AJ Bell England Squash Super 8

Perry and Rooney take the Super 8 titles

It was the third and final day in Manchester, with six matches to determine the Super 8 finishing positions.

Sarah-Jane Perry made it two AJ Bell titles in a row as she beat Gina Kennedy in straight games in a repeat of February’s final, the top seed looking in charge for the vast majority of the match, blunting Gina’s all-action style.

Patrick Rooney turned in what he described as his best ever performance as he beat Declan James, February’s champion, in a dominant three games.

In the playoff matches there were wins for Alison Waters, Lucy Beecroft, Jasmine Hutton and Charlie Lee.

Watch Full Replays Super 8 Photo Gallery

AJ Bell England Squash Super 8 : Day THREE, FINALS

M F   Patrick Rooney 3-0 Declan James                           11-4, 11-3, 11-8 (31m)
W F   Sarah-Jane Perry 3-0 Georgina Kennedy               11-4, 11-9, 11-4 (27m)

W3/4   Alison Waters3-1 Julianne Courtice            11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4 (44m)
W 5/6  Lucy Beecroft 3-2 Lucy Turmel        11-7, 7-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-4 (56m)
M 5/6  Charlie Lee 3-0 Daryl Selby                                     11-6, 11-3, 11-9 (34m)
W 7/8   Jasmine Hutton
3-0 Anna Kimberley                    11-4, 11-2, 11-5 (21m)
M 3/4  George Parker w/o Nick Wall   M 7/8   Josh Masters w/o Richie Fallows

Watch Full Replays Super 8 Photo Gallery

Day TWO : Pool places finalised at the NSC

Two rounds of play today on two courts as the final Group placings were decided.

Winners of the February event, Declan James and Sarah-Jane Perry will again contest the finals after both took their second and third wins today to win the ‘A’ Groups.

James beat George Parker and Richie Fallows both in straight games while Perry came from a game down to beat Jazz Hutton then completed the sweep against Lucy Beecroft.

Their opponents in the finals will be Patrick Rooney and Georgina Kennedy after they too made it three wins to top the ‘B’ Groups.

Rooney beat Nick Wall and then Daryl Selby to reach his second final (he was runner-up in the December event), while Kennedy beat Anna Kimberley and Lucy Turmel to reach her third successive final – after winning the November event she lost out to Perry in February’s final.

Day ONE : Upsets in opening Pool rounds at the NSC

The third event of the AJ Bell England Squash series kicked off today at the National Squash Centre in Manchester with sixteen of England’s top players opening their accounts in the first Pool round.

There were significant upsets at the start and end of the women’s matches as Lucy Beecroft beat Jasmine Hutton and Gina Kennedy overcame Alison Waters, both coming from a game down to beat their higher-seeded opponents in four games.

Top seed Sarah-Jane Perry, winner of February’s event, moved to the top of Group A ahead of Beecroft with a straight-games win over Julianne Courtice, while Lucy Turmel moved to the top of Group B with a three game win over Anna Kimberley.

Men’s top seed Declan James – February’s winner here – leads Group A after coming from a game down to beat Charli Lee while George Parker – November’s champion – survived a torrid five-setter against Richie Fallows in the opening match of the day.

Patrick Rooney and Nick Wall were the opening winners in Group B with victories over Josh Masters and Daryl Selby, Wall adding the scalp of veteran Selby after downing James Willstrop in February’s event.

Preview:

Following the success of the recent AJ Bell England Squash Challenge and AJ Bell England Squash Championships, the AJ Bell England Squash Super 8 takes place at the National Squash Centre in Manchester from Wed 7th to Fri 9th April.

The AJ Bell England Squash Super 8 will feature 8 of England’s female and male players, and will provide further competitive action ahead of the upcoming Manchester Open and Allam British Open.

Declan James and Sarah-Jane Perry – winners of last month’s AJ Bell England Squash Championshipswill be the top seeds in their respective draws, which originally  included the highest PSA-ranked England Squash performance programme players and one wild card entry in each draw.

Declan James and Sarah-Jane Perry – winners of last month’s AJ Bell England Squash Championshipswill be the top seeds in their respective draws, which originally  included the highest PSA-ranked England Squash performance programme players and one wild card entry in each draw.

James will be joined in the men’s draw by Daryl

Selby, Josh Masters, George Parker, Patrick Rooney, Richie Fallows, Nick Wall and wildcard Charlie Lee.

Alison Waters, Millie Tomlinson, Julianne Courtice, Jasmine Hutton, Grace Gear, Lucy Turmel and wildcard Georgina Kennedy join Perry in the women’s event.

David Campion, England Squash National Coach said:

“With the Manchester Open and the Allam British Open due to be staged in the coming months, we felt it was important to ensure that our athletes had the best chance to prepare for competitive action. We are grateful for the support of AJ Bell in helping us stage this event with the PSA.

“We’re pleased to collaborate with the Professional Squash Association to broadcast the AJ Bell England Squash Super 8 around the world and I look forward to watching all of our players in action next month.”

Pool stage action will begin on Wed 7th April at 11am, continuing on Thu 8th April from 10:30 with the final match of the day scheduled for 7pm. The men’s and women’s finals will take place on Fri 9 April at 4pm and 5pm with the remaining play-off matches taking place from 10am.