Simpson & Gates Score Sussex Double In British Junior Championships

Brighton-based teenagers Chris Simpson and Jenna Gates scored a notable double at the weekend with title triumphs in the U19 events of the British Under-19 & Under-15 Championships at the National Squash Centre at Sportcity in Manchester.

Simpson, a pupil at Brighton College, was seeded to win his third British Junior National title after collecting the U17 trophies in both 2002 and 2003. Originally from Guernsey and representing Hampshire, Simpson swept past both 5/8 seed Joel Hinds and 3/4 seed Tom Richards in straight games to reach the final.

His opponent James Wright, the No2 seed from Leicestershire, was celebrating his second successive appearance in the U19 climax. But it was to be disappointment again for the Leicester-born 18-year-old who beat Simpson in last year's semi-finals to reach the final. Simpson gained his revenge in 50 minutes, beating Wright 9-3 9-2 10-8 to lift the Don Sanderson trophy for the first time.

Second seed Jenna Gates made it to the Women's U19 final after a gruelling 44-minute tussle in the semi-finals, in which she beat Yorkshire's 5/8 seed Fiona Moverley 9-4 0-9 9-6 2-9 9-1. Her opponent in the final was favourite and Sussex county team-mate Rachel Willmott, who was one match away from winning her seventh British Junior title.

Gates, beaten in the quarter-finals twelve months ago, stuck to her task and defeated Horsham-based Willmott 9-6 9-0 9-7 in 36 minutes to complete the Sussex double.

It was a moment to saviour for England Squash High Performance Coach Michael Harris who has worked with both players at Corals Squash Club in Hove for a number of years. The triumph follows hard on the heels of the success of another Harris protégé Linda Charman, the Eastbourne-based England international who lifted the women's British National Championship title for the first time at the beginning of the month.

The Women's U15 title was successfully defended by top seed Natalie Pritchard, of Wales, who beat Somerset's 3/4 seed Natalie Coombs 9-5 9-5 8-10 9-1 in the 36-minute final.

The quarter-final departure of Yorkshire's top seed Sam Wileman left the way open for Surrey's second seed Alex Ingham in the Men's U15 event. After needing four games to overcome Hertfordshire's Oliver Dixon in the semi-finals, Ingham brushed aside Welshman Hywel Robinson 9-4 9-2 9-0 in 24 minutes in the final.

Men's U19 Final:
[1] Chris Simpson (Hants) bt [2] James Wright (Leics) 9-3, 9-2, 10-8 (50m)

Women's U19 Final:
[2] Jenna Gates (Sussex) bt [1] Rachel Willmott (Sussex) 9-6, 9-0, 9-7 (36m)

Men's U15 Final:
[2] Alex Ingham (Surrey) bt [5/8] Hywel Robinson (Wales) 9-4, 9-2, 9-0 (24m)

Women's U15 Final:
[1] Natalie Pritchard (Wales) bt [3/4] Natalie Coombs (Somerset) 9-5, 9-5, 8-10, 9-1 (36m)