Midlands Schools' Regional Championships
Bedford, 9th February 2014
Bob Dolby writes: The weather was kinder to us than last year, cold but dry, perfect Fives weather. Numbers were healthy, too, for this second running of the event: 19 for the U15 championship, 28 for the U18s.
In the U18 section, played at Bedford Modern School under the supervision of Stuart Kirby and Phil Smith, things largely went according to seeding. In the Doubles, played first, three of Derby Moor’s pairs went through to the semi-finals accompanied by one pair from Rugby. The final was an all-Derby Moor affair, with the holders, Robert Whitehorn and Rob Christie, retaining the trophy against Derby Moor II, Craig Baxter and Jai Singh. The Doubles Plate went to Bedford I, with Gupta retaining it, this time with his partner, Shah.
The U18 Singles was dominated by Derby Moor and Rugby, with seven out of eight quarter-finalists between them, but it was Christie and Whitehorn who went through once more to an all-Derby Moor final, with Robert Whitehorn retaining his title. He will be looking to make it a hat-trick next year.
Over at Bedford School the morning’s U15 Doubles tournament threw up a number of talented pairings and plenty of even matches. Two Rugby pairs made the semi-finals, along with Bedford I and Derby Moor I. The final was between Rugby I and Derby Moor I. The score sat for a while at 8-8 until the more powerful Rugby pair broke the resistance of their opposition. In the Doubles Plate the Bedford Modern first pair won all four of their matches to deny Bedford II the trophy.
The U15 Singles competition involved four pools from which eight visibly improved players emerged. The three stand-out performers were Suddaby and Skirokiy from Rugby and Attwood from Bedford Modern. Any one of them could have won, but on the day James Attwood proved the most dogged, winning his semi-final against Suddaby by 12-11, then the final against Skirokiy by 12-10.
Many thanks to Michael Croker and Phil Smith for laying on courts, transport, lunch and tea, and to Stuart Kirby for rejigging and running the U18 draw. And to Gareth Quarry, Jerry Cooper, Stuart Kirby, Matt Cavanagh and a modestly anonymous Old Oundelian for joining me in donating the trophies.
RESULTS
U18 Singles
Pool A: Qualifiers: Baxter (Derby Moor) and Hunter R (Rugby). Also played Rogers (Oundle), Johnson (Derby Moor)
Pool B: Qualifiers: Singh J (Derby Moor) and McKay (Rugby). Also played: Pitman (Oundle), Lelikov (Bedford)
Pool C: Qualifiers: Halligan (Derby Moor) and Bateson (Oundle). Also played: Brett (Bedford), Bennett (Rugby)
Pool D: Qualifiers: Romain (Rugby), Barlow (Oundle) and Singh B (Derby Moor). Also played: Keates (Derby Moor), Rees-Bidder (Bedford Modern)
1st round: Whitehorn (Derby Moor) bt Baxter 15-9; Barlow bt Hunter R 15-3; Singh J bt Summerfield (BMS) 15-0; Chadwick (Rugby) bt McKay 15-1; Christie (Derby Moor) bt Gupta (Bedford) 15-11; Halligan bt Manger (Oundle) 15-1; Singh B bt Shields (BMS) 15-4; Romain (Rugby) bt Bateson 16-14
Quarter-finals: Whitehorn bt Barlow 15-0; Chadwick bt Singh J 15-2; Christie bt Halligan 15-10; Romain bt Singh B 16-14
Semi-finals: Whitehorn bt Chadwick 15-11; Christie bt Romain 15-3
Final: RJ Whitehorn (Derby Moor) bt RAN Christie (Derby Moor) 15-10
Plate for losing semi-finalists: tbc (Rugby)
U18 Doubles
1st round: Derby Moor IV bt Oundle II 15-10; Bedford Modern II bt Oundle III scr.; Rugby II bt Bedford II 15-1; Derby Moor II bt Bedford I 15-2; Oundle I bt Rugby III 15-9; Derby Moor III bt BMS I 15-0
Quarter-finals: Derby Moor I bt Derby Moor IV 15-3; Rugby II bt BMS II 15-2; Derby Moor II bt Oundle I 15-5; Derby Moor III bt Rugby I 15-7
Semi-finals: Derby Moor I bt Rugby II 15-5; Derby Moor II bt Derby Moor III 15-6
Final: Derby Moor I (RJ Whitehorn & RAN Christie) bt Derby Moor II (C Baxter & J Singh) 15-11
Plate: Bedford I (K Gupta & A Shah)
U15 Singles
Pool A: Qualifiers: Rehman (Derby Moor) and Talsania (Bedford). Also played Colbert (BMS), Manners (Rugby), Harbottle (Rugby)
Pool B: Qualifiers: Skirokiy (Rugby) and Hutchings (Bedford). Also played: Ensor-Clinch (BMS), Ali (Derby Moor)
Pool C: Qualifiers: Attwood (BMS) and Jones (Bedford). Also played: Somervail (Rugby), Clark (Bedford Modern), Taylor-Durant (Derby Moor)
Pool D: Qualifiers: Suddaby (Rugby) and Sumner (BMS). Also played: Cox (Bedford), Beal (Rugby), Boyle (Derby Moor).
Quarter-finals: Sumner bt Rehman 11-7; Skirokiy bt Talsania 11-4; Attwood bt Hutchings 11-0; Suddaby bt Jones 11-4
Semi-finals: Skirokiy bt Sumner 11-8; Attwood bt Suddaby 12-11
Final: J Attwood (Bedford Modern) bt V Skirokiy (Rugby) 12-10
Plate for losing semi-finalists: M Suddaby (Rugby)
U15 Doubles
1st round: Rugby III bt BMS II 15-13
Quarter-finals: Rugby I bt Derby Moor II 15-0; Bedford I bt BMS II 15-2; Rugby II bt BMS I 15-13; Derby Moor I bt Bedford II 15-12
Semi-finals: Derby Moor I bt Rugby II 15-11; Rugby I bt Bedford I 15-2
Final: Rugby I (V Skirokiy & M Suddaby) bt Derby Moor I (H Rehman & A Ali) 15-8
Plate: Bedford Modern I (J Sumner & O Colbert)