Super Sophia claims fifth spot at Squash Silver tournament

For Sophia John it was her last tournament at U13 level before moving up to the U15s and she finished in some style chalking up her best result, fifth, at this level of event.

Her club-mates Lily and Natalie Main also performed credibly too.

John had a bye which meant she avoided any potential banana skins in Friday’s qualifying round, however, the Main sisters were not in such a position.

Lily played the best she has ever done to beat Warwickshire’s Natalie Samir.

Her 3-1 win was especially impressive after losing the first game 19-17.

Natalie Main faced Suffolk’s Emma Logan and having never dropped a game to her before was expecting it to be a comfortable win, however, it was anything but as she struggled home 3-1.

Saturday started well for John as she blasted Hampshire’s Florence Kesley off the court in very short order to reach the quarter-finals.

The Main sisters took on much higher ranked opponents. For Lily it was Hampshire’s Olivia Besant, who was simply too strong for the Luton girl.

Natalie faced Essex’s Hannah Morley and although threatened a huge shock early on, winning the first 11-4, she couldn’t maintain that form and eventually lost 3-1.

Next up for John was the highly talented Amalie Haworth from Hampshire.

While John lost 3-0, she performed infinitely better than their previous clash at the British Junior Open.

Lily Main faced Kent’s Lottie Hill in her next match, but too many unforced errors cost her dear as she lost 3-0.

Her younger sister faced Surrey’s Amy Faergemann, recovering from a 6-0 deficit in the first, to win 3-0.

In Sunday’s fixtures, John faced Hannah Morley, having never beaten her before.

The day was to be John’s this time as she won handsomely 3-0 to take her place in the fifth/sixth play off place.

A withdrawal meant that Lily had a bye in her penultimate round, whereas Natalie faced Florence Kersley.

The pair had another titanic battle as the Luton youngster lost and had to play off for 11th/12th place.

John again faced an opponent who she had never beaten in the shape of Cheshire’s Lauren Hall as she hit back from losing the first to win 3-1 and take fifth overall.

Natalie Main took care of Lottie Hill in straight games, whilst Lily finished with a tournament best placing beating Faergemann 3-1.

Next up for the girls will be the English National Championships in Birmingham later this month.