Leo Carpenter, Rocco Elliott and Hamish McLellan all featured in a Hampshire quintet that finished fifth in the U13s, while Axel Svejstrup played for an U17 side that placed seventh. This all took place across various courts in Sheffield.
The U13s started with a harsh awakening against top seeds Yorkshire.
Yorkshire won 5-0 in straight games, with Carpenter coming the closest to taking a game when Logan Willstrop – the son of former world No 1 James – edged him by three points in the third.
Second opponents Leicestershire boasted two of the highest-ranked U13s in the UK.
That ultimately meant losses for Hampshire’s two top players, including Carpenter against Oscar Brown, but the Hampshire boys won the three remaining matches to take a small majority.
That included Elliott beating William Brooks 3-0 and McLellan battling past Rowan Callis with the same scoreline.
The U13s finished off against Surrey, where Carpenter edged out Jacques Boulanger 3-2 and McLellan did likewise against Edward Salisbury.
Although Elliott won his first game against Spencer Watkins, he ultimately fell 3-1. The overall scoreline read 3-2 in Hampshire’s favour.
They ultimately made the top five of 30 county teams that had competed.
In the U17s, Svejstrup had a similarly tough start when Surrey whitewashed Hampshire without dropping a single game.
Top player Gilbert Harrington secured Hampshire’s sole win against Yorkshire, edging Noah Riley 3-2 as his teammates could not take a single game.
However, Svejstrup’s persistence paid off as he out-duelled Joseph Price 16-14, 9-11, 11-8, 12-10 in a cracking last match.
That victory came as part of his team’s 4-11 victory over Gloucestershire.
Competitive depth was similar to the U13s, with 28 teams featuring.
Squash development Martin Watts was full of praise for how the Guernsey youngsters performed.
‘They all played really, really well over the weekend,’ he said.
‘Fifth is a great place for the U13s – and seventh for the U17s.’
However, he also recognised the special opportunity they received in playing on Abbeydale Squash Club’s distinctive all-glass court.
‘The highlight was the fact they got to play on the all-glass court at Abbeydale,’ he added.
‘For kids of that age it’s an amazing spectacle.’
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