South East boys won the UK School Games title with a near perfect record at Pond’s Forge.
After qualifying from their group yesterday with three 7-0 wins they cruised through the knock-out stage with another 4-0 win against Scotland to make the final.
In the final they raced to another 3-0 lead but their perfect tournament record was broken when the South West pairing of Liam McTiernan and Jarred Knowles defeated Jared Patel and Helshan Weerasinghe 3-1.
Not to be outdone, top seed Lewis Gray won the next singles to take the title home. The team of Igor Morais, Gray, Weerasinghe and Patel were by far the best at the event and the deserved winners.
Runners-up South West consisted of, George Downing, Dominic Sussex, McTiernan and Knowles. They had reached the final with a 4-1 semi-final victory over North East boys.
The girl’s event was won by the equally impressive Welsh team who stood out again. The side consisting of Charlotte Carey, Angharad Phillips, Megan Phillips and Nicole Hall were backed by vocal support throughout and won the final against South West girls with a convincing 4-0 scoreline, asserting their dominance.
Interestingly the Welsh girls never played England Midlands which meant the number one seed, Emily Bates, did not play any of the Welsh girls ahead of the individual tournament. Ominously Bates remained unbeaten throughout the team tournament in singles matches.
The South West girls made the final after overturning a 3-2 deficit against Bates’ Midlands team to win 4-3 with Knowles clinching the vital last singles game.
The individual group games begin later on Saturday with team friendships quickly turning to team rivalries as the best players battle it out for the prized title. Expect the four South East boys to be at the business end of the boy’s competition while the Welsh girls and Emily Bates are the favourites for the girls title.
For full score details visit the UK School Games website or read our Twitter feed that is constantly updated throughout the day’s play.
By Russell Moore
