Cambs Ist Team Continue Success

Cambs Ist team faced Nottinghamshire IInds at CRC on Sunday.  The singles started the match off strongly with Mindaugas Dabasinskas, Olga Bryant and Natalie Taylor all winning their games very comfortably in 2 ends. Thomas Li decided to get his money’s worth and gave his opponent a glimmer of hope after losing his 1st end to 12, before showing his true singles abilities by winning to just 9 & 16.

Once again the Notts men were no match for the almighty Min & Simon Woodhouse, who won both their games with relative ease. Neil Place & Thomas had more of a fight on their hands and after losing the first end to 17 they stepped up their game to take the next two ends by 18 & 16. They had another battle against the first pair, and narrowly missed out 21-18 in the third end. Most disappointingly was that the youngest star of the team, Thomas, injured himself during the match which will be a sad loss for the next game!

The first ladies doubles pair, Sara Mason & Nat, also came out strongly with 2 solid wins against the Notts ladies. The first match was against two younger players whose heads went down after they found that they were unable to get the shuttle past the Cambs pair. Though more sad was the lack of sportsmanship at the end when they only just managed to shake hands!

So despite the gauntlet set down in the first match report, Neil decided that he would change tack and remain on his feet! Although the same cannot be said for all the ladies… as Jen Hewitt decided she would battle it out with the boys for the best dive of the match!  Though wonder Jen was seen diving around the court as she fought for every point going. She teamed up once again with the awesome Olga, and battled it out against the second pair. They played well but lost in three ends, however went on to show their determination and fight by beating Notts first pair in 3 sets. A great result against Notts first pair.

And finally in the mixed Min/Olga and Si/Nat took the games that ensured a full three-point victory over Notts, winning in 2 games and Si/Nat winning in 3 ends. The third pair, Neil/Sara, had a less than interesting game with the height of the opposition causing difficulties and lost in 2 ends.

A short and sweet match report, tho not as sweet as the yummy rock cakes baked by Jen! High bars set by Olga’s choc cake in the first match, and Jen’s rock cakes… can the boys perform in the baking dept as well as they do on court?? Time will tell!!

A special mention to Thomas Li, who was voted player of the match for really stepping up his performance this match.

Well done Cambs I - another county match and another win under the belt as they beat Notts 2 by 12-3 to once again take full points.

Match report by Sara Mason.

More information about results of the Cambs I team is available on the Team Page.

New-Look Cambs IIIrd Team Struggle Against Northants

A new look Cambs IIIrd team had a number of new faces to start the season to face Northants IInd team. Debutant Tom Zhang settled in after a hard introduction losing 9-21, 21-18, 26-28 in his singles. A hard working talent, and one for the future. Geoff Green lost in straight sets against a hard working Northants player in a close game 17-21, 20-22. The ladies brought out old juniors Holly Gale and Emma Brewster who are a welcome return. Holly had a hard start, loosing 14-21, 11-21. Emma however powered her way to a 3 set victory: 15-21, 21-12, 21-14.

The doubles had new pairings on show. The men each went to 3. Tom playing with Paul Martel were unlucky to lose both, but showed exciting moments of what could come. Will Hodgkinson and Geoff took 1 game but slipped to a loss in the other. The new ladies Holly and Emma were undone by experienced Northants pairs. Stacy Knoop and Sharon Chandler were on form winning the first 21-16, 21-17. However, they narrowly lost in 3 ends in the next.

Going into the mixed, Cambs were still positive. Paul and Sharon were quick in winning 21-17, 21-10. Geoff and Emma also won. Strength and power taking them to 30-29, 21-13. Will and Holly lost in 3 with a close game. Holly showed great touch, but the pair were defeated by a steady and experienced Northants pair.

Final result: Cambs IIIrd 5, Northants IInd 10

A loss, but lots of positives with exciting new players.

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​Cambs IIIrd Team 2012-13

Match report by Will Hodgkinson.

More information about results of the Cambs III team is available on the Team Page.

Cambs I Strike Out on Right Foot

The first match of the season for Cambs 1 started on a high, with an inspiring 14-1 win against Worcs 2.

Min (Mindaugas Dabasinskas) played first singles against a tough opponent, and after losing his first game to 16, demonstrated his strength and stamina by winning the next two ends to 12 and 14.  Thomas Li played his first game as a Cambs 1 player, and came out fighting. He won his first game to 16, lost the second game to 17, and then showed his strength of character by winning the third end to a closely fought 22-20. Nat Taylor and Olga Bryant went on to show their singles abilities by winning comfortable games to 14 & 8, and 17 & 10 respectively. A composed and consistent game by both ladies. To finish the singles 4-0 up was a fantastic result.

