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England’s finest juniors will be striving for national glory at this weekend’s Dunlop English Junior Championships (EJC) in Hull.
Now in its ninth year, the EJC is one of the biggest domestic junior tournaments on the circuit. This year’s championships will see 270 players battling it out across 10 categories for the coveted titles.
Hot favourite to clinch the Boys Under 19 title is 2017 British National Under 19s champion, [1] Tom Walsh (Sussex) who will be striving for his first EJC title. Walsh, who is ranked second in the England Squash junior rankings is likely to face a titanic battle from a trio of challengers including two-time British National champion [2] Nick Wall (Yorks), two-time EJC champion [3/4] Curtis Malik (Sussex), and England number one Surrey’s [3/4] James Wyatt.
Girls Under 19 top seed Elise Lazarus (Essex), ranked 89 in the world, will be looking to add a fifth title to her EJC collection. Ready to challenge 17-year-old Lazarus for the crown and claim a maiden title is second seed Katie Wells (Lincs) ranked third in England and [3/4] Charlotte Jagger (Yorks), ranked fifth in the country.
The Boys Under 17 draw looks set to be fiercely contested between last year’s finalists - defending champion [3/4] Jared Carter (Hants) and runner-up [1] Lewis Anderson (Warks), the 2017 British Junior National champion.
Meanwhile, the Girls Under 17 category heats up this year as 14-year-old [2] Katie Malliff (Bucks), a British Junior Open 2018 semi-finalist, plays up an age category and is seeded to lock horns with top seed and two-time EJC champion Alice Green (Essex).
Green’s younger brother, Oliver, the Boys Under 15 top seed will be looking to capitalise on his recent success at the German Junior Open and claim his first EJC title. Challengers [2] Hassan Khalil (Warks) and [3/4] Franklyn Smith (Sussex) equally will be hungry for success along with British National Under 13 2016 champion and EJC Under 11 winner [3/4] Sam Osborne-Wylde (Worcs).
Meanwhile, Girls Under 15 top seed Torrie Malik (Sussex) will be setting her sights on her fourth championship title. Lying in wait for a shot at her first EJC championship title will be British National Junior 2017 champion [2] Asia Harris (Yorks). Also looking to mount a challenge will be 2015 EJC Girls Under 11 champion [3/4] Emma Bartley (Suffolk), currently ranked second in the junior rankings.
Boys Under 13 defending champion, [1] Jonah Bryant (Sussex) will be striving to emulate his recent success at the British Junior Open in Birmingham and add a third EJC to his collection. Bryant is seeded to meet [2] Yusuf Sheikh (Essex) in the final – a repeat of the 2017 British National Junior Under 13 final which saw the Sussex sensation emerge triumphant.
English Under 11 national champion Amelie Haworth (Hants) is favourite to win the Girls Under 13 title with [2] Amy Campbell-Wynter (Dorset) and [3/4] Francesca Hall (York) hot on her heels and striving for a maiden title.
Gunning for national glory in the Boys Under 11 are Kent compatriots [1] Dylan Roberts and [2] Jude Gibbins. Last year’s runner-up, Roberts will be looking to go one better this year and claim his first EJC title.
Defending champion Charlie McCrone is favourite to clinch the Girls Under 11 title. The British Junior Open quarter-finalist could face some fierce competition in the form of skillful nine-year-old [2] Mariam Eissa (Warks) and [3/4] Emma Logan (Suffolk).
The 2018 championships will be staged across three venues at the University of Hull, Hull and East Riding Squash Club and Haltemprice Leisure Centre. Main draw action commences at 9am on Friday 9th March with the finals scheduled for Sunday. All spectators wishing to see the country’s rising stars are welcome free of charge.
Visit the official championships website: englandsquash.com/ejc
