written by Kim Schramm. Photos Toni van der Kreek.
Day 3 was semi final day and there were very few shocks.
After the Round Robin matches in Group A and Group B of the Boys U11 age group the final will be played between two Brisbane boys. 2016 Australian Junior Open U11 Champion Benjamin Murray will be hoping to claim another title this year against Zane Wolpers.
The Boys U13 final will be between the top 2 seeds after Mackay’s BJ MacDonald (1) and Brisbane’s Luke Eyles (2) destroyed their opponents in the semi finals in straight.
#1 seed Ethan Stephenson takes on Mackay’s Wes Dyer (2) in the Boys U15 final. Stephenson took 28 minutes to dispose of Brisbane’s Lachlan Michel (4) in the semi final whilst Dyer needed 40 minutes to beat #3 seed Declan Cashman (Brisbane) 11-4, 8-11, 11-8, 11-5.
Declan Cashman diving vs Wes Dyer
Brisbane’s Nicholas Calvert (1) won comfortably against Gladstone’s David Turner (4) to take his place in the Boys U17 final. His opponent will be Rockhampton’s #2 seed Joel Arscott who was in menacing form disposing of Brisbane’s Ethan Stephenson 11-2, 11-5, 11-4 in a blistering 17 minutes.
Jon van der Kreek
Brisbane’s Jon van der Kreek (3) was in superb form knocking out Southern Region’s Lachlan Coxsedge (2) in 24 minutes 11-7, 11-0, 13-11 to set up a final test against #1 seed Alex Eustace (Brisbane).
Eustace was equally impressive beating Nicholas Calvert (4) 11-5, 11-7, 11-1 in 30 minutes.
The last time these two rivals met in a major championship was in Devonport at the Australian Junior Open this year. On that occasion Eustace beat Van der Kreek 11-4, 11-3, 11-9 to advance to the semi finals and ultimately win the AJO U19 title.
So van der Kreek will be hoping for a better performance in the final and push Eustace all the way.
The Mixed U21 final will be between the #2 seed Caleb Johnson (Warwick) and the #4 seed Connor McNeil (Brisbane) after #1 seed Jon van der Kreek withdrew from the event yesterday to concentrate on the Boys U19 semi final and final.
Brisbane’s Charlotte Stephenson looks set to win the Girls U11 round robin. She has already won her first 4 matches which included a 3-0 win against #2 seed Payton Douglas. Tomorrow she will face Mackay’s Kayce Hoani-Vincent (3) who has already lost to Payton Douglas.
In the Girls U13 event Brisbane girls Ella Burge (1) and Ashlyn Barclay (2) were once again in awesome form beating their opponents 3-0 in quick time. The final will be very interesting given both girls have been equally impressive reaching the final.
Hayley Hankinson
As expected #1 seed Mackenzie Sleep (Redcliffe PCYC) and #2 seed Hayley Hankinson will clash in the Girls U15 final. Sleep took 19 minutes to beat club mate Katie Davies whilst Hankinson needed 33 minutes to beat Brisbane’s Jayna Gill 11-8, 11-9, 12-10. This will be a keenly fought final.
Brisbane’s Taylor Jones (1) will be shooting for two titles when she competes in both the U17 and U19 Girls finals.
The #1 seed for both events Jones got past Brisbane’s Mackenzie Sleep (4) in the U17 event but it wasn’t plain sailing. Jones had to regroup after Sleep took the opening game 11-9. Even though Jones won the next 3 games 11-5, 11-9, 11-8 it took 63 minutes to shake off the challenge from Sleep. She will now face Zoe Lockton (7) in the 1 pm final after Locton beat Karissa Barclay in four.
Before the U17 final gets underway Jones will play Southern Region’s Skye Turner (3) in the Girls U19 final which is scheduled to commence at 10:20am.
Both Jones and Turner were impressive winning their U19 semi finals in smart time. Jones beat Kirby Gill (4) in three in 19 minutes whilst Turner beat Zoe Locton (7) in four in 23 minutes.
Brisbane players will dominate the presentation ceremony but local eyes will be hoping BJ MacDonald, Wes Dyer and Hayley Hankinson will put their best foot forward on finals day.
The Day 4 schedule for the finals excluding the Girls U11
9:00 AM Boys U15 Ethan Stephenson [1] and Wesley Dyer [2]
9:00 AM Boys U11 Benjamin Murray and Zane Wolpers
9:40 AM Girls U15 Mackenzie Sleep [1] and Hayley Hankinson [2]
10:20 AM Girls U19 Taylor Jones [1] and Skye Turner [3]
11:00 AM Girls U13 Ella Burge [1] and Ashlyn Barclay [2]
11:00 AM Boys U13 BJ MacDonald [1] and Luke Eyles [2]
11:00 AM Under 21 Connor McNeill [4] and Caleb Johnson [2]
11:40 AM Boys U17 Nicholas Calvert [1] and Joel Arscott [2]
1:00 PM Girls U17 Taylor Jones [1] and Zoe Lockton [7]
1:40 PM Boys U19 Alex Eustace [1] and Jon Van Der Kreek [3]
All #1 seeds look in very good form and will be very hard to beat.
Congratulations to selectors who seeded the Championship so well.
