Tavistock 2
Dartington 3
DARTINGTON Squash Club overcame the frozen Tavistock courts to beat the hosts.
An overall disappointment as that Tavistock had one of their strongest line-ups this season.
First up was Mike Gray, playing at number 5, making his debut for Tavistock. Unfortunately he took longer than his opponent to get going and found himself behind from early on. Mike missed key chances to take control, notably the second game which he came close to winning. His opponent exploited his chances and ultimately took the match 3-0.
Next for Tavistock was Colin Grice, whose opponent looked to have a good array of shots. Colin proved to have both better composure and fitness. His opponent became increasingly error-prone as the game went on. Colin overstretched his opponent to win 3-0.
The third string match saw Tim Wallis for Tavistock. He initially looked comfortable in the first game taking a five-point lead but dramatically lost his way to lose a close first game.
Tim failed to recover from this early setback. The match being dominated by the short court game and Tim?s usually reliable touch seemed to desert him. The second and third games evaporated rapidly and he went down 3-0.
Andy Gauler took the court as second seed for Tavistock. His match was a heated affair, revolving much around refereeing decisions. Andy failed to find consistency in the fist two games and his opponent was quick to capitalise on loose play. This saw Andy go two games down before he found his feet.
He stormed back to level the match at two games each. In the end it was the Dartington player who found the decisive shots to secure the match and the victory for his team.
Playing at first seed for the first time this season was John Betts, back from the university academic elite. He faced a tough opponent, somewhat older but having good skills. John was anonymous in losing the first game. But after this he upped the tempo, driving hard and accurately. His opponent failed to find a consistent reply and John ran out winner, 3-1.