Squash: Title wins for Owens, Wilson

4.30pm

Carol Owens and Glen Wilson claimed comprehensive wins in the singles finals at the national squash championships in Auckland today.

World No 1 Owens showed she's in great form ahead of next month's British Open by crushing 15th-ranked Shelley Kitchen 9-1 9-1 9-2.

It is Owens' second national title, after she also won last year.

Wilson picked up the men's title for the third time in his career by upsetting defending champion Daniel Sharplin 9-1 9-4 9-1.

Wilson won his last national title in 1991.

Owens and Wilson could add another title to their collections when the teams event starts tomorrow.

Auckland are favoured to win the women's event with Owens playing at No 1, while Wilson's Wellington side are favoured to win the men's crown.

Results (prefix denotes seeding):-

Women's final: 1-Carol Owens (Auckland) bt 2-Shelley Kitchen (Northland) 9-1 9-1 9-2.

Third place playoff: 3-Tamsyn Leevey bt 4-Sarah Cook (Canterbury) 3-9 9-1 7-9 9-3 10-8.

Men's final: 3-Glen Wilson (Wellington) bt 1-Daniel Sharplin (Midlands) 9-1 9-4 9-1.

Third place playoff: 2-Kashif Shuja (Auckland) bt 4-Callum O'Brien (Auckland) 5-9 9-5 9-5 9-4.

- NZPA