A Good Horsham Showing At the Sussex Champs 2011 
Report by Rory Scott
There were 68 entrants playing in the recent 2011 Sussex County Championship. This was not bad considering that the event was organised at short notice. Of these 68 players, Horsham TTC was well represented with 17 players competing. Although some of the top players from certain events were missing, due to other events on the same day, there were also a no. of the top players present. Unfortunately there were no entries for the U18s Girls & Ladies doubles & only 1 entry for the Veteran Ladies singles, so these events were all cancelled. There were 4 Horsham TTC winners & 3 Runners-Up at this event, which is good going!
Mixed U11s: Girl Power!
There were only 2 entries for the Girls U11s, so a mixed U11s event was run. Horsham was well represented in this event with 4 Horsham players in the quarter finals. One of the girls, Lauren Pound (Horsham) did well to progress through her group, winning 2 matches, only to fall at the quarter final stage to eventual runner-up Hai Duong (Hollingbury). 3rd seed Kate Cheer (also Horsham TTC) however, did even better. She won her group at the expense of 2nd placed Ryan Heselden (Hollington), then beat Horsham left hander, Ben Hainsworth in the quarters & then National U11s Boys semi-finalist Marcus Bracey (Lancing) in the semis. Another Horsham player George Hazell beat Ben in the group & lost in the quarters. Hai accounted for Ryan in the other semi final. Kate beat Hai 5-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-9 in the final. After the U11s event, it was decided to see who would be the U11s Boys Champion, so players who had lost to Kate from quarter finals onwards were given a chance to become the Boys U11 champion. Marcus Bracey beat Ben 3-0 & then beat Hai 3-1 to take the title.
Boys U13s: The Scarlet ‘Pimple’nel
Both of the top 2 seeds made it through to the final with James Arnold (Horsham), the top seed, accounting for George Hazell (Horsham) in the quarters & Bart Rayson (Hollingbury) in the semis. Marcus Bracey edged past both club mate Sam Lu (Lancing) in the last 8 & Hai Duong in the last 4, both in 5 sets. Hai had had a battle with club-mate Viral Varsani in the quarters just getting it 16-14 in the 5th. The final was quite dramatic. Marcus started quicker than James & led 2 games to love & 7-2 up in the 3rd. Then following a time out & a quick word from his coach, Arnold changed tactics & became much more attacking. This proved the right decision & James proceeded to reduce the deficit bit by bit & came through winning in the 5th set 6-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7 meaning another win for Horsham TTC.
Girls U13s: Kate Just Misses out & no Luck for Holder
There were just 3 entrants in this event. In order of seeding they were: last year’s winner, Holly Holder (Horsham), Emma Sheen (Hollingbury) & Kate Cheer. Emma excelled to win the event, with U11 Kate doing very well to finish in 2nd place, only missing out on the top spot by the narrowest of margins 11-6, 7-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-9.
Boys U15s: In for a Penny In for a Pound
This was the biggest event of the day with 16 entrants. Other than the top 2 seeds, Daniel Pound (Horsham) & Adam Corell (North Mundham), there were a lot of players of around the same level, so it was very exciting to see who would make it to the semis & final. Of the matches between these close players, in the group stage Harry Collins (East Grinstead) beat Michael Bridger (Warden Park) in 3 close games & James Arnold beat Elliott Jeffery (Hollingbury) comfortably 3-0. Then in the preliminary round Michael beat Elliott in the 5th & James beat Harry 3-1 in the quarter final. However, upset of the event was caused by Michael, who toppled 2nd seed Adam by 3 games to love (11-8, 11-4, 11-8) in the quarter final. In the semi finals 3 out of 4 of the players were from Horsham, which is fantastic & bodes well for the future. Daniel was too strong for James, losing just the one end. The other semi final was much closer though, with 3rd seed Matt Van Yperen (Horsham) just going down in the 5th set 12-10, despite having a match point at 10-9 up in the 5th. Daniel won the final in a similar manner to his semi before by 3 games to 1.
Girls U15s: 2nd Place for Holly
There were 2 groups of 3 in this event. Horsham’s Holly Holder the holder of the title (no pun intended) won group 1 with Annabel Bridger (Warden Park) in 2nd place. Annabel excelled with a great 3-0 win over Sophie Barber (Broad Oak/Heathfield). Group 2 winner was Emma Sheen, who beat Horsham’s Kate Cheer into the runners up position. Kate had a good win over NJL team-mate, Bethany Pemberton-Hill (Pavilion) in the group. In the semi finals both top seeds got through, with Holly getting her own back on Kate, who had beaten her earlier in the U13s. In the other semi, Emma beat Annabel & then in the final she got the better of Holly, this time 11-7, 4-11, 11-8, 11-3.
