Norman-Ross shines against top opposition
FOUR Sarnians travelled to the National Squash Centre in Manchester to take part in the gold status Technifibre British Junior Closed squash tournament.
[caption id="attachment_39402" align="alignright" width="175" caption="Issey Norman-Ross reached the top eight in the under-17 girls' category at the British Junior Closed event in Manchester. (Picture by Tom Tardif, 0809311)"]
Niall Adams, Katherine Jensen, Issey Norman-Ross and Natalie Dodd took part in the under-13 boys, under-15, -17 and -19 girls respectively.
One of the most prestigious events in the squash calendar, it attracted top players from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Out of the Guernsey youngsters, Norman-Ross gave the best performance of the weekend.
She not only entered the top eight by winning her first two games against tough opposition, but also showed she has the ability to play a competitive game against the No. 1 seed and eventual winner Emily Whitlock.
By not allowing her opponent to dictate the match she coped well with the pace and battled for the 'T' zone.
Ben Rosec, island director of squash, said: 'England Squash ranking points are collected by players over a minimum of seven tournaments during the season.
'Because of our geographical position and the relative extra costs of travel, our players tend to attend only the minimum quantity of tournaments required.
'If they qualify to play in this competition it gives them the opportunity to excel against higher ranked players and allows them to reach their true potential.'
