seed Richie Bailey did finish second, but lost in straight games to Ghazi-Timms. Zaiim Premji (Mi) came third and Michael Tunubu (Sy) was fourth. Band B was won by Chan, who pushed TJ O’Sullivan into second place.
U18s Girls:
A round robin of five players, won by top seed Evie Foster (K), who did not drop an end. Joubeily was the runner-up with three wins, with Chan in third place.
U15s Girls:
A round robin of six players won by Isabelle Joubeily (Sy), with Jasmine Chan (Mi) in the runners-up position. Jess Jarvis (He) came third with two five-set wins, but also a five set loss to Joubeily.
U13s Girls:
This was just a round robin of three girls, with Amelia Chan (Mi) winning both her matches and Jemma Walker (Bu) in second place.
List of Prize Winners:
U18s Boys Band 1:
1st: Ben Cawston (Ha), 2nd Olamide Wuraola (Sy)
U18s Boys Band 2:
1st: Siddhant Rawal (Mi), 2nd Hassan Jiwajee (Mi)
U15s Boys Band 1:
1st: Shaquille Webb-Dixon (Sy), 2nd: Olamide Wuraola (Sy)
U15s Boys Band 2:
1st: Ben Cawston (Ha), 2nd: Nathan Knowles (Mi)
U13s Boys Band 1:
1st: Ben Foster (K), 2nd: Reiss Vydelingum (K)
U13s Boys Band 2:
1st: Jake Dale (Mi), 2nd: Jaycee Chan (Mi)
U11s Boys Band 1:
1st: Kai Ghazi-Timms (Mi), 2nd: Richie Bailey (Np)
U11s Boys Band 2:
1st: Jaycee Chan (Mi), 2nd: TJ O’Sullivan (Mi)
U13s Girls:
1st: Amelia Chan (Mi), 2nd: Jemma Walker (Bu)
U15s Girls:
1st: Isabelle Joubeily (Sy), Jasmine Chan (Mi)
U18s Girls:
1st: Evie Foster (K), 2nd: Isabelle Joubeily (Sy)
Written by Rory Scott (August 1, 2013)