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Harris halts Vail to win a third National Racketball title
Success for Exeter Golf and Country Club players Mike Harris (right), Mike Gregory (left) and Ioan Sharpe, who won two junior titles (centre)
Exeter aces tee up four titles
By ALAN THATCHER, MARK FULLER and JENNI ASHFORD
Mike Harris clinched a hat-trick of National Racketball titles when he beat Tim Vail in the final at Edgbaston Priory.
Harris’s victory followed his now customary marathon encounter with Nick Mulvey in the semi-finals, a 95-minute battle that left him just three hours to prepare for his final against Vail. Earlier, Harris triumphed in an entertaining quarter-final clash with former world number three squash star Simon Parke.
The Edgbaston Priory Club was packed for the sport’s 36th National Championships, bracketed with Squash 57.
The Men’s Open saw several crowd favourites make early exits. Joseph Blackmur ,the East of England Champion and ¾ seed, was defeated by professional squash player Harry Falconer.
In what was one of the most entertaining matches of the weekend, nine-times Nationals runner-up Ted Jeal was defeated by Chris Bently. The third game was critical going Bentley’s way 14-12.
Squash legend Parke always draws a crowd. This was Parke’s first Racketball Nationals and he was great to watch. A tough draw gave him the #2 seed Mike Harris in the quarter finals and Parke was beaten by the better man on the day. Never one to give up, I’m sure that we will see Parke back and looking for revenge against the man almost 20 years his junior.
This was the biggest Racketball/Squash57 Nationals ever. It was a fantastic weekend and a great advert for a sport that has a new energy behind it and what is increasingly looking like a very bright future.
The weekend saw 240 players competing in 318 matches across 23 grades ranging from Under 13’s through to Over 80’s. This was the sport’s biggest tournament ever in terms of entries, categories and matches played. Squash57 is the only sport ever to host a National Championships for such a wide range of ages over just one weekend. It was great to see such a diverse group of players all coming together to play the game.
The Over 50’s took centre stage over the weekend as the most popular category, filling the full 32 draw and reflecting the successes of the age category in the domestic series throughout the year. This is the most popular grade of the UK-Racketball Series with big Over 50’s competitions taking place right across the UK every month.
The matches did not disappoint with some fantastic encounters and upsets right from the start. The two on form Series players, Dan Fernandez and Marc Thornley, were the event’s #1 and #2 seeds and both lost in early rounds which immediately opened the event up. In the end it was Mark Francis (Huddersfield) who capitalised, defeating Rob Hambrook (East Anglia) in the semi-finals and then Mervyn Davies (Shrewsbury) in the final.
Five grades ran in the Junior Racketball Nationals. The youngest competitors on the day took part in the Boys Under 13s, with Dylan Kalar crowned champion after his victory over Anthony West. The boys Under 19 event was won by Marcus Tranter with a victory over Ollie Cartwright in the final. Marcus’s sister, Jasmine Tranter, completed the family double by taking the Girls Championship with victories over Anya and Meha Shah.
Duffield’s Lesley Sturgess maintained her amazing run of National Titles which she started in 2007 in the Women’s Over 45’s. Since then she had won 13 titles and added two more this weekend with victories in the Over 55s against Siobhan Garland (Falmouth) and the Over 60s against Jo Robinson (Ebbisham). Bett Dryhust (Barnt Green) was once again victorious in the Women’s Over 70s, taking her to title #31, a run that started back in 1985 when the tournament was into its second year.
It was the strongest field yet in the Women’s Open category. Three times National Champion Natalie Lawrence (Devon and Exeter) was defeated by up and coming Amber Marshall (Broxbourne) 11-6, 12-10, 11-4 in the first of the semi-finals.
Local hero and last year’s Squash57 Champion Deon Saffery came through her semi-final against a determined Roxy Keshavarz (Brighton) in a long three-love encounter.
Amber Marshall has had a great couple of years on the UK-Racketball Series, winning first the National Doubles title in 2018 and then the East of England singles at the start of this year.
This was her first final on the sport’s big stage and up against experienced and two times winner Saffery this was always going to be tough. Marshall got progressively better and almost took the third but eventually lost 11-9 in one of the highest quality games across any grade over the weekend. Saffery claimed her third title on home soil at Edgbaston without dropping a single game throughout the competition.
The men’s final was a match that had been anticipated since before the first ball had been struck. Tim Vail, 10 times National Racketball Champion, was taking on two-times National Squash57 Champion Harris. This was the first competitive meeting of the two champions and it was Vail who made the strong early start, taking the first game 11-8.
