Squash: North youngsters fare well

Local squash sensation Natalie Sayes has had a formidable run in her recent events, with success in New Zealand and Australian competitions.

Junior squash players from Northland travelled to the chilly south during the school holidays to compete in the New Zealand Junior Open and the 2015 Oceania Junior Age Group competition.

First up was the New Zealand Junior Open in Timaru.

Finn Trimble, 16, who was seeded 13th in a 32 draw, played some impressive squash, beating the 3rd and 6th seeds on his way to the semifinals.

Unfortunately, he was unable to pull off another upset, going down to the experienced 2nd seed Scott Galloway from Wellington.

Abbie Palmer also placed 3rd in the Girls Open, coming across the strong Australian Lakeesha Rarere in the semifinal.

Abbie was unable to reverse the result of the final of the Australian Juniors the previous week, in which Rarere beat her to the title. Abbie bounced back to take to take out 3rd place comfortably against Kaitlyn Watts from Palmerston North.

From Timaru, it was on to the Oceania Age Group Championships in Invercargill - in contrast to last year's event, held on the Gold Coast in in the heat of January.

Young rising star and top seed Natalie Sayes was simply too strong for her competitors, reaching her final in style without dropping a set, and claiming the Oceania Under 11 Girls trophy.

This was an impressive end to the holidays for Natalie, as she had claimed the Australian Junior Open Under 11 title in Sydney two weeks previously.

The Australians sent a strong contingent of juniors to this event, especially in the Under 19 and Under 17 age groups.

Both the Boys and Girls under 19 titles were taken out by Australians. The small group of Northland players made a strong statement, with six top-eight finishes. Zoe Dykzeul was the giant killer, having only just moved up to the Under 17 age group.

The 7th seed stormed her way to the final, having a great win against the fancied 2nd seeded Australian to advance to the semifinals, where she faced fellow Northlander and 3rd seed MacKenzie Johnson.

Dykzeul claimed the silver medal, fighting hard in the final, but went down to Bay of Plenty player Nadia Hubbard.