Squash and Tennis

Hambleton Ales North Yorkshire League

Bedale have emerged as front runners in the First Division. They underscored a winning start to the season with a 3-0 victory over Wensleydale. The win gives Bedale 24 points, 12 ahead of nearet challengers Northallerton and Harrogate Squash II.

Highlight of the clash came when Bedale's Dave Smiley pressed the comeback kid button to defeat Robert Dent 3-2 after losing the first two games.

Scores Bedale 3 Wensleydale 0 (Bedale names first) Phil Martin beat Keith Parlour 9-6, 1-9, 9-5, 9-7; Dave Smiley beat Robert Dent 3-9, 5-9, 9-6, 9-4, 9-5; Alan Peirson beat Richard Phillips 7-9, 9-7, 9-4, 9-6.

Division One: Bedale 3 (Phil Martin, Dave Smiley, Alan Peirson) Wensleydale 0.

Division Two: RAF Leeming 2 (Steve Grant, Phil Hopkins) Harlow II 1 (Peter Craddock); Thirsk 2 (Paul Goacher, Steve Lacey) Knaresborough II 1 (Adrian Forge); Thirsk II 3 (Steve Snodgrass, Steve Whiteley, Nigel Laws) Wensleydale III 0.

Division Three: Pateley Bridge II 1 (Chris Lennox) Harrogate Squash III 2 (Adam Hughes, Andy Winspeare); Knaresborough III 1 (Phil Smelt) Boroughbridge 2 (Stuart Rennison, Malcolm Cotton); Harrogate Squash V 0 Harrogate Squash IV 3 (Ian Simmons, Karen Leake, Duncan Hill).

Kall Kwik Harrogate and District League

Mum-in-a-hurry Nicola Pratt finished off her First Division squash match in near record breaking time. The high speed clash was wrapped up in just 16 minutes so she could dash home and meet a baby sitter's deadline. Pratt's 9-1, 9-1, 9-0 win in the Kall Kwik Harrogate and District Squash League over Otley's Chris Lawton was one of the quickest on record this season.

League fixture secretary Dave Cockle said: "It was a pretty hectic match, but quite obviously influenced by the baby sitting factor."

Pratt's victory helped Harrogate Squash take a 3-0 win, the other victories coming from Tony Nowakowski and his son Adam.

Scores Harrogate Squash 3 Otley 0 (Harrogate names first): Tony Nowakowski beat Matt Wood 9-5, 10-8, 9-3; Nicola Pratt beat Chris Lawton 9-1, 9-1, 9-0; Adam Nowakowski beat Steve Thackwray 9-7, 8-10, 9-3, 5-9, 9-2.

Adel, 3-0 winners over Collingham II, lead the First Division with three straight wins. Their latest victory against the Collingham side was achieved by victories from Mark Ambler, Sean Fleming and Jon Hodgson. Collingham first team kept their unbeaten run with a 2-1 home win against Chapel Allerton and are second in the table, edged out only on rubbers by Adel.

Collingham 2 Chapel Allerton 1 (Collingham names first); Nick Brown beat Nick King 3-9, 9-0, 9-6, 9-1; Paul Roberts beat Peter Ball 9-3, 2-9, 9-0, 6-9, 9-4; Anthony Kettlewell lost to Miles Gooseman 6-9, 5-9, 8-10.

League newcomers Bedale picked up their first win beating Knaresborough III 2-1 in Division Three. Victories by Andy Hawkswell and Mike Lumley secured lift off for Bedale. Hawkswell defeated Chris Robinson 9-6, 9-2, 9-6 while Lumley beat John Brennan 9-7, 7-9, 9-4, 9-3.

Boroughbridge player Stuart Rennison had that lonely feeling when he turned up for his side's match against Harlow III in Division Two. When two colleagues failed to arrive Rennison took to the court and defeated Barry Carter 9-8, 10-9, 9-5.

But with the missing Boroughbridge players still not on court Rennison had to concede two matches on their behalf.

Division One: Harlow 1 (Tom Ellis) Nomads 2 (Joe Wilson, Jonathan Round); Harrogate Squash 3 (Tony Nowakowski, Nicola Pratt, Adam Nowakowski) Otley 0; Adel 3 (Mark Ambler, Sean Fleming, Jon Hodgson) Collingham II 0; Collingham 2 (Nick Brown, Paul Roberts) Chapel Allerton 1 (Miles Gooseman).

