Looking back on a spectacular weekend of squash
By Mark Toseland, East Glos Squash Manager
Squash PSA Challenger $3K and East Glos Open
What a spectacular weekend it was. The event was an upgrade from last year’s inaugural PSA Satellite event with an increased prize pot of $3,000. The competition was part of the men’s and women’s PSA Challenger Tour.
Thank you to our event sponsors who have supported this growth and ambition over the last year and joined us on a journey as we continue to grow and host this event each year.
Hana Ismail, Rhys Evans, Jared Carter, Lowri Roberts
It was a wonderful atmosphere right from the get-go. There was a massive crowd support for our home talent in the first rounds. The matchups didn’t disappoint, with Jamie, Tayne, Ellie and Carys putting up excellent performances to give everything they could offer to find a way into the event’s quarterfinals.
Unfortunately, their opponents had a little too much to offer and put a stop to all that. However, I couldn’t be prouder of how they put themselves on the court and fought for every point.
Saturday’s quarter and semi-finals drew in large crowds, creating a buzz about the place. These saw three upsets in the seedings, with Rhys Evans, Jared Carter, Hana Ismail, and Lowri Roberts making it to Sunday’s final.
Sunday saw the introduction of the graded event, where the amateurs flooded the courts and created entertainment of their own.
Many players from other clubs came to join us at East Glos. Eight players per grade were laid out in a monrad format over five different grades, one including a racketball round-robin event.
The D grade final was a closely fought battle between East Glos members Will Awde and Nikhil Ghosh, Will tipping the balance in his favour to take the D grade final 2-1.
Next was the C grade final, a battle between the young Joes – Wiltshire and Tyler. A class match between them demonstrated mature squash throughout the game, which resulted in a match that could have gone either way. However, Tyler edged Wiltshire out 11-8 in the third to take the C grade title.
Noel Lee stepped in at the last minute in the B grade for a last-minute dropout, which was immensely helpful. Noel then took the B grade by storm and showed that, even if you have an ankle injury, if you put the ball in the right places, there isn’t a need to run if you don’t have to. This was a masterful display of smart squash and reading her opponent to do as little moving as possible. Noel took the B grade final against visiting player Mark McGuiness 2-0.
The racketball event was contested by four East Glos Members: Matt Terrell, Alex Ley, Will Tuffin and event sponsor Nick Griffith. Matt Terrell took the title with strong wins over his opponents, and Alex came in a close second to take the runners-up trophy.
Two of the female players competing
Last up for the A grade final was the returning A grade winner from 2023, Damian Burgess vs Will Vanston of Hereford. This match almost became an exhibition match and prequel to the PSA finals, with Damian ever being the crowd entertainer providing a close display of squash. However, he narrowly lost to Will 2-1, which saw Will take the A grade title and Damian as the runner-up, but indeed becoming a home favourite with the crowd.
Lastly, the PSA Women’s final was fought between Hana Ismail of Egypt and Lowri Roberts of Wales; seeing the younger Egyptian show how well her ball striking and gameplay can really put pressure onto an opponent. Taking a storming 2-0 lead, Lowri fought back with some smart, slower-paced gameplay to take the third. However, Hana came out of the blocks firing in the fourth and took the title with a commanding style of play.
The PSA Men’s final saw Rhys Evans of Wales take on Jared Carter of England, who had an incredible result taking out James Peach and world-ranked 98 in the semi-final. However, a sublime and speedy Rhys outclassed Jared in the final, showing how well he could use his speed to force errors from Jared and watch them accumulate over time to provide a valuable 3-0 win in 45minutes.
Congratulations to Rhys Evans and Hana Ismail on their first PSA Challenger Tour wins. I’m incredibly happy for both of them and that they achieved this feat at East Glos. A memory for both of them, which I’m sure will stick with them for a long time.
Thank you to everyone who participated and played their role in a successful event, which made the club feel fantastic for everyone there.
Some personal thanks from me.
To the Sponsors
- Nick Griffith, Nick Griffith Estate Agents
- Robin Fisher, Mallams 1788
- Paul Wilson, Town & Country Solicitors
- Ed Cook, Wilson Cook Mortgage and Protection Consultancy
- Adrian Brown, FPC
- Andy Salter, Park Lane Abseiling
To the weekend referees: Mick Dixon and Joseph Tyler.
To the club staff: Especially the bar staff, for creating a fantastic vibe in hospitality, Thank you, Tommy.
Personal helpers and providing support throughout the weekend:
Joseph Tyler (thank you for all your support for the entire event), Tayne Turnock, Jamie Carmichael, Rosa Gray and Noel Lee.
