Cunningham and Devoy give Rotorua club title double

Press, 15 September 1988, Page 48

Cunningham and Devoy give Rotorua club title double

PA Palmerston North The top men’s seed, Stephen Cunningham, had to fight hard to overcome the No. 2 seed, Glen Wilson, in a classic five-set final at the national squash championships yesterday. Cunningham took 80 minutes to win his third successive national title, 8-10, 5-9, 9-2, 9-7, 9-2, over a dogged Wilson who was playing in his first national final. It was a contrast to their previous encounter at Invercargill in the South Island championships when Cunningham beat Wilson in 16 minutes, dropping just one point. The world champion, Susan Devoy, won her sixth successive national women’s championship in more customary fashion with a 9-1, 9-6, 9-7 defeat

of the No. 2 seed, Joanne Williams, in 40 minutes. Devoy admitted to being a little testy after waiting through the men’s final and then being slightly winded when she and Williams came into contact during the second set.

Her win made it a title double for the Geyser City club in Rotorua. She ripped through the first set in no time, her lethal hitting forcing Williams into errors and leaving her stranded. The second was heading the same way until the collision when Williams was at last able to pick up the serve and Devoy began hitting into the tin or out of court. Williams, with some fine boasts clawed back from 7-0 down to 7-6 before Devoy finished her off.

The third set was punctuated with short rallies but Devoy continued to make most of the play, often catching Williams with crosscourt volleys. Devoy always kept a point ahead and won the match on the second match ball. Devoy is the first person to win six consecutive titles and has equalled Ann Stephens who won six between 1956 and 1963. Cunningham said Wilson gave him his hardest game against a resident New Zealander, apart from Ross Norman, this year. Only three players have won the men’s title more than Cunningham. He stormed to a 7-0 lead in the first set but Wilson staged a remarkable comeback to win it, 10-8. Wilson by then was running on confidence and peeled off the second

game with two brilliant shots into the nick. After winning the fourth game Cunningham played steady squash in the deciding set, drawing Wilson to the front then back into the corners and won, 9-2. Auckland’s Charmain Hayes was named the most improved woman player and Whakatane’s Paul Steel the most improved man. The teams events begin today with Bay of Plenty and Auckland expected to fight out the men’s and Auckland a clear favourite in the women’s. Other results.— Men’s open plate: Barry Matthews (Palmerston North) beat Brendan Murphy (Island Bay), 9-2, 6-9, 9-7, 9-5. Women’s third and fourth play-off: Donna Newton (Remura) beat Charmian Hayes (Eden Epsom), 9-6, 9-3, 9-3.