Epsom’s U16 V faced a tough group in Stage 1 of the National Schools competition, including a very strong St Paul’s side. Both Epsom and St Paul’s beat Reed’s, the third team in the group, comfortably.
Against Reed’s, Epsom’s fourth seed, Fraser Spalding (Fa) was particularly impressive, winning all three games 11-0. Meanwhile, second seed Luke Camfield (GH) only dropped one point and third seed Ronnie Hickling (Wa) dropped four.
The fixture against St Paul’s was very close. Epsom won three of the five matches in games, Stan Tanguy (G) and Luke Camfield (GH) winning 3-0, and Ronnie Hickling (Wa) 2-1. Fraser Spalding (Fa) and Ollie King (Rn) battled hard, both losing 0-3 but picking up lots of points.
Although Epsom won more matches than St Paul’s, the final positions in the group were determined by the overall number of points won. St Paul’s came first, with 300 points, with Epsom a narrow second on 291 points, ahead of Reed’s on 76 points.
The first two teams from the group qualify for the next round, so Epsom will now progress to Stage 2 of the competition.
Player of the match was Stan Tanguy (G), who won both his matches in straight games at first seed.
