BOTH Okehampton squash teams suffered heavy defeats in last week’s fixtures, with the firsts losing in the cup to a strong Crediton side and the seconds travelling with a weakened team to Exeter Golf and Country and also experiencing a heavy defeat.

The firsts came up against a Crediton side made up of some Premier league squash players who play three divisions higher and although battling hard were eventually were outclassed by the better standard of player.

At string 5 Dan Yeoman lost 0-3 against a well seasoned campaigner, who used good variety to disrupt Dan’s game. Justin Gliddon at string 4 was also beaten 0-3 against a younger opponent who hit with good power and width. Simon Ramsay at string 3 played a good match, which saw some long rallies, although eventually losing 1-3.

Phil Allin at string 2 played well against a premier league player — almost pushing him into five games but losing 1-3, unlucky not to take the fourth game. Phil chased everything down and played some tight shots which caused his opponent to struggle.

Phil Kemsley at string 1 came up against a strong premier league player, who hit with great power, accuracy, and consistency, losing 0-3. So a 0-5 loss, 2-20 points loss and out of the cup.

In the league, the seconds did not quite perform to the level needed to compete. At string 5 Dave Harwood battled hard but could not wear down his persistent opponent, losing 1-3. Jack Barkwell at string 4 continued his good form with some excellent powerful squash. Jack consistently hit a good length, keeping his opponent under pressure, winning 1-3. At string 3, Chris Elphick went down in a match that was much closer than the 0-3 scoreline suggested. Elphink lost a tight final game and the match.

At string 1 and 2 both Shane Vallance and Stuart Lord — both playing up due to unavailability of Shawn Jones at string 1 — were overcome by strong opponents. Neither Shane nor Stuart could gain a foothold in the match, both losing 0-3. So a 1-4 loss, 4-18 points loss.