Badminton Report 12.12.07
Lots of success for juniors in Wrexham Satellite
Alastair McCracken (Flint) played well in the U11 singles beating Callum Sant (Buckley) in the semis 21-13 but lost a close final 15-5, 12-15, 12-15.
In the doubles Nicholas Prtack (Llanferres) and Callum beat James Faulkner and Andre Schoneveld (CQ).
In the U13 boys singles Lloyd Martin (Mold) beat Daniel Williams (Prestatyn) 21-16 in the quarters and Tim Kingsnorth (Mold) by the narrowest of margins 22-20 in the semis. Elliot Wheeler (Flint) lost his semi 15-21 to Connor Hughes (Great Orme). Lloyd won the final in close games – 17-15, 17-15. In the boys doubles final Tim and Lloyd beat Daniel and Hugo Williams 15-11, 15-13.
Isabelle Cain (CQ) played very steadily to beat Sophie Wilson (Prestatyn) 21-13 in the girls singles. In the doubles Isabelle and Ellen Liddle (Flint) only narrowly beat Sophie Ellis (Mold) and Jessica Faulkner (CQ) 21-20 in the group game but in the play-off won comfortably 15-13, 15-9.
In the U15 boys singles there was a large entry and produced some close matches. Matthew Burrows (CQ) beat Jon Reid (Mold) 21-15 in the quarters and Nathan Stewart (Plas Coch) 21-17 in the semis. Daniel Hardman (Flint) beat club mate Adam Spencer 21-18 in the quarters and Adam Stewart (Plas Coch) 21-10 in the semis. Matthew won a great final 14-16, 15-9, 15-12.
In the doubles Matthew and Daniel beat Jack Ellis (Mold) and Adam Spencer 21-19 in the semis and won the final 15-13, 17-15 against Adam and Nathan Stewart - gaining revenge for losing to them 19-21 in the group games.
Victoria Wheeler (Flint) lost the girls singles final 4-15, 2-15 to an inform Lauren Miles (Great Orme). Victoria and Sophie Ellis lost the doubles final18-21 to Lauren and Delyth Darlington.
The U17 boys events were an all-Mold affair. Jonathan Savory beat Chris Owen 23-21 in a nail biting semi before defeating Jordan Ellis 15-3, 15-10 in the final. Jordan had beaten Tom Peace 21-16 in his semi.
Jonathan and Chris were too strong for Jordan and Tom in doubles final winning 21-14.
Feast of badminton at the annual Association Senior tournament
The mens singles produced some excellent matches. The final was exciting and went to three games. Gareth Oates (CQ, scratch) beat the favourite Paul McCracken (Flint, -3) 15-2, 12-15, 15- -1. Gareth played with great maturity, cutting out errors, hitting to a good length, prolonging the rallies and punishing any weak returns.
The mens doubles produced the best badminton and the closest matches. Lee Ellison and Dave Williams (CQ, +6) just squeezed through their semi beating Gareth and Paul Roberts (CQ, scratch, one hand) 13-15, 15-5, 15-13. Gareth and Paul had a great chance to win the third game when leading 13-6 but couldn't get the last two points to clinch it. Backmarkers Paul McCracken and Danny Hughes (Flint, -6 one hand) won their semi 15-9, 15-13 against Dave Markey and Andrew Jones (CQ, +4).
The final was an epic with Paul and Danny just beating Lee and Dave Williams 9-15, 15-13, 15-14. In the final game Lee and Dave had match point at 14-12. Paul and Danny caught up to 14-14 but lost their match point. The tension was terrific as both sides lost their serves again before Paul and Danny got the vital winner. All the players were in top form but Danny was the star with consistently accurate serving and punishing service returns, often to the opponents' bodies.
Gareth Oates, Lee Ellison, Dave Williams, Melody Wareing, Lorna Roberts, Peter Stephenson, Joe Travers, Jill Travers, Ro Spencer, Claire Halestrap, Jane Givelin, Belinda Jones, Melissa Caswell
In the ladies doubles final Belinda Jones and Melissa Caswell (Deeside, scratch) were too strong and steady for Jane Givelin and Claire Halestrap (Llanferres, scratch) winning 15-7, 15-3 though the games were closer than the score suggests.
In the mixed doubles, Paul McCracken and Hannah Stephenson (Flint, -10) won their semi 15-6 against Deeside's Christian Pistor and Catriona McKinlay (-2). In the other semi, Danny Hughes and Carla White (Flint, -8) beat Paul and Katie Roberts (CQ, -8) 15-11.
The final was another seesawing match. The first game went to Paul and Hannah 15-10, the second to Danny and Carla 15-4 when they took total control, forcing numerous errors. In the final game Paul and Hannah got the edge and kept cool under pressure, winning 15-10 to become champions.
The decision to hold a Restricted tournament for players in Divisions 2 and 3 proved a successful innovation.
In the mens doubles final Lee Ellison and Dave Williams (-8) could not sustain their terrific form of the Open mens final and were defeated by the pairing of junior Joe Travers and veteran Peter Stephenson (Flint, scratch) 15-10, 15-10.
Danny Hughes, Carla White, Paul McCracken, Hannah, Peter, Lorraine Stephenson, Ro Spencer, Chris Jones
In the ladies doubles final Melody Wareing and Lorna Roberts (CQ, scratch) played very steadily to beat Jill Travers and Ro Spencer (Flint, +8) 15-11, 15-11.
In the mixed Peter and Lorraine Stephenson (scratch, one hand) had good wins over Lee and Melody (-4) by 15-4 and Dave Markey and Lorna (-6) by 15-14 in a game that could have gone either way. The new partnership of Chris Jones (Holywell) and Ro (-2) just beat Joe and Jill (+8) 15-13 and Dave Williams and Jane Roberts (CQ, -2)15-12. In the final the handicap of only one serve was too much for Peter and Lorraine; Chris and Ro raised their game and won 15-10, 15-9.