North Herts Banded 2* Open Grand Prix 2014

The North Herts 2* Open saw over 65 competitors converging on the Hitchin Boys Sports Centre to mark the 12th year that the local League has run this ETTA ranking event.

The Mens’s Singles with 31 participants ended in a final between number 1 seed Adam Nutland (Wo), who at present is living in Stevenage, and number 2 seed Luke Walsh (He) who is also from the same area. Despite their close proximity the match proved one-sided with Adam beating Luke 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-6).

Adam and Luke then paired up in the doubles round-robin but were undone by the Federico Viterbo (Bk)/ Rajan Waterman (Av) scratch pairing who came out on top in the final by securing a thrilling 3-2 win, 11-5 in the fifth.

The Women’s Singles round robin was won comfortably by Natasha Walsh (He) with Emily Godfrey (Ex) second.

Other results were as follows:

Men’s Band 1 Winner Luke Walsh (He) Runner Up Jimmy Walsh (Mi)
Men’s Band 2 Winner Federico Viterbo (Bk) Runner Up Rory Scott (Sx)
Men’s Band 3 Winner Rajan Waterman (Av) Runner Up Rory Scott (Sx)
Men’s Band 4 Winner Diccon Gray (K) Runner Up Mark Collins (Sx)
Men’s Band 5 Winner Daniel Spurling (E) Runner Up Xin Li (Mi)
Men’s Band 6 Winner Xin Li (Mi) Runner Up Daniel Flash (Mi)
Women’s Band 3 Winner Daniella Gray(K) Runner Up Natash Walsh (He)
Veterans Singles Winner Jimmy Walsh (Mi) Runner Up Hari Gehlot (Bk)

It was good to see other players participating from the N Herts & Luton Leagues.
Thanks go to Val Murdoch Referee, Alex Murdoch Deputy Referee, Hitchin Boy’s Sports Centre Staff, Local League player volunteers not forgetting all the players who came from across the country to play in the event.