RESULTS: British National Squash Championships, National Squash Centre, Manchester
Men's 1st qualifying round:
Phil Rushworth (Yorks) bye
Jason Pike (Wilts) bt Damien Easy (Cheshire) 11-3, 11-7, 11-4 (20m)
Rory Pennell (Essex) bt Joshua Harris (D & C) 3-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6 (41m)
Oliver Wildig (Cheshire) bt Julian Tomlinson (Lancs) 11-4, 11-9, 11-4 (21m)
Charles Sharpes (Surrey) bt Chris Ferguson (Scotland) 11-4, 11-3, 11-6 (30m)
Kevin Moran (Scotland) bt Stephen Horabin (Cheshire) 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 (21m)
Richard Birks (Shropshire) bt Blake Bettley (Cheshire) 11-7, 12-10, 11-1 (23m)
Richard Shellam (Northumbria) bt Robert Dadds (Cambs) 12-10, 11-4, 11-7 (32m)
Dominic Hamilton (Oxon) bye
Steven London (Kent) bt Paul Carter (Cheshire) 11-6, 13-11, 14-12 (33m)
Andrew Widdison (Yorks) bt Ashley Davies (Derbyshire) 11-4, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8 (49m)
Morgan Hibberd (Lancs) bt Liam Gutcher (Northumbria) 11-6, 11-3, 7-11, 11-6 (36m)
Stephen Siveter (Merseyside) bt Alex Phillips (Hants) 11-9, 11-7, 11-9 (31m)
Keith Timms (Herts) bt Jack White (Cambs) 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 (21m)
Chris Tasker-Grindley (Glos) bt Paul Runciman (Cheshire) w/o
Ollie Holland (Notts) bt James Asher (Cheshire) w/o
Michael Potter (Cheshire) bt Daniel McGinn (Cambs) 11-9, 11-8, 3-11, 5-11, 11-5 (49m)
Kristen Johnson (Scotland) bt Nic Birt (Wales) 11-5, 11-1, 11-8 (33m)
Alex Cutts (Norfolk) bt Edward Fairhurst (Lancs) 11-5, 11-1, 11-2 (18m)
Adam Murrills (Cheshire) bt Pablo Rawden (Surrey) 11-7, 11-6, 11-4 (30m)
Matthew Sidaway (Lancs) bt Sean Hunter (Cheshire) 8-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-6, 11-9 (61m)
Adam Fuller (Herts) bt Robert Downer (Hants) 16-14, 8-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9 (60m)
Theo Woodward (Dorset) bt Matthew Hardy (Northumbria) 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 11-5 (40m)
Andrew Birks (Shropshire) bt Gavan Hitchenor (Cheshire) 11-4, 11-6, 11-2 (19m)
Matthew Sampson (Northumbria) bt Mick Biggs (Middx) 11-2, 11-4, 11-5 (20m)
Declan James (Notts) bt James Jacobsen (Scotland) 11-9, 11-5, 11-7 (35m)
Adam Giles (Wilts) bt Chris Longman (Cheshire) 11-4 ret. (9m)
Simon White (Wilts) bye
Robert Taylor (Cheshire) bt Lee Brownson (Cheshire) 11-8, 11-9, 11-1 (24m)
James Earles (Yorks) bt Matt Pearson (Lancs) 11-1, 11-5, 11-3 (19m)
Liam Foster (Cheshire) bt Theodore Anderson (Devon) w/o
David Barnett (Northumbria) bye
Persistence is paying off for two local players who are trying again to make their debuts in the British National Squash Championships which get underway at the National Squash Centre in Manchester on Tuesday.
Morgan Hibberd successfully began his fifth attempt today at Eastlands by beating Northumbria's Liam Gutcher 11-6, 11-3, 7-11, 11-6 in the first qualifying round. The 20-year-old from Chorlton in Manchester will now face Yorkshireman Andrew Widdison tomorrow for a place in the qualifying finals later in the day..
Cheshire's Adam Murrills will be hoping that it will be sixth time lucky after the 20-year-old from Bowdon battled to an 11-7, 11-6, 11-4 win over Surrey's Pablo Rawden. The former England junior international will now line up against Norfolk's Alex Cutts in a bid to make the final qualifying round.
Alderley Edge club-mates Oliver Wildig and Michael Potter also recorded notable first qualifying round successes. Wildig, a 22-year-old making his first qualifying bid for three years, beat Lancashire's 17-year-old Julian Tomlinson 11-4, 11-9, 11-4, while 33-year-old event first-timer Potter put out Cambridgeshire's Daniel McGinn 11-9, 11-8, 3-11, 5-11, 11-5.
It was very happy birthday for Surrey's Charles Sharpes who celebrated the 19th anniversary of his birth by beating Scotland's Chris Ferguson 11-4, 11-3, 11-6. The reigning British Junior champion will now face another Scot Kevin Moran in his bid to qualify for the first time.
Lancashire's Matthew Sidaway survived the longest match of the day, beating Cheshire's Sean Hunter 8-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-6, 11-9 in 61 minutes. But the 16-year now lines up against another marathon winner Adam Fuller, a 25-year-old from Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire who took only one minute less to get the better of 18-year-old Robert Downer, from Portsmouth, 16-14, 8-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9.
Men's 2nd qualifying round line-up:
Phil Rushworth (Yorks) v Jason Pike (Wilts)
Rory Pennell (Essex) v Oliver Wildig (Cheshire)
Charles Sharpes (Surrey) v Kevin Moran (Scotland)
Richard Birks (Shropshire) v Richard Shellam (Northumbria)
Dominic Hamilton (Oxon) v Steven London (Kent)
Andrew Widdison (Yorks) v Morgan Hibberd (Lancs)
Stephen Siveter (Merseyside) v Keith Timms (Herts)
Chris Tasker-Grindley (Glos) v Ollie Holland (Notts)
Kristen Johnson (Scotland) v Michael Potter (Cheshire)
Adam Murrills (Cheshire) v Alex Cutts (Norfolk)
Adam Fuller (Herts) v Matthew Sidaway (Lancs)
Andrew Birks (Shropshire) v Theo Woodward (Dorset)
Declan James (Notts) v Matthew Sampson (Northumbria)
Simon White (Wilts) v Adam Giles (Wilts)
James Earles (Yorks) v Robert Taylor (Cheshire)
David Barnett (Northumbria) v Liam Foster (Cheshire)