Nottingham Lap Up The Prince O3 Challenge

Nottingham established a commanding lead after the first day's play in the National finals weekend of the inaugural Prince O3 Squash Challenge at the luxurious Vale Hotel, Golf & Spa Resort near Cardiff.

In their opening tie against Connaught, team captain Matt King lost 9-3, 5-9, 9-6, 0-9, 3-9 to the Chingford club captain Elliot Fowell in one of the standout matches of the day - but girlfriend Sarah Zipser levelled the score for with a 9-1, 9-3, 9-3 win over Connaught's Jo Ravenhall.

In the Over-35 rubber which completed the tie, Nottingham's Karl Murray defeated Will Brand 9-6, 9-1, 8-10, 9-6 to clinch an overall 11-4 points victory for the East Midlands side.

In the other morning tie, Chichester completed a 3/0 win over Northumberland - but went down 1/2 to Connaught in the afternoon session.

Nottingham however earned maximum points in their afternoon tie against Tynesiders Northumberland, with King and Zipser securing straight games wins and Karl Murray recovering from a game down to beat the Newcastle club captain Peter Carter 7-9, 9-1, 9-4, 9-3.

Sunday's final ties will see Nottingham (with 23 points) take on second-placed Chichester (16 points) - the East Midlands club needing just a single rubber to make sure of winning the top prize which includes a £700 travel voucher for each of the winning team members.

National Finals play-offs:

Nottingham bt Connaught 2/1 (Matt King lost to Elliott Fowell 9-3, 5-9, 9-6, 0-9, 3-9; Sarah Zipser bt Jo Ravenhall 9-1, 9-3, 9-3; Karl Murray bt Will Brand 9-6, 9-1, 8-10, 9-6)

Chichester bt Northumberland 3/0 (Paul Wykes bt Freddie Bolton 8-10, 9-3, 9-5, 9-7; Claire Briance bt Jackie Carter 9-4, 9-4, 9-5; Tim McIlwain bt Peter Carter 9-5, 9-4, 9-6)

Nottingham bt Northumberland 3/0 (Sarah Zipser bt Jackie Carter 9-7, 9-2, 9-4; Karl Murray bt Peter Carter 7-9, 9-1, 9-4, 9-3; Matt King bt Freddie Bolton 9-1, 9-6, 9-0)

Connaught bt Chichester 2/1 (Jo Ravenhall lost to Claire Briance 4-9, 0-9, 2-9; Will Brand bt Tim McIlwain 10-8, 9-6, 9-6; Elliott Fowell bt Paul Wykes 9-1, 9-2, 4-9, 9-3)

Points standings after two ties (final tie on Sunday): Nottingham 23, Chichester 16, Connaught 13, Northumberland 2