Squash: Northland juniors sparkle at Oceania event in Brisbane

 

Northland's top young squash talent made themselves known in Brisbane at the Oceania Junior Age Group Championships.

Freddie Jameson, Riley-Jack Vette-Blomquist, Zoe Dykzeul, Natalie Sayes and Flynn Venmore all put in strong efforts against rivals from both New Zealand and Australia.

Jameson made the under-13 boys' final, while Vette-Blomquist (third in the under-15 boys) and Dykzeul (fourth in the under-19 girls) both made it deep into their respective divisions.

After a strong run throughout the tournament, Jameson found himself in the final taking on fellow Kiwi Tom Marshall.

Jameson entered the tournament as the fifth seed but that didn't stop him put in a strong performance against the second-seeded Marshall.

Marshall came out of the blocks with a 13-11 win in the first set before Jameson took one back in convincing style 11-5.

However, the class of Marshall shone through as he took the final two sets 11-9 11-5 to win the title.

Vette-Blomquist was the best performing New Zealander in the tough under-15 boys' division. He flew through the competition before coming unstuck in the semifinals.

He then produced a top performance against number two seed Oscar Curtis to take third place with a 11-6 11-7 11-7 win.

In the under-15 girls' division, Natalie Sayes was a cut above in her run to the final where she met Jena Gregory.

Sayes was stretched by her fellow Kiwi but came home with the spoils, winning 11-8 11-7 11-4.

Zoe Dykzeul, seeded fourth for the competition, had a good win over fellow Kiwi Nadia Hubbard to reach the semifinals of the under-19 girls' division where she came across the top seed Alex Haydon from Australia.

Dykzeul took the fight to the pre-tournament favourite, making Haydon work hard for points.

Haydon eventually pulled away and grabbed a straight-sets victory (11-7, 11-5, 11-7) to book her place in the final.

Dykzeul meanwhile settled for fourth after losing the third and fourth playoff to fellow New Zealander Courtney Trail in a five-set thriller.

The pair traded the first four sets to pin it on a decider but it was Trail who came through and snared the title.

New Zealand returned with a significant medal haul from the 2018 Oceania Junior Championships at the PCYC Centre in Brisbane, claiming seven of the 10 titles up for grabs.

Meanwhile the Trans-Tasman Junior Test Series started yesterday with Vette-Blomquist playing in the under-15 boys' team for New Zealand.