This year’s championship has been a record year for the club attaining two new titles, men’s singles and doubles, for the first time in recent history. Alongside these new titles, we have retained the women’s doubles title from last year’s championship.
Men’s Singles:
The men’s singles saw a spectacular performance across the board. Yinglan Zheng played a tough first round match, unfortunately finishing with a score of 21-19 21-15. Conor Hutchinson had a strong start in his first two rounds, defeating both opponents in straight sets. In his last sixteen match, he came up against the third seed which was a tough fight for Conor resulting in a score of 21-13 21-7 in favour of his opponent. Owen Turner stormed through the first three rounds without dropping a set. His luck came to an end losing 21-9 21-10 to one of his teammates, Zhang Hong, who was the first seed. Tommy Reynolds was seeded [5/8] in the singles, fighting through the first three rounds and only dropping one set before coming up against a very strong third seed. It was a fantastic three set game with a respectable score of 21-10 15-21 21-15 in favour of the third seed. Stuart Pittman was the fifth seed in the draw, and powered through the first 3 rounds without dropping a set. In the quarterfinals, he came up against the second seed. The match was a tough fight for Stuart which resulted in a score of 21-10 21-10 to his opponent.
Finally, Zhang Hong was the first seed in the men’s singles draw. He stormed through to the final, with only two opponents getting more than 10 points in any set. The final was the tough match for the first seed against the second seed, dropping his only set of the tournament. It resulted in a score of 21-19 17-21 21-16 in favour of Edinburgh’s Zhang Hong.
Photo across of Zhang Hong after winning his singles title, his medal was presented by Stewart Ferns, photo taken by Yinglan Zheng.
This is the first men’s singles title for Edinburgh in recent history, a moment we will remember for a long time.
Women’s Singles:
The women’s singles was a tough draw this year for Edinburgh, with a lot of top players from Strathclyde and UWS. Georgina Li got a bye in the first round and played a tough second round match, resulting in a score of 21-16 21-13 in her opponent’s favour. Annie Tucker went straight into the second round due to a bye in the first round. She drew up against a strong player from Strathclyde, unfortunately losing the game with a score of 21-11 21-9. Megan Munro also started her challenge with a bye in the first round but came up against a tough player in the second round, sadly losing in a superb three set game 11-21 21-15 21-17. Delanie Clarke got a bye in her first round and then went on to win her second round match in three sets with a brilliant score of 20-22 21-9 21-11. In the third round she came up against the number three seed from Strathclyde, sadly losing that match with a score of 21-8 21-5.
Rachel Scallan started off her campaign by powering through the first three rounds dropping only one set. Her campaign ended in the quarterfinals, losing to the third seed from Strathclyde University with a score of 21-15 21-17. Liselotte Van Balen started her singles campaign as the third seed, charging through to the semifinals without dropping a set. In the semis, Liselotte faced the first seed from UWS. It was a long and hard fought three set game resulting in a score of 21-11 16-21 21-15 in favour of the first seed.
Brittany Ashton, the runner-up in this event at last year’s tournament, was the second seed this year. She charged through to the finals, only dropping a single set in the semifinals. The final was a challenging match against the first seed from UWS. It was a great display from both sides, resulting in a score of 21-16 14-21 21-17 in favour of the first seed.
Photo above is of Brittany Ashton in the early rounds, photo courtesy of Scottish Student Sport.
Men’s Doubles:
The men’s doubles results are as follows:
Yinglan Zheng paired up with Ziyang Sheng and went through to the third round without dropping a set, before facing the fifth seeds from Stirling University. The match resulted in a score of 21-9 21-13 in favour of their opponents. Owen Turner and Conor Hutchinson and were seeded [5/8]. They got to the quarterfinals without dropping a set then came up against the second seeds from UWS. The match was a tough challenge for the pair which unfortunately resulted in a score of 21-13 21-10.