The start of the second was tight but at 5-5 some uncharacteristic errors from Vail allowed Harris to pull away and take the game 11-7. The third was tight and proved to be the tournament decider, it could have gone either way but Harris hung on to take it 11-9.
Vail had thrown everything he had at the third and Harris was in no mood to let the 10-times champion back in. A positive start from Harris in the fourth and it was too much for Vail to recover. It finished 11-2 to Harris and a very well-deserved National Title to a fantastic ambassador for the game.
Harris’s victory made it four titles for Exeter Golf and Country Club players. Jo Perriam (playing in her first Nationals) was runner-up in the Women’s Over-45 category, after converting from squash to racketball around 18 months ago.
Teenager Ioan Sharpe took the lead in his own age category of Boys U15, in what was his first Racketball Championship, having found success in squash playing for Wales. Ioan went on to play in the next age group up, and won first place in the U17s as well.
Mike Gregory was playing across two age groups as well, the Men’s Over-40s and Over-45s. He ended up having seven matches across the weekend in two strongly contested draws. He lost out in the semi-finals of the Over-40s to the top seed and eventual winner, Richard Davies from Staffordshire, but managed to regain his Over-45s title. In the semi-finals he took out Jon Gallacher, the number one seed and his Devon team-mate, before then beating second seed James Powley 3-1 in a tough final.
Mike Harris said: “All in all, it was a great weekend for Exeter Golf and Country Club racketball players. It is also worth remembering that Mike Gregory, Jo Perriam, Caroline Wright, Tim Gillingham and myself also played for our very successful Devon senior sides this year, and also the Men’s Racketball team came second in the UK National Club Championships.”
2019 National Racketball Championships (incorporating Squash 57), Edgbaston Priory, (July 5-7).
Open – Mike Harris
Women’s – Deon Saffery
Over 35’s – Craig Chapell
Women’s Over 35’s – Natalie Lawrence
Over 40’s – Richard Davies
Over 45’s – Mike Gregory
Women’s Over 45’s – Larna West
Over 50’s – Mark Francis
Women’s Over 50’s – Sue Gotham
Over 55’s – Neil Baldwin
Women’s Over 55’s – Lesley Sturgess
Over 60’s – Mike Phillips
Women’s Over 60’s – Lesley Sturgess
Over 65’s – Ian Graham
Women’s Over 65’s – Rosemary Connell
Over 70’s – Rob Welton
Women’s Over 70’s – Bett Dryhurst
Over 75’s – Adrian Groves
Over 80’s – John Bennett
Under 13’s – Dylan Kalar
Under 15’s – Ioan Sharpe
Under 17’s – Ioan Sharpe
Under 19’s Marcus Tranter
Girls – Jasmine Tranter
Pictures courtesy of UK Racketball. Facebook gallery here
Yorkshire Carnegie: RFU Board decide club can remain in Championship
Yorkshire Carnegie will remain in the Championship for 2019-20, the Rugby Football Union have said, provided they meet conditions after entering into a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).
However, Carnegie could be handed a 28-point deduction unless all creditors agree to the CVA's terms by 9 August.
Former Bath and Wasps player Martyn Wood was named as the Yorkshire side's new director of rugby on Wednesday.
The financially-troubled side had their CVA approved by creditors in June.
An RFU statement added: "If the club stays up despite the points deduction, or would have been relegated anyway even without the points deduction, then there is a further deduction in the following season.
"The case remains subject to review."
LONG POND, Pa. – After leading the 90-minute practice session earlier in the day, Todd Gilliland earned his first General Tire Pole Award of the year in qualifying for the ARCA Menards Series FORTS USA 150 at Pocono Raceway.
Gilliland, substituting for Joe Gibbs Racing as the team’s usual superspeedway driver Riley Herbst participates in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway, turned a fast lap of 52.255 seconds at 172.232 mph. Gilliland’s lap was two tenths of a second quicker than Christian Eckes, who qualified second with a lap of 52.241 seconds at 171.589 mph.
“That wasn’t a comfortable lap at all,” Gilliland said after qualifying. “It’s really loose out there. The traction compound is going to help a lot of drivers who get up out of the groove but my plan is to keep it down on the inside. It’s a lot shorter down there.”
Chandler Smith, making his first attempt at the 2.5-mile triangular layout, qualified third. Smith enters the FORTS USA 150 with a two-race win streak and wins in four of his previous five starts.
