Farrer, Morcom retain titles

A huge gallery was on hand to watch Mike Farrer and Geraldine Morcom successfully defend their Castle Border closed squash titles against Clinton Broedelet and Siyoli Lusaseni in the finals last Sunday evening. Both victories were emphatic 3-0 drubbings.

Francois van Hoogstraten narrowly beat Sean Pearson for third place in the men's section while Leenta Marx edged out Terri Kleyn for third place in the women's A section.

Experience and consistency were the keys to Farrer's victory against a young opponent who was playing in an open final for the first time. It was Broedelet, however, who set the early pace with his unorthodox shot-making but once Farrer was able to settle in and loosen up he retrieved almost everything that Broedelet could throw at him.

Having weathered this early storm, the defending champion then went on the rampage in the second game to win easily but Broedelet refused to give up and put in a huge effort at the start of the third.

Serves were exchanged at 1-1 a number of times in this game but once Farrer managed to break the deadlock, he was able to streak to the finish post without Broedelet making any further impact on the card.

The final score was 9-6, 9-2 and 9-1, but Broedelet will feel that he can make inroads at a higher level if he can improve his patience and consistency.

The match between Morcom and Lusaseni was a lot more cordial than that of their male counterparts but the scenario was pretty much the same. Morcom was always in control and her young opponent never had the lead in any of the three games.

Morcom's 9-3, 9-4, 9-2 win shows that she is still head-and-shoulders above all opposition in the Border but the ever-improving U19 South African representative has many years at her disposal to turn the tables.

Both the men's and women's play-offs for third and fourth were absorbing encounters and it was a pity that they were played at the same time on adjacent courts. The appreciative audience were vocal in their support for both matches and it was certainly value for money with the two results hanging in the balance until the latter stages of the fifth. In the men's section, Pearson's wonderful retrieving and never-say-die attitude won him the admiration of all spectators but it was Van Hoogstraten's deft stroke play, experience and even temperament that eventually won him the fixture.

Having beaten third-seeded Wendy Loppnow in the preliminary rounds, Marx had it all to do in the women's play-off against Kleyn but she prevailed in the end by never giving up on a shot and making fewer mistakes.

Stuart Junor beat an off-form Craig Farrell 3-0 in the men's first league plate event while Caryn Emmott beat Pru Rigby in the corresponding women's event. Loppnow was victorious in the women's consolation plate when she beat Mandy Boucher.

Other results:

Second league: André du Toit. was the winner here when he came from behind to beat Johan Botha 3-2. The provincial selectors will perhaps be looking at du Toit for future reference.

Third league winner: Lemme Mogae.

Fourth league winner: Mark Phillips.

Fifth league winner: Bruce Smith.

Sixth league winner: Russell Botha.

Seventh league winner: Gary Thorne.

Errol Mokowem won yet another eighth league title when he disposed of Graham Burnett in the final, and the ninth and tenth leagues were won by Mpilo Mbambisa and Sean Haller respectively.

Women's B section winner: Molly Curry .

Plate event: Susan Masters; consolation plate winner: Sheila Burmeister.

A particularly pleasing aspect of the tournament was the growing number of boys and girls involving themselves in the sport at all levels and this augers well for the future of Border squash.