18/04/23: The 2023 Mixed Championships in association with Advanta Wealth took place at Harrow on Sunday.
Watch the final: GAME ONE GAME TWO
An excellent entry of 24 pairs made it to the start line, with the majority of the top players in the women's game present and correct, a large group of current and recent R/reptonians (some great recruiting work from David Exley there), and representatives from a wide range of other schools and clubs.
The Mixed is a notoriously difficult tournament to predict so the morning format of six groups was designed to give all pairs a chance to get themselves into a higher seeding position and to avoid having to play against the top two rated pairs - defending champions Emily Scoones & Jonny Ho and Karen Hird & Riki Houlden - for as long as possible. 24 quickly became 23 thanks to one non-appearance and an unfortunate ankle sprain, but things were quickly reorganised and the show went on.
Some pairs used the group stage to gently warm up and cruise straight into the last eight; others to get used to new partners, mixed rules or in some cases playing Fives again after a long break or to put together tactical masterplans designed to conquer the plate competitions later in the day.
There were also some thrilling matches between pairs jockeying for position - Berkhamsted's Bronte Capaldi & Will Roen-Tate held off North Oxford's Bee Millar & Steve Kaaber-Gore 15-13 to take second place behind Emily & Jonny in Group A; Natalie Lilienthal & Adam Field from Westway convincingly took second place behind Karen & Riki in Group B; Cholmeleians Marj Briscoe & Joe Marks looked good winning Group C ahead of Natasha Gregory & Gwydion Wiseman; Group D saw a titanic clash between the husband & wife Lumbard team against the brother & sister Asquiths, eventually won 15-13 by Ashley & Chris Lumbard; the Group E decider was almost as tense as Elana Garfield-Osen & Aroop Bhattacharya held off Phoebe Bracken & David Mew 15-12; and Rachel Wood & Alex Abrahams did well to keep Charlotta Cooley & Peter Boughton (17 mixed title between them!) at arms' length in Group F.
Emily & Jonny, Karen & Riki, Marj & Joe and Ashley & Chris all went into the quarter-finals where they would be joined by the four winners of a repechage round featuring the six group runners-up and the winners of groups E & F. These went largely to form, with the closest once again involving Harry & Matt Asquith, this time on the right side of a 15-12 scoreline against Phoebe & David. Charlotta & Peter beat Natasha & Gwydion (scuppering Charlotta's designs on the Dossi Dish), Elana & Aroop beat Bronte & Will and Rachel & Alex ended the hopes of Natalie & Adam.
Again, the quarter-finals went to form, with none of the repechage winners able to get into double figures in a game up to 15, Elana & Aroop managing 9 against Ashley & Chris, Rachel & Alex 8 against Marj & Joe and Harry & Matt and Charlotta & Peter unable to trouble the top two seeds.
This pattern was repeated in the semi-finals, where Emily & Jonny cruised past Ashley & Chris with a dominant 12-2, 12-2 win and Riki & Karen confidently dispatched Marj & Joe, despite a spirited second game from the Cholmeleian pair that netted them 7 points.
The stage was therefore set for the final between the two best pairs in the competition. Karen & Riki had played together in the Mixed a couple of times before in 2016 and 2017, losing in the final to the Cooleys on both occasions. After several near misses, Emily & Jonny finally came good in the 2022 competition, winning two memorable matches to claim the title for the first time, including a final win over 2021 winners Karen & Hugo Young. A large crowd settled down expectantly and were rewarded with two games of mixed Fives of the highest quality with all four players showcasing their full range of skills. What became clear fairly early on, though, was that Karen & Riki were operating on a slightly different level in this match, with Karen at her imposing best returning cuts and controlling play around the buttress and Riki seemingly playing Playstation Fives with every shot appearing to go exactly where it was intended. Emily & Jonny didn't play badly, far from it in fact, but it always felt as if they were chasing the game and as if Karen & Riki were in complete control of proceedings. The scoreline reflected this too, their 12-4, 12-5 win a deserved reward for a near flawless performance.
While the top pairs were fighting it out for the silverware, everyone else was having a fabulous time, revelling in the fun and enjoyment that the mixed format naturally produces and in many cases producing some pretty impressive Fives of their own, with many of the less experienced players in particular improving enormously during the course of the day.
The big prize for those who didn't make the quarter-final line-up was the Plate A title and the coveted \"Dossi Dish\". The 15 remaining pairs went into a straight knockout format, with the first round games to 12 sorting out whose dreams remained intact and who headed into Plate B. Early favourites Phoebe & David were forced to withdraw through injury, opening up the top half of the draw and raising the hopes of a few pairs. The top half of the draw quickly turned into a R/repton/Berkhamsted battleground as Bronte & Will - spurred on by the prospect of winning the trophy donated by the Berkhamsted Fives coach - squeezed past Hattie Nieper and her QEB/Imperial partner Abilash Sivathasan in a 15-14 thriller and then took down R/repton coach David Exley and partner Ellie Derry 15-10 in the semi-final.
The 2022 Plate winner Natasha Gregory was in the bottom half of the draw this time, having traded her title-winning partner of last year in for a younger model in the shape of U21 champion Gwydion Wiseman. They had a bye in the first round before coming through a tough 15-13 quarter-final battle against an inspired Sophie Clifford-King & Lukas Vanhaesebroeck. Their semi-final opponents were Natalie & Adam, who had overcome a strong challenge themselves (15-12) from Bee & Steve in their quarter-final and they pushed Tash & Gwydion hard in their semi-final clash before succumbing 15-11.
