ABERGAVENNY Squash Club have had a mixed start to the new squash season, reports MIKE LOGAN.

The newly promoted A team lost their first two matches: 3-2 at home to Cardiff A and 4-1 away to Swansea A.

Tej Saran from Monmouth joined Abergavenny A team as the new top seeded player, and was outgunned by two players ranked in the top 15 in Wales.

John Procter has moved up to number 2 in the A team, and lost 3-1 in both his matches.

Captain Chris Hill narrowly lost 3-2 to his Cardiff opponent, followed by a straight sets defeat in Swansea.

Steve Williams won both of his matches 3-1, while Ellis Lawrence beat his Cardiff opponent 3-0, but lost 3-1 at Swansea, with all his games going to tie-breaks.

The results mean the A team is sitting at the bottom of the Premier A league.

Abergavenny B beat Risca B 5-0 in their first away match, but then lost 3-2 to Newport C in a tightly fought home match.

Dan Weare had a 2-0 lead against his Newport opponent, but then lost 3-2 in a hard-hitting match. Mitchell Lawrence and Carl Whiteman were both defeated by their Newport opposite numbers.

Mike Logan and Gareth Richards both won 3-0.

The B team is sitting in third place in the league, but with another tough match against Newport B due next week.

The newly-formed Abergavenny Ladies team played a return friendly match against Merthyr Ladies, winning 5-0.

The experience of Abery’s top three players showed through, as Louise Evans, Jenny Lewis and Tessa Lewis all cruised to 3-0 victories.

Georgina Holyoake and Rhian Hamer had closer games, winning 3-0 and 3-1.

Abergavenny also played a return friendly match against Hereford.

A mixture of A and B team players took on a set of higher ranked players, losing 4-0 despite some close games.

Ellis Lawrence went 1-0 up against Will Vanston, but then lost 3-1 due to Will’s superior fitness. Mike Logan, Gareth Richards and Gary Hortop were all beaten 3-0.