Eighteen-year old Rod Hayes, of Christchurch became the national junior squash rackets champion yesterday when he beat Julian Devoy of Rotorua, 7-9 9-4 9-6 9-0. The girls’ title was won by Robyn Blackwood who beat Annette Owen of Auckland, 4-9 9-3 5-9 9-6 9-7

The championship honours he deservedly won today as the culmination of a season of consistent development for Hayes, who is a first year student at the University of Canterbury. He was fourth ranked man of the junior team which recently visited Australia, but improved so much during the tour that he secured the No. 3 spot.

Hayes match with Devoy produced some scintillating squash. In the first game both players adopted a powerhouse style and this was obviously the type of play which Devoy relished and he took the game 9-7. Hayes responded with a mature attitude to the situation. He refused to be flustered in any way and set about varying his game to a surprising degree. This paid off handsomely. Hayes concentrated on playing sound, basic strokes with a little less power and left Devoy to make mistakes. The win was particularly satisfying to Hayes as it was the first oocasion he had met Devoy this year. In tow encounters last year, Devoy was the victor.

The final of the girls’ championship was a contest between two very evenly matched players of similar style. The win to Miss Blackwood was her first success over Miss Owen this year. Both girls put a tremendous amount of power into their game and it was clear that their recent trip to Australia has helped lift the standard of their play.