The second Horsham Spinners TTC 2 Star of the 2016-17 season took place on 5th March 2017 at the College of Richard Collyer, Horsham. There were 71 entrants and all events got the minimum of 16 players to qualify for bonus ranking points.

Two of the three Horsham Spinners TTC members who won events at the first one, managed to repeat the feat of winning their age group. Ollie Michell (Sx) won the U13s and Owen Brown (Sx) won the U14s, which is his third time in a row winning his age group in a two star.

There were three new event winners, who had never won their age group at a 2 star in Sussex, Thomas Palmer (Mi) winning the U11s, Charlie Nabarro (Mi) winning the U12s and Matthew Daish (Ha) winning the U18s. Nabarro also won the silver medal in the U11s. Alex Ahl (Mi), a previous event winner here, won the U15s again.

Under-11

There were 19 players in the U11s. Three of the five seeds were displaced from first to second in their groups, with Aarav Shah (Mi) beating Troy Williams (Ha), Jenson Moreno (Mi) beating Max Wilson (Sx-Brighton City TTC) and Sophie Barcsai (Do) taking out Maliha Baig (E).

In the quarter-finals, top seed Palmer knocked out Williams in three, Barcsai put out Moreno in four, Shah advanced at the expense of Sayan Jetha (Mi) in four and Nabarro took out Wilson in four.

In the semis, Palmer proved too strong for Barcsai, winning 3-1, while Nabarro ended Shah’s good run in straight sets. Palmer then beat club-mate Nabarro in three close games in the final. Shah had a 3-1 win over Barcsai in the bronze medal match. Jack Jordan (K) beat Jamie Orton (Sy) 3-0 in the consolation final.

Under-12

There were 16 players in this age group. No massive upsets at the group stage, but Moreno, took advantage of the pulling out of the No 2 seed to win group 2, getting a second win over the higher ranked Wilson. In the quarters, No 1 seed Shem Lejarde (K) overcame Wilson 3-1, Nabarro ended Williams also 3-1, Abbie Hurley (K) ousted the now second highest ranked Palmer 3-2 and Moreno turned the tables vs Barcsai, winning 3-1.

The semi-finals both produced ‘unexpected’ results, with Lejarde succumbing to Nabarro 0-3 and Hurley losing out to Moreno 1-3. Nabarro then steamrollered Moreno in the final, just dropping nine points in total. Lejarde consolidated third place, with a 3-0 win over Hurley. Baig came from 1-2 down in games to defeat Jordan 3-2 in the final of the consolation event.

Under-13

There were 19 players in this category. All five of the seeds negotiated their groups with relative ease. The quarter-final results were as follows: No 1 seed, Alessio Marrocco (Sx-Brighton City TTC) was displaced by Larry Trumpauskas (K) in five sets, fifth seed, Zach Hodges (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC) took out fourth seed James Henry (Mi) in four, Lejarde proved too strong for Isabel Webb 3-0 and second seed, Michell had a comfortable 3-0 victory over Scarlett Anders (Mi).

After overcoming the top seed, Trumpauskas seemed to have nothing left in the tank, as he fell 0-3 to Hodges in the first semi final. On the other side of the draw, Michell had a straight sets win over the slightly lower ranked Lejarde. In the first ever all Horsham Spinners U13s final, Hodges performed well to take team-mate Michell to the deciding set, winning the two close games, but missed out in the end. After losing the first set in the bronze medal match, Lejarde won the next three. Hurley beat Tom Nguyen (Sx-Brighton City TTC) in a very close four-setter to take the consolation event.

Under-14

This was the largest event with 26 players in seven groups. There was one big shock at the group stage, with Jon-Vai Chung ousting no. 2 seed, Owen Brown, who was ranked 316 points higher, in four sets. In Round 1 there were further upsets, with No 5 seed Jacob Evans (Sx-Horsham TTC) losing out in four to Finley Cameron-Prior (He) and fourth seed, Charlie Cunningham (Sy-Ashford TTC) going out to Marrocco in straight sets.

