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SGT
Darryl Bessell won the open men’s and mixed masters divisions
at the national carnival.
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Photo
by Steve Clements
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AIR
FORCE has won a hat trick of ADF Squash Association national carnivals,
retaining the title for the third year in a row.
Air Force overcame strong Army and Navy challenges in the recent
carnival held at RAAF Base Williamtown.
Air Force won 4-2 against Army in the interservice competition.
The Air Force men won all their matches.
The team was made up of Sergeant Daryl Bessell, of RAAF Base Williams,
Sergeant Peter Gilkes, of RAAF Base Edinburgh, Sergeant Darryl
Ferguson and Leading Aircraftman Craig Baldwin, of RAAF Base Williamtown.
The women – Sergeant Madonna Doyle, of RAAF Base Williamtown,
and Aircraftwoman Kerri Bryen, of RAAF Base Darwin – lost in close
matches.
But the men’s win was enough to secure the title. The interservice
title was played after the 57 entrants competed in individual
draw games – sometimes against their own Service colleagues –
in four events: the men’s graded, women’s graded, mixed masters
and doubles.
SGT Bessell won the open men’s and mixed masters divisions, while
SGT Doyle took out the women’s open.
The open men’s was an Air Force affair between SGT Bessell and
SGT Ferguson. However, it almost didn’t happen because SGT Ferguson
had initially decided not to play in the nationals this year because
of his lack of recent court time.
He said Air Force organisers Flight Lieutenant Brad Armstrong
and former Group Captain Les Armstrong convinced him to play just
two days before the event started.
SGT
Ferguson’s lead-up quarter- finals match against Lieutenant Colonel
Langworthy could have gone either way. “I managed to gain the
lead in the match with about two minutes to go, after trailing
for the previous 18 minutes,” SGT Ferguson said.
At one stage he was behind eight points. He won 39-37. However
his successful return to the court was hampered by a loss to SGT
Bessell in the finals.
SGT Bessell won in four games, 9-6, 9-5, 3-9, 9-4. The third game
was the only one SGT Bessell dropped during the event.
“Darryl [Ferguson] was the No. 3 seed for the tournament and this
was my toughest match,” SGT Bessell said. In the masters,
SGT Bessell was also a winner, defeating SGT Gilkes 9-5, 9-6,
9-3. It was a back-to-back win for him, after winning the same
event in 2003.
In the women’s graded event, SGT Doyle beat Corporal Kim Booth-Collis
from Enoggera in straight games, 9-7, 10-9, 0-9, 9-7. “Kim was
the highest ranked female player and I was thrilled with my win,”
SGT Doyle said.
She had won against ACW Kerri Bryen in the semi-final, who was
also ranked higher than her even though neither had played before.
The carnival was on August 13-16.