Going into the men’s doubles was a nerve racking and fingernail biting experience, with two relatively new pairings put to the test. However they did not disappoint! Min and Simon Woodhouse took the first end to work out their game style wining narrowly by 23-21, and then showed off their skills by winning the 2nd game to 15. They continued their winning streak by beating the second pair to 17 & 19. Neil Place & Thomas Li looked solid in their first game winning to 15 & 16, and despite a fantastic effort they narrowly missed beating Worc first pair to 17 in the third end. Well played to all the men, tho the bets are on for who will get the highest score for floor dives. Place your bets now for Min vs. Neil…

Although the ladies managed to remain in upright positions on the court, their games were no less interesting than the men’s. There were some well fought battles, with 3 of the games going to 3 ends. Once against the ladies showed their strength, and had a momentous victory by winning all four doubles. Nat Taylor and Sara Mason have worked hard on their positioning, and it showed as they glided around each other on the court. And a warm welcome to Jen Hewitt who made her debut for Cambs County. She teamed up with Olga Bryant to make a strong second pair, and despite their relatively new pairing they demonstrated their awesome racket skills and knowledge to win both games.

Going into the mixed Cambs 1 continued their dominance, with Olga and Min winning to 21-12 & 21-13, Nat and Si winning 21-14 & 22-20, and finally Sara and Neil winning to 21-15 & 21-7.

First game for the first team a 14-1 victory.  Bring on Notts next week.

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Cambs Ist Team 2012-13​

Match report by Neil Place/Sara Mason.

​More information about results of the Cambs I team is available on the Team Page.

Cambs U15 Restricted Results

Girls Singles

Eve Lauder beat Chanumi Gamage - 21-7

Girls Doubles

Hannah Duval / Chanumi Gamage beat Eve Lauder / Tiahane World - 21-13 / 21-13

Boys Singles

Jordan Huynh beat Eugene Stokes - 21-12

Boys Doubles

Oliver Stenson  / Eugene Stokes  beat Adam Walker / Nathan May - 24 - 22

Cambs II Kick Off With Staffs Win

​With some new faces added to the ranks, it fell to the Cambs IInd team to kick off the ICC season this year, with a home match against Staffs IIIrds in the newly designated 'Division 5 Central'.  The IInd team are the very grateful recipients of the hard labours of the IIIrds last year, who won promotion through their Division 5 playoffs, with the higher league placing resulting in the IInd team going up.  However, with the vagaries of Badminton England organisation, such promotion has resulted in the team remaining in 'Division 5' because other leagues above have been re-ordered!

​There was much anticipation as the team formed and began to warm up, and everyone knew the day was sure to be a good one when the 1-ton tin of homemade tiffin arrived with Katie.

Staffs looked like a young but decent team, and that proved to be the case in the singles.  Debutante Paul Heads enjoyed some challenging rallies, but always had the class to be in charge of his game, and won in two straight games, as did Katie Morton - looking more the classy singles player every match.  Will Hodkinson and Laurel Bennett both encountered sterner resistance.  Laurel played well, but was eventually outrun by a younger opponent, while Will's match was the spectator selection of the round, with a nailbiting first end going to 21-23.​  Unfortunately, despite giving his all, and winning the middle game, Will was pipped 19-21 in the third.

With the match 2-2 going into the levels then, Cambs II knew that they are going to have to fight for all their points this season.  In the mens doubles, Paul and James Wilson - the established pairing - had a harder game against the first Staffs men, but then settled into their groove and beat the second pairing comfortably.​  Will and Daniel Bates founding the going harder.  Although they powered home to win a third end 21-10 against the second pair, they gave the first pair over-generous leads in both games, and failed to reel them back in, and lost in straight sets.

The ladies doubles also reflected a difference in strength between the two Staffs pairs.  Both Katie and Jessica ​Sharman, and Laurel and Louise Tarbit (also a debutante) won in straight games against the Staffs second pair.  However, in identikit games, they won the first end, and then lost the second two in hard games against their first.

​That left the score 7-5 going into the mixed, and with both victory and the bonus point for Cambs sitting on a knife-edge.  James and Louise put their experience together to good use, winning in two - although they conspired to take the second to an impressive 29-27, after having been a long way behind.  New pairing Paul and Katie seemed to click well, and rampaged to a 21-4 / 21-7 victory, clearly inspired to get back to the tiffin-tin before anyone else was off court.  This left the bonus point down to Daniel and Jess, who despite letting a good lead slip away, were comfortable in winning their game in two ends.

This was a stiff test for a new team, and it's clear that the league will be a challenging one.  It's great to get the season off to such a good start though.​

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Cambs IInd Team 2012-13​

The team: Daniel Bates (c), Katie Morton: Hurst Badminton Club / Paul Heads, Louise Tarbit, James Wilson: Ely Victoria Badminton Club / Jessica Sharman: Court Badminton Club / Will Hodgkinson, Laurel Bennett

More information about results of the Cambs II team is available on the Team Page.

