The men’s squash first and second teams picked up two valuable wins in the third week of BUCS fixtures on Wednesday, although Ciara Wilder’s Ladies side failed to continue their unbeaten run.
Calum Fraser’s firsts dispatched their Northumbria opponents 3-2 in a tight clash, himself and third seed Paul Atkinson going down in heroic style. There were wins, however, for the ever-reliable Matt Pollen, Tom Lee and Matt Brennan. Captain Fraser stated his pleasure at the performance of his side, who have endured a tricky start to the campaign: “We are getting going now and can hopefully continue this form for the rest of the season.”
There was less to cheer about for the Ladies’ first team, who fell 3-1 to their Sheffield opponents. Their point came due to Sheffield’s failure to provide a full team, meaning defeats for Wilder, Charlotte Gregory and Emily Russell, all three losing after tightly contested matches. Wilder remained hopeful for the rest of the season, declaring her confidence in her side’s title chances: “It’s still on this season,” she stated, “we just need to get back to the training regime.”
The men’s second team carried on their good form this season, winning their second clash out of three against Newcastle on Wednesday. After captain Wainewright lost out in four, the solid Alex Leigh and maverick Matthew Johnson stepped in to deliver two victories, the latter in acrimonious circumstances after an argument over interpretations of the stroke rule.
The teams will all be at home for this week’s round of BUCS Cup ties on Wednesday.