Squash
Pearson stars on national stage

CHLOE PEARSON finished runner-up in the under 19 age groups at the English National Championships which were held in Surrey.

The 17-year-old Kenilworth Squash Club star had previously reached the final in the under 13, under 15 and under 17 age groups and was seeded No 4 in the higher age group.

Pearson started powerfully by brushing aside Annie Openshaw-Blower from Cheshire 3-0 and followed up by comfortably beating Hannah Crichton of Cumbria in three straight games.

It set up a semi-final clash against Georgina Ingham (Surrey) in which Pearson won the opening two games. She narrowly lost the third game but sealed victory with a convincing 11-3 success in the fourth game.

Pearson faced fellow England player and top seed Victoria Temple-Murray from Devon in the final but went down 3-0.

Pearson performed above her ranking at this National tournament and has one more year to achieve the ultimate title before she moves out of the junior ranks.

She is the No 4 ranked under-19 player in the country and plays for both the adult mens and ladies teams at Kenilworth, where she is coached by Steve Townsend as part of his elite junior squad which is, arguably, one of the strongest junior sections in the country.

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