Cambs Restricted Doubles Results

Sunday saw a long, exhausting, gritty day of tournament badminton, with the Cambs Seniors Players (Restricted) tournament stretching everyone involved to their limits.​

Mixed: Early in the competition, first seeds Olga Bryant and Mindaugas Dabasinskas signalled their intent​ with commanding wins over Tom Frearson/Alyson Savill and Paul Heads/Jacquie Dennis.  Third seeds Simon Woodhouse and Natalie Taylor also eased themselves into gear with straight-sets wins over Martyn Clark/Dianne Baker and Joe Pickering/Amanda Godfrey.  The other half of the draw was more surprising.  While fourth seeds Neil Place and Jen Hewitt booked their semi final slot early, the unseeded pair of Sam Scharf and Louise Tarbit were rampaging through the bottom of the table, defeating first Daniel Bates/Jess Sharman, and then overpowering second seeds Sara Mason/James Wilson.

​In the semi finals, the seeding finally caught up with Sam and Louise, and Min and Olga triumphed over Simon and Natalie.  Both games stretching to three ends.  In the final, Min's movement and Olga's control proved too much for Neil and Jen.  The first end slipped away 21-4, but they re-grouped and although losing the second end, had made the eventual victors work much harder for their 21-15 win.

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​Mindaugas Dabasinskas and Olga Bryant: Mixed winners

In the mixed plate competition, the calm head of Sharon Chandler, and the power of Martin Harvey, proved too much for the rest of the competitors, and they won the final 21-18 against Martyn Clark and Dianne Baker.

Ladies Doubles​: With a relatively small draw, the ladies doubles competition was quite compact.  First seeds Sara Mason and Natalie Taylor cruised to the finals with two straight-sets victories over Emma Brewster/Angela Sharman, and then Katie Morton/Jess Sharman.  Second seeds Olga Bryant/Jen Hewitt took the same route, with similar wins over Dianne Baker/Stacy Knoop and Jacquie Dennis/Holly Gayle.

In the final, Sara and Natalie proved simply too powerful and consistent for the new pairing of Olga and Jen, and they won comfortably 21-11, 21-8.​

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​Natalie Taylor and Sara Mason: Ladies doubles winners

​In the ladies plate competition, Louise Tarbit and Laurel Bennett defeated Alla Akselrod and Dan Tan 21-16.

Mens doubles: ​This saw a very strong draw, with the County welcoming a number of new or returning players this season, as well as many existing players having improved significantly.  Title holders Neil Place and Simon Woodhouse had an extremely long and arduous path to the final, which required them to grind out results against many strong pairs.  Nonetheless they survived nail-biting three-enders against Graham Barr/Will Hodgkinson, and again against Daniel Bates/Sam Scharf.

In the other half of the draw, new pairings Paul Heads/James Wilson and Tom Li/Mindaugas Dabasinskas were both working their way up the table, albeit with more comfortable victories.​  Once the seeds met, Min and Tom proved too powerful, and beat Paul and James 21-17, 21-15.

The final proved to be a superb testament to the days badminton.  Powerful and fast, all four players gave everything of themselves on the court.  In the end, Simon and Neil finally fell foul of the three-ender.  Having ​stretched every sinew to drive to victory 21-19 in the first, they then found Min and Tom too strong, and the younger pair eventually prevailed 21-11, 21-18.

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​Mindaugas Dabasinskas and Tom Li: Mens doubles winners

In the mens doubles plate, there was the unusual occurrence of the final being played twice.  Last year's final was never played, so it was completed before the competition began!  In an extremely unusual turn of events, Joe and Stephen Pickering ended up winning the same title twice, as they triumphed in the 2011 final against Owen Green/Martin Harvey, and in the 2012 final against ​Tom Frearson/Geoff Green.

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​Stephen and Joe Pickering: Mens doubles plate winners (both years)

The full results are available in the Tournaments section.​

Bryant Returns Home with Silver Medal

Cambridgeshire's Olga Bryant is returning home from the European Masters Badminton Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, with a hard-won silver medal, after competing in the final on Saturday.

In the final, Olga and her partner Tracy Hutchinson faced number one seeds and fellow England pair Tracy Middleton and Jo Muggeridge.  After a slow start, the middle game resulted in a 23-21 nail-biter, setting up a third-end decider which was won by Middleton/Muggeridge.​

On behalf of all at Cambs BA, congratulations to Olga, to all three of the other ladies, and to the whole England team which scooped an amazing haul of 58 medals - including 16 golds.  For more information, see the BE website.​  We're so proud of your achievement Olga!

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​England take gold and Sofia in 2012 European Masters O40 Ladies.