Stuart Pittman was partnered up with Tommy Reynolds and seeded fifth for the tournament. They stormed through the quarter finals with relative ease, before they faced the third seeds. It was an incredibly close match with the second set being especially close, ending with the score in favour of the third seeds 21-17 27-25.
Alistair Gordon and Anthony Grimley were the third seeds for the tournament. The boys stormed through to the final, dropping only one set in the quarterfinal match played against the first seeds. In the final they faced the second seeds from UWS. It was a fantastic game as the boys triumphantly ended their tournament in straight sets, with a final score of 21-10 21-19
Photo across of Alistair Gordon and Anthony Grimley after winning their doubles title, photo taken by Yinglan Zheng.
This was the first men’s doubles title in the recent history of the club, and a fantastic accolade for the club. Great job boys!!
Women’s Doubles:
The women’s doubles were an all-round success for the club. It started with Delanie Clarke and Megan Munro winning their first round match in straight sets but sadly losing to the third seeds in a stunning three set match with a score of 20-22 21-9 21-18. Rachel Scallan partnered up with Annie Tucker and was seeded [3/4], they fought through to the semis only dropping one set. They faced the second seeds from UWS in a tough match resulting in a score of 21-10 21-10 in favour of their opponents.
Brittany Ashton and Liselotte Van Balen partnered up as the first seeds for the weekend. Their title challenge saw them firing through to the final without dropping a set, or any pair getting more than ten points against them in any set. The final was against the second seeds from UWS, which they won with a triumphant score of 21-11 21-13.
Photo across of Brittany Ashton and Liselotte Van Balen after winning their doubles title, photo taken by Yinglan Zheng.
This wasn’t the first time EUBC, or Brittany, have won the title, but it is the first time for Liselotte who is new to Edinburgh this year. Well done to the girls for winning the women’s doubles title without dropping a single set!
Mixed Doubles:
Yinglan Zheng and Georgina Li played fantastically, winning both first and second round match in straight sets. Then they had a tough third round match playing against the first seeds from UWS, sadly losing in straight sets with a score of 21-11 21-8. Conor Hutchinson and Megan Munro reached the second round, unfortunately losing in a closely fought three sets against the fifth seeds 21-16 20-22 21-11. 
Photo above is of Conor Hutchinson and Megan Munro in the second round, photo courtesy of Scottish Student Sport.
Owen Turner and Delanie Clarke had a great start winning their first match with ease, charging all the way to the third round before losing in to the fifth seeds with a score of 23-21 21-12. Anthony Grimley and Liselotte Van Balen were seeded [5/8], and pushed through the rounds getting to the quarterfinals without dropping a set. They played their quarterfinal match against a strong second seed pair from Strathclyde, resulting in a score of 21-17 21-14 in their opposition’s favour. Alistair Gordon and Rachel Scallan were seeded [5/8] and had a good start to their championship winning the first three matches. They lost a closely contended quarterfinal match against the first seeds from UWS with a score of 21-15 21-15.
Stuart Pittman and Brittany Ashton were seeded [3/4]. They managed to get all the way to the semifinals with relative ease, playing a fantastic match against the second seeds from Strathclyde. This match resulted in an incredibly close two sets with a score of 24-22 22-20 in favour of the second seeds. Tommy Reynolds and Lucy Nevin were also seeded [3/4], and charged through to the semis without dropping a set. They had a tough semifinal against the first seeds from UWS sadly losing in straight sets with a score of 21-10 21-13.
The bronze medal playoff match for the mixed title was an all-Edinburgh affair between Stuart Pittman and Brittany Ashton and Tommy Reynolds and Lucy Nevin. The match was intense with both sets extremely close, ending with a score of 23-21 21-19 in favour of Tommy and Lucy.
Summary
This years championship was an exceptionally successful year for EUBC with a grand total of 3 gold medals, 1 silver and 1 bronze. We would like to thank Scottish Student Sport for organising a great tournament and weekend. This is wonderful way to end a fantastic season for the club and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.
Check out our video of a overview of the tournament:
Written By Ryan McCuaig, Publicity Officer 2016/17