Masterful effort on debut

THE first Masters squash tournament held at the Mildura Sporting Precinct has exceeded expectations.

Both the tournament director and the president of the Victorian Masters Squash Association said the debut event ran smoothly and was well received by all attendees.

A total of 73 players entered across nine divisions, including five players from Loxton who made their Victorian Masters debut.

The Mildura Masters was added into this year’s Victorian Masters calendar, which consists of five tournaments hosted at various locations.

VMSA president Lou Morsch said the association doesn’t generally host tournaments at venues with only four squash courts, but were glad to make an exception for Mildura.

“The success of the weekend has been something that is beyond our expectation, which is great,” he said.

“We felt that with just only four squash courts, 60-65 players would be enough so we’ve exceeded expectation with the interest of the first tournament here in Mildura.”

Tournament director Darren O’Neill said many of the entrants were from Melbourne, and had jumped at the chance to travel beyond their usual circuit.

“We had a lot of people from Melbourne really wanting to come here just to support (Mildura Squash president) Kevin Healy because of what he’s given back to squash, and how many times he has travelled down the road to Melbourne or country Victoria to play a tournament,” he said.

“I wasn’t sure what would happen because of the distance, because normally we would only drive one hour to three hours approximately, so to come six to seven hours, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but it’s worked out really well.”

Section 1 featured world masters champion Peter Gilbee as the top seed, while a range of Mildura players featured across a range of the sections in support of the event.

Two Mildura players made the finals of their sections, Gary Callaway finished runner-up in Section Two, and Adam Stephens won Section Three.

The organisers were pleased with the quality of the courts, and suggested the venue needed minor tweaks, including adjusting the brightness of the lighting fixtures, and providing better timing settings and warmer water for the showers.

“We haven’t made a commitment to come back just yet but we’ll discuss that after the tournament,” Mr Morsch said.

“I’d say by the interest here there’d be a good opportunity to come back in the future.”

Mr O’Neill said players from four states took part in the event, and had made the most of their visit to the region, staying several nights prior to and beyond the event.

“I think overall, what Kevin and his committee have done for this tournament has been exceptional,” he said.

“Until next time, we’ll definitely be back here in Mildura”

Results – Mildura players in bold

Section 1

Winner: Peter Gilbee

Runner-up: David Kempster

Third/Special plate winner: Matt Howard

Plate winner: Darren Nagel

Consolation plate winner: Adrian Fox

Section 2

Winner: David Zeman

Runner-up: Gary Callaway

Third/Special plate winner: Paul Takacs

Plate winner: Greg Murphy

Consolation plate winner: Mick Dyke

Section 3

Winner: Adam Stephens

Runner-up: Michael Boatman

Third/Special plate winner: Geoff Chambers

Plate winner: Michael Adamson

Consolation plate winner: Mark Cash

Section 4

Winner: Clem Viney

Runner-up: Andrew Meredith

Third/Special Plate winner: Dan Korn

Plate winner: Bruce Burns

Consolation plate winner: Lou Morsch

Section 5

Winner: Greg Duncan

Runner-up: Janine Eedy

Third/Special Plate: Martin Gunn

Plate winner: Jeanette Vear

Consolation plate winner: Joe Princiotta

Section 6

Winner: John De Leijer

Runner-up: Craig Todd

Third/Special plate winner: Paul Atkins

Plate winner: James Bowker

Consolation plate winner: John Drummond

Section 7

Winner: Leanne Haley

Runner-up: Mal Rubinich

Third/Special plate: Tim Noack

Plate winner: Marek Habsuda

Consolation plate winner: Allison Gilbert

Section 8

Winner: Lynette Woodyard

Runner-up: Geoff Morley

Third/Special plate winner: Alira Baker

Plate winner: Jeff Marr

Consolation plate winner: Paul Frost

Section 9

Winner: Ian Wyatt

Runner-up: Vic Stafford

Third/Special plate winner: Cheryl Gilbee

Plate winner: Henry Pastuszka

Consolation plate winner: Bryce Simpson