Cambs III off the mark against Northants

Cambridgeshire IIIrds made the short trip to Kettering up the A14 to face Northamptonshire IInds on Sunday, with the whole team arriving before the opposition, taking up position on the stage – an early psychological advantage!

Ben Aldred at no.1 singles for Cambridgeshire had too much quality for his opponent, winning comfortably in two ends. James Watkins took a while to get going against their number two, but turned on the style to take the third end 21-9.

In the ladies singles, Laurel Bennett faced a tricky left hander at number one singles, and after a battle of the backhands lost out in the third end. What an epic match the second ladies was, Klaudia making her singles debut against a powerful veteran,  played with steely determination and skill and deception to take the match to three. 10-5 down in the third end, great performance to win 21-16.

Mens doubles went well, with both pairs winning their games comfortably.

Our Ladies found it harder playing more experienced opponents, with Liz and Laurel coming closest to a win just losing out in the third end 21-19.

It was time to get sugar fix, care of Liz’s amazing brownies. Cambridgeshire needed to win all three mixed doubles for maximum points. Ben and Sharon enjoyed a classic mixed at no.1 with great net play from both ladies and powerful smashes raining in from Ben, Cambs winning the third end easily. Laurel and Paul had a comfortable win. James and Liz just lost out in three ends.

A solid 9-6 win for Cambridgeshire.

Player of the match Klaudia Otoka.

The team: Ben Aldred, James Watkins, Paul Martell (c), Will Hodgkinson, Liz Salmon, Laurel Bennett, Klaudia Otoka (j), Sharon Chandler

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

Kent Medal Haul for Cambs' Masters

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Dan Bates & Neil Place: Gold Medalists O35 MD, Kent Masters Gold 2013

It was a very successful weekend for Cambridgeshire's players at the Badminton England Kent Masters Gold tournament, who brought home a haul of medals.

Daniel Bates and Neil Place improved significantly on their 2013 3/4 placing by winning the O35 mens doubles competition.  Having beaten the other three pairs in their group comfortably with attacking performances, they faced a final game against first seeds Daniel Plant (Essex) and Phil Troke (Kent).  In a nailbiting finale, they clinched their gold medals with a 22-20 win in the third end.

Olga Bryant also impressed, by bringing home a complete medal haul from all the disciplines she played.   In the O45 ladies singles, she lost her final match against Herts' Caroline Hale. The following day she fought through her group with new partner Jo Newson (Kent), winning all their games in straight sets.  In the final, they were overcome by the slick partnership of reigning World Champions Betty Blair (Devon) and Debbie Miller (Hampshire).

Finally, on the last day of the competition, she teamed up with Lancashire's Julian Priestly in the O45 mixed doubles.  They again won their group, including a difficult match against a Dutch pair, before defeating first seeds James Teale (Herts) and Sue Compton (Essex) in the knockout to reach the final.  Unfortunately, John Austin (Herts) and Elaine Meagher (Bucks)  proved too strong.

So with a gold medal winning mens pair, and Olga winning a stunning three silver medals, the results showed the continued strength Cambs has at the Masters level. 

For more information and complete results lists, see the BE Tournament Software page for the Kent Masters Gold. 

Cambs Ist Team Face Headwind at Warks

Cambridgeshire Ist Team were excited about their first match of the season after being promoted into Division 2 last season. It was an away match against Warwickshire IInds, Sara’s home team for 15 years!

Min started the singles with a cracking win at the no. 1 spot, however Paul looked a little rusty and lost his singles in 3. Natalie had a tough game although didn’t look her usual speed and was beaten by a strong youngster, while Olga evened up the singles with a comfortable win. 

In the men’s doubles there were some fast exciting rallies and the quality of play was awesome, but in the end the Warwickshire men outclassed Cambs and took all the men’s doubles. 

Unfortunately Nat and Sara were not their usual selves and with a high number of unforced errors they lost their first match, redeeming themselves slightly with an easy win against the Warks 2nd ladies pair.  

Olga teamed up with Ist team debutant Adele and after using the first game to get into their stride they made a convincing pair by winning their first match and then, with the rest of the Cambs team roaring their support, also defeating Warwickshire’s first pair in an exciting 3-end match.

Going into the mixed we were down 6-5, but once again Warks demonstrated their strength by taking all 3 games in straight sets. 

So for the first match of the season a mixed start with some high class badminton, mixed in with some rusty play. Overall disappointing that we were unable to secure ourselves a point, but we were definitely the most vocal team and the cakes (made by Natalie) were amazing!

Cakes – Flapjack with a layer of mars and topped with a layer of white chocolate = yumminess.

Player of the Match - TBC

Match report by Sara Cunnington.

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

Cambs U15's Compete for Restricted Championships

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Amy Zhang: Girls Singles Winner U15

Cambridgeshire's annual U15 Restricted Tournament was held at Buwell Sports Centre on Sunday 27th October, and saw hotly contested games between some of Cambridgeshire's up-and-coming new stars.

