Players travelled from overseas and all states and territories to compete in the U11 to U19 male and female events comprising the 2023 Australian Junior Open at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, from 22 to 24 April.
The WA representatives were Hannah Slyth from Blue Gum (GU19), Caitlin Pratt from Narrogin (GU19), Oscar Curtis (BU19) from Mirrabooka, Daniel Marsh (BU19), Eric Marsh (BU17) and Alexander Marsh (BU13) from Belmont, and Trigg Barrett-Lennard from Broome (BU17).
Photo credit: Squash Australia
Hannah and Caitlin both had a bye in the first round, and then won their second round matches in straight sets. Caitlin then faced top seed Madison Lyon who proved too strong for one of only two of our country WA representatives (11-4, 11-4, 16-14), but Caitlin put on a fight until the very last second. Hannah was triumphant in her third round match against Shona Coxsedge which lasted for 40 minutes (12-10, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9) before also facing Madison in the final. Madison kept hold of her winning streak in the end and Hannah, at the age of only 16 years, walked away with the Runner Up title in the girls under 19 race. A truly phenomenal achievement.
Photo credit: Squash Australia
In the under 19 boys race, Oscar remained undefeated, dropping only one game throughout the tournament, taking out the no. 1 title by defeating Kenneth Lamb in the final (11-1, 11-8, 11-1). After a first round bye, Daniel took out Queensland’s (originally from the US) William Krizek in four (11-8, 3-11, 11-4, 12-10), before sustaining an injury in his next match meaning he was out for the remainder of the tournament. Another 17 year old competing against the best in the country in the under 19s category and making us all proud beyond words.
In the boys under 17 event, both Trigg and Eric’s opponents proved too strong, despite them fighting hard for each and every point (11-9, 11-6, 11-3 and 13-11, 11-8, 11-5 respectively). Eric finished up 17th and Trigg 23rd; a fantastic achievement with 30 boys in that draw!
After a first round bye, Alexander Marsh very comfortably took down Queensland’s Levi Moxey in straight sets (1-11, 1-11, 3-11), before a 38-minute five-setter with top seed James Boswell (9-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-5, 9-11). This impressive win took Alexander into the final against no. 2 seed, New South Wales’ Kieran Willathgamuwa. Kieran proved the stronger player on the day so Alexander walked away with the runner up title in the boys under 13 race.
What our WA kids achieved over the weekend was nothing short of spectacular. We are so very proud of you all for the grit and determination you demonstrated, and can’t wait to see what you do next!!
Full results are available on SportyHQ here: https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/2023-Australian-Junior-Open
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