BSPA Ilkley
I won Ilkley last year and thought it was a nice tournament. It also fits in well for a few matches before the Irish Open and the Europeans.1st round on Friday 17th I played Claire Kidd from Scotland. I had been on National squad all day and even though I felt ok I wasn't sure how I would play. I warmed up and just thought about enjoying it and not getting stressed. I tried to play a few shots and I think the pace was higer than what Claire was used to. I won fairly easily 11.4, 11.1, 11.0.
In the Quarter finals on Saturday I played Deon Saffery at 10.30am. I played quite well and Deon played well especially in the first couple of games. I won 11.9, 11.8, 11.1. The semi was at 4pm against Sarah Kippax. I did feel alittle tired in my legs from the last few days but managed to do enough to get through the match. The second was tight and I managed to sneek it 12-10 but I thought I played tactically right and managed a 3-0 win. There was an upset in the other semi. Dom Lloyd walter beat Madeline Perry 12-10 in the 5th. So unexpectedly I play Dom in the final at 1pm tomorrow.
Finals day. I drove over to the club for 12.30pm. The match started almost on time at 1pm. The match went well from my point of view. After the 1st I had to calm myself down. I was hitting the ball hard abit pointlessly but managed to win the game 11-6. The second was tougher. Dom was steady and my length wasn't penatrating enough. I managed to get the game even though it was longer than the 1st, 11-9. The third was tight until about 6-6 and I felt I wasn't getting much touch. My volley drops were high and coming deep. Something clicked after I became aware of it and I sat in a few volley drops and good lengths and managed to close out the game pretty quickly 11-8. Pleased to have another titile at Ilkley and qualify for the BSPA Finals in Jersey at the beginning of September!