Division Two: Harlow III 2 (walk-overs) Boroughbridge 1 (Stuart Rennison); Harrogate Squash IV 0 Harlow II 3 (James Hanaway, John Graham, Jonathan Pimley); Knaresborouhg 0 Ilkley II 3 (Jonty Hawkes, Phil Maunsell, Alan Cawood) Collingham III 2 (Andy Shaw, Dave Rushton) Moortown II 1 (Carl Knowles); Ilkley II 3 (John Pownall, Andy McGregor, Tom Songhurst) Knaresborough II 0; Otley II 0 Collingham IV 3 (Ed Dabrowski, John Simpson, Toby Morton).

Division Three: Moortown III 2 (Phil Maher, Mark Westmancoat) Moortown IV 1 (Martin Wilkinson); Army Foundation College 0 Boroughbridge II 3 (Phil Strong, Colin Leftly, Malcolm Cotton); Pateley Bridge 2 (Ben Bolton, Chris Lennox) Harlow IV 1 (Paul Fairhurst); Bedale 2 (Andy Hawkswell, Mike Lumley) Knaresborough III 1 (Andy McMillan); Harrogate Squash V 2 (Peter Crow, Ian Woodhead) Ripon 1 (Neil Jackson).

Brown Shipley Premier League

Tennis World, North-East champions in the Brown Shipley Premier League, had an easy 4-0 victory at home to Yorks at the start of the new indoor season in defence of their title.

Teenager Andrew Deeley teamed up with coach Mark Franklin in the absence of his usual partner Nick Osborne, now at university in the USA leaving Nigel Beavers to try with Richard Love. Each pair won two rubbers.

Tennis World Middlesbrough beat York 4 York 0. Andrew Deeley and Mark Franklin beat Gareth Adams and Graham Campbell 7-6 6-1, beat Paul Blackett and Peter Gooday 6-2 6-0. Nigel Beavers and Richard Love beat Adams and Campbell 6-3 6-4, beat Blackett and Gooday 6-0 6-2.

The Marton-based club can also call on the services of stalwart John Hudson, former Durham and Cleveland number one Brent Parker, a recent appointment and Newcastle resident Sean Dormer, once of Darlington. But they will need to beware Academy Harrogate who have strengthened this season's squad with the addition of Marius Bernard, a South African international player, Doncaster's Richard Oades and the Ilkley club pro Nick Fitzpatrick. Jason Torpey has joined David Lloyd Teesside, but top Yorkshire county pair Doug Keen and David Drake will be consistent performers as usual.

But under-strength Academy went down by three games in a 2-2 contest against Invicta Sunderland.

Academy Harrogate drew 2-2 with Invicta Sunderland 2 (34). David Drake and Doug Keen beat Adam Barratclough and Guy Galpin 6-1 6-4, beat Sean Galpin and Ainsley Kershaw 6-2 6-3.

Davie Brown and Rob Taylor lost to Barratclough and Galpin 0-6 2-6, lost to Galpin and Kershaw 1-6 4-6.

David Lloyd Teesside started with a 3-1 home win over league newcomers North Yorkshire, a collection of players from a number of small clubs, including Great Ayton and Nunthorpe.

Yarm found fancied side Puma Sunderland a tough proposition away in Silksworth going down 3-1, but not before Mike Dixon and Ian Spears took one point with an impressive three sets win in almost two hours over Graeme Clarkson and Ian Lumley.

Steven Baker and Graham Fowler beat Mike Dixon and Ian Spears 6-2 6-2, beat Mark Anderson and Charles Hingley 6-2 6-0.

Graeme Clarkson and Ian Lumley lost to Dixon and Spears 6-7 6-0 2-6, beat Anderson and Hingley 7-5 6-3.

Brown Shipley League

It is a measure of the success of the infant North-East premier league that half of Britain's world ranked male players will be competing this season, as the indoor competition becomes a national event. In addition to the 16 teams involved in the North-East, for which Tennis World Middlesbrough are defending champions, will again be divisions in North West, Scotland and North Midlands. David Lloyd Derby were the overall winners of their four groups and could very well emerge as the first nationwide champions. Manager Nick Fulwood has collected together an array of young talent including Mark Hilton, ranked ten in Britain, Lee Childs (11), Simon Dickson (16) and James Nelson (19).