STRONG DUTCH PERFORMANCES IN THE ENTRAPAULUS JUNIOR OPEN
The fourth Luxembourg Junior Squash Tournament was held this weekend at the Top Squash Club in Sandweiler. The tournament, sponsored by ENTRAPAULUS, is an event on the tournament circuit of the European and World Squash Federations and attracted an impressive field of 82 players from 10 different countries.
In the Boys’ U-13 (B U-13) draw, a fine performance by André Igelbrink (DE) gave him the title over the no.1 seed, Grégory Malsang (FR), with Harold Castiaux (BE) taking third place. Luxembourg’s best player was Philippe Olinger who beat higher seeded players to finish in 13th position. The B U-15 draw gave local players Miguel Duarte and Tumi Tomasson the opportunity to shine and both won through to the third round before being eliminated by strong opponents.
However, in the battle for places, both produced good performances for Miguel to finish 7th and Tumi 5th. The draw was won by Anthony Schwab (NL), with Henrico Van der Vegt (NL) 2nd and David Maier (LIE) 3rd. The biggest draw of the whole tournament, the Boys’ U-17 group, produced some squash of the highest quality, and resulted in a clean sweep for the Dutch team, Thijs van der Pluijm producing a fine controlled game to defeat his compratriot, Donny van Hal 3-0, 3rd place being taken by Peter Fritsche.
In the main competition, the B U-19, the exciting final thrilled the large crowd, with Patrick Maier (LIE) just winning 3-2 against the impressive Romanian Vasile Hapun. 3rd place was taken by Christophe Winzer.
In the G U-13 competition, Virginie Gustin (BE) showed her superiority in winning without dropping a set, Marie-Amélie Callebaut (BE) coming second and Fanny Beccegato (FR) third. Luxembourg’s representatives in the G U-15 draw, Stella Nightingale and Anvita Ramachandran fought well and showed improvement compared to last year’s tournament, but were faced with top class opposition, the draw being won by Alice Kramer (DE). Gabi Fritsche (NL) finished second and Juliette Permentier 3rd.
The G U-17 draw was dominated by Florence Arnold (BE) who did not drop a set, despite a brave performance by Tayo Kamaansing (NL) in the final. Eugénie Leyman (BE) finished 3rd.
The age group trophies, offered by the Spuerkeess, were presented by Matthew Radley, Vice-President of the Squash Federation. The Fair Play Trophy, offered by LABgroup, was presented to Lily Vigor of Luxembourg.
