OKEHAMPTON Squash Club won the Devon Shield for the first time by beating Tiverton in the finals at Devon and Exeter Squash and Racketball Centre.

The team went into the match languishing towards the bottom of Devon Mixed Squash League division one but a full strength team delivered a 3-2 victory.

Playing at string five Richard Clarke earned a 3-1 victory. After initially struggling with his opponent's tricky short game, Richard had too much in his locker and came through strongly and won comfortably in the end. Phil Allin, at four, had an extremely tight contest to grind out and win many lung-bursting rallies to win 3-2 as his superior fitness told.

Phil Kemsley at three struggled to hit good length and width. As a result his opponent was able to dominate the tee area, and his accurate hitting meant Phil suffered a 0-3 defeat. Arnie Searle playing at string two had a convincing 3-0 victory. After only losing three matches all season, Searle finished third in the league's player rankings. His strong hitting and accurate short court play proved far too much for his opponent.

A not fully fit Clive Marais at one fought hard but suffered a 1-3 defeat. Marais went 1-0 up, but the longer the match went on the more of a struggle as fitness told.

The 3-2 result meant the silverware went to Oke, and the club has finished the 2011/12 season on a real high.

The team are now looking forward to the start of the new season in September.

Okehampton Squash Club is located within Okehampton College grounds. New members welcome — those interested contact Sue Stansbury on [email protected]">[email protected]