ARCA Menards Series championship leader Michael Self qualified fourth and Corey Heim rounded out the top five.
Despite what some people might think, being a spotter in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is no easy task.
Just like an accountant has to know the latest tax laws, any good spotter has to know the latest rules implemented by NASCAR. From pit-road speed to race procedure and everything in between, spotters have to know the rules like the back of their hands.
They also need to be familiar with the latest rules package and understand how that will change the way the cars drive and how that will affect how another car may attempt to pass. It’s all a vital part of being a spotter.
“With NASCAR, it is ever-changing as far as … now with the new (rules) packages that we have it’s a little different,” explained Tim Fedewa, Kevin Harvick’s spotter. “We’re drafting a lot more with this package. There is always something new that comes along that you might have to change your thought process a little on.”
Another vital part of being a spotter is what they bring with them to the spotters’ stand on race day. Radios are an obvious part of any spotter’s kit, but what else do they bring with them when the head to the roof of a speedway to spot a race?
“I have four radios,” noted Coleman Pressley, the spotter for Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski. “A lot of spotters do it differently. I have each side of my headset … my right side of my headset is Brad. I listen to him and I listen to myself. I listen to myself to make sure my radios are working. If I can hear myself, I know Brad can hear me. Then on my left side is a direct communication with Paul (Wolfe, crew chief) on the pit box and NASCAR.
“You always pack a cooler full of water, which a lot of times I’m lazy on, so luckily I have three teammates who all bring coolers and I just piggyback off of them,” Pressley said. “Some snacks, you’ve got your FanVision, that’s really important — especially at short tracks for reading lap times because there is a lot you can still do there with managing your pace. That’s pretty much my spotter bag.”
The work doesn’t stop when spotters leave the race track.
Fedewa and Pressley are both involved in post-race meetings with their respective drivers and crew chiefs. They also both review film of whatever race is next to see if they can learn anything from the previous event at that particular speedway.
“I have a debrief after the race with Rodney (Childers, crew chief) or Kevin,” Fedewa said. “We kind of just go over things. The week going into the race you try to watch the last race at that particular speedway and just see the characteristics. You try to go over your notes as to what you had there the last time and what transpired. Basically, the same thing a crew chief or driver would do, just try to relive the last race and see if you can do a little better.”
Perhaps the most important part of being a spotter is knowing what the driver needs to be better. According to Pressley, sometimes that means simply being a cheerleader.
“More than anything you’ve got to know what the driver can and can’t see and what he needs in certain situations and what emotion they’re feeling so you know what kind of cheerleader they need on the other side,” Pressley said.
LEXINGTON, Ohio – It was a tale of two rookies in Friday’s practice sessions at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.
The first rookie is Colton Herta, the fastest driver of the day with a fast time of 1:05.7292 for a speed of 123.671 mph around the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course .
That was the fastest of the 23 drivers that ran 726 laps on Friday.
The second rookie was R.C. Enerson, making his first NTT IndyCar Series the 2016 season finale at Sonoma Raceway. He drew the ire of several drivers, including veterans Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Herta, for passing those drivers on one final timed lap after series points leader Josef Newgarden crashed in turn nine brought out a red flag late in the session.
“It’s because you’re guaranteed a lap at the end,” Herta explained. “It’s kind of like attacking your teammate in a yellow jersey in the Tour de France. It’s a gentleman’s sport in that sense.
“Once you get out of the pit lane for your 45 seconds, you’re guaranteed a lap at that point. You can take however long you want. It screws you when somebody passes you on the out lap, it backs you up, the car maybe behind you are backed up, so…”
Simon Pagenaud, the second fastest driver of the combined practice sessions at 1:05.9313 (123.292 mph), chimed in, “I got Takuma Sato at the end. It’s complicated. It’s 25 cars on the track, I believe.
“You’re always going to get someone at some point,” Pagenaud continued. “I didn’t get anyone in the session, but it’s going to happen.
“It is what it is. At the end of the day, it’s about you should have done your lap earlier anyways. Yeah, people get excited. People get frustrated sometimes. It’s racing. I love it. I just love to see this stuff. Tension is high. It’s great. It’s the end of the season. I think that’s what you guys want to see, as well. It’s great for the sport.”
Newgarden, who backed into the tire barrier after sliding through the gravel trap, enters the weekend with a 29-point lead over Alexander Rossi in the NTT IndyCar Series standings. By bringing out the red flag, Newgarden lost his fastest lap. He finished the day 11th at 1:06.3064 (122.595 mph).
