Tom McIntosh and Sophie Barlow were the stars of the Bishop Auckland 2 star, with two titles apiece.

McIntosh, from Nottinghamshire, took home the Under-13 title, beating Cleveland’s Joe Cope, who had a marathon match against Josh Weatherby in the semi-finals.

The same three players were heavily involved in the Cadets event, with McIntosh again victorious, beating Cope in the semis before beating Durham’s Weatherby in the final.

Barlow was in a league of her own, taking home both the Junior Girls’ singles and the Cadet Girls’ singles without dropping a set.

In the Juniors, Bishop Auckland’s Erin Harrison was runner-up, Meanwhile, in the Cadets, Barlow prevented Jasmin Wong taking home a double having already beaten Charlotte Weatherby in the Under-13 Girls’ singles.

Josh Harland continued where he left off at the last Bishop 2 star in May, taking home the Junior Boys’ title. He was no mood to wait around, winning his group and dispatching Justin Wong and James Neal without dropping a set to reach the final.

The surprise finalist was Bishop Auckland’s Rob Renton, who had knocked out clubmate Carl draper and then come back from 2-0 down to beat second seed Cope to reach the final. However, Harland was too strong, winning in three games.

The Under-11 event saw the “Pocket Rocket” Leo Pontone take home his first Bishop Auckland title, winning the group and the title without dropping a set – not bad for eight years old!

As normal at the Bishop Auckland 2 star, all age groups had a plate event, numbers permitting. The Junior Boys’ plate was won by Taquibb Saleem, beating Bishop’s Jack Jacomb in the final. Francis Guthrie won the Cadet Boys’ plate, overcoming Matthew Rigg in a very tight five-set match. And the Under-13s was won by Adam Gent with a 3-0 victory over Troy Maddison.

Photos can be found on the club Facebook page.

Matthew Porter
September 15, 2014