OKEHAMPTON’s squash teams both suffered home defeats in this week’s round of matches.

The first team played a Devon and Exeter Squash side that are currently flying high at the top of the league, boasting a 100% win record so far this season, and Oke were therefore always going to be up against it.

At string 5 Dan Yeoman lost 1-3, struggling to cope with his opponent’s variety of shot. At string 4 Justin Gliddon lost 1-3 as he struggled to move his opponent round. Despite being very close in all games Justin just lost out. 

Simon Ramsay at string 3 played some good squash, but came up against an opponent just too strong and with a good touch game, eventually losing 1-3. Phil Allin at string 2 suffered his first league defeat of the season, also experiencing a close match with some great rallies but eventually losing 1-3.

At string 1, Phil Kemsley was overcome by a stronger opponent, losing 0-3. So despite some really close matches, the team suffered their heaviest defeat of the season 0-5 in matches, 4-20 in points.

Okehampton’s second team played a Barnstaple side that have become their nemesis in recent seasons. The team were a match point away from taking the fixture but eventually went down to a narrow defeat.

At string 5 Jack Barkwell continued his run of victories, winning 3-1. At string 2 Stuart Lord recorded his first victory of the season - Stuart showed a return to form after struggling with a knee injury, also winning 3-1. Chris Elphick played some great squash at string 3 to surge into a 2-0 lead, and then had a couple of match points to take his tie. However, his stubborn opponent kept his nerve and recovered to win 3-2.

Shane Vallance at string 2 played in a fast and frenetic match, but lost out to a quicker and sharper opponent 0-3. At string 1 Shawn Jones played a wily opponent with an excellent touch at the front of the court, also going down 0-3. Therefore, the team eventually lost 2-3 in matches, only a match point away from reversing the scoreline. Both teams have no fixture scheduled for the coming week.