Ilkley Grammar in to last 8

Ilkley Grammar squash team had a hard fought win over Gosforth Academy and have now made it in to the last 8 of the National Schools Championship. The players, Jack Bearpark, Tom Bearpark, Stu MacGregor, Matt Heap and James Morgan will next face Newcastle Grammer for a place in the finals to be held in Manchester in March. This is the first year a team from Ilkley Grammer have been in the competition and they have knocked out many higher seeded schools along the way. This is a massive boost for squash at Ilkley Grammar.

Jack Bearpark takes title

Top squash junior Jack Bearpark, won the Ilkley Junior Squash Open u/17 Boys title. Jack who was top seed and has a national ranking of 32 defeated Manchester based and 2nd seed Isaac Rawcliffe 3-1 in the final. A few unforced mistakes in the first set allowed Isaac to take the first set, but after that Jack took control and dominated the match, moving his opponent all round the court and looking to take the ball early. In the end it was Isaac who made many unforced errors and the fitness of Jack as he won the final set easily. It was the 3rd title for Jack this season. Elsewhere, Stu MacGregor also put in another top performance. He defeated 2nd seed Daniel Bray in the semi - final to make his 2nd final in 2 weeks. Having lost to Isaac Rawcliffe a week earlier in Manchester, he lost to Newcastle player Jamie Todd 3-0 in this final, but it was a good effort for him as it is still his first year in the division. Matt Heap also had a good tournament, defeating 4th seed Elliot Ridge in the quarter finals, then lost to Jamie Todd in the semi final and narrowly lost to Daniel Bray in the 3/4 play off in the u/15 Boys. Ollie Hutchinson caused a big upset in the u/17 Boys, defeating 3rd Seed Charlie Cowie in the quarter finals in 5 sets. This was a great effort, considering he was 2 sets down and fought back to win. He finished 4th overall. James Silson had a strong tournament in the u/11 Boys defeating Newcastle player and nationally ranked 25 Andrew Shiply to finish in 3rd position. Finally Eve Silson in the u/15 Girls played well and finished in 6th postion. Overall a fantastic effort by Ilkley players. A big thank to Fudge who sponsored this event and have been a long term sponsor at the club.

Up and coming Ilkley squash junior Stu MacGregor had an outstanding weekend at the recently held England Junior squash champs, held in London, March 3rd & 4th. He caused an upset by defeating 9/16 seeded player Mark Richmond u/15 boys in the first round to make it to the top 16. He then lost to 3/4 seed Robbie Keefe, but went on to finish in 12th position, an excellent effort and sure to push his current national ranking of 36 down in to the top 24 in the country. The other Ilkley squash player involved was Jack Bearpark, u/17 Boys. He drew 5/8 seed Hamish Falconer in the first round and lost 3-0, but then bounced back to beat top 20 player Luke Parker in the plate 1st round, where he went on to lose in the final of the plate to James Blythe, to finish overall in 18th position. Jack's national ranking of 31 also looks set to fall to to the mid 20's. Both boys are ranked in top 4 in the county and will next play in Hull late March, where good results hopefully will see their rankings continue to drop.