Both finalists had had to work hard to get there and both were determined to get their hands on the trophy. A good number of spectators found their way over to Court 3 to watch and to start with it looked as though Tash & Gwydion were going to run away with it, winning the first game of their best of three encounter to 4. Bronte & Will dug in, though, and came storming back in the second game taking the lead early on and staying ahead all the way to 11. Their opponents quickly levelled at 11-11; Bronte & Will - with Tash serving at second hand and Will cutting - went for the brave option of sudden death and it paid off as Will found the perfect cut to take them up and serving for 1-1. Tash responded, though, producing two superb gameball cuts to save the game before going on to win the next point and take the match 2-0.
There were more exciting games in the Plate A quarter-finalists plate, which was eventually won by Bee & Steve, who overcame Sophie & Lukas 15-11 and then Hattie & Abilash 15-13 to finish their day in style. A special note should be made here of Bee Millar, who only started playing in January and who impressed everyone who saw her with the rapid progress she has made already. One to watch!
The final \"trophy\" up for grabs was the box of chocolates waiting to be awarded to the winners of Plate B. Once again there were some nail-bitingly close matches, with most of them involving Mandie Barnes & Ian Mitchell, 15-14 semi-final winners (a gameball cut flying out of court!) over Cambridge's Charlotta Bowman & Lewis Drummond but 13-15 runners-up in the final against the brother/sister pairing of Claudia (R/repton) and Will (Old Harrovian) Tate.
The reward for perseverance went to the all-R/repton battle in the Plate C final, OR Zara Knowles and ex-coach Charles Plummer scoring a 12-8 win over ORs Jessie Milligan-Manby & Alex Mair.
Our thanks go to Lukas Vanhaesebroeck and Harrow for hosting the tournament, to Advanta Wealth for their continued sponsorship and to all of the players who took part, universally playing in the spirit of Mixed Fives and making it a hugely enjoyable day.
Round Two
E.Garfield-Osen & Ar.Bhattacharya beat B.Capaldi & W.Roen-Tate 15-6
R.Wood & A.Abrahams beat N.Lilienthal & A.Field 15-5
C.Cooley & P.Boughton beat N.Gregory & G.Wiseman 15-8
H.Asquith & M.Asquith beat P.Bracken & D.Mew 15-12
Quarter-Finals
E.Scoones & J.Ho beat H.Asquith & M.Asquith 15-1
A.Lumbard & C.Lumbard beat E.Garfield-Osen & Ar.Bhattacharya 15-9
M.Briscoe & J.Marks beat R.Wood & A.Abrahams 15-8
K.Hird & R.Houlden beat C.Cooley & P.Boughton 15-3
Semi-Finals
E.Scoones & J.Ho beat A.Lumbard & C.Lumbard 2-0 (12-2, 12-2)
K.Hird & R.Houlden beat M.Briscoe & J.Marks 2-0 (12-1, 12-7)
Final
K.Hird & R.Houlden beat E.Scoones & J.Ho 2-0 (12-4, 12-5)
Plate A - The \"Dossi Dish\"
Round One
A.Naylor & F.Dumbill beat P.Bracken & D.Mew scr
E.Derry & D.Exley beat M.Barnes & I.Mitchell 12-8
H.Nieper & A.Sivathasan beat Z.Knowles & C.Plummer 12-11
B.Capaldi & W.Roen-Tate beat C.Bowman & L.Drummond 12-6
N.Lilienthal & A.Field beat J.Milligan-Manby & A.Mair 12-1
B.Millar & S.Kaaber-Gore beat E.Webb & A.Bishop 12-8
S.Clifford-King & L.Vanhaesebroeck beat C.Tate & W.Tate 12-8
N.Gregory & G.Wiseman BYE
Quarter-Finals
E.Derry & D.Exley beat A.Naylor & F.Dumbill 15-2
B.Capaldi & W.Roen-Tate beat H.Nieper & A.Sivathasan 15-14
N.Lilienthal & A.Field beat B.Millar & S.Kaaber-Gore 15-12
N.Gregory & G.Wiseman beat S.Clifford-King & L.Vanhaesebroeck 15-13
Semi-Finals
B.Capaldi & W.Roen-Tate beat E.Derry & D.Exley 15-10
N.Gregory & G.Wiseman beat N.Lilienthal & A.Field 15-11
Final
N.Gregory & G.Wiseman beat B.Capaldi & W.Roen-Tate 2-0 (12-4, 12-11)
Plate A Quarter-Finalists Plate
Semi-Finals
H.Nieper & A.Sivathasan beat A.Naylor & F.Dumbill 15-3
B.Millar & S.Kaaber-Gore beat S.Clifford-King & L.Vanhaesebroeck 15-11
Final
B.Millar & S.Kaaber-Gore beat H.Nieper & A.Sivathasan 15-13
3rd/4th
S.Clifford-King & L.Vanhaesebroeck beat A.Naylor & F.Dumbill 12-3
Plate B
Quarter-Finals
M.Barnes & I.Mitchell BYE
C.Bowman & L.Drummond beat Z.Knowles & C.Plummer 15-9
E.Webb & A.Bishop beat J.Milligan-Manby & A.Mair 15-8
C.Tate & W.Tate BYE
Semi-Finals
M.Barnes & I.Mitchell beat C.Bowman & L.Drummond 15-14
C.Tate & W.Tate beat E.Webb & A.Bishop 15-4
Final
C.Tate & W.Tate beat M.Barnes & I.Mitchell 15-13
3rd/4th
C.Bowman & L.Drummond beat E.Webb & A.Bishop 15-6
Plate C
Z.Knowles & C.Plummer beat J.Milligan-Manby & A.Mair 12-8