JEDBURGH Grammar's Ben Leslie lived up to his top seeding by winning the boys' U18 title at the Borders secondary schools badminton championships.
He got the better of Stuart Thomson (Berwickshire High), winning 21-9, 21-16 at Earlston High on Sunday. However, it was Berwickshire High who dominated the event, winning titles in every age group.
In the U14 section, which was played at Galashie
ls, Gavin McQuarrie (Berwickshire High) won an epic three-set encounter against schoolmate Keith Patterson 23-25, 21-17, 21-15 to take the boys’ singles. But Patterson extracted revenge in the doubles by winning 21-9, 21-10 with partner Jake Drum (Berwickshire High) against McQuarrie and Ian Richards.
The U14 girls’ singles was equally exciting and in a tense two-set final, Claire Hill (Kelso High) overcame the stiff resistance of Berwickshire High’s Kirsty Millar by 23-21, 21-17.
In the doubles – a round-robin event – it was Berwickshire pair Kate Ross and Rachel Scott who won all their games to take the title from Kara White and Joanne Deuchar, also from Berwickshire.
Over at Earlston High, the U16 girls’ singles final featured both of the top seeds from Berwickshire, with Lucy Nevin defeating Mhairi Deuchar 21-5, 21-18. Deuchar and Nevin paired up in the doubles and won all three pool games to overcome the challenge of school colleagues Emma Turnbull and Lisa Kerr. More Berwickshire success followed in the boys’ U16 section as Andrew McQuarrie overcame Grant McWilliam, also of Berwickshire, 21-15, 21-15 in a tense final.
Some of the best rallies were to be seen in the boys’ doubles final.
In an all-Berwickshire occasion, McQuarrie paired up with Adam Don to beat McWilliam and Jed Purves. McWilliam and Purves proved to be a real handful and were unfortunate to go down by a score of 21-17, 21-14.
Berwickshire dominated at U18 level in the girls’ singles and doubles.
Rachel Purves fought off a spirited display from Laura Rae (Kelso High) to win her final 21-12, 21-14. In the doubles, played in a round-robin format, Purves and Rachel Melvin were involved in a great match with sisters Laura and Joanna Rae from Kelso High. The outcome was very much in the balance until Purves and Melvin got the edge in the final set, winning 21-19, 14-21, 21-18.
The boys’ doubles saw Alex Sim and Stuart Thomson (Berwickshire) run out victors over Jedburgh Grammar pair Danny Etieve and Craig Gillan.
