Tournament of Newcomers!
2006-06-19
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The first year of the British & Irish Racketlon Tour
rolls on. Tour coordinator Keith Lesser (keith.lesser @
racketlon.com) reports from the latest stop in Eastleigh.
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Hampshire Open - June 18th
Held at Fleming Park Leisure Centre, Eastleigh, The Hampshire
Open represented many positive aspects for Racketlon in the UK
for the present and the future. A new venue identified with
helpful staff and easy access to the M3 motorway, 30 players
commenced battle. The 3rd Stop on the 2006 British & Irish
Racketlon Tour saw the presence of such household names as Mark
Jackson and Ray Jordan and these two men were the clear
favourites for the Class A Category.
Morgan steals the headlines!
However, it was a newcomer, Steffan Morgan who took the plaudits
with wins over 4th seed Selwyn Walmsley, number one seed Mark
Jackson and in the final 3rd seed Keith Lesser. Morgan's
racketlon display was breathtaking and his squash results of
21-1, 21-3, 21-3 go some way to show his ability. Also, a useful
table tennis player in his teenage years and former tennis
tournament competitor as a junior, we have not seen the last of
this strong young talent. For the more experienced rackathletes,
I will make a comparison to the profile of Dave Lazarus, but
remember Morgan is young and supremely fit!
A new Dave Lazarus? Lazarus here seen second from the right
in a classic picture of the English Team at the Gothenburg World
Championships in 2003.
(photo: www.digitalfoto.nu )
Gummi, Gummi, Gummi!
When a racketlon match is a draw at the end of the tennis like in
the Men's Class A 2nd semi final, the gummi-arm concept comes to
fruition. This rule involves a toss at the end of the match to
decide who serves followed by one sudden death tennis point to
decide the winner. With one extra twist, the server gets no
second serve! Ray Jordan and Keith Lesser had a topsy turvy
battle resulting in Ray's first ever victory over Lesser in table
tennis. Lesser v Jordan 19-21, 21-18, 21-19. 18-21. Jordan
serves, Lesser backhand slice returns, Jordan approaches the net,
but his approach is out, ELATION from one end of court, Lesser
goes through to play Morgan!!!
Gummi-arm! Two of the front-runners of English Racketlon; IRF
Council member Ray Jordan and British Tour Coordinator Keith
Lesser faced eachother in the single point gummiarm tiebreak.
Local Badminton Specialists shine through in Class B
Neil Postlethwaite defeated Martyn Isherwood in the Class B final
and both are set to step up to Class A at Eastbourne. Both with
good all round ability and excellent badminton, these two
represent future danger in upcoming competitons. 3rd place went
to charismatic Veteran Nick Webb, who is showing good
improvements in badminton and squash. Webb defeated fellow vet
Malcom Burr by a mere +5. Burr in turn had the profile to beat
tennis specialist Rob Conroy, another strong newcomer with a
squash/tennis combination.
Reeves dominates!
The match everyone now wants to see in Ladies Racketlon is Sarah
Reeves v Natalie Lawrence, both unbeaten in recent domestic
competition and Reeves has emerged since her English Open Class B
victory last October. With strong badminton, noone really had a
chance. Lorna See showed again, against the right profile she can
cause a shock and is a clear contender for the first Ladies
Veterans Championship in Birmingham in October! Our hearts go to
Achilles victim Dominique Ford, get better soon Dom!!
Here are some selected results and full placings:
Steffan Morgan beat Keith Lesser +14 (tt:9-21, ba:21-14, sq:21-3,
te:9-8)
Steffan Morgan beat Mark Jackson +21 (21-12, 7-21, 21-3, 9-1 +21)
Keith Lesser beat Ray Jordan +1 (19-21, 21-18, 21-19. 18-21, 1-0)
Steffan Morgan beat Selwyn Walmsley +18 (9-21, 17-21, 21-1, 21-7)
Men's Class A
1st - Steffan Morgan
2nd - Keith Lesser
3rd - Ray Jordan
4th - Mark Jackson
5th - Selwyn Walmsley
6th - James Whelen
7th - Russell Smart
8th - Simon Hughes
Men's Class B
1st - Neil Postlethwaite
2nd - Martyn Isherwood
3rd - Nick Webb
4th - Malcom Burr
5th - Rob Conroy
6th - Marc Burman
7th - Chris Phillips
8th - Stuart Williams
9th - Ed Qualtrough
Men's Class C
1st - Ben Love
2nd - Julian Walton
3rd - Jonathan Healey
4th - Daniel Gillett
5th - Alan Cornish
6th - Geoff Jordan
7th - Ian Packford
8th - Charles Eaton
Ladies' Class A
1st - Sarah Reeves
2nd - Lorna See
3rd - Minori Lewis
4th - Diana Gillen-Buchert
5th - Dominique Ford
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