THE Leeton Soldiers Club squash club championships were held last week, with 24 players contesting three grades.

The early rounds were played during the week and all finals were decided on Saturday.

With the temperature reaching 39 degrees on Saturday, the squash ball bounced more than normal, resulting in long and tiring rallies.

The crowd was treated to great squash and close matches throughout the week, with close matches in both the ladies and men's finals.

Claire Quinlivan is the new ladies champion after winning a tight match in four games over Chris McKay.

The men's final was a gruelling contest, with Jacob Harrison claiming the title by winning a tough five-game battle against Rob Hanlon.

Since the championships recommenced in 2007 Natasha Sypott (four titles) and Chris McKay (three titles) have been the only ladies to hold the title, so Quinlivan's victory breaks the hold they have had.

McKay was the top seed and she reached the final by defeating Simone Bruno and Karen Robertson without dropping a game.

Quinlivan was seeded No.3 and she had a harder battle to reach the final.

In the first round she defeated new player Eva Suri and then met her younger sister, Sarah, who was seeded No.2, in the second round.

The match between the two sisters, who know each other's game well, was close with Sarah taking the first game 9-7 and Claire winning the second 9-3.

The third game was a beauty, with both players holding game point before Sarah clinched the game 10-9.

Claire managed to stay in the contest by winning a close fourth game 9-7 to level at two games all.

Her fitness proved to be the difference and she went on to win the fifth game 9-0 to take her place in the final.

The final was an entertaining match in which each player held the advantage at various times.

This pitted Claire's youth and speed around the court against Chris McKay's experience and touch shots.

McKay took an early lead in the first game, but Quinlivan fought back to win 9-7.

McKay levelled when she won the second game 10-8.

Quinlivan held her nerve and with her fitness she kept the pressure on McKay by retrieving her well-placed lobs and drop shots.

Quinlivan won the next two games 9-4,9-7 to edge out McKay and be crowned ladies champion, which is a fine achievement at 16 years of age.

The men's championship was an even contest that featured many matches going to five games.

Jacob Harrison was the No.1 seed and defeated Brian O'Leary in the first round.

He won a tough second round match in four against Tony Naimo to reach the final.

Second-seed Rob Hanlon defeated Rob Johnston in four in the first round, but had to survive an epic battle against Trev Whitby in the second round.

Hanlon started brilliantly, winning the first two games easily, but Whitby got his act together to win the third game and levelled at two games all when he took the fourth 9-7.

The deciding game was a classic, with Hanlon jumping out to a 7-3 lead before Whitby mounted another fightback to hold match point at 8-7.

However, Hanlon levelled at 8-all and wenton to win the game 10-8 and claim victory in a match that left both players exhausted.

The men's final between Harrison and Hanlon was a see-sawing contest in which both dominated at various stages.

With the hot weather and hard-hitting, the ball was bouncing well, making it difficult to hit winning shots.

Hanlon got away to a good start, hitting clean winners to take the first game 9-3.

Harrison used his speed and powerful shots to win the second game easily.

Then it was Hanlon's turn and his well-placed shots gave him the third game 9-4 and a lead of 2-1 on games.

However, Harrison's fitness, retrieving ability and wide array of shots allowed him to win the next two games convincingly and claim his fifth men's championship title.

The men's B grade championship was a mixture of experienced, new and junior players with the final played between Rod Harrison and Jack Quinlivan.

The experience of Harrison proved the difference and he scored a convincing win over Jack Quinlivan, who at 11-years-old, played well to reach the final.