Australian Commonwealth Games representatives Tamika Hunt and Rex Hedrick have taken out the Squash Australian National Championships (ANC) in Sydney today.
Both Hunt and Hedrick represented Australia at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, and with just over a year to go until the Birmingham Games, they are making strides in a bid for selection.
For Hunt (Sandgate Squash Centre), she came into the ANC with two PSA wins under her belt and seeded in fourth position, delivering strong results over the four days.
In the Final she came up against South Australian star Alex Haydon, in what was a hotly contested finish to the tournament.
Despite Haydon’s valiant performance, an experienced Hunt proved too strong in the end winning in three sets 12-10, 11-6, 11-6.
“It’s nice to come away with the win… a National Title is a pretty amazing feeling,” said Hunt.
“Alex (Haydon) has had a great week, so I knew she was going to be coming in with some confidence and momentum.
“I think I had to play really smart and get tactical, I had to change a few things as I went through and I think that really gave me the edge. That experience over the last few tournaments has made a big difference,” she said.
Hailing from Coffs Harbour (NSW), the 28 year old said she’ll take confidence from this win as she continues to work towards the Birmingham Commonwealth Games that is 400 days away.
“At the moment every result counts, so it’s always nice to put a few extra points on the board to make it even harder for selectors not to pick you.
“It’s about building my own game and building for the next games we have coming up heading towards Birmingham,” she said.
In the Men’s final, Hedrick made a stunning return to top level competition after extended time away from the game due to COVID-19 and being based in Victoria.
Having last won the title in 2017, Hedrick came into the tournament 12th seed and delivered solid results to advance to the final where he met top seed Rhys Dowling (Queensland).
Dowling had some injuries to contend with to put up a strong fight, but a top performance from Hedrick saw him take his second national crown with a three set win, 11-9, 11-2, 11-2.
“2020 was a bit of a write off with COVID, so I was just training at Westerfolds with some of the boys. Nice to get the reward [today],” said Hedrick.
“I feel alright, I feel a bit sore… it’s the first tournament in a while, so each day I was getting a bit sorer. I think he [Dowling] could have gone a bit better but has a niggling injury so maybe next time it will be a longer, harder match,” he said.
Like Hunt, Hedrick said the Australian National Championships is a good marker as he continues to build towards the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
“We have some benchmark events along the way, this one and the Australian Open in Bega in a few weeks time… obviously stepping stones at this stage.
“I’m looking forward to the back half of the year where we have a few more events,” he said.
With the Australian National Championships now wrapped up, top players in the PSA will now turn their focus to the Australian Open in Bega from 22-25 July 2021.
For full results from the 2021 Australian National Championships - click here.
