Ciara Torrance was over the moon to clinch her first international title last week after claiming the mixed doubles title with Alex Dunn at the VICTOR Welsh International
Ciara Torrance was over the moon to clinch her first international title last week after claiming the mixed doubles title with Alex Dunn at the VICTOR Welsh International.
The Scottish pair teamed up and defeated England’s Matthew Clare and Hope Warner 21-14 20-22 21-17 in the final, holding their nerve to top the podium in Cardiff.
For Dunn it was a second victory in as many weeks, the 21-year old having won the Scottish Open men’s doubles alongside Adam Hall in Glasgow to become the first Scots to claim the title for 36 years.
But for Torrance, senior international titles aren’t such a familiar feeling and the 20-year-old admitted she was delighted to get her first in the bag.
“For me it meant a lot as it was my first international title and it feels like the hard work is starting to pay off,” she said.
“I do feel like there were some not so great points in the tournament it was good managing to secure a win even not playing our best.
“We started the final off really strong and just relaxed too much in the second set which gave the English pair a chance to take it but managed to get back on track for the third set.
“It’s been a long year of hard work, so it was great getting the win.”
That said, although it wasn’t Dunn’s first international title, it was his maiden senior international win in the mixed doubles.
He added: “I’m really pleased to get my first mixed international title and it is an ideal start for mine and Ciara’s career together.
“Of course, the Scottish Open win helped. I felt confident going into the tournament knowing that it was definitely achievable to win if we played at the level we know we can.
“I couldn’t have asked for a much better ending to the year. I’ve got a long training period now until my next tournaments in February.”
Dunn and Torrance defeated Norway’s Carl Christian Mork and Solvar Flaten Jorgensen 22-20 21-11 in the last eight before triumphing 21-13 21-8 over England’s William Jones and Molly Chapman in the semi-final to reach the final showdown.
Scotland’s Matthew Grimley and Sarah Sidebottom made it to the quarter-finals of the mixed doubles competition but were knocked out 21-14 22-20 by New Zealand’s Oliver Leydon-Davis and Anona Pak, while Christopher Grimley and Eleanor O’Donnell did not progress beyond the second round.
Torrance had another shot at glory when her and Julie MacPherson reached the semi-finals of the women’s doubles, but they were knocked out 21-14 15-21 21-15 by eventual winners Abigail Holden and Lizzie Tolman.
It was a similar story in the men’s doubles, with Christopher and Matthew Grimley falling at the semi-final hurdle to England’s Zach Russ and Steven Stallwood 21-17 21-17.
Holly Newall was the best performing Scot in the women’s singles, reaching the quarter-finals where she was defeated 21-12 21-15 by Germany’s Fabienne Deprez, while there were no Scottish representatives in the men’s singles competition.