THE Carey Olsen Guernsey development programme team had a successful time at the recent David Lloyd Solihull Graded Tournament. ‘This was a very successful weekend,’ said the director of island squash, Peter Bridgeman.

‘The players really shone through and competed incredibly well against strong opposition. It really says a lot about the strength in depth of Guernsey squash that our development players can show such determination and record so many wins.

‘I would like to thank Carey Olsen for supporting this trip and giving the development squad a chance to test themselves in the UK.’

Graded tournaments see players who have not quite reached elite standard playing opponents who are of a similar standard to them, ensuring a fair and interesting match for all participants.

Arriving on the Friday, the busy weekend kicked off straightaway as the youngsters played a warm-up friendly match at the David Lloyd Club.

Impressively, all the players emerged winners from their games.

Saturday saw them facing two matches each at the Barnet Green Club.

Again all put in excellent performances, mainly recording victories over their counterparts.

The weekend culminated in the Solihull Graded Tournament on the Sunday with Guernsey represented in the F1, F2, C and D grades.

Jess Le Prevost, playing in the F2 event in her first off-island competition, overcame her initial nerves to see off her three opponents 2-0 to win her category.

In the F1 competition, Imogen Oldfield also took first place as she beat four other players 2-0.

Sarnians Shane Hudson and Tom Eulenkamp faced each other in the final of the E-grade competition, with Hudson fighting hard to beat his opponent 2-1 for the first time in competition.

The D grade saw three Guernsey representatives playing and they all put in great performances to dominate the group. John Laws showed good commitment to come from 2-0 behind in his first match to overcome Grace Talbot 3-2.

Laws then faced teammate Harry Martel, who after a first-round win of 3-2, was feeling confident and beat Laws 3-0 to take him to the final, where he met fellow Guernsey player Jacques Ogier.

Ogier reached the final after seeing off his rivals 3-2 and 3-0 and his great form continued as he beat Martel to win the group.

In the C grade, Zak Parsons and Mark Le Conte were drawn against each other in the first round.

The boys took the game to the wire and after nearly an hour of intense play, Le Conte took a narrow victory.

Both Le Conte and Martel played well in their next two matches, showing determination, but were not quite strong enough for their opponents, with Guy Pearson eventually winning the grade.