Oxford Boys at Regionals
Three Oxfordshire boys took part in the South Regional 11-14 Tournament at Cippenham on Saturday, with the incentive of qualifying for the Nationals at Wolverhampton in June, if they could finish in the top four in their age group. Under 14s Niall Harris and Ethan Ball faced some particularly strong opposition, but kept their composure after earlier disappointments in their groups, played a fabulous match against one another, and held on to win their final matches, thus taking 5th and 7th positions respectively, a good effort. Their event was won by Daniel McTiernan (Berkshire).
Josh Selby was entered in both Under 11s and Under 12s, which gave him a rather exhausting nine hour day; however, he lasted it out with amazing resilience, while one or two around him were falling apart. Josh came 3rd in the Under 11s and 2nd in the Under 12s, an exceptional performance. He has only been playing for 18 months and is already a tremendous competitor. Both his events were won by Jonathan McMullan (Hampshire). Accompanying Josh to Wolverhampton will be Kristelle Brook, who had qualified earlier in Under 14 Girls.