Murray, Le Roux take EP crowns

JASON le Roux and Anlen Murray were crowned the Eastern Province Closed squash champions as the tournament culminated in a thrilling conclusion at Londt Park on Friday.

Both finals went the full distance, with the eventual winners just gaining that edge in the decider to take the titles.

For NMU’s Le Roux, it was his second triumph as he repeated his 2016 win over Brendan Basset, although it was a much closer contest this time.

The experienced Le Roux seemed set for a straightforward win when he led 2-1, but his opponent showed fine fighting qualities to take the match into a deciding fifth game.

This was tightly fought all the way until Le Roux eventually broke the deadlock to take it 11-8.

Murray overcame a 2-1 deficit in a terrific women’s final against young Hayley Ward in a result which was in the balance until the final point.

After winning a tight first game 12-10, Murray watched as Ward took control, taking the next two games 11-4 and 11-9.

But the top seed is one of EP squash’s toughest competitors and she raced through the fourth game, losing just one point to level the match.

Murray finally edged home 11-9 in the decider.

There are two remaining tournaments for the provincial hopefuls to impress the selectors before the Jarvis and Kaplan Cup teams are announced.

The Profiles tournament takes place from Friday to Sunday (May 25-27), while the Itec Crusaders Challenge will be held from June 8-10.

Entries for the Profiles event close tomorrow and names can be e-mailed to scheperskaren1010@gmail.com