Silver medal for Andy Pringle in mixed doubles

For the third year running, Andy Pringle (playing with ex-Executioner Alex Steel) finished as runner-up in the National Winchester Fives mixed doubles championship.

The pair came through their pool matches with a 100% record to claim a semi-final spot. Here they had a tough match against two Bedford Modern pupils, but won through to the final – their sixth consecutive appearance in the final of this event.

Sadly, they weren’t able to add to their record three titles, undone by the strong left-/right-hand pairing of Ollie Arnold and Louise Mathias. Try as they might, Andy and Alex couldn’t find a way past their opponents and went down fighting, losing 15-8, 15-8.

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Narrow loss to the Jesters

The club had a very enjoyable clash with a Jesters side organised by ex-Executioner Rupert Mathieu last night. In fact, the only disappointment about the whole thing was that we lost, albeit only narrowly.

After several days of discussion over email between the two captains, the Executioners were represented by Andy Pringle, Ewan Townshend, Jon Peterson and Dick Warner, who was subbed by the visiting Bhaswar Baral after the first round of games. The Jesters, meanwhile, included Executioners Richard Bridge and Penn Chai, alongside Rupert and Rod Oscroft.

Playing with the very fast new French ball, the games were fast, frenetic and very keenly contested. And played in a great spirit, of course.

The club’s top pair, Andy and Ewan, managed to tame the flying ball effectively and won four of their games – although only just in a couple of cases. Ewan, in particular, belied his relative youth with a very mature performance. However, the second pair had more trouble and weren’t able to win a game; and, what secured the match for the Jesters was that the difference in the winning margins. The Executioners’ first pair won more narrowly than the second pair lost.

That said, the outcome of the match wasn’t as important as the enjoyment had by everyone involved. Especially when Dick got the first post-match round in at The Bridge!

RESULTS

Results (Jesters first):

R Mathieu & R Oscroft bt R Warner & J Peterson 15-8, 15-6; lost to A Pringle & E Townshend 7-15, 10-15

P Chai & R Bridge lost to A Pringle & E Townshend 13-15, 7-15; bt B Bharal (Warner retired, pride hurt) & J Peterson 15-8, 15-2

Overall: Jesters bt Executioners 97-84pts

Great performance in National Club Championship

The club put up a truly impressive showing in the National Club Championship today, reaching the semi-finals, where they only lost to the multiple champions, the Old Paulines.

Represented by Richard Bridge, Ben Hale, Tom Webster and Penn Chai, they scored a notable win over the Old Blues (from Christ’s Hospital) in the quarter-finals. It was a close and hard-fought match, but remarkably the Executioners took a lead in the singles and never lost it.

Sadly, the semi against the Paulines was rather less successful, but it was an enjoyable match. And, most importantly, all four players could emerge with their heads held high.

Second national title for Alex Steel

The club is delighted to report that former member Alex Steel has won her second national title of the season. At Bradfield College last weekend, she and partner Maddy Raynor won the Ladies National Winchester Fives doubles title – adding that to the Rugby Fives title they won earlier this year.

Next challenge for both will be the Winchester Fives Mixed Doubles championship in May – in which Alex will be partnering Andy Pringle.

Club nights back on

Following a short Easter break, our regular Wednesday club nights are back on again from April 18th. We’ll then be playing right through to the end of June, meaning that our final session of this season will be on June 27th.

 

Andy Pringle retains National Veterans title

Andy Pringle and Conrad Davies both made the journey to Marlborough College for the ever-enjoyable National Veterans’ championships – although both only played in the doubles.

Sadly, Conrad’s original partner had to withdraw, but a new partner was found and they won through to the quarter-finals – where they had to face Andy, who was defending the title he had won with John Minta for the last two years.

Sadly for Conrad, although John was injured and unable to play, Andy had found a more than adequate replacement: multiple champion Hamish Buchanan. And, so the resulting match went according to the seedings, with top seeds Andy and Hamish winning through – and then going on to reach the final.

That was a match against local heroes Tom Kiggell and Jim Hughes, and it was the best match of the day, with guile, power and great sportsmanship on show from both pairs.

There wasn’t much to choose between the pairs, but in each of the final’s two games, Tom and Jim suffered a crucial lapse in concentration, during which they conceded a run of five or six points.

That allowed Andy and Hamish to secure decent leads in both games, which they never looked like losing. In the end, they won 15-7, 15-7, securing a third successive title for Andy – and a sixth for Hamish.

Dates of Easter break confirmed

The club’s hosts, St Paul’s School, have confirmed that the school’s Sports Centre will close from Good Friday until Sunday 15th inclusive.

This means that the last Executioners session of this term will be Wednesday March 28th, with the first session of the Summer term taking place on April 18th.

For those of you planning ahead, the centre will then stay open until Friday 29th June, meaning the final session of this academic year will be on Wednesday June 27th. All being well, the club’s singles and doubles championships will have been completed by then.

Fingers crossed…!!!