2015 North Island Champs Crowned

The winners of the 2015 North Island Champs have been crowned with both players getting their name on these trophies for the first time.

First up was the Women's Open final between Ellie Epke and Rebecca Barnett. Barnett had her eye on the trophy she had won the previous year and in the first game a number of unforced errors from Epke saw Barnett take the game quite convincingly. However in the second game Epke came out firing and reduced her error rate and started to draw Barnett into some longer rallies. With both players working hard the game went long but Barnett was not able to convert and Epke levelled the playing field. The third game was again another hard fought battle between the players with each one having a series of unforced errors, but this time Epke was able to clinch the game. In the fourth game Barnett started to hit more unforced errors whilst Epke was slowly increasing her length and pushing Barnett out of the rallies. Eventually Barnett couldn't recover and Epke took the match in a hard 4 setter. This is Epke's first senior title and she is sure to now be on a high heading into the World Junior Girls Championships in 2 weeks time.

Next up it was the Men's Open final between Lance Beddoes and Evan Williams. These two players have had a number of encounters already this year and and Beddoes was looking to try and claim his first win over Williams. The first game saw both players fight it out hard point for point, with there being some great shots and retrieving played all over the court. However Williams showed he was a bit fresher and he could find those necessary shots to put Beddoes away and he took the first game. The next games saw Williams dominate the rallies from beginning to end with great length and movement on the court, Beddoes was never quite able to find his stride. The third game saw both players hitting some great shots all over the court. Beddoes started to gain the edge with Williams now having to cover more ground. Beddoes eventually claiming the third. The fourth seemed as if it could go either way but with some hard fought rallies and some tight shots, Beddoes couldn't manage to come back to pick up Williams shots and Williams claimed the game and the match. Williams has been in a North Island finals before but this is the first time he has managed to get his name on the trophy. 

Full results of the weekend can be found on iSquash and Matches can be rewatched here with highlights on the Devoy Squash & Fitness Centre facebook page.  

Men's Open Final

Women's Open Final