Doubles Championships Produce National Champs

The National Doubles Championships have gone largely to seeding this weekend - with the exception of the men's.

A gruelling day's play at the National Squash Centre in Auckland eventually produced six national champions on Saturday.

The mixed doubles went to seeding, with the top seeds Lance Beddoes and Lisa Cowlard taking the title beating second seeds and defending champions Michael Sunderland and Georgina Shelton-Agar in the final round-robin game; 11-10, 11-6.  However it was not all plain sailing for the pair, who came very close to defeat in the first round against fourth seeds Lewis Hopkins and Ellie Epke - recovering from a match ball down to win 11-10 in the third (and deciding) set.

It was a second title for Cowlard in the women's doubles, as she and North Shore clubmate Abbie Palmer proved too strong for their competition by going undefeated through round-robin play.  In the final they defeated Harcourts Eden Epsom clubmates and top juniors Ellie Epke and Hayley Hughes 11-9, 11-10.

There was a slight upset in the men's final, with second seeds Bryce Redman and Paul Coll defeating the highly fancied Lance Beddoes and Phil Buscke in a tight three sets.  Whereas Beddoes and Buscke had cruised through to the final, Coll and Redman seemed to ease into their work throughout the day.  After being pushed to three sets by Wayne Reid and Ricardo Stanley in the first round, they stepped up a gear to convincingly win their semi-final against Chris Lloyd and Michael Pittams 11-8, 11-6.  In the final they went up a set early, before Beddoes and Buscke stormed back to take the second 11-4.  The deciding set was a very close affair, with regular momentum swings and both combinations scoring and conceding runs of points.  In the end, a puce-faced Redman effected the final winner of the match to seal the third set 11-8, and defend the title he and Coll won in 2011.

Full Scores:

Mixed Doubles:
Lance Beddoes and Lisa Cowlard (1) beat Michael Sunderland and Georgina Shelton-Agar (2) 11-10, 11-6

Women's Doubles:
Lisa Cowlard and Abbie Palmer (1) beat Ellie Epke and Hayley Hughes (2) 11-9, 11-10

Men's Doubles

Semifinals:
Lance Beddoes and Phil Buscke (1) beat Eugene Black and Michael Sunderland (4) 11-9, 11-8
Bryce Redman and Paul Coll (2) beat Chris Lloyd and Michael Pittams (3) 11-8, 11-6

Final:
Bryce Redman and Paul Coll (2) beat Lance Beddoes and Phil Buscke (1) 11-7, 4-11, 11-8