Boys U18s: Collins has Great Run
This consisted of 2 groups of 4 players. Group 1 was fairly straight forward with all but 1 match being decided in straight sets. Top seed Mark Scutts won the group, dropping just 1 set to group runner-up, Mark Collins (Horsham). Group 2 was very different, with 3 matches going the full distance & 3 players ending up with 2 wins each. The count back was between Horsham’s Daniel Pound, Adam Corell & Brad Heselden (Hollington). Adam beat Daniel 17-15 in the 5th, but Brad caused another upset by overcoming Adam 7 in the 5th. Daniel won the group by virtue of defeating Brad 3-0, putting Brad out of the event. The other 5 setter was won 13-11 in the 5th by Brad over Robbie Winters (St. Michaels). In the semi finals Mark Scutts beat Adam 3, 4, 5, but the other semi between Horsham players Mark Collins & Daniel Pound was very evenly matched & went right to the wire. Dan got off to a good start winning 11-6, 11-6, but Mark battled back 11-9, 14-12 & 16-14 in a nail-biting 5th set which contained some excellent attacking play from both Horsham players. The final was won by top seed Scutts 3-1, but fair play to Collins for getting an end off him both times they played. Collins is unfortunately not a junior next season, so will not get the chance to represent Sussex at Junior level, but with the way he is improving at the moment, he may even get a call up for the senior team?? He is certainly making some waves in the Crawley & Horsham League.
Division 2 Singles: Mark gets to Semi-Final
This was a new event for players who play in the 2nd highest division of league or below and was Horsham’s Steve Pound’s idea. It proved popular with 13 entrants. Next season Steve envisages events for 3rd & 4th tier local league players too. The top seed for this was junior singles runner-up Collins (Horsham). He duly won his group, but had an real struggle in the quarters coming back from 2-0 down vs Patrick Lorenz (Hollingbury) to win 9-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-7, 18-16! His run came to an abrupt end in the semi final at the hands of Jenny Glistau (Hollingbury) who won 3-1. Jenny comes from Germany. On the other side of the draw, 2nd seed Bob Hoare (Pavilion) defeated Dave Richardson (Woodlands) 3-1 to set up a Glistau/Hoare final. Jenny won this encounter 3-1.
Veterans Singles: Good Win For Steve Pound
This was an event filled with upsets. No. 4 seed Prakash Varsani (Hollingbury) lost both his matches in the group vs Steve Pound (Horsham) 3-0 & Keith Barber (Broad Oak/Heathfield). Steve also beat Keith 3-0. Next Andy Meads (Crawley Community) beat Steve in the quarters 11-9 in the 5th, but the most significant upsets were caused by penhold blocker Wen Wei Xu (Brighton City), the 3rd seed. In the quarters he dispatched Keith & then he faced no. 2 seed from Hollington, Paul Barry. Wen Wei lost the 1st 7-11 but finished strongly taking the next 3 11-4, 11-8, 11-5. In the final he faced top seed Peter Bartram, who had cruised through to the final with easy wins over Andrew Sharland (Warden Park) & Meads. The final couldn’t have been much closer. Wen Wei took the 1st 12-10 & the 2nd 11-8, but Peter hit back taking the next two games 11-4, 11-8. As is often the case the 5th was very close & Xu shaded it 12-10.
Men’s Singles: 2 Horsham players Make the Quarters
From a field of 13 players, the top 4 seeds all made it to the semi finals in this event. In the quarters Craig Bryant (no club listed) beat Wen Wei Xu 3-0, Mayur Majithia (Crawley Community) beat Rory Scott (Horsham) 3-0, Mark Scutts beat Prakash Varsani 3-1 & Peter Bartram (Lancing) beat Fredrik Nilsson (Horsham) 3-0. However in the group stage Mayur & Fredrik had quite a tussle. Mayur won 11-2 in the 5th having been 2-1 down in games. Bryant (1st seed) won his semi vs Majithia (3rd seed) 3-1 & Scutts (4th seed) beat Bartram (2nd seed) also 3-1. The final was very one-sided with Craig, the no. 15 in England men beating Mark, the no. 17 in England junior boys (126 in England men) in straight sets.