In the quarter-finals, the top two seeds and Horsham Spinners team mates Brown and Charlie Graham-Adams met and the result was the same as it was in the previous six meetings, with Brown knowing how to play Graham-Adams and winning in four. At the same stage, Cameron-Prior beat Marrocco 3-1, Nahom Goitam (Sy) took out No 3 seed, Mahmood Kelani (K) 3-0 and Chung scraped a 3-2 win over Jack Trafford (Do).

In the semis, Brown defeated Cameron-Prior in four and Goitam got a last gasp 13-11 in the fifth set win over Chung with all five games being close. In the final, Brown started well, winning the first two games, but was pegged back to the fifth set, which he won 11-6. Chung beat Cameron-Prior 3-1 for the bronze medal. Sam Flaum (He) beat Oscar Featherstone-Csillag 3-1 in the consolation final.

Under-15

There were 18 players in the U15s. Four of the five seeds topped their groups and it was again Brown, seeded third this time, who succumbed to a lower ranked player, this time vs Goitam, who he would later defeat in the U14s final. This meant he again faced the top seed in the quarter-final, but this time he lost in the deciding set vs Alex Ahl having come back from 0-2 down.

The other quarter-finals were fifth seed, Jaycee Chan (Mi) overcoming fourth seed Will Michell (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC) in four, Goitam seeing off Angus Norman (Sy) in four and Graham-Adams putting paid to Chung in three.

The semis produced a 3-0 win for Ahl over Chan and an upset, with Goitam edging out Graham-Adams by 11-9 in the fifth. In the final Goitam won the first game only to lose the next three all by 11-7. Graham-Adams saw off Chan 3-0 in the bronze medal match. Evans beat Ollie Thorne (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC) 3-0 in the consolation final.

Under-18

There were 16 players in the U18s. No upsets at the group stage nor in the quarters, where top seed, Matt Daish (Ha) beat Alejandro-Ito Aramendia (Sy) 3-0, Will Michell beat Will Poulter (Ha) 3-0, Abdur-Rahman Kelani (K) beat Jasmine Chan (Mi) 3-1 and Jaycee Chan just missed out vs Ahl 11-9 in the fifth.

In the semis, Daish lost the first end to Michell, but won the next three, but Ahl saw off Kelani in three. Daish won the final 3-0 and Kelani won the third/fourth place play-off 3-1. Mohammed Raqueeb (E) beat Brandon Bennett (Sx-Brighton City TTC) 11-9 in the fifth end.

Results

U11s
Main: Thomas Palmer (Mi) beat Charlie Nabarro (Mi) 11-8, 12-10, 11-8; Consolation: Jack Jordan (K) beat Jamie Orton (Sy) 11-6, 12-10, 11-8

U12s
Main: Charlie Nabarro (Mi) beat Jenson Moreno (Mi) 11-4, 11-3, 11-2; Consolation: Maliha Baig (E) beat Jack Jordan (K) 8-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-3, 11-4

U13s
Main: Ollie Michell (Sx) beat Zach Hodges (Sx) 13-15, 11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 11-5; Consolation: Abbie Hurley (K) beat Tom Nguyen (Sx) 8-11, 12-10, 12-10, 11-9

U14s
Main: Owen Brown (Sx) beat Nahom Goitam (Sy) 11-7, 13-11, 10-12, 2-11, 11-6; Consolation: Sam Flaum (He) beat Oscar Featherstone-Csillag (K) 12-10, 6-11, 11-6, 11-4

U15s
Main: Alex Ahl (Mi) beat Nahom Goitam (Sy) 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7; Consolation: Jacob Evans (Sx) beat Ollie Thorne (Sx) 11-5, 11-7, 11-6

U18s
Main: Matt Daish (Ha) beat Alex Ahl (Mi) 11-3, 13-11, 11-8; Consolation: Mohammed Raqueeb (E) beat Brandon Bennett (Sx) 11-8, 5-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9