HAMPSHIRE juniors achieved very creditable success at the prestigious British Open held at the Abbeydale and Hallamshire clubs in Sheffield.

The event, which attracts the world's top players, was dominated by Egyptians who took six of the eight main titles.

However players from the Hampshire, IOW & Guernsey Squash Association made their mark.

Pick of the bunch was Lee-on-Solent's Tina Rix.

The youngster, who is ranked number two in the under-17 age group nationally, was only eliminated at the semi-final stage by Michelle Quibell, the eventual winner from the USA.

Susannah King (Winchester) reached the under-15 Plate final.

For the boys there were notable wins from Winchester's Michael Bull taking the under-15 Plate, and Alex Phillips from the Isle of Wight who won the under-13 Plate title.

Louise Clark (Alverstoke), Kate Russell (Lee-on-Solent), Chris Simpson (Guernsey) and Alex Woodcock (Winchester) all gained some success in the early rounds of the tournament.

The county finished tied second with Yorkshire as a squad, and behind runaway winners, the Egyptians.

Hampshire players collected their trophies on an Abbeydale showcourt which was packed to the rafters, with their ambitions refocused on new targets in squash for the coming year.

Chris Simpson improved on his record the following week, winning the Irish Junior under-15 Open, with Alex Phillips reaching the final of the under event, receiving their Irish crystal trophies from squash legend Jonah Barrington.

Meanwhile the Hampshire under-15 boys team of Chris Simpson, Michael Bull, Alistair Wrench (Guernsey), Alex Woodcock, Alex Phillips and Dean Kelkler (Andover) consolidated the county's rising star status by gaining promotion to the national inter-county top division.

They, beat Middlesex and Suffolk 4-1 and narrowly lost to Avon 3-2.