Ladies Singles: Yola Crowned King
There were only 3 entries in the Ladies Singles, Yolanda King (Weald), Jenny Glistau (Hollingbury) & Holly Holder (Horsham). Yolanda beat Jenny 3-1 to take the title, with Holly in 3rd place.
Men’s Doubles: Top Seeds Dominant
Craig Bryant & Mayur Majithia were unstoppable in this 9-pair event, beating Scott & Nilsson (Horsham) 3-0 in the semis & Bartram & Barry 3-1 in the final. Peter & Paul had beaten Scutts & P Varsani 3-0 in the other semi.
Junior Doubles: Horsham Pair Mark & Matt Wins
Hollingbury pair Hai Duong & Viral Varsani combined well together to get to the final of the junior doubles. They first beat St. Michael’s pairing Robbie Winters & Kai Mason 3-1 & next overcame 2nd seeds Bart Rayson (also Hollingbury) & Daniel Pound (Horsham) also 3-1 in the semi. The other semi was an easy win for Mark Collins & Matt Van Yperen (Horsham) over Lu & Bracey. The Horsham pairing were too strong for the Hollingbury pair in the final winning it 11-6, 11-3, 11-4.
Mixed Doubles: Holder & Scott make it to the Final
Again like the Men’s Doubles the top seeds were head, shoulders & chest above their adversaries. The victors again included Craig Bryant, who paired up with Yolanda King (England no. 4 junior & no. 14 in women’s). The top seeds defeated Patrick Lorenz & Jenny Glistau in the semis & Horsham partnership Rory Scott & Holly Holder in the final. Rory & Holly beat Keith & Sophie Barber 3-0 in the other semi.
Consolation Events: Dan ‘Pound’s Pomej
Consolation events were run where possible time permitting. Daniel Pound won the Men’s Singles Consolation beating Tom Pomej (Warden Park) in the final. In Under 11s Consolation Round Robin of 4 players, Luke Stewart (St. Michael’s) was the winner & Ben Worley (Horsham) got 2nd place. Ryan Heselden beat Kyo Kaneko (Horsham) in the U13s Boys Consolation. In Girls U13s Bethany Pemberton-Hill beat Sophie Barber. In Boys U18s Consolation Round Robin Brad Heselden came 1st with Robbie Winters in 2nd place. Matt Van Yperen beat Freddy Goodall in the Division 2 Singles final.
Round Up: 4 Horsham Winners & 4 Horsham Runners-Up
U11s: Kate Cheer (Crawley) beat Hai Duong (Hollingbury) 5-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-9
U11s Boys: Marcus Bracey (Lancing) beat Hai Duong (Hollingbury) 8-11, 12-10, 12-10, 11-7
U13s Boys: James Arnold (Horsham) beat Marcus Bracey (Lancing) 6-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7
U13s Girls: Emma Sheen (Hollingbury) beat Kate Cheer (Crawley) 11-6, 7-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-9
U15s Boys: Daniel Pound (Horsham) beat Michael Bridger (Warden Park) 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 11-3
U15s Girls: Emma Sheen (Hollingbury) beat Holly Holder (Horsham) 11-7, 4-11, 11-8, 11-3
U18s Boys: Mark Scutts (Hollingbury) beat Mark Collins (Horsham) 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-8
Men’s: Craig Bryant (Crawley) beat Mark Scutts (Hollingbury) 11-6, 11-5, 11-6
Ladies: Yolanda King beat Jenny Glistau (Hollingbury) 12-10, 8-11, 11-5, 11-4
Veteran Men’s: Wen Wei Xu (Brighton City) beat Peter Bartram (Lancing) 12-10, 11-8, 4-11, 8-11, 12-10
Division 2: Jenny Glistau (Hollingbury) beat Bob Hoare (Pavilion) 11-5, 10-12, 18-16, 11-2
Men’s Doubles: Craig Bryant & Mayur Majithia (Crawley Community) beat Peter Bartram (Lancing) & Paul Barry (Hollington) 11-7, 6-11, 11-8, 12-10
Mixed Doubles: Craig Bryant (Crawley) & Yolanda King (Weald) beat Rory Scott & Holly Holder (Horsham) 11-3, 11-8, 11-7
Junior Doubles: Mark Collins & Matt Van Yperen (Horsham) beat Hai Duong & Viral Varsani (Hollingbury) 11-6, 11-3, 11-4
