One of the firsts matches of the day got York off to a great start with the Men’s 2nds claiming an 8-0 victory over Hull.
The badminton got underway with the York firsts pairing of Chin Tang and John Sinclair playing the Hull 2nds. The pairing looked almost relaxed throughout the encounter, mixing their shots well and pulling off some storming smashes. They defeated their opponents 21-9 and 21-6 despite energetic play from Hull. Over on court 2 the 2nd seeded pair of Stephen Hallett (who attracted votes as player of the tournament) and Tsz- Chiu Tang played a brilliant match to win 21-13 and 21-12, their match was characterised by powerful play by both sides.
Up next was the first of the two single matches, Taf Evans dominated on court 2- running Hull’s Alex Jones around the court with a series of carefully placed shots. He won 21-7 and 21-11. Jonny Tait was simultaneously playing Sam Burrows on the next door court. The players showcased a similar playing style , but with Burrows ending up on his backside during the match he also ended up bottom out of the two, 21-11 and 21-8. At this point, with York already claiming four victories they would still draw with Hull if they lost their remaining matches.
Tang and Sinclair played two Toms from Hull. Again, they were surprisingly chilled whilst playing, Tang in particularly seemed to have his mind elsewhere. Nevertheless, they won in a closer match than any other- 21-18 and 21-17. The other doubles match of Hallett and Tang was a different affair. They won their first game in mere minutes 21-0 and their second 21-2. Hallett racked up an impressive 21 successful serves in a row.
The remaining two singles matches went the same way as the first. Tait beat Jones 21-4, 21-7 with especially balletic play from Tait. Evans faced Sam Burrows 21-17 with Burrows stepping up in the last match to fight it out with Evans. The second match was 21-7 in Evan’s favour.
York achieved an incredibly impressive eight victories to Hull’s nought. Captain Sinclair paid a ‘special mention’ to the 21-0 victory of Hallett and Tang and complimented his team for playing ‘really well’.
Vision MOM: Stephen Hallett