U18A v Harrow School
Epsom’s 1st V continued their winning streak, with a fantastic victory against Harrow, one of the strongest schools on the circuit.
Fifth seed James Bull (G), returning from an injury, could not find his normal rhythm, though he pushed his opponent hard in each game (12-14, 11-13 and 8-11).
Elliott Rumble (P) excelled in Sunday’s Surrey Schools Invitation Tournament and he continued to play well in this fixture, winning the fourth seed match 3-0.
Natalie Chak (Wh), who did not drop a single game against Eton last Thursday and throughout Sunday’s tournament, extended this personal record by winning in style, 3-0.
Epsom’s second seed, Stan Tanguy (G) then secured the overall victory with a clinical 3-0 win, taking the final two games 11-3, 11-3.
Finally, captain Ben Harris (Rn) played out an entertaining first seed match, which involved some impressive long rallies and perseverance from both players; Ben lost the deciding game 7-11.
U18A vs Frankland Tournament
The College Squash coach, Neil Frankland, ran the inaugural Surrey Schools Invitation Tournament in 2005, which has since been held annually on the College courts. This year, for the first time, Epsom’s 1st and 2nd teams (each consisting of three players) won both Division 1 and Division 2 of the tournament respectively.
The 2nd team secured the Division 2 trophy with a close victory against the Tonbridge 2nds: with the score level on games, the result came down to the number of points won in each game. The 2nds captain Elliott Rumble (P), alongside his teammates Fraser Spalding (Fa) and Oliver King (Rn) should be rightly proud of retaining the Division 2 trophy.
Epsom’s 1sts, captained by Ben Harris (Rn), with Stanley Tanguy (G) playing at second seed and Natalie Chak (Wh) at third seed, dominated most of their matches. Epsom did not lose a single game in their first five matches, including impressive victories against the Tonbridge 1sts, KCS Wimbledon and Sevenoaks.
However, Aylesbury Grammar, the winners of last year’s tournament, also won all of their matches against the same sides, to set up an exciting final with Epsom.
Natalie Chak (Wh) controlled her match well and played with real determination to win 2-0.
Ben Harris (Rn) then secured the victory for Epsom with another 2-0 win, producing some really high-level squash against a very strong opponent.
Even though Epsom had already won the tournament, Stanley Tanguy (G) was determined to win another point for Epsom, fighting back after losing his first game to draw 1-1 in the final match.
Winning these trophies is very encouraging for the squash squad as they look ahead to the National Schools competition and the Roehampton Schools tournament.
U18A vs Eton College
The 1st V fixture against Eton was hotly contested, as always.
In what felt like a repeat of their comeback against Eton in the Roehampton Schools final, Epsom went 0-2 down before digging deep to win the final three matches.
Fifth seed James Bull (G), struggling with a sore knee, lost 0-3.
Elliott Rumble (P) won the first game of the fourth seed match but then lost momentum, losing 1-3.
Third seed Natalie Chak (Wh) produced one of her best performances for the College, controlling her match well to win 3-0.
Meanwhile, Ben Harris (Rn) played excellently to win the first seed encounter 3-0, leaving the fixture tied at 2-2.
Second seed Stanley Tanguy (G), who had already won at first seed for the U15V, then played out a thrilling deciding match. After four very close games, the score was level at two games apiece, and, in front of a nervous and vocal crowd, Stanley played magnificently under pressure to win the final game 11-9.
