From WTT Star Contender London to BATTS of Harlow, Larry Trumpauskas and Ella Pashley were the winners of the Under-21 National Cup.
Trumpauskas swept everyone ahead of him to win the men’s title with a perfect record of nine wins, while Pashley was only beaten by Anna Green as she took the women’s trophy.
Jakub Piwowar and Max Radiven – who also competed at the Copper Box Arena earlier this week, won silver and bronze respectively in the men’s event.
Eva Eccles and Rachael Iles joined Pashley on the podium, ahead of Sienna Jetha and Mabel Shute after a four-player countdown.
Final positions
Women: Lawenter Foleley, 2 Eva Ecles, 3 and Syen Sinna Jetha, 5 Zit Zit, 6 Anna Green,
Gentlemen: 1 Larry Trumpauskas, 2 Jakub Piwowar, 3 Max Radiven, 4 Isaac Kingham, 5 Krish Chotai, 6 Abraham Sellado, 7 Rohan Dani, 8 Gabriel Schogger, 9 Kacper Piwowar, 10 Wajid Wafiq
Day one
Trumpauskas and Pashley were undefeated at the end of a day that saw some competitive matches and close results, particularly in the girls’ competition, where eight matches went to a decider – double the number in the boys’.
There were three in the first round alone, with Alyssa Nguyen coming from 2-1 down to beat Anna Green, Mabel Shute also recovering from a 2-1 deficit against Rebecca Savage, and Eva Eccles staving off a comeback from Rachael Iles to win 11-6 in the fifth. Ella Pashley and Sienna Jetha both won 3-0 against Jonabel Taguibao and Saskia Key respectively.
Taguibao got off to a good start in the second round, 11-8 in the fifth against Savage. There was also a first win for Iles, in four over Shute, while Jetha pushed to beat Nguyen in five.
Eccles maintained her unbeaten run with a 3-2 (10-12, 11-4, 4-11, 11-7, 11-8) win over Jetha in round three, but she was defeated by Pashley in the fourth round – the same stage in which Green secured a late first victory, 3-1 over Savage.
Key and Savage remained scoreless after day one, although they both came very close in the final round of the day, with Key losing 3-2 (11-9, 11-8, 10-12, 8-11, 11-4) to Eccles and Savage who were defeated by Jetha – 3-2 (11-6, 6-11, 12-10, 10-12, 12-10), the score therein one.
In the boys’ first round, Jakub Piwowar and Max Radiven played a 3-2 (11-8, 11-6, 7-11, 9-11, 12-10) in favor of the former. Larry Trumpauskas defeated Krish Chotai 3-1, it was the same scoreline for Rohan Dani against Gabriel Schogger and for Isaac Kingham against Kacper Piwowar, while Abraham Sellado defeated Wajid Wafiq – who replaced Joseph Hunter in the starting lineup and took over Hunter’s No. 2 seed position, in three.
Trumpauskas had one of his biggest tests in the second round, beating Sellado 3-2 (9-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-6, 11-3). Radiven got his first win, in three against Kingham, and Schogger also got off the mark by beating Wafiq.
Kacper Piwowar’s first win came in round three, over Wafiq, while Chotai’s first win came courtesy of a 3-2 (8-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8) scoreline against Sellado.
Radiven defeated Dani in the fifth after trailing 2-1, meaning nine of the ten athletes already had at least one win and only Trumpauskas remained undefeated after three rounds – how is that an indication of a competitive cohort?
Rounds 4 and 5 were actually relatively uneventful, with only three matches going beyond a third game and all of them being played in four. It left Trumpauskas in clear water at the top after day one, with Jakub Piwowar winning 4/5.
Day two
Eccles kept her medal hopes alive in the first round on Sunday as she eased past Nguyen 12-10 in the fifth – and she also had a victory in the decider in round seven, coming from 2-1 down to beat Taguibao 3-2 (8-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9).
In the same round, Jetha had an even better fight to beat Groen 3-2 (5-11, 10-12, 12-10, 11-8, 11-6).
Pashley remained impeccable, but that record was lost in round eight, when Green put in her best performance of the competition, winning 3-1 (12-14, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9).
Shute’s 3-2 (10-12, 11-9, 13-11, 7-11, 15-13) win over Eccles put her in the medal picture – both had match points.
In the final round, Pashley defeated Jetha 3–0 (7, 5, 7) to take the title – Jetha would have won gold with the win, but ended up with nothing as the defeat dropped her to fourth place.
Eccles’ win in four over Savage confirmed silver and Iles’ win in three against Nguyen sealed bronze, with Shute also missing despite beating Taguibao.
In the men’s category, Trumpauskas had a crucial look and feel against Piwowar senior (Jakub) at the start of the second day, and it went the distance. Trumpauskas fought back from 2-1 down to win 3-2 (11-6, 6-11, 5-11, 11-7, 12-10) to take a big step towards gold.
Radiven had an even better comeback, turning his match against Sellado from two down – the final score 3-2 (6-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-6) in favor of the southpaw. Schogger, meanwhile, won a see-saw match with Kacper Piwowar 3-2 (11-8, 4-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8).
Radiven had another 3-2 victory in round seven, defeating Schogger (11-5, 7-11, 11-2, 5-11, 11-8). Jakub Piwowar defeated Sellado and Trumpauskas defeated Kingham, both 3-1, to continue their medal campaigns.
The top two had a tougher time in round eight as Trumpauskas held off a comeback from Rohan Dani to win 3-2 (14-12, 12-10, 7-11, 7-11, 11-4). Piwowar’s 3-2 was against Schogger, who came from behind to win 12-14, 12-10, 8-11, 11-5, 11-8). Radiven’s 3-0 win over Kacper Piwowar sealed the bronze as it meant he could not be overtaken by Kingham regardless of the final round results.
Radiven even lost 3-2 (13-11, 14-12, 6-11, 9-11, 11-8) to Chotai and Kingham was also beaten – 3-2 (11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9) by Schogger. Piwowar versus Piwowar was won by Jakub in three, while Trumpauskas completed his perfect weekend by beating Wafiq in three.
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