Decisive squash wins for defending champions

DEFENDING champions Gary Wheadon and Lizelle Goosen delivered decisive victories to retain their titles in the NMMU Madibaz Open squash championships in Port Elizabeth.

Wheadon, 36, from Milnerton in Cape Town, settled a score by overturning a defeat he suffered to Rudi van Niekerk in the Londt Park Open this year with a 3-0 result in the final.

Since the tournament was revived in 2012, the left-hander has dominated the proceedings and added a sixth straight title to his collection.

The top eight men were divided into two pools, with Wheadon and Van Niekerk ending comfortably on top to qualify for the final.

Goosen has also been a regular winner of the title.

She went through the women’s section unbeaten to be crowned champion again.

The top four women also played in a round-robin format.

Jacqui Ryder and Bianca Brown both took games off Goosen, but got no further than that.

Ryder beat Brown and Janet Byrnes to finish second.

NMMU’s Brown finished third after defeating Byrnes.

Tournament organiser Sarah O’Grady said they were delighted with how the tournament had unfolded, after receiving 40 entries.

“We divided the players into three men’s sections and two women’s divisions,” she said.

“We were very happy with the number of competitive matches which were played during the competition.

“The time allocations ran well, the players marked after their matches and the games were all played in a good spirit.”

Although they did not have a title sponsor, O’Grady said the committee had done much work to ensure an attractive lineup of prizes.

“Besides the entry fees, we did not have a guaranteed cash sponsorship,” she said.

“But I must thank all those who came on board to support the tournament, including Romans Pizza, Sportsworld, Red Bull and Mount Vernon wine.”