Cup disappointment for impressive squash team
Photo: Justyn Hardcastle
UNIVERSITY OF YORK FIRSTS 2 vs. UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER SECONDS 3
BUCS Cup (Squash) Semi-Final, Wednesday 25th February 2009
It has been a fantastic season for York men’s squash team. After a disappointing loss to Newcastle thirds in their opening match of the year, a run of five straight victories – in which none of their players even lost a match – secured them promotion from the BUCS Northern Conference 3A. In addition to this, they have had a fantastic run to the semi-finals of the BUCS Cup, but it ended yesterday in a tense and tight match against Manchester seconds that could have gone either way.
When Calum Fraser was 2-1 up in the final game, with the overall score at 2-2, it looked like York would upset the odds and book their place in the final. However, a dip in Fraser’s form and some excellent play from Manchester Captain Chris Sanders meant that the visitors took the next two games to win 6-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8 and put themselves into the final against Newcastle.
It was cruel that any team had to lose in such an incredibly close fixture, where the outcome was never clear until the last point. Captain Tom Davenhill was on court first and played a compelling five game match with his opponent Josh Hughes. After winning the first game 13-11, he lost the next two and an impressive Hughes looked likely to secure the first points of the day for Manchester. However, Davenhill recovered brilliantly and won the next game to level the scores. With news that York team mate James Birkhead had lost his match 3-0 to put Manchester in the lead, Davenhill knew that the result of his match would be crucial, even at this early stage. What resulted was an incredible game where both players seemed unable to claim victory. With the scores at an incredible 15-15, opposing player Hughes complained that he had been obstructed by Davenhill. It was the last of a series of claims and when it was not given he clearly shouted ‘You’re cheating me out of the game!’ and earned himself a warning. His lack of concentration spilled over to the next play where Davenhill won the match. It was tight, and maybe a little controversial, but York were level.
On the other court, York’s Matt Pollen had taken a two game lead over opponent Anil Ram. Ram looked impressive in the third game, which he won 11-9, and looked to stage an unlikely comeback. Pollen was clearly rattled and fell 7-1 behind in the next game. He fought back to 7-6 but an on-fire Ram levelled the scores. However, Pollen impressively took the fifth game to give York the overall lead but this was instantly nullified when York player Paul Atkinson lost his match 3-0 on the other court.
So, with the overall score at 2-2 it fell on a very nervous looking Calum Fraser to put York into the final. York’s top ranked player has been fantastic this season, hardly ever losing and in the early stages it was clear to see why. After his opponent Sanders had gone 6-2 ahead in the first game Fraser won an incredible 14 of the next 15 points with some outstanding play to take the first game and go into a 4-1 lead in the second.
Yet he was to throw the second game away in an unexpected loss of confidence. The game was full of exceptional rallies and brilliant play from both combatants – this match took the quality of university squash to a new level – but Sanders came out on top. Fraser did regain his stride in the next game to go into a 2-1 lead and the York players began to plan for the final. But it was not to be, and Sanders took the remaining games.
Afterwards Captain Davenhill said he was ‘gutted,’ especially seeing as Fraser ‘never usually loses’. However, he did say that it had been a hugely successful season with promotion in the league. This cup run in which they matched Manchester seconds and beat Manchester Met in the quarter finals is hugely encouraging because these teams finished 1st and 2nd respectively in the league above York this season. Their performances against these teams shows that York can expect to have further success next year in Northern Conference 2A.
York Line-up: Calum Fraser, Matt Pollen, Paul Atkinson, Tom Davenhill (c), James Birkhead
Manchester Line-up: Chris Sanders (c), Anil Ram, Mark Ashrofi, Josh Hughes, Mohammed Helmy
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