It was a great day for Horsham Spinners as they took six medals – three of them gold – at their own Horsham Spinners TTC 2 Star at the College of Richard Collyer.
There were 58 entrants and the host club took two silver medals and a bronze to win one-third of the medals on offer and half of the golds. The remaining three event winners came from Crusaders TTC, Fusion TTC and Graham Spicer TTC.
Under-11
There were 12 players in the U11s. Top seed Ben Poulter (Ha) won his group and progressed to the final with a straight set wins over Sam Melhuish and Sophie Barcsai (both Do).
Larry Trumpauskas (K) also made it to the final with two hard fought fifth-set wins over Maliha Baig (E) and Francesco Bonato (Mi) in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively. Bonato had put out second seed Ben Gibson (Mi) in the quarter-final in another five-setter, despite having lost the first two games.
The final was unfortunately a bit of an anti-climax, as after a well contested third game, which put Poulter 2-1 up in games, Poulter had to pull out of the tournament, due to shortness of breath, thereby handing the title to Trumpauskas. Bonato won the bronze medal match 3-1 at the expense of Barcsai. Jessica Moggeridge (Do) beat Toby Paske (Mi) 3-0 in the consolation final.
Under-12
There were 18 players in this age group. No 1 seed Ollie Maric-Murray (Sy) won the event with ease, beating Baig, Jamie Barlow (Ca) & Scarlett Anders (Mi) in the knockout stages all 3-0 to take the title.
Anders got to the final with wins over Sam Gabriel (Mi) and Moggeridge both in three games. In the quarter-final Moggeridge had ousted the No 2 seed Sonny Dalston (Bu) in a match which could hardly have been closer, finishing 11-9, 12-14, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10.
Barlow overcame Moggeridge in five sets to take the bronze medal. The consolation final was taken by Barcsai with a last gasp 11-9 in the fifth set victory over Daniel Titmas (Bk).
Under-13
There were 16 players in this category. Top seed Bertie Kelly (So) made his way to the final with wins over Jed Brackenridge (Do) 3-0 and Alessio Marrocco (Sx-Brighton City TTC) 3-2, while No 4 seed Ollie Michell (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC) made it there with a 3-0 win over Anders and an impressive 3-1 victory over second seed, Maric-Murray.
In the quarter-finals, Marrocco had beaten Zach Hodges (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC) 3-1 and Maric-Murray had knocked out Noah Featherstone Csillag (K) 3-0.
The final produced an unexpectedly easy big win for Michell, who defeated Under 11s national champion Kelly 3-0 (11-3, 11-5, 11-6). Maric-Murray won the bronze medal match 3-0 vs Marrocco. The consolation final was a thriller, with Jacob Gibson (Mi) coming through 13-11 in the fifth vs Jesse Bath (E).
Under-14
This was the largest event with 22 players in six groups. There was one notable upset at the group stage, with Jacob Evans (Sx-Horsham TTC) beating fifth seed Charlie Cunningham (Sy) 3-2. Top seed Charlie Graham-Adams (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC) beat Angus Norman 3-0 in the quarters, but then succumbed to team-mate Owen Brown (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC) 3-0 in the semis, as Brown has got used to his unorthodox combination bat game. Brown had beaten Evans in the quarters in straight sets.
In the bottom half of the draw, Jake Buckley’s (K) route to the final included 3-0 wins over Charlie Ollerenshaw (Sx-Brighton City TTC) and Jack Trafford (Do) and then Cunningham in a well contested five-setter in the semi final. Cunningham had had a great fifth set win over second seed, Kelly in the quarters.
Brown won the final 3-1, with a bit of drama, as Buckley twisted his ankle in the third set, but fought on bravely. In the battle of the Charlies for the bronze medal, it was Graham-Adams who came out on top 3-0. Sam Watts (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC) beat Featherstone Csillag in three close games in the consolation final, having beaten team-mate Hodges in an entertaining five-setter in the semis.
Under-15
There were 18 players in the U15s. Evans again had a good win at the group stage, beating No 3 seed Herbie Sage (Dv) in the deciding set. There was a further upset in Group 4, when Jonathan Gibson (Mi) beat No 4 seed Brown very comfortably 3-0. Buckley also overturned the rankings vs fifth seed, Cunningham, albeit there was only a 36-point disparity.
This meant that No 4 and 5 seeds Brown and Cunningham met in the preliminary round and after a very hard fought match, with extended pushing rallies, Brown emerged the winner 13-11 in the fifth set. Top seed Graham-Adams had a tough quarter final vs Sage and ended up winning in the fifth set. Then Buckley also overcame Gibson 3-2. The only quarter final not to go to five sets was when Evans beat Trafford 3-1.
The last quarter-final to finish was an extreme battle, between team-mates, Brown and Will Michell (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC). Brown started better, winning the first two games 18-16, 11-5, but as so often is the case between these two, Will Michell won in five sets, taking the next three 15-13, 11-9, 11-5.
In the semis Graham-Adams took out Buckley in four and Michell had the edge over Evans, winning in five. Michell, who generally has a good record over Graham-Adams, has never beaten him in a final and this trend continued, as Graham-Adams won in four and Michell picked up what must be his sixth silver medal in a two star (he is yet to win a gold).
Buckley dispatched Evans in three for the bronze. Consolation king, Ed Cozens (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC) did the business again, defeating Alejandro Ito-Aramendia in four close games in the consolation final.
Under-18
There were just seven players in the U18s, in one round-robin group. Top seed Damien Gray (Sy) proved the rankings correct, with six wins out of six. He only dropped one end altogether and that was against No 2 seed, Will Michell (Sx-Horsham Spinners TTC).
Michell won his remaining matches with the loss of just one end to pick up his seventh silver medal at a 2 star. The lost end was vs Alejandro Ito-Aramendia (Sy), who finished third. Ito-Aramendia beat two players ranked above him in juniors, Curtis Sage (Dv) and Holly Long (Bu), who finished fifth and sixth respectively. Anthony Pereira (Mi), who finished fourth, also beat those two players, who are ranked above him too.
Summary of results:
U11s
Main: Larry Trumpauskas (K) beat Ben Poulter (Ha) 3-2 (4-11, 11-2, 12-14, 11-0, 11-0 – Ben retired ill after the 3rd game)
Consolation: Jess Moggeridge (Do) beat Toby Paske (Mi) 3-0 (11-8, 11-4, 11-2)
U12s
Main: Ollie Maric-Murray (Sy) beat Scarlett Anders (Mi) 3-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-3)
Consolation: Sophie Barcsai (Do) beat Daniel Titmas (Bk) 3-2 (11-5, 11-8, 3-11, 9-11, 11-9)
U13s
Main: Ollie Michell (Sx) beat Bertie Kelly (So) 3-0 (11-3, 11-5, 11-6)
Consolation: Jacob Gibson (Mi) beat Jesse Bath (E) 3-2 (11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 9-11, 13-11)
U14s
Main: Owen Brown (Sx) beat Jake Buckley (K) 3-1 (11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 11-3)
Consolation: Sam Watts (Sx) beat Noah Featherstone-Csillag (K) 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-9)
U15s
Main: Charlie Graham-Adams (Sx) beat Will Michell (Sx) 3-1 (11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8)
Consolation: Ed Cozens (Sx) beat Alejandro Ito-Aramendia (Sy) 3-1 (11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9)
U18s
Round Robin: 1st Damien Gray (Sy), 2nd Will Michell (Sx)