2022 NSW Junior Championships wrap

The New South Wales Junior Squash Championships ended with a bang as close-fought matches became a running theme for the finals.

Juniors from across the state as well as Queensland, Australian Capital Territory and South Australia descended on Coffs Harbour Squash and Swim Centre for the two-day event.

Riyo Kawabata collected her second State Age title in as many weeks, beating fellow Queenslander Abbey Boswell 3-0 in the U11 Girls final. It follows on from her win in the U11 Girls at the Queensland Junior Championships in late June.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Boardman won the U11 Boys beating Cooper Jones 3-0.

Madison Nargar had to dig deep against Emilia Scott to win the U13 Girls final. In a match that went to five games, two close matches saw Scott fight her way back into the match. 

It was a topsy-turvy final set as Nargar went up 3-1 before Scott drew it level with points going back-and-forth until 5-5. Nagar was then able to make five points before eventually hitting the winner to finish the match 3-2.

It was another five-game thriller as Henry Kross beat James Boswell for the U13 Boys title. Boswell took a 2-1 lead despite going down to Kross in the first game. Kross then managed to reel off games four and five to secure the title.

Sarbani Maitra came away with the U15 Girls title after beating Amber Taylor 3-0. It was Maitra's second State Age title in a fortnight after winning the U17 Girls Queensland Junior Championships.

Denver Field beat no.1 seed Connor Haberecht 3-1 in the U15 Boys final. Haberecht tried to make a comeback after winning the third game but Field was able to seal the title in the fourth.

In an all-brother final between James and Will Slade, it was a long one-hour battle for the U17 Boys title. As the top two seeds, the brothers were at either end of the draw and had not dropped a game on the way to the final.

It was hard to separate the two in the opening game, which went to 10-12 and saw Will get up first. From there, James took the second and third game in quick succession before Will got one back to level the match at 2-2.

With everything coming down to the final game, both brothers threw everything they had, but it was James who would come away with the title in a 3-2 victory.

Over in the U17 Girls Final, Emmy Lamb beat Sophie Simpson 3-0 for her third consecutive NSW State Age title. Lamb had previously won the U15 Girls in 2021 and 2020.

Shonna Coxsedge was dominant in the U19 Girls division, topping the group standings without losing a game. In the final, she came up against Ellie Thornhill, who she had already beaten that weekend.

Repeating their previous encounter, the Queenslander came away with a 3-0 win to take the title.

It was a hard-fought U19 Boys final, which lasted nearly an hour for Lockie Miller and Kenneth Lamb. Miller already had the upperhand in their match having won 3-0 over Lamb in the round-robin group stage and it didn’t take long for him to have the advantage again after winning the first game.

That momentum was short-lived as Lamb rattled off two consecutive (and close) 11-8 wins to go 2-1 up. Miller then turned the tables and sent it to a final game but Lamb got the advantage earlier on by building a comfortable 6-1 lead before taking the title 3-2.

For the full results, click here.

2022 NSW Junior Championship winners

U11 Girls - Riyo Kawabata
U11 Boys - Benjamin Boardman
U13 Girls -  Madison Nargar
U13 Boys -  Henry Kross
U15 Girls - Sarbani Maritra
U15 Boys - Denver Field
U17 Girls - Emmy Lamb
U17 Boys - James Slade
U19 Girls - Shona Coxsedge
U19 Boys - Kenneth Lamb