U17 Nationals 2011

Good things come in 3's for the  U17 English Nationals champion



Rhys Walker - Warwickshire

 Warkwickshire’s Rhys Walker proved to be a triple threat, taking the title in 3 of the 5 disciplines on offer whilst Holly Smith of Durham did a ‘double in the doubles’ at the recent 2010-11 U17 English National Age Group Championships hosted by the Hertfordshire Sports Village.
Walker, justified his billing as top seed, by seeing off the challenge of Tom Wolfenden [Lancs] 21-16, 25-23 to claim the Boys Singles title for a 4th consecutive year – a feat he shares with England Number 1 and World Number 15 Rajiv Ouseph, who also holds the same accolade but at senior level.

Holly Smith - Durham

And that was just the start for Walker who paired up with regular partner Aaron Cheng [Surrey] to claim the Boys Doubles title - with a 22-20, 21-18 victory over Darren Adamson and Daniel Hatt - and then joined Holly Smith on court to take the Mixed Doubles title.
It was the second of two doubles crowns for Smith who, alongside Sophie Sankey, took the plaudits and trophy in the Girls Doubles event with a comprehensive 21-12, 21-13 win over Avon pairing of Lynniette Aung and Jessica Hopton.
Aung and Hopton, buoyed by individual successes at the U15 English National Age Group Championships, were the surprise package on show.

Chloe Birch - Yorkshire

Holly Smith didn’t have everything her own way, finding her charge to match Walker’s triple haul halted by Chloe Birch [Yorks]
in the Girls Singles final. Birch, who continues to go from strength to strength, bounced back from losing the first game to win a tight final 14-21, 21-17, 21-18.
It was 2nd year in a row that Smith has ended up on the wrong end of the scoreline at the final hurdle to finish as runner up.
Elsewhere and credits also go out to Tom Wolfenden who won through to two Finals and one Semi Final without success whilst Darren Adamson, finalist in the Boys Doubles, also reached the Semi Final stage in the Mixed Doubles and Boys Singles.
 
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For a full results service from the 2010-11 U17 English National Age Group Championships, click HERE