University of Lincoln’s women’s squash team got back to winning ways today as they beat Anglia Ruskin University in straight games.
The University of Lincoln were given a free point before the game due to the visitors only bringing three competitors, as opposed to four, and the home side never looked back after that.
The match started with the tightest game of the day as Jessica Lawton of the University of Lincoln faced the opposition’s Emily Mailman.
Mailman started the game with high intensity and accuracy and was cruising at a 7-3 advantage. But Lawton fought back to 7-7 before finally getting ahead at 9-8. She then stayed in the lead for an 11-9 win.
The second game also started tightly as both competitors alternated in having the lead until Lawton established a two-point advantage at 6-4. From this point on it seemed as if the result was never in doubt. After several rallies and some powerful shots, Lawton won 11-4.
The last game between the pair was also a close battle. Both players made some good shots, with Lawton using chip shots to trick her opponent and Mailman using power to her advantage. They shared the lead up until 7-7 but then Lawton pushed further to make the score 11-8.
Overall, Lawton’s win made it 2-0 to UOL, meaning that they couldn’t get less than a draw.
The second match was between Megan King of Lincoln and Catarina Gaglianone from Anglia Ruskin.
Both players were cautious at the start as they weighed each other up but King regularly took the lead. Gaglianone never let King slip away though as she repeatedly and quickly levelled the scores. Gaglianone couldn’t do this for too long though as when King went 6-5 up she didn’t drop a point and won the game 11-5.
The second game between the pair was a fairly quick encounter. Rallies were a rare sight as King strolled to an 11-3 win, gaining every point after going 2-3 down.
King stuck to what was working for her as she played the simple shots but forced errors out of her opponent. The one large rally that we did see went on for a minute with King coming out on top and winning the point to make it 3-1. Her clear game plan payed off as she beat Gaglianone 11-2 in this game and made the match score 3-0 overall.
This win ensured that the University of Lincoln had won today before the final match between Lincoln’s Laura Bowring and Anglia Ruskin’s Megan Vaughan had even begun.
Step-in captain Bowring finished the game off comfortably. Despite going 2-0 down in her first game, she won nine points in a row to go 9-2 ahead, and only dropped one more point as she won 11-3.
Vaughan fought resiliently but Bowring showed great form as she replicated her previous 11-3 win in the second game.
Bowring started the third game strongly as she won the first five points and later made the score 9-1 in her favour. However, Vaughan fought back for Anglia Ruskin, winning a series of points and making it 10-5. Despite this surge of points, it wasn’t enough as Bowring got that all important 11th point to maintain her team’s 100% record in their matches.
Overall the final score stood at the University of Lincoln 4-0 Anglia Ruskin.
Following the match, Laura Bowring said that it was Jessica Lawton’s win in the first game that set the tone for the rest of the team to follow.
“It put our team in a good mood and gave positive vibes for the next matches.
“It’s nice to get a win and it will give the girls some confidence,” she said.