Rossi was 14th at 1:06.5806 (122.090 mph).
Team Penske driver Will Power was third at 1:05.9935 (123.176 mph) followed by rookie Felix Rosenqvist’s 1:06.0218 (123.123 mph). Ryan Hunter-Reay rounded out the top-five at 1:06.0286 (123.110 mph).
They were all chasing Herta’s Honda for fast time on Friday, even though he was nearly apologetic about it.
“It was not a full representation,” Herta said. “That red flag I think screwed a few of the big guys, especially Josef (Newgarden). So, yeah, I don’t think (Alexander) Rossi got his red tires in. Josef obviously didn’t. He’s usually fast around here. There are a few guys.
“I was really confident in the car. Even the guys that got full runs in, Will (Power), Simon (Pagenaud), (Ryan) Hunter-Reay, guys that were quick in first practice, usually quick around here, not as happy with it.
“Even though it wasn’t a full representation, it’s still a good benchmark to look at.”
Practice continues Saturday from 10:30-11:15 a.m. Eastern Time. Three rounds of knockout qualifying are set to begin at 2:35 p.m. ET.
LONG POND, Pa. – Austin Hill earned his second NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series pole of the season on Friday at Pocono Raceway.
Hill put the No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota on the pole with a 52.525-second lap at 171.347 mph. Not only did he win the pole, he also reset the Truck Series qualifying record at Pocono Raceway in the process.
Ross Chastain qualified second in his Niece Motorsports Chevrolet, falling .074 of a second short of the time set by Hill. Stewart Friesen, who is still in search of his first Truck Series victory, qualified third.
The GMS Racing duo of Brett Moffitt and Sheldon Creed qualified fourth and fifth, respectively.
Kyle Busch Motorsports teammates Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland qualified sixth and seventh ahead of Matt Crafton, Tyler Ankrum and championship leader Grant Enfinger.
The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Gander RV 150 at Pocono Raceway is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. EST.
Gander RV 150 Starting Lineup
1. Austin Hill
2. Ross Chastain
3. Stewart Friesen
4. Brett Moffitt
5. Sheldon Creed
6. Harrison Burton
7. Todd Gilliland
8. Matt Crafton
9. Tyler Ankrum
10. Grant Enfinger
11. Bayley Currey
12. Jordan Anderson
13. Christian Eckes
14. Anthony Alfredo
15. Ben Rhodes
16. Johnny Sauter
17. Gus Dean
18. Austin Wayne Self
19. Joe Nemechek
20. Tyler Dippel
21. T.J. Bell
22. Anthony Mrakovich
23. Mason Massey
24. Natalie Decker
25. Spencer Boyd
26. Josh Reaume
27. Ray Ciccarelli
28. Bryant Barnhill
29. Norm Benning
30. Bryan Dauzat
31. Daniel Sasnett
32. Jennifer Jo Cobb
M.H. Lee takes lead at Evian Championship as Creamer tumbles after delay
EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – Taking advantage of an earlier start time to get ahead of bad weather, Mi Hyang Lee surged to a 4-under 67 on Friday to take a one-shot lead into the weekend at the Evian Championship.
The 37th-ranked Lee was at even through 15 holes on the day before a birdie-birdie-eagle finish in the best of still conditions. Her clubhouse target of 10-under 132 only got tougher as threatened lightning strikes forced a delay and the heat was swept away by gusting winds.
Top-ranked Sung Hyun Park, also playing early, plus seven-time major winner Inbee Park and Hyo Joo Kim, thriving after a suspension that lasted 1 hour, 5 minutes, were one shot back.
Lee cited good fortune in leading the newest women's major at the midway point.
"I think I missed a lot of the green today, but was trying to think simple," said Lee, a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour. "I had a little luck also."
Sung Hyun Park shot a bogey-free 5-under 66 but wasted a chance to lead. She three-putted the 18th for the second straight day.
"I knew I had to score low for the first and second rounds, so I was a little aggressive," Park said through a translator, noting a forecast calling for rain through the weekend.
The late-afternoon delay disrupted first-round leader Paula Creamer, who was 9 under after making birdie on the 12th. Shortly thereafter, storm clouds moved on Evian Resort Golf Club.
Creamer returned on the 13th green and missed a 6-foot putt for her first bogey of the tournament. She dropped shots on Nos. 14 and 15 as the wind whipped up, then made a triple-bogey 6 after finding water at the par-3 16th.
