Israeli teams hosted the European Junior Under-15 and Under-17 Team Squash Championships in Ra'anana and Tel Aviv two weeks ago and finished seventh and sixth, respectively.
By IAN ROBINSON
Israeli teams hosted the European Junior Under-15 and Under-17 Team Squash Championships in Ra'anana and Tel Aviv two weeks ago and finished seventh and sixth, respectively.
Eleven countries competed in the two tournaments with Germany taking both titles.
In the Under-17 tournament at Tel Aviv Towers Country Club, Israel drew a qualifying group with top-seeded England. The sixth-seeded Israeli team of Ido Avron, Mor Bikovsky and Nir Zissman rebounded from an opening day loss to the English to defeat Wales 2-1 on Saturday and earn a spot in the quarterfinals. However they were unable to keep the momentum going and Israel was swept by France and the Czech Republic to finish sixth.
In the Under-15 bracket, staged at the Ra'anana Municipal Squash Center, the Israeli squad of Guy Rotraff, Ran Nagler and Stav Cohen-Adiv battled back from 1-2 record in qualifying play to win the consolation bracket. Entering the consolation bracket as the ninth seed, the Israelis defeated Ireland 3-0 to advance to the seventh-place match against Austria. Rottraff and Cohen-Adiv pulled off 3-0 match wins to lead Israel past the Austrians 2-1.