Brother and sister out of Hyde-ing as trio of titles won in tournaments
IT was a weekend to remember for the Hyde household as brother and sister Danny and Millie secured three titles for Woodvale in what was another memorable A and C tournaments for the club.
The pick of the four finals featuring a Hyde came from brother Danny as he and his playing partner Michael Johnston battled hard to turn it around in a thriller against the tough Churchtown pair of Joe Steele and Andy Owen 11-21, 23-21, 23-21.
That result ended up being the second of two titles for Danny, as earlier in the proceedings, his first came in the men’s singles.
Coming up against Victoria Hall’s Matt Tolman, Hyde knew a tough match would be in store.
The Woodvale youngster pulled ahead after taking the first set 21-18.
But Tolman showed his experience by stretching the match to a third set after claiming the second set 21-16.
In the end, it seemed Hyde’s determination and fearless approach to the deciding set is what got him the title as he took the third set 21-14.
The hat-trick of Hyde titles came from sister Millie, who continues to show domination in all singles tournaments over the last few years with a commanding 21-11, 21-12 win over Victoria Hall’s Peggy Leong.
Sadly, Millie could not quite match the efforts of her brother.
Her appearance in the final of the mixed doubles with Churchtown’s Joe Steele turned out to be one final too many as they were quickly seen off by the formidable pair of Steven and Fay Andrews from Mawdesley 21-8, 21-8.
The last of the A finals saw a shock result in the women’s doubles.
It saw multiple champions Caroline Clucas and Caroline Walker fall to the Mawdesley/Churchtown pairing of Fay Andrews and Katie Dixon-Turner.
After winning this event nearly 20 times, the Victoria Hall pair have shown enough form in the league this season to show us no reason of why they could not claim another title as a pair.
However, Andrews and Dixon-Turner came out strong and showed great nerve when it counted and prevailed with an impressive straight sets win 21-15, 21-12 and take the title.
The C tournament has always given us a great indicator of the future of the league with many of this season’s A tournament finalists once being in the C finals earlier in their career. This year, it seems Churchtown’s youngsters are the ones to watch.
One Churchtown player that shone in particular was Max Felstead, who collected two titles on the night.
Back-to-back dominant wins in the men’s doubles saw Churchtown’s future show their abilities to the rest of the league.
In the men’s doubles, Felstead along with playing partner Matthew Westby saw off Woodvale’s Andy Hurst and Felix Watson 21-8, 21-7.
Later on in the mixed doubles, Felstead partnered Chloe Jackson and made quick work of a talented Southport pair in the form of David Morris and Rachael Mosscrop 21-5, 21-10.
There were other finals for Churchtown’s Westby and Jackson. Sadly for them, further success did not come their way.
In the men’s singles, Westby was narrowly defeated by Southport’s George Stretilov.
In the women’s doubles, Jackson along with playing partner Fay Skinner showed great fight in pushing their match into a third set.
But sadly for them, it was not enough as Woodvale’s Kayla Shandley and Tasha Johnson produced a solid team display in claiming the title 21-20, 19-21, 21-11.
There was an all-Woodvale final in the C tournament women’s singles final.
The honour of champion went to Helen Frain who saw off Jan Mort in two tight sets 21-17, 21-15.
Next week sees the league return to action for one more week before the Christmas break.
For more info as well as the latest news, results and league tables, be sure to check out the league’s official website, www.southportbadminton.com. Also, make sure you like the league’s official Facebook page.