England women victorious at European Team Championships

Sarah-Jane Perry fought back from 2-0 down against World No.3 Camille Serme to help England’s women win the 39^th European Team Championships in Helsinki.

England lost to France in the final of the men's competition with Nick Matthew, James Willstrop and Daryl Selby all beaten despite going into the tournament as defending champions and hot favourites.

The women’s team was made up of World No.7 Perry, Alison Waters, Victoria Lust and England debutant Fiona Moverley, with Allam British Open champion Laura Massaro excused from selection due to a heavy schedule and Emily Whitlock ruled out.

They breezed through the group stage of the tournament, beating Belgium, Wales and Denmark all 3-0. A semi-final against the Netherlands followed, which England won 2-0 to set up a final clash against France.

With Fiona Moverley having come through her match against Laura Pomportes, Allam British Open finalist Perry faced a tough test against Serme to claim the trophy. Serme, winner of this season’s Tournament of Champions, raced into a 2-0 lead before Perry turned the match on its head. The final score was 8/11, 9/11, 11/8, 14/12, 11/7 as England won the match 2-0 and took home the title.

Having come through a tough group that included teams from Switzerland, Germany and Spain, the men’s team faced Scotland in the semi-final. Victories for Matthew, Willstrop, Selby and Tom Richards set-up a final against a France team that featured Mathieu Castagnet and World No.2 Gregory Gaultier.

The French team proved too strong for England, with Matthew, Willstrop and Selby all beaten 3-1 by Gaultier, Castagnet and Gregoire Marche, respectively.

Results

Men’s Final:
[2] FRANCE beat [1] ENGLAND 3-0
Gregoire Marche beat Daryl Selby 13/11, 9/11, 11/7, 11/9
Gregory Gaultier beat Nick Matthew 12/10, 11/4, 10/12, 11/6
Mathieu Castagnet beat James Willstrop 11/6, 5/11, 11/5, 11/4
Lucas Serme v Tom Richards (match withdrawn)

3rd place play-off:
[4] GERMANY beat [3] SCOTLAND 2-2 (Germany win 133/127 on points countback)
Rudi Rohrmuller lost to Douglas Kempsell 11/13, 2/11, 13/11, 9/11
Simon Rösner beat Alan Clyne 11/6, 11/8, 11/3
Raphael Kandra beat Greg Lobban 5/11, 11/5, 11/5, 12/10
Valentin Rapp lost to Kevin Moran 9/11, 8/11, 9/11

Women’s Final:
[1] ENGLAND beat [2] FRANCE 2-0
Sarah-Jane Perry beat Camille Serme 11/8, 8/11, 9/11, 14/12, 11/7
Fiona Moverley beat Laura Pomportes 14/12, 11/5, 4/11, 7/11, 11/8
Victoria Lust v Coline Aumard (match withdrawn)

3rd place play-off:
[4] WALES beat [3] NETHERLANDS 2-1
Tesni Evans beat Milou van der Heijden 11/6, 11/4, 11/7
Lowri Roberts lost to Tessa ter Sluis 5/11, 13/11, 6/11, 8/11
Deon Saffery beat Natalie Grinham 9/11, 11/7, 13/15, 11/6, 11/8