The results were as follows: 

Boys Singles 

Quarter finals

Jordon Huynah (Bye)

Leo Huang beat Harry Zhao

James Xu beat Eugene Stokes

Oliver Stevenson (Bye)

Semi Finals

Jordon beat Leo 

James beat Oliver 

Final 

Jordon Huynah beat James Xu 21-7 

Girls Singles 

Amy Zhang beat Hannah Milton 21-18 

Girls Doubles 

There were only two girls pairs so a final was played as best of 3 games:

Chanumi Gamage and Hannah Milton beat Sophia Abbott and Zoe Clayton 21-9, 21-8

Boys Doubles 

Leo Huang and James Xu were the eventual winners (125 points) after Eugene Stokes and Oliver Stevenson (Runners up 120 points) beat Jordon Huynah and Harry Zhao (117 points) in a crunch game at the end of the round robin format. Points count back was required to announce the winners.

The results tables are all available to view in the gallery section. 

Cambs IInd Team Kick Off Campaign at Warks

It was a cold and gloomy morning as the new-look Cambs II team met to kick off their 2013-14 ICC campaign. Indeed, activities were almost thwarted at the offset, with the team skipper almost laid low with a nasty tongue injury courtesy of the Wild Bean Cafe, and the team being separated early on by a late arrival (Brampton...Brampton Hut... What's the difference?).

However, these initial difficulties were overcome, and the team arrived to face a Warwickshire III team fielding a very familiar face, as Cambs' own Hannah Sharman had been drafted in as opposition.

Leading the line, Stephen Pickering and Neil Place began the singles. Having to harshly tip extremely fast shuttles, both struggled to establish dominance and fell in straight sets to the Warks men, albeit with Neil's traditional never-say-die attitude leading to a 21-23 loss in the second end.

Cambs II ladies were new-again-but-familiar faces, as Kate Marshall and Vicky Norris both returned to the fold after seasons away. However, the Warks players were again too strong, and both also lost in straight sets.

It was clear that it was going to be a struggle to extract points from the match. However, Cambs applied themselves with renewed vigor to the doubles. Neil and Daniel Bates were annoyingly pipped in the third end of their first doubles, losing 19-21 after failing to establish a lead throughout the game. Stephen and debutant Abu Kaher had almost identical games against the same pair, but managed to bring that third end in with a nail-biting 23-21. The other mens doubles were more comfortable, although still took three ends for Cambs wins.

The ladies doubles was a straight balance. Katie Morton and another debutant Adele Woodhams (ex Sussex) showed good understanding for a new pairing, winning both their games. Kate and Vicky found the going harder, and lost their games, despite some promising points and winning the first end of their second game.

That had resulted in a Warks carrying a 7-5 lead into the mixed. Cambs still harboured the silent (hah!) hope that they might sneak a victory in classic mixed smash-and-grab style. Sadly, Neil and Katie found the first Warks pair simply too fast and powerful, and were defeated 12-21, 14-21. With three courts in play by now though, the others were unaware. Stephen and Adele - having only met a couple of hours before - fought a tough game and came out winners, 23-12, 14-21, 21-19. Daniel and Kate finally secured the honour games, winning 21-13, 21-23, 21-16 and leaving the final score 8-7 to Warks.

This was a tough start for a team with many new and returning faces against a team relegated from a higher division last season (plus Hannah!).  However, there are many positives to be taken.  There is good strength in depth in this Cambs II squad, a lots of potential.  With more experience, they should make great strides in their division this season.

The team: Stephen Pickering, Neil Place, Abu Kaher, Daniel Bates (c), Katie Morton, Adele Woodhams, Kate Marshall, Vicky Norris.

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

IIIrds Kick Off with Thriller

The Cambs Senior IIIrd team kicked off the season with a roller-coaster ride away match against Middlesex IV.

With the match coming so early in the season, there was a rush to populate the team and a number of faces were new to the County, which owes a debt of gratitude to a high number of debutantes who turned out. 

Middlesex IV fielded a strong team, and after hard-fought games, all the singles were lost, even though every single one had a game which ended in 18 or 19 points.  Particularly impressive were Gemma McGuire and Yoong-Eun Kwon - both playing their first senior County singles matches.

It was in the level doubles where the rubber really hit the road, with some of the toughest battles being contested.  All four mens doubles games went to a third game decider.  Skipper Paul Martell and County returnee James Watkins beat the Middlesex first pair, but lost to the second including a 25-27 defeat in the second end.  Geoff Green and University debutante Ben Aldred overcame the second pair, but were agonisingly pipped at the end against the first in an epic 29-30 final end!

The ladies also fought hard.  Yoong-Eun teamed with another debutante and junior Klaudia Otoka, and won one game, but sadly lost their second in the third end. Gemma partnered the final debutante - Hurst's Leticia Mendez - but they found the Middlesex ladies too strong. 

Finally in the mixed, Ben and Yoong-Eun demonstrated Cambs' usual strength in the discipline, and secured a comfortable win in straight sets.  The scratch partnerships of Paul & Leticia and James and Klaudia however were overcome. 

So the final score was a 4-11 loss, but the team can be proud of an epic performance, having never competed together before. 

The team:  Geoff Green, James Watkins, Yoong-Eun Kwon, Gemma McGuire, Ben Aldred, Paul Martell, Klaudia Otoka (j), Leticia Mendez.

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

U11 & U13 Fun Badminton Tournament Entries Open

Applications are now open for the Cambridgeshire U11 & U13 Fun Badminton Tournament, to be held on Saturday 23rd November at Burwell Sports Centre, Buntings Path, Burwell. 

Any juniors keen on trying competitive badminton (even if you are a beginner), or wanting to get more experience of tournament play, are extremely welcome.

If you are a coach with children U11 and U13, please do encourage them to participate. 

You can download the entry form from the Tournaments Page.