In the preliminary final of the Baw Baw Squash Club Autumn Competition the Scorchers defeated the Strikers by three matches to one to take their place in the grand final. Once again the result was not determined until the final match after some epic battles early on.
In the first match Clio Milsome of the Strikers took an early lead by winning the close first set 15-13. Her opponent, Pat Sullivan, fought back in the next two sets, particularly with precision drop returns of serve from the backhand side to the forehand front corner that were outright winners.
This pressure drew several unforced errors from Clio and Pat took the lead with 15-13, 15-11 results in those sets. Clio then gathered her game together, responding with deeper and better-placed serves that negated Pat's outright winners. As a result, she gained control and was able to take out the final sets and the match 15-11, 15-7.Next up was a clash between two players who had not met before in Jeff Lyon and Liam Goodwin. Once again, it was a five-setter.
Liam, for the Scorchers, took out the first set in a tiebreak, 17-15. After being exposed to Liam's strong, clean and accurate hitting, Jeff formulated a response that saw him push Liam back in the court, thus limiting his power. This was effective and led to a 15-11 win for Jeff in the second set.
At one set all neither player could wrest control and the third set ended in another tiebreak, which Liam finally won 17-16. Jeff, with a wider variety of shots, got the better of Liam in the fourth and, with a 15-9 win, had all the momentum going into the final set.
Despite appearing tired, as he has done many times previously, Liam fought back hard, re-took the lead, and finished the match convincingly, 15-8. In yet another of Liam's matches, final points were even, 69-69, which, for both players and for the spectators, is the sign of a great match.
At this point the Strikers had a small lead of just eight points. Then, Wayne Hewitt, for the Scorchers, was able to close out his match against Brian Goodwin in three sets to give his team a handy lead.
Again, it was a close match with both players driving the ball hard down the walls to a good length, Brian on the forehand and Wayne on the backhand. Wayne has an uncanny ability to take volleys from above his head and drop them for winners just above the tin, often wrong-footing his opponent. It was this slight advantage that led to his victory 17-16, 15-10, 15-12.
Following that match the pressure was on Scott McArdle. If he were to win the rubber for the Strikers he had to defeat Alan Schack in three sets, a tough ask for the top level players.
It was not to be as Alan was in scintillating form, having beaten the top-ranked player in the semi-finals. In reality, Alan didn't give him a chance. His ability to chase down virtually every shot meant that Scott found it difficult to close out a rally with a winner. Scott had few answers to Alan's dominance in the first set, managing only 5 points to Alan's 15.
With the pressure now gone, Scott was able to lift his game and did manage to get Alan sufficiently out of position on several occasions, thus enabling him to win the points. But it was still not enough as Alan took the set 15-12. Alan again showed his class in the third set which he won comfortably, 15-6.
So, to the grand final. With a good crowd in attendance the top two teams met in what was anticipated to be a close contest with the outcome difficult to predict. After the first match went contrary to grading it became even harder. As is the nature of finals, nothing is certain, and, amazingly, as it turned out, all games went contrary to grading, so the underdog won in each case.
Earlier in the year Pat Sullivan, for the Scorchers, had beaten Keith Morris in four sets. Being new to the game, Keith had a handicap advantage of four points against Pat which could have proved critical in their match. But Keith has come to grips with the fundamentals of the game and strategies very quickly and was a better player than he was in their earlier encounter.
In the first game each player had a turn at leading, but it came down to a tiebreak. In a bold move for a player with such limited experience, Keith, as receiver, called 'short.' This meant that instead of having a few more points in which to retake the lead, it was a cut-throat point.
Fortunately for him he was able to execute a tight backhand return down the wall to a perfect length which Pat was unable to reach. First set to Keith, 15-14.
The second set was similar with Pat serving well and often out-positioning his opponent, but Keith covered the court quickly. He was able to get to many of Pat's lobs, which are winners against lesser opponents, and also countered Pat's favoured boasts with good depth returns. As a result he was able to win the second set 15-12.
Growing in confidence, Keith executed his game plan perfectly following the adage 'hit it where your opponent isn't,' playing down the wall, and displaying great presence of mind with well-executed drop shots. With a 15-6 win in three sets the Hurricanes were off to a flyer.
Following their epic five-set match in the semi-final Bruce Bowering and Liam Goodwin resumed hostilities. A similar contest was expected, but it was not to be. In reality, Liam hardly gave his more experienced opponent a chance.
It started off close with Liam's tight drives and Bruce's boasts and lobs being equally successful, but Liam did slightly better to win the first set 15-13. From then on it was all Liam.
His cleanly hit drives of good length close to the wall were too good for Bruce to mount an effective defence. He also slowed his serve forcing Bruce to add pace with which he loses accuracy, thus allowing his opponent to take advantage. He capitalised on this and comfortably won the second set 15-5. After a re-assessment Bruce rallied, but Liam's good play forced his opponent out of position and unable to apply any pressure. The match concluded with a 15-10 win to Liam and the Scorchers.
With the rubber level, apart from a four-point advantage to the Scorchers, Wayne Hewitt was in a similar position to his preliminary final match. In the semi-final match last week he beat Lynton McPhail in four sets. On this occasion he won in three sets to give his team a great advantage.
Although Lynton appeared to play better this time, Wayne had all the answers. As mentioned above, he is able to volley many shots with great precision. With his opponent rushing to pick up those shots Wayne can also befuddle them with a last second change of direction. Using this shot very effectively enabled him to economise on his court coverage which is quite an advantage for a man of his stature.
Lynton was able to get close in the first and third sets, but Wayne's overall game was better on the night. Game scores were 15-12, 15-9, 15-13 to Wayne.
Once again, as in all previous finals, the grand final came down to the last match. With Wayne's win the Scorchers were in the box seat as Mike Griffith had to win in three sets and restrict Alan Schack to an average of 10 points in each game.
With the top two players in the competition playing off and both in top form, it was to be a great spectacle of quality squash. The match had everything with long rallies, both players covering the court as if it were postage-stamp sized, precision stroke-play, clever speed variations, recoveries from virtually impossible positions and a wide variety of shots including lobs, drops, cross-court and down-the-wall drives, and volleys and half-volleys.
The audience was spellbound witnessing such artistry. Mike did as required and took the first game 15-9.
In the second, Alan got off to a very handy lead as Mike made a number of uncharacteristic unforced errors. But he regrouped and managed to take the game to a tiebreak. Inexplicably, Alan twice had game-point and served faults.
The game came to the cut-throat 16-all and, sadly for the expectations of the night, was decided by a let call that went against Mike, thus handing the win to Alan 17-16. The premiership was then the Scorchers', but the squash continued at its high level of intensity and skill. Mike took out the next game 15-4, but Alan came back to win the final two games 15-11, 15-12.
In the presentations Wayne won the 'Player of the Grand Final' for the pressure that he was able to apply on the final match, and Alan won the 'Player of the Finals Series' for winning all three of his matches and clinching the grand final for his team. The other individual awards for the season, 'Most Consistent' and 'Most Improved,' both went to Clio Milsome who has had a fantastic season.
Grading night is this Thursday October 20. Anyone interested in playing the summer competition should attend, especially those new to the club who need to be ranked. If unable to attend you should contact Dave on 0408 577 398.