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PIC: Cream of the crop (L-R): Richard Parsons, Adam Auckland, Dave Stones,
John Hand, Fran Wallis, Mark Hildred, Lisa Tamplin and Ady Proctor (tournament
organiser). Taken by Patrick Hildred.
by Patrick Hildred
Adam Auckland retained his county crown at the Lincolnshire Squash County
Championships 2011/12 in Boston last weekend (October 1st/2nd).
Fran Wallis emerged victorious from a thrilling five-setter to take the ladies'
title; while John Hand, Mark Hildred and Dave Stones won the over 35s, 45s and
55s categories respectively.
Over 40 entries were made to the tournament, with the main draw including 15
players and the ladies' event consisting of 8 entrants. The championships'
finals were held on the Sunday, and Dave Stones and Paul Tudor were first on
court for the over 55s final. The latter was the reigning champion having won
the category the previous three times. However, this year it was Dave Stones who
won the title convincingly - 9/1, 9/1, 9/4.
The over 45s final was contested between Mark Hildred and Colin Fisher. Hildred
beat his opponent 9/1, 10/8, 9/4 to become the veterans' champion, but despite
the scoreline the match time of 39 minutes was indicative of how competitive the
battle was: Fisher performed well and from the second game onwards made it
difficult for the eventual winner to put a run of points together.
In the over 35s final John Hand beat a tired Mark Hildred 15/13, 11/6, 11/4 to
win the category for the first time.
The closest scoreline of the day was that of the ladies' final, in which Fran
Wallis beat Lisa Tamplin in five sets: 11/6, 9/11, 12/10, 7/11, 11/7. Wallis has
won every edition of the event that has been held since 2007.
The men's open concluded with 19-year-old Adam Auckland beating Richard Parsons
11/8, 11/1, 11/7 to retain the title of county champion. The match was one of
high quality, but Auckland, who has now turned professional, proved to be too
good for Parsons, despite a couple of spirited fightbacks in the first and third
games. The win gave Auckland his second consecutive victory in the County
Championships' men's open, following a 3-2 win in the final at Grantham towards
the end of the 2010/11 squash campaign.
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