GRG3 @ HWU2 Wed 23rd Jan.

 

A good 15-8 win for the Grange 3rds against the students who had beaten us in the first half.  

First up was Mark Dutton at no 4 against the tall Olivier Whettem.  The match was played on the exhibition court which does take a bit of getting used to given the clunky see-through glass front wall.  Consequently the first game was characterised by cautious play mixed with the odd mistake and Mark managed to snatch it 10-8 after saving a couple of game points.  The second and third games saw Mark becoming increasingly comfortable and dominant to run out 9-6 and 9-3 for a good 3-0 victory.

At no 5, men's team debutante Aoife Kerrin was up against James Robertson.  Aoife is returning to squash after a number of years out but if this is anything to go by she must've been pretty handy back then.  She considers herself still a bit rusty by her historic standard but will clearly soon be back up to full speed.  She was put to a decent test by James but always had an edge and ran out a 10-8, 9-6, 9-7 winner. 

At no1 it was Alan Stokes versus the very useful Santino Piccoli.  A contrast of styles with Alan's measured touch and weight and Santino's hard hitting and court speed.  Alan as just pipped 8-10 in the first and similarly 6-9 in the second but took the third very easily 9-3.  It was to be a false dawn though as Santino stepped on the gas and Alan lost it 3-9 for a 1-3 loss overall.

At No 3 Doug Brown was on the exhibition court against Gary Diggins.  Similarly to the 4th string match, neither player looked entirely comfortable with the feel of the court and both were content to play primarily percentage squash with only the occasional foray into all out attack.  The game scores were all close but Dougie was always a bit ahead on the percentage front and was always a little more in control of the rallies than Gary and he managed to take all three games 9-7, 9-5, 9-7.

Finally at No2 Mike Gore had the toughest assignment of the night against Claire Gray.  Mike played very will indeed but those that have seen Claire play will know that she's a class act with excellent skills and touch.  For much of the match Mike put her to the test as much as she did him but Claire was able to take punishing advantage of anything in the least bit loose (didn't have to be that loose, to be honest..) and Mike ended up on the end of a 2-9, 6-9, 6-9 loss.

Back to the Student Union afterwards for lashings of Macaroni Cheese with Chicken and Garlic Bread…and a cleansing pint.

A good night's work all round. (M. Dutton)

Pos	Player	Rubbers	Games	Points			Player	Rubbers	Games	Points
1	Alan Stokes	0	1	23			Santino Piccoli	1	3	34
2	Mike Gore	0	0	13			Claire Kidd	1	3	27
3	Dougie Brown	1	3	27			Gary Diggens	0	0	19
4	Mark Dutton	1	3	28			Olivier Whettem	0	0	14
5	Aoife Kerrin	1	3	28			James Robertson	0	0	19
Total		3	10	119				2	6	113
Competition Points		13						6