There were 68 entrants at the Horsham Spinners 2 Star held at Collyers College, Horsham. Seeded No 1 for both U11s & U12s Jake Grayson (Mi) lived up to his seeding and had a great tournament, winning both age groups.
Under-11
There were three groups of three in this age group. The top two seeds, Jake Grayson (Mi) and Ollie Maric-Murray (Sy) won their groups and Harry Yip (Sx-Horsham TTC) won Group 3. In the quarter-finals Danny Emery (He) defeated James Henry (Mi) in five sets and Yip beat Charlie Nabarro (Mi) in four.
In the first semi-final Grayson beat Emery 3-0, while Maric-Murray knocked out Yip in four. In the final favourite Grayson won in straight sets at the expense of Maric-Murray. In the bronze medal match it was Emery, who overcame Yip in four. Damien Mutch (Mi) won the consolation event vs Louis Holder (Sx-Brighton City TTC) in the final in four sets.
Under-12
There were three groups of four and one group of three in this category. All of the four seeds won their groups and the quarter-final results were as follows: Top seed Grayson (Mi) defeated Max Chowdhury (Mi) 3-0, Nabarro got his own back on Yip 11-9 in the fifth set, Maric-Murray knocked out his brother Henry 3-0 and second seed Ollie Michell (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC) saw off Millie Rogove (He) also 3-0.
In the semis, Grayson overcame Nabarro in four sets and Maric-Murray put paid to Michell’s chances in four sets. The final result mirrored the earlier result from the U11s final, with Grayson the victor again. Michell picked up the bronze medal, by getting the better of Nabarro in four. James Henry beat Sheel Malde (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC) 3-0 in the final of the consolation.
Under-13
There were five groups of four in this event. Three of the five seeds won their groups, but unranked Angus Norman (Sy) caused a stir by winning all three of his group matches, including a win over third seed, Charlie Cunningham (Sy). Louis Beesley (Mi) had a minor upset over Joe Newman (Mi), the fifth seed.
The quarter-final results were as follows: Top seed Charlie Graham-Adams (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC) defeated Cunningham 3-0, Beesley had a good win over Jaden Aulakh (E) 3-1, Norman scraped over the line vs Max Shah (Mi) 13-11 in the fifth and second seed, Will McCarthy (K) beat Newman in three close games.
In the semis Graham-Adams was victorious over Beesley in three, while McCarthy ended the great run by Norman also in three. In the final Graham-Adams was successful in straight sets. Norman was back on form in the bronze medal match, winning in four. Jacob Evans yet again won the consolation event, but was given a good game in the semis by Ed Cozens (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC), eventually winning in the fifth and beating Lewis Marsh (K) much more easily in the final.
Under-14
This was the largest event, with three groups of four and four groups of three. Two of the seven seeds failed to win their groups. Fourth seed Graham-Adams lost 2-3 to Horsham Spinners team-mate, Will Michell, who has by now got the hang of Charlie’s unusual style. Also sixth seed, Timmy Walters (K) lost 12-10 in the fifth set to Ben Palmer-Jones (Mi). The two beaten seeds were eliminated in Round 1 by higher seeds.
In the quarter finals, Jamie Blair (Do) overcame Adam Plakas (Sy) 11-9 in the fifth set, McCarthy went on to beat Michell 3-0, Alexander Ahl overcame Palmer-Jones 3-1 and second seed, Mahmood Kelani (K) knocked out Thomas Arnott (K) 3-0.
In the semis, McCarthy defeated Blair 3-0 and Ahl toppled Kelani. In the final McCarthy proved too strong for Ahl, winning in straight sets. Blair defeated Kelani for the bronze medal 11-9 in the deciding set, despite losing the first two games. Newman beat Max Shah (Mi) 11-8 in the fifth to win the consolation event.
Under-15
There were three groups of four and three groups of three in the category. Only two of the six seeds won their group with second seed, Daniel Olsberg (La) losing to Jamie Nordin (Sy), third seed Kelani losing to Palmer-Jones and going out on countback. Fifth seed Ali Malloch (Do) lost to Louis Rogove (He) and sixth seed Walters lost to Alex Guertin (Sy).
In the quarter-finals, Rogove just lost out to Olsberg by 11-8 in the fifth, fourth seed Alex Ahl (Mi) prevented Palmer-Jones from advancing by winning 3-1, Nordin continued his good run, knocking Malloch out 3-1 and top seed, Robert Pelc (Sy) beat Sacha Chowdhury (Mi) 3-0.
In the semi-finals, Olsberg overcame Ahl 3-2 and Nordin got another very good win over Pelc 3-2. The final was a repeat of an earlier group match, which ended with the same result, a win for Nordin (3-1). Pelc and Ahl fiercely contested the bronze medal match, which eventually went to Pelc 11-8 in the fifth. Kelani won the consolation event with a final close four-set win over Will Michell.
Under-18
This consisted of three groups of four players and two groups of three players. Four of the five seeds won their groups. The exception was that Robert Pelc beat fourth seed Ollie Guile (Sx-Brighton City TTC). In the quarters, top seed Richard Pelc (Sy) beat Malloch 3-1, Guile beat Abdur-Rahman Kelani (K) 3-1, Olsberg beat Robert Pelc 3-0 and second seed, Zak Cantor (La) knocked out Nordin in straight sets.
In the first semi-final, team-mates Olsberg & Cantor contested a high-tension match, neither giving an inch. In the end it was the lower ranked Olsberg, who emerged triumphant 12-10 in the fifth. In the second semi Richard Pelc defeated Guile very comfortably 3-0 and he went on to beat Olsberg in the final also 3-0. Cantor won the bronze medal by winning in three games vs Guile. Following a loss on countback in the group, Peter Lau (He) won the consolation event, overcoming Guertin in the final in three games.
The next Horsham Spinners 2 Star tournament at Collyers is on July 3 and there will be a Burgess Hill 2 Star in the Triangle, Burgess Hill on May 29. The forms are available on the Table Tennis England website by clicking here
Summary of results
U11
Main: Jake Grayson (Mi) beat Ollie Maric Murray (Sy) 11-6, 11-3, 11-9
Consolation: Damien Mutch (Mi) beat Louis Holder (Sx) 11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6
U12
Main: Jake Grayson (Mi) beat Ollie Maric Murray (Sy) 11-7, 11-7, 11-9
Consolation: James Henry (Mi) beat Sheel Malde (Sx) 11-8, 11-3, 11-5
U13
Main: Charlie Graham-Adams (Sx) beat Will McCarthy (K) 11-8, 11-6, 11-4
Consolation: Jacob Evans (Sx) beat Lewis Marsh (K) 11-4, 11-3, 11-5
U14
Main: Will McCarthy (K) beat Alexander Ahl (Mi) 11-8, 11-9, 11-7
Consolation: Joe Newman (Mi) beat Max Shah (Mi) 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 15-17, 11-8
U15
Main: Jamie Nordin (Sy) beat Daniel Olsberg (La) 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6
Consolation: Mahmood Kelani (K) beat Will Michell (Sx) 11-13, 15-13, 11-7, 11-8
U18
Main: Richard Pelc (Sy) beat Daniel Olsberg (La) 11-6, 15-13, 11-4
Consolation: Peter Lau (He) beat Alex Guertin (Sy) 11-8, 11-6, 11-3