England & Belgium To Contest European Junior Final
from ESF Media
April 8, 2012 - For the second year in a row, England will face Belgium in the final of the European Junior U19 Team Squash Championship, the mixed European Squash Federation event being staged in Oporto, Portugal, for the first time.
After dismissing Wales 3/0 in the quarter-finals, favourites England overcame British rivals Scotland to maintain their unbroken presence in the final since the inaugural competition in 1983, 29 years ago.
But the defending champions were taken to a decider by Scotland - the 11th seeds who were celebrating their first appearance in the semi-finals since 1988 after a 3/0 upset over fifth seeds Czech Republic in the quarter-finals.
Tom Ford's 11-3, 11-8, 11-6 win over Christopher Leiper was cancelled out by a 7-11 11-4, 11-0, 11-0 victory by Scot Douglas Kempsell over England's Oliver Holland.
But a commanding performance by Emily Whitlock saw England through. The 18-year-old from Cheshire, who successfully defended her European singles title last week in Oporto, defeated Rosie Allan 11-6, 11-4, 11-4.
Belgium maintained the same form which saw the nation record its first ever appearance in the final last year. A 3/0 victory over eighth seeds Spain took the No2 seeds into the semi-finals against Gallic rivals France.
Jan van den Herrewegen led the way with an 11-6, 11-4, 11-5 victory over Alexandre Cogno, and Tom de Mulder clinched victory after beating Damien Volland 11-7, 11-6, 11-9. In the best-of-three third match, Nele Gilis ensured maximum points for Belgium by beating Julia Lecoq 10-12, 11-7, 13-11.
RESULTS: European Junior U19 Team Championship, Oporto, Portugal
Quarter-finals:
[1] ENGLAND bt [7] WALES 3/0
Tom Ford bt Robert Luke 11-3, 11-6, 11-0
Declan James bt Jordan Davies 12-10, 11-6, 7-11, 11-4
Victoria Temple Murray bt Fiona Murphy 11-6, 11-9
[2] BELGIUM bt [8] SPAIN 3/0
Jan van den Herrewegen bt Pascal Gomez 11-8, 11-7, 11-9
Tom de Mulder bt David Antolin 11-3, 11-4, 11-4
Nele Gilis bt Marina de Juan 3-11, 11-6, 11-9
[11] SCOTLAND bt [5] CZECH REPUBLIC 3/0
Christopher Leiper bt Jakub Solnicky 6-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-9
Douglas Kempsell bt Martin Svec 11-4, 11-8, 11-0
Rosie Allan bt Kristina Alexova 11-6, 11-6
[3] FRANCE bt [4] PORTUGAL 2/1
Alexandre Cogno lost to Claudio Pinto 4-11, 11-5, 9-11, 6-11
Damien Volland bt Rui Soares 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9
Melissa Alves bt Camille Lanier 9-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-9
Semi-finals:
[1] ENGLAND bt [11] SCOTLAND 2/1
Tom Ford bt Christopher Leiper 11-3, 11-8, 11-6
Oliver Holland lost to Douglas Kempsell 11-7, 4-11, 0-11, 0-11
Emily Whitlock bt Rosie Allan 11-6, 11-4, 11-4
[2] BELGIUM bt [3] FRANCE 3/0
Jan van den Herrewegen bt Alexandre Cogno 11-6, 11-4, 11-5
Tom de Mulder bt Damien Volland 11-7, 11-6, 11-9
Nele Gilis bt Julia Lecoq 10-12, 11-7, 13-11
5th - 8th place play-offs:
[5] CZECH REPUBLIC bt [7] WALES 2/1
Jakub Solnicky bt Joel Makin 4-11, 13-11, 9-11, 13-11, 11-5
Martin Svec bt Jordan Davies 5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-4
Kristina Alexova lost to Fiona Murphy 4-11, 4-11
[8] SPAIN bt [4] PORTUGAL 2/1
Pascal Gomez bt Pedro Pinto 14-12, 11-8, 11-9
Aitor Zunzunegui lost to Claudio Pinto 10-12, 12-10, 11-8, 3-11, 4-11
Christina Gomez bt Camille Lanier 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-5
Play-offs:
Final:
[1] ENGLAND v [2] BELGIUM
3rd place play-off:
[3] FRANCE v [11] SCOTLAND
5th place play-off:
[5] CZECH REPUBLIC v [8] SPAIN
7th place play-off:
[4] PORTUGAL v [7] WALES
9th place play-off:
[9] FINLAND v [6] GERMANY
11th place play-off:
[12] HUNGARY v [10] ISRAEL
13th place play-off:
[15] SWITZERLAND v [13] IRELAND
15th place play-off:
[14] NETHERLANDS v [16] SWEDEN
17th place play-off:
[17] NORWAY v [18] AUSTRIA
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