Squash: D grade titles to Manaia, North Shore

The Manaia club is the toast of Northland after claiming the New Zealand women's D grade title in Dunedin at the weekend.

It is the first such title for the community, which boasts a population of about 3000.

It is the third year in a row that a Northland club has won the women's D grade event after Kamo (2012) andMaungataora last year.

Annie Green, the winning coach, and No 5 player Megan Turner were also involved in the Kamo win two years ago.

The final against Devoy Squash went to a deciding fifth match and No 3 Ellanese Mytton maintained her unbeaten record by defeating Leigh Ann Smith 3-0 to clinch the title.

The teams had met in pool play, when Devoy Squash edged that tie 3-2.

The pivotal match in the final was Iyra Stewart's win over fellow 14-year-old Taylor Clarke, reversing the result in pool play.

Cromwell finished sixth after losing to Matamata 3-2, while Otago overcame Red Star by the same scoreline to finish seventh.

North Shore overcame adversity to clinch the men's title against Kawaroa Park.

The team manager was unable to travel for personal reasons and two Shore players missed the first two rounds, due to exams they had to sit in Auckland.

As a result, North Shore qualified for the semifinals only on a countback from Thorndon.

However, its full-strength team dominated after that, winning three of the first four matches in the final.

The team featured three teenagers, including late arrivals Soomyoung Jang and Johnathon Ko.

They were unbeaten during the tournament, as were Graham Shaw and Vishal Thacker at the bottom of the order.

The young Alexandra team performed creditably in finishing fourth.

It lost its playoff against Devoy Squash 4-1.

Alexandra's No 4 Bodean Cowley won his match.

Tom Richmond, at No 1, suffered his only loss in this tie, a fine result overall.

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