Squash: National title perfect finale for stalwart

Members of the Hawke's Bay Squash Club's C grade men's team which along with the Havelock North C grade women won national titles for the Bay last week. Photo/Duncan Brown

Hawke's Bay squash payer Kathy McLachlan got the perfect farewell from the playing ranks last weekend.

McLachlan, 60, was unbeaten at No 5 for the Havelock North C grade team which won their four-day national tournament with a clean sheet at the Hawke's Bay club. It was a memorable tournament for Bay clubs as the host club won the men's title, also with an unbeaten run.

"Kathy had been to 22 of these national tournaments prior to this one over the years either as a player or coach and never got a title. She deserved this one after a really awesome job as player-coach," team manager Anna Nuku said.

"She was invaluable with the tips she passed on when coming down to our players between games. Although she decided to retire from playing after the tournament she will continue to coach," Nuku said.

Her team were the top seeds in the eight-team women's section and Nuku said the quality of McLachlan's training sessions as well as the commitment levels of the players were key factors in their success.

"The girls had a good attitude on and off the court. While they were all C grade at the cut off date in June by the time we got to tournament all but two were B grade," Nuku explained.

All of the team, apart from No 1 Jaicee Reed who had one loss in the final, were unbeaten. Havelock North recorded 5-0 victories in pool play against Red Star of Masterton, Devoy Squash Centre of Tauranga and Royal Oak of Auckland.

In their semifinal Havelock North beat Te Awamutu 4-0 and in their final Kamo of Whangarei 4-1. Nuku added most of her team will be aiming to play at the B grade nationals next year which are likely to be staged in the South Island.

The Hawke's Bay men were seeded seventh in their eight-team event. They beat Devoy Squash Centre 3-2, Whangarei 4-1 and Whanganui 3-2 in pool play before beating Kapiti 3-2 in their semifinal and Cambridge 3-2 in their final.

Coach Kevin Corkery was unable to attend most of their fixtures because of work commitments.

"We were grateful our club's A grader, Cameron Jamieson, was able to coach them. I made the odd match but let him carry on with the coaching for continuity and just helped out where I could," Corkery said.

"What made our win more remarkable was the fact two of our players [No 4 Jarrod McCarthy and No 6 Tamati Hohaia-Hall] were unavilable for the final because they had a funeral in Taumarunui," Corkery said.

While No 2 Sam Neil was unbeaten during the tournament Corkery pointed out two outstanding comebacks were crucial to the title success. In the last game of the semifinal No 3 Blake Knox was 2-0 down before fighting back to win 3-2 and secure the hosts their final berth.

In the final No 5, 16-year-old Isaac Pilcher, was 2-0 down before clawing back to win 3-2 in the second match to keep the team's final hopes alive.

"We were lucky Sam [Neil] won the fourth match in the final because with Jarrod and Tamati away we were never going to win the last match. Our No 7 Sam Fletcher was a C2 grader and he was up against a B2 grader," Corkery explained.

Going into the tournament three of the team, No 1 Taine Williams, Neil and Knox, were B graders.

"Most of the team will be B grade next year. If they are all keen we would love to take them to B grade nationals next year," Corkery added.

The title winning teams were:
Havelock North women: Jaicee Reed, Tina Rangi, Alisha Kinnear, Calliope Coleman, Kathy McLachlan (Player-Coach), Zara Evans, Juanita Eagle. Anna Nuku (Manager).
Hawke's Bay men: Taine Williams, Sam Neil, Blake Knox, Jarrod McCarthy, Isaac Pilcher, Tamati Hohaia-Hall, Sam Fletcher. Coaches: Kevin Corkery and Cameron Jamieson. Manager: Trevor Walker.