Wednesday at the Gryphon Centre saw the Women’s Squash 1s play their most important match of the season against the University of Bristol to determine whether they would be placed in the top or bottom half of the Premiership division. Some fantastic squash saw Leeds narrowly beat their opponents 3-2, meaning that they are now ranked as one of the top four university squash teams nationally.

Anna Davies kicked off the day with her 1st team debut against Sophia Keen and her strong serve took her to an easy 11-0 win in the first game. She continued to play with precision, dictating the match and achieving two more quick wins 11-2 and 11-0 respectively.

On court two Charlotte Humfrey fought well in her match with Rachael Hemp, despite losing 3-0. Hamp was a strong and accurate player, and Humfrey battled well with some close rallies. Next, Joelle Fry had a similar match with her opponent Kimran Bajwa. Fry played some strong and well-placed shots but Bajwa was also playing well, moving Joelle around the court and leading Bristol to a win which gave them a 2-1 advantage.

The atmosphere was tense as Leeds’ number one Sam Ward went on court with the team 2-1 down and number 2 Jess Watson being held 1-1 in a close battle. Watson held the pressure off brilliantly – her volleys and precise drives put her opponent in some serious difficulty, and despite losing the third game she fought back brilliantly to win the fourth and fifth games to take the overall score 2-2.

It was now all down to team captain Sam Ward to bring home a Leeds win. Ward played confidently, taking control of the T and achieving a well-deserved 3-0 win. This all meant that Leeds won 3-2 and now find themselves in the top half of the Premiership division. This was therefore a terrific result and a brilliant performance from all 5 players.

 

Sara Merchant

 

Image courtesy of Sam Broadley