LEAMINGTON Royals closed the gap at the top of the Optasia Squash Super League (SSL) with a 3-1 home victory against Coolhurst Cavaliers.
Wins for Victor Crouin, Lucy Turmel and Rory Richmond saw the Royals claim a third successive victory.
Leamington sit second in the SSL standings, just two points behind leaders Chichester Centurions who are the only other side along with the Royals yet to taste defeat this season.
The Royals made the perfect start as Richmond beat Coolhurst’s Luke Bishop 11-5, 11-4 in the club heroes match on his Leamington debut.
However, the Cavaliers levelled the tie when Simon Herbert beat Ben Smith 11-9, 11-8 in the men’s under-25 fixture, in a game decided by fine margins.
Just five places separated Leamington’s Turmel and Coolhurst’s Sarah-Jane Perry in the world rankings as the two players faced off in the women’s professional match.
A number of refereeing decisions and traffic in the middle of the court made for a tough contest as Turmel eventually sealed an 11-7, 8-11, 11-7 victory against her England teammate.
And French number one Crouin sealed the overall win for the Royals as he romped to victory against German national champion Raphael Kandra in just 21 minutes.
Crouin delivered several eye-catching winners in a comfortable 11-3, 11-4 success.
Lemington Royals next take to the court against Bristol Buccaneers on Friday, March 21.
