Tauranga squash club wins elite honour

HISTORY MADE: The winning Cousins Shield team from Devoy Squash & Fitness Centre. PHOTO: Supplied

Devoy Squash & Fitness Centre made history over Queen's Birthday weekend claiming the elite Cousins Shield Trophy for the first time.

The Cousins Shield is the premier club team event for men and was last won by a Bay of Plenty club in 1988. The competition involves teams of five including one international player.

Seeded fifth in the tournament, the Devoy team featured a strong lineup including three of the Oakley brothers Alex, Josh and Jamie, Ben Grindrod, Sean Dykes and international import from Australia Josh Larkins.

"This win is absolutely amazing, the boys have worked hard and had some spectacular performances. We weren't expected to win, but we believed we could and we've done it," coach John Oakley said.

"This means a lot to the team and also our club. This is one to celebrate."

The opening encounter saw Devoy Squash outplaying Christchurch Squash & Football Club 5-0 before they upset reigning champions Squashways (Christchurch) in a thrilling 3-2 win to claim a spot in the semifinals.

Jamie Oakley had the match of his life taking down A1 player Oliver Johnston in a tight fought 3-1 win (9/11, 11/9, 11/9, 12/10) and move Oakley into the higher A1 elite status.

Taking on the top seeds Whangarei Squash Club in the semifinals, Devoy took a good lead with wins from Ben Grindrod against Luke Jones and Jamie Oakley scalping another A1 player Michael Sunderland 3/1.

It was Josh Oakley who secured the team's finals spot with a win over Brent Lewis 3/0 in a fine performance by the younger player with clinical backhand drops and smart shot selection.

Second seeds Herne Bay were not about to hand the title to Devoy in the final in front of a packed home crowd.

Chris Lloyd beat Jamie Oakley 3-2 before Josh Oakley matched up against Ed Dromgool. Oakley took the first game 15/13 with an emotional fist pump and went on to win 3-1.

Next up was Josh Larkin taking on Welshman Peter Creed, ranked 60 in the world, for Herne Bay. Creed took the first two games and looked set to take the match but Larkin came back to claim a thrilling match 3-2.

Ben Grindrod took the court against Herne Bay's George Crosby Grindrod and cleaned him up 3-0 to clinch the title for the Devoy team and make history.

This is great achievement for the club which has a busy calendar ahead this year, hosting the World Junior Squash Championships in July and the NZ Doubles Championships in September.