Another bogey at No. 17 left Creamer seven shots worse off since the stoppage - giving back all she gained in a 64 during Thursday's heat wave. Her 76 left her tied for 25th at 2 under.
"Unfortunately, this time it got me," the 2010 U.S. Women's Open champion said of the weather delay. "I was playing great, really consistent."
Playing partners Inbee Park and Kim coped better, and Park credited the steep drop in temperature with helping her make three late birdies in a round of 68.
"Maybe I needed a break because of the heat," she said, though the changing wind direction made judging distances tough. "We were definitely on the wrong side of the draw."
Former No. 1 Shanshan Feng (66) was alone in fifth at 7 under. Feng, who won her only major at the 2012 LPGA Championship, missed the cut at the three previous majors this season.
"Finally get to see me on the weekend at a major," Feng said.
A group at 6 under included Caroline Hedwall of Sweden, who also shot 64, and Americans Jennifer Kupcho and Amy Olson. Kupcho won the Augusta National Women's Amateur in April and has since turned professional.
Last year at Evian, Olson led for most of the weekend and was still one shot clear on the 18th tee, but she closed with a double bogey and finished one shot behind Angela Stanford. It was her career-best result in a major.
"A little bit of mixed feelings," Olson said about being back at Evian. "Obviously I played well last year. I'm not going to say it still doesn't hurt."
Stanford relinquished her title after a 74 left her at 8-over 150, six strokes outside the cut line.
The highest-ranked American, No. 3 Lexi Thompson, shot 72 to finish at 7 over and was unhappy with the condition of the course and the way she felt good tee shots were punished.
"I'm actually very thankful that I don't have to put myself thru that for another two days," Thompson wrote on Instagram . "You're a beautiful place Evian but that's just too many bad breaks with good shots for me, so bye."
That left the weekend free to prepare for the Women's British Open, the year's final major that begins Thursday in Woburn, England.
No U.S. player has won a major this season. Americans have taken home at least one of the five major titles each year since the Evian tournament was raised in status for the 2013 edition.
Organizers brought tee times forward Saturday for the second straight day.
At No. 838 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, Jillian Bourdage was easily the lowest-ranked quarterfinalist at this year’s U.S Girls’ Junior. The closest player to her was Lauren Beaudreau, at No. 556.
Yet through five days of play at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wis., Bourdage continues to prove that her ranking is just a number.
The 17-year-old Ohio State commit from Tamarac, Fla., defeated Beaudreau, 2 and 1, and top-seeded and 25th-ranked Yuko Saso, 2 up, ro advance to Saturday’s 36-hole final against No. 69 Lei Ye, an 18-year-old Stanford signee from China.
Most impressively, Bourdage has yet to trail in match play this week. She never led Saso by more than 2 up before birdieing each of her final two holes to win the match. (Her birdie on No. 17 came from 16 feet as heavy rain briefly came down.)
“This week my confidence has grown with each round, and I'm just super happy to see that all my hard work has been paying off, especially on the short game and the putting, because I've been struggling with that a little bit for the past couple months,” Bourdage said. “I'm making some good putts out there under pressure, and that's definitely a confidence booster.”
Now, Bourdage will get a second opportunity to play for a USGA championship; she and partner Casey Weidenfeld lost in the championship match at this year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball.
But she'll have to go through Ye, who punched her ticket to the final with a 1-up win over future Stanford teammate Brooke Seay and a 3-and-2 win over Tennessee signee Nicole Whiston. Ye is also a past Four-Ball runner-up, falling in the 2018 final with partner Ya Chun Chung.
Both finalists are now exempt into next month’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss. The winner will receive invites to the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open and 2020 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Evian Championship third round moved up in hopes of avoiding rain
The bad weather that plagued the Evian Championship’s move to September as a major championship seems determined to remain part of the event’s summer script, too.
At least it seems that way this year.
With the Evian Championship moved back to July, in hopes of escaping the area’s rainy season, there appears to be no escape this weekend, with thunderstorms forecast Saturday. The event’s tee times and TV schedule have been moved up as a response. Players will go off in threesomes on the first and 10th tees beginning at 1 a.m. ET, with the leaders scheduled to go off at 3:01 a.m. ET. Golf Channel’s coverage will air from 3-8:30 a.m. ET. CNBC will air tape delayed coverage from 9-11:30 a.m. ET.
There were also weather issues late in the afternoon Friday, with play halted for 1 hour and 5 minutes with lightning in the area.
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