Last Sunday, UWE Bristol Sport’s very own performance athlete and scholar, Lily Taylor competed at the British University Individual Squash Championships. Not only did she play in Grade A, the highest rank of the competitors, she won the championship placing her 1st in every British University. Find out from Lily how the competition went.

The BUCS Individuals always provide such a fun social experience as well as a strong field of players and high level squash; one of my highlights of this championship is always seeing familiar faces.

Going into the competition, I felt confident and relaxed as I have been playing well for the last few months. It was a 16 player draw so I played three matches in total which also didn’t phase me as I knew I could physically cope with this game play over the two days.

My first two games were relatively comfortable and I had a solid game plan. Once I reached the final, the pressure completely came off as I wasn’t supposed to win, I could just relax, play with nothing to lose and try and enjoy the final.

In the final, I think I executed my tactics perfectly and they seemed to work leading to a 3-1 win. I was really happy with my performance and for working hard when the rallies were tough, especially in the final game. I knew Hana would be really dangerous coming into the final, she is so strong and #62 in the world rankings so I was over the moon to win and still can’t believe it!

Thies and Lily with their medals, plates and cups

My favourite moment of this year’s championships has to be winning it and getting one of my best wins to date.

Other members of the UWE Bristol Squash team who also played in the championship and achieve more fantastic results were:

Men

Roshan Bharos – 9th (Grade A Men’s)

James Peach – 10th (Grade A Men’s)

Thies Holberg – Plate Winner (Grade B Men’s)

Women

Emilia Korhonen – 6th (Grade A Women’s)

Makgosi Peloakgosi – 10th (Grade A Women’s)