De Rycke, Delasaux Win Euro Jrs
April 8, 2004 © 2004 by Howard Harding

Delasaux & De Rycke Win European Titles

England's Laurence Delasaux and Belgium's Charlie De Rycke lived up to their top seedings in the 2004 European Junior (U19) Individual Squash Championships by claiming the men's and women's titles, respectively, in Herentals, Belgium.

Delasaux, the two-times British Junior National champion from Yorkshire, cruised to victory in his second successive appearance in the final, beating surprise opponent Mathieu Castagnet, a 9/12 seed, 9-2 9-3 9-1.

Giant-killer Castagnet, a 17-year-old Frenchman, had reached the final after removing both second-seeded compatriot Yann Perrin and England's 3/4 seed Chris Simpson in tough five-game upsets in the previous two rounds.

Delasaux, an 18-year-old from Hull who went through the tournament without dropping a game, joins a distinguished group of Englishmen who have won the men's title, including Peter Marshall, Paul Johnson and Adrian Grant, as well as county team-mates James Willstrop and Lee Beachill.

Charlie de Rycke became the first ever Belgian winner of the women's title after a revenge match with 3/4 seed Emma Beddoes in which the Englishwoman, who beat her at last year's quarter-final stage, took the local star the full distance.

Beddoes, the 18-year-old British Junior National champion from Warwick, fought back from 0/2 down to level the match - but de Rycke, who celebrates her 17th birthday on Saturday, refocused to take the title with an impressive 9-4 10-8 2-9 2-9 9-2 victory over her older opponent.

RESULTS: European Junior (U19) Individual Squash Championships, Herentals, Belgium

Men's final:
[1] Laurence Delasaux (ENG) bt [9/12] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 9-2, 9-3, 9-1

Women's final:
[1] Charlie De Rycke (BEL) bt [3/4] Emma Beddoes (ENG) 9-4, 10-8, 2-9, 2-9, 9-2

Men's semi-finals:
[1] Laurence Delasaux (ENG) bt [3/4] Tom Richards (ENG) 9-2, 9-0, 9-1
[9/12] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt [3/4] Chris Simpson (ENG) 3-9, 4-9, 10-9, 9-1, 9-6

Women's semi-finals:
[1] Charlie De Rycke (BEL) bt [5/6] Georgina Stoker (ENG) 9-0, 9-7, 9-5
[3/4] Emma Beddoes (ENG) bt [7/8] Kirsty McPhee (ENG) 9-4, 10-9, 9-1

Men's 3rd round:
[1] Laurence Delasaux (ENG) bt Fabien Verseille (FRA) 9-1, 9-4, 9-2
[9/12] James Wright (ENG) bt [7/8] Michael Frilund (DEN) 9-4, 9-3, 9-3
[5/6] Simon Roesner (GER) bt [9/12] Gustav Detter (SWE) 9-4, 9-6, 9-5
[3/4] Tom Richards (ENG) bt [13/16] Jens Schoor (GER) 3-9, 9-5, 10-8, 9-6
[3/4] Chris Simpson (ENG) bt Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
[5/6] Rik Smet (BEL) bt Victor Sebastian (SWE) 9-5, 10-8, 9-0
[9/12] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt [7/8] Rob Sutherland (WAL) 9-3, 9-2, 9-3
[2] Yann Perrin (FRA) bt [13/16] Matthias Maierhofer (GER) 9-6, 9-5, 6-9, 9-5
Quarter-finals:
[1] Laurence Delasaux (ENG) bt [9/12] James Wright (ENG) 9-0, 9-1, 9-4
[3/4] Tom Richards (ENG) bt [5/6] Simon Roesner (GER) 9-7, 6-9, 9-5, 9-4
[3/4] Chris Simpson (ENG) bt [5/6] Rik Smet (BEL) 9-4, 9-6, 9-5
[9/12] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt [2] Yann Perrin (FRA) 9-4, 7-9, 9-1, 9-10, 10-8

Women's quarter-finals:
[1] Charlie De Rycke (BEL) bt [7/8] Rachel Willmott (ENG) 9-2, 9-3, 9-4
[5/6] Georgina Stoker (ENG) bt [3/4] Orla Noom (NED) 9-5, 9-6, 9-4
[3/4] Emma Beddoes (ENG) bt [9/12] Lauren Gray (SCO) 9-7, 9-4, 9-7
[7/8] Kirsty McPhee (ENG) bt [2] Margaux Moros (ESP) 10-8, 10-8, 10-8

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