Auckland Open: White and Harrison Victorious At North Shore

Australia’s Joseph White and New Zealand’s Lana Harrison were the victors this week at the Barfoot & Thompson Auckland/Oceania Open.

Harrison came into the women’s Challenger 3 level competition at the North Shore Squash Club as the defending champion, but she was unseeded for this year’s edition of the tournament. That would not stop the Kiwi, as she downed four of the top five seeds to take the title for a second year in succession.

She started her campaign with a confident victory against No.5 seed Anna Leakey, dropping just 13 points in a straight games win. That was followed by a four-game victory over No.2 seed Winona-Jo Joyce. She battled back after losing the second game on a tie-break to win in four.

In the semi-finals, Harrison took on No.4 seed Abbie Palmer, and once again, she downed her higher-ranked compatriot. She won the opening two games, but then lost the third 13-11. However, she fought back to win the fourth to advance to the final.

She took on Australia’s Alex Haydon in the final, and quickly found herself two games down, as the tournament’s top seed won both the first and second by 11-4 scorelines. Harrison won the third game, but then had to save match balls in the fourth, winning a tie-break 15-13. She then had to save more match balls in the fifth, before going on to win the title, taking it 14-12 in the deciding game.

In the men’s event, Australia’s Joseph White came through from being the No.3 seed, downing the top two seeds in the Challenger 5 level competition to take the crown in Auckland.

The Aussie started his week with a straight games victory against Mason Smales, before then defeating another Kiwi, in Elijah Thomas, in four games in the quarter finals. He recovered from losing the third 16-14, to go on to win the fourth 13-11 to secure the victory.

He came up against top seed Lwamba Chileshe, the defending champion, in the last four. It went to four games, but White moved through to the final, and then took on the younger of the Chileshe siblings, No.2 seed Temwa. The final was another four-game contest, and it was the Aussie that came out on top, to take the title, his second on Tour.

Results: Barfoot & Thompson Auckland/Oceania Open
Men’s Final
[3] Joseph White (AUS) bt [2] Temwa Chileshe (NZL) 3-1: 11-9, 11-7, 3-11, 11-8

Women’s Final
Lana Harrison (NZL) bt [1] Alex Haydon (AUS) 3-2: 4-11, 4-11, 11-8, 15-13, 14-12

Men’s Semi-Finals
[3] Joseph White (AUS) bt [1] Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) 3-1: 11-8, 11-4, 2-11, 13-11
[2] Temwa Chileshe (NZL) bt [5] Tomotaka Endo (JPN) 3-2: 11-8, 8-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-4

Women’s Semi-Finals
[1] Alex Haydon (AUS) bt [6] Sophie Hodges (NZL) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-7
Lana Harrison (NZL) bt [4] Abbie Palmer (NZL) 3-1: 11-7, 11-9, 11-13, 11-9

Men’s Quarter Finals
[1] Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) bt [6] Anthony Lepper (NZL) 3-1: 11-6, 4-11, 11-5, 11-5
[3] Joseph White (AUS) bt [8] Elijah Thomas (NZL) 3-1: 11-9, 11-6, 14-16, 13-11
[5] Tomotaka Endo (JPN) bt Wailok To (HKG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-8
[2] Temwa Chileshe (NZL) bt Naoki Hayashi (JPN) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-7

Women’s Quarter Finals
[1] Alex Haydon (AUS) bt Holly Shuja (NZL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-5
[6] Sophie Hodges (NZL) bt [3] Ella Lash (NZL) 3-2: 7-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-9
[4] Abbie Palmer (NZL) bt [7] Maiden-Lee Coe (NZL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-4
Lana Harrison (NZL) bt [2] Winona-Jo Joyce (NZL) 3-1: 11-7, 10-12, 11-1, 14-12

Men’s Second Round
[1] Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) bt Jaejin Yoo (KOR) 3-2: 11-6, 7-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-4
[6] Anthony Lepper (NZL) bt Ho Ka Hei (HKG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-7
[8] Elijah Thomas (NZL) bt Benjamin Ratcliffe (AUS) 3-1: 9-11, 11-3, 11-4, 11-8
[3] Joseph White (AUS) bt Mason Smales (NZL) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-8
Wailok To (HKG) bt [4] Darren Rahul Pragasam (MAS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-8
[5] Tomotaka Endo (JPN) bt William Donnelly (NZL) 3-1: 7-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-8
Naoki Hayashi (JPN) bt [7] Andes Ling (HKG) 3-2: 11-7, 9-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-4
[2] Temwa Chileshe (NZL) bt Lam Shing Fung (HKG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-5

Women’s First Round
[1] Alex Haydon (AUS) bt Lisa Ashton (NZL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-2, 11-4
Holly Shuja (NZL) bt [8] Anabel Romero Gemmell (NZL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-4
[6] Sophie Hodges (NZL) bt Mackenzie Tait (NZL) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-2
[3] Ella Lash (NZL) bt Tyler Duberly (NZL) 3-0: 11-1, 11-5, 11-2\
[4] Abbie Palmer (NZL) bt Annmarie Holst (NZL) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-3
[7] Maiden-Lee Coe (NZL) bt Kayti Griffen (NZL) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-9
Lana Harrison (NZL) bt [5] Anne Leakey (NZL) 3-0: 11-8, 11-1, 11-4
[2] Winona-Jo Joyce (NZL) bt Charlotte Galloway (NZL) 3-0: 11-9, 12-10, 10-12, 11-7

Men’s First Round
Jaejin Yoo (KOR) bt Dylan Molinaro (AUS) 3-1: 12-10, 5-11, 11-5, 11-6
Ho Ka Hei (HKG) bt Glenn Templeton (NZL) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-5
Benjamin Ratcliffe (AUS) bt [WC] Oliver Dunbar (NZL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-2
Mason Smales (NZL) bt [WC] Apa Fatialofa (NZL) 3-1: 11-5, 11-6, 6-11, 11-1
Wailok To (HKG) bt [WC] Flynn Venmore (NZL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-3
William Donnelly (NZL) bt Allan Bailey (NZL) 3-1: 11-3, 10-12, 12-10, 12-10
Naoki Hayashi (JPN) bt [WC] Freddie Jameson (NZL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-5
Lam Shing Fung (HKG) bt Tate Zak Norris (AUS) 3-2: 11-7, 13-15, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8