E.M. Noll Classic: Hutton and Todd Take Titles in Philadelphia

The English duo of Jasmine Hutton and Sam Todd were victorious on Sunday afternoon at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia, with the pair claiming their first titles of 2022 at the E.M. Noll Classic.

The tournament, which has been a qualifying event for the PSA World Championships in the past, had a Challenger 5 men’s draw and a Challenger 10 women’s draw this week, and the finals came down to four English players.

The men’s final went all the way to five, with No.6 seed Sam Todd and the unseeded Charlie Lee, both having already knocked out multiple players ranked above them, doing battle on Sunday afternoon.

It was Todd, the 18-year-old Yorkshireman, that got off to a quick start, and he was two games up in no time, but Lee fought back. The World No.136 won the next two games, dropping just ten points across the pair, to send the match into a deciding game.

Todd, who had already defeated the American duo of Spencer Lovejoy and Faraz Khan, the latter being the draw’s top seed, went on to take the victory, in a quick fire five-game final, winning the decider 11-3 to end the contest after just 43 minutes.

He joined Jasmine Hutton in the winner’s circle in Philadelphia, after she won the battle of the 22-year-olds in the women’s final, beating top seed, and compatriot, Lucy Turmel in four games.

The World No.32 won the first game on a tie-break 14-12, and after taking the second 11-6, she was in cruise control in the match. Turmel fought back, dropping just a couple of points to take the third game, before the fourth went to a lengthy tie-break.

It swung both ways in the latter stages of it, with both players staying in it but it was Hutton who was eventually the one to come out on top 19-17 to take her second victory of the 2021-2022 season, following her win at the Capra Baerum Open in Norway.

Results: E.M. Noll Classic
Men’s Final
[6] Sam Todd (ENG) bt Charlie Lee (ENG) 3-2: 11-5, 11-9, 6-11, 4-11, 11-3 (43m)

Women’s Final
[2] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bt [1] Lucy Turmel (ENG) 3-1: 14-12, 11-6, 2-11, 19-17 (57m)

Men’s Semi-Finals
[6] Sam Todd (ENG) bt [1] Faraz Khan (USA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 (32m)
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [5] Max Lee (HKG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-3 (28m)

Women’s Semi-Finals
[1] Lucy Turmel (ENG) bt [4] Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) 3-0: 11-7, 18-16, 11-4 (33m)
[2] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bt [3] Tze Lok Ho (ENG) 3-0: 13-11, 11-6, 11-5 (29m)

Men’s Quarter Finals
[1] Faraz Khan (USA) bt Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) 3-2: 11-6, 6-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-4 (58m)
[6] Sam Todd (ENG) bt [4] Spencer Lovejoy (USA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-2 (29m)
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt Timothy Brownell (USA) 3-1: 11-8, 11-3, 8-11, 3-0 rtd (28m)
[5] Max Lee (HKG) bt [2] Henry Leung (HKG) 3-1: 18-16, 11-6, 8-11, 12-10 (68m)

Women’s Quarter Finals
[1] Lucy Turmel (ENG) bt [6] Julianne Courtice (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 9-1 rtd (9m)
[4] Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) bt [8] Lily Taylor (ENG) 3-1: 11-6, 6-11, 11-6, 11-8 (31m)
[3] Tze Lok Ho (HKG) bt Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) 3-2: 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8 (64m)
[2] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bt Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) 3-0: 11-2, 11-6, 11-3 (17m)

Men’s Round One
[1] Faraz Khan (USA) bt Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-5 (34m)
Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) bt [7] Chris Hanson (USA) 3-1: 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 11-5 (41m)
[6] Sam Todd (ENG) bt [WC] James Asher (ENG) 3-0: 11-2, 11-5, 11-3 (22m)
[4] Spencer Lovejoy (USA) bt Noor Zaman (PAK) 3-1: 13-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6 (42m)
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [3] Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) 3-1: 11-7, 11-4, 5-11, 11-4 (32m)
[8] Timothy Brownell (USA) bt Nick Sachvie (CAN) 3-1: 11-7, 8-11, 13-11, 11-6 (43m)
[5] Max Lee (HKG) bt Chi Him Wong (HKG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-9 (37m)
[2] Henry Leung (HKG) bt Babatunde Ajagbe (NGR) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-7 (28m)

Women’s Round One
[1] Lucy Turmel (ENG) bt Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-8 27m)
[6] Julianne Courtice (ENG) bt Anna Kimberley (ENG) 3-1: 8-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-6 (38m)
[8] Lily Taylor (ENG) bt Diana Garcia (MEX) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-5 (23m)
[4] Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) bt Amna Fayyaz (PAK) 3-0: 11-2, 11-2, 11-3 (18m)
[3] Tze Lok Ho (HKG) bt Nardine Garas (EGY) 3-1: 10-12, 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 (36m)
Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) bt [7] Hana Moataz (EGY) 3-2: 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 5-11, 11-4 (41m)
Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) bt [5] Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG) 3-1: 6-11, 14-12, 11-8, 11-9 (34m)
[2] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bt Ali Loke (WAL) 3-0: 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 (20m)