Torrid first round for Nelson players

The first round of the premier league squash competition kicked off last Thursday, with Team Marlborough exploiting their home advantage at the Anchor Stadium.

Warmer than usual court temperatures made for long rallies and tested the fitness of several Nelson players.

While the final score was drawn at two ties each, Marlborough finished the first round ahead of Nelson on countback by 10 matches to six.

As expected, Marlborough's No1 players dominated their matches. Megan Craig, playing in the men's division, dropped the first game against Nelson's Scott Gibbons but quickly found her stride to keep Gibbons under pressure, and took the next three games and the match 3-1.

Mark Kerr started well and was disappointed to lose to Grant Craig in five after four close games. Craig managed to dig a little deeper and dominated the last game to defeat Kerr 15-2.

Marcus Rose started well against Paul Roughan, taking the first game, but struggled to keep up the pace and dropped the next three to lose 1-3.

Nelson's Tristan Palmer started strongly to beat Richard Aitken 3-0, as did Michael Hughes against Russell Lindsay. Nelson's Brendon Monk had a torrid battle with Peter Heagney in the heat before winning 3-2.

Reece O'Connell debuted for Nelson with a confident 3-0 win over Simon Bamford.

Barry Roberts had a huge battle with Marlborough's Mickayla Kerr and dominated for most of the match. However, Kerr made a gritty comeback in the fifth, and Roberts couldn't match her fitness for the last few rallies to lose 14-17.

Christine Castle and Susan O'Connell picked up good wins against Janet Udy and Julia Craig respectively. Jodie Rutherford was unlucky to lose 3-2 to Dorothy Boyce, a new player to the region.

Results: Team Marlborough 2 Team Nelson 2; match score – Team Marlborough 10 Team Nelson Bays 6.

NBS Nelson bt Marlborough 1 2-2 (game score 10-6): Mark Kerr lost to Grant Craig 2-3, Tristan Palmer bt Richard Aitken 3-0, Ashley Stevens lost to Peter Buscke 2-3, Chris Castle bt Janet Udy 2-0.

Fitness Zone Nelson lost to Marlborough 2 1-3 (4-10): Marcus Rose lost to Paul Roughan 1-3, Andrew Gourdie lost to Parvel Merta 0-3, Barry Roberts lost to Mickayla Kerr 2-3, Susan O'Connell bt Julia Craig 3-1.

Tasman Bay Nelson lost to Marlborough 3 1-3 (6-11): Peter Flynn (by default) 3-0, Brendon Monk bt Pete Heagney 3-2, Paaka Westrupp lost to Russell O'Flaherty 1-3, Jodie Rutherford lost to Dorothy Boyce 2-3.

Waimea Sawmillers Nelson bt Marlborough 4 2-2 (7-6): Scott Gibbons lost to Megan Craig 1-3, Michael Hughes bt Russell Lindsay 3-0, Reece O'Connell bt Simon Bamford 3-0, Kate Swanson lost to Adele Cuthill 3-0.

- © Fairfax NZ News