Cambridgeshire League successes for Stamford Squash Club to mark their 50th anniversary
Stamford Squash Club are set to approach their 50th anniversary on the back of one of their most successful ever seasons.
The first team have claimed the Cambridgeshire League Division One title for the first time in the opening part of a unique double after winning the League Cup tournament.
The third team have also weighed in with the Division Four title, meaning Stamford have won two of the four titles in the leagues consisting of larger clubs from Peterborough, Cambridge, Huntingdon, Spalding and Bedford among others.
Chairman Ferlin Barnard enthused: "It has been an outstanding achievement from Stamford squash players.
"Our membership is also thriving and the club is looking forward to its next 50 years."
Stamford's first team displayed a huge amount of skill and teamwork to claim the Cambridgeshire League title.
It went down to the last game of the season against Hunts County who followed closely behind and were 13 points adrift of Stamford.
Overcoming injuries, setbacks and fierce competition, fantastic performances from two 18-year-olds Eden Spooner and Callum McGurk and the experienced Neil Steedman ensured the title went to Stamford for the first time.
Chairman Barnard added: "Callum's victory over his much more experienced opponent will pass into Stamford Squash Club folklore.
"The collective efforts of all players, including Simon Morris, Rob Vivian and Dan McGinn who portrayed their skills and fostered a strong sense of companionship, all contributed unique strengths to propel the team to unequalled success.
"Ultimately it was a thrilling finish to end the season with a high level of talent and resilience at Stamford's disposal proving the difference, as only 10 points ultimately separated the top four teams."
Cruel fixture listing pitted Stamford to play the semi-final of the Cambridgeshire League Cup competition on a Friday only for the final to be played the day after.
Stamford won their semi-final against Swavesey 4-1, taking their weary legs against a fresh March side the following day.
Neil Steedman took the first match for Stamford, Jonathan Hand narrowly losing the next, with Eden Spooner winning his.
Tania Bailey showed all the skill and experience of a former British champion to win against an opponent she had lost to earlier in the season.
Despite Callum McGurk narrowly losing a dead rubber, Stamford claimed the trophy and the double.
Stamford's third team had tentatively entered Division Four following a difficult previous season, but they soon got going with Adam Brown, Greg Smith and Tim Collins getting into their stride by claiming sound victories.
Mark Ridealgh and Alex Boughton, alternating at string five, both played good squash to set the team off in the right direction.
After Christmas, Ian Ball and John Hoyles - alternating at string two - ensured that victories kept coming with Tony Cheales, Mark Davies and Leigh Ford also producing fine performances.
However, it was the exceptional Dave Spooner at string one who brought his experience to the team, which made the difference in very tight matches and guaranteeing the win as 11 consecutive victories saw the team win the division with one match to play.
Following the success of their teams, the club focussed its attention to its internal finals.
The skill levels at Stamford Squash Club have reached an all time high following the club night coaching from John Cordeaux and the successful interventions from England coach and Stamford team player Tania Bailey.
Expectations were high and duly achieved as members ranging from newcomers to seasoned team players put on a great exhibition of squash and racketball.
The day started with experienced player James Stevenson overcoming novice Antony Clapton in the Copperstore Squash tournament, with James Quinn winning the Racketball equivalent with a fine success over Neil Needham.
Neil Cook took the Over 60 and Jonathan Oakley won the Over 55 while the Veteran's Cup was won by Jonathan Hand in a storming final win over Simon Morris.
The newly introduced B grade tournaments for members in lower leagues proved to be very competitive with James Quinn beating Andrew Maran 3-1 in a highly entertaining encounter.
The Ladies B Grade match was won by Sue Oakley against the hard-hitting Nikki Partington.
The Vivian Handicap Cup was won by Jason Van De Westhuizen for the third time against Owen O’Hara who was not able to disrupt Jason's patient game.
Emma Barnard played Claire Spooner in the Ladies Racketball final.
After a nervous start and a fightback from Claire, Emma took the honours in the club's first ever racketball event.
The finale was the much-anticipated men's singles final with Eden Spooner playing Neil Steedman.
Eden had overcome Callum McGurk in the semi-final, 11-9 in the fifth and concluding game to reach the final.
The final was a classic youth versus experience encounter, Eden racing into a 1-0 lead with Neil's patient play taking the next two games to make it 2-1.
Eden stepped up his game, cut out the errors and took the next two games to claim the Club Championship for the first time.
