ISLAY MCKENZIE AND SAM MCCONNACHIE ARE THE JUNIOR MIXED DOUBLES CHAMPIONS
Many congratulations to Islay McKenzie and Sam McConnachie (Dewars. Perth) who came out top at the 2024 Scottish Junior Mixed Doubles Championship. They beat Cara Thomson and Arran Thomson (Dewars, Perth) in the final to lift the trophy.
Both eventual finalists competed in Section A. While Thomson/Thomson won their first three games, McKenzie/McConnachie made it two successive wins before losing out to Tia Laurie and Jack Halliday (Dumfries). They bounced back in the next draw versus Thomson/Thomson though and with both sides winning their final section fixtures, they progressed on four in one records each.
Over in Section B, Elin Soutar and Calum Skea (Forfar) were running away with it, winning all of their games to go through to the play-offs on a perfect record. Amy Mitchell and Kaleb Johnston (Greenacres) were best of the rest, having prevailed in all of their fixtures except the one versus Soutar/Skea.
It was a similar story in Section C where there was no beating Callie Soutar and Finlay Rutherford (Dewars, Perth). However, the fight for the remaining play-off spot was tight with Holly Clemie and Fraser Rankin (Kinross) and Rebecca O’Sullivan and Stewart Kyle (Dumfries) tied on a three in two record. The decision went to head-to-head and the showdown between the two teams back in Session 6 where Clemie/Fraser had claimed an 11-3 win over O’Sullivan/Kyle.
Finally, Kirsty Gallacher and Jake McDonald (Dumfries) dominated Section D and went through unbeaten. Again, two teams were tied on three in two records for runner-up spot, nothing separating Chloe McNaughton and Jamie Gorton (Dewars, Perth) and Samantha Torrance and Jonathan Blair (Auchenharvie). Draw 8 proved to be decisive with McNaughton/Gorton having claimed an 11-6 win over Torrance/Blair.
With the qualifiers set, it was on to the quarter-finals. Soutar/Rutherford had a quiet start with a single score in End 1 versus Mitchell/Johnston. However, they went on to steal in the next five ends to secure a 9-0 victory. It was a similarly straight-forward story between Clemie/Rankin and Soutar/Skea, the former starting the game with a single steal and collecting more from there to bag an 8-1 success.
Next door, McNaughton/Gorton were first on the board with a steal of two, but McKenzie/McConnachie responded with a five to take the lead. They didn’t look back and stole a few times to secure a 9-3 result. The game between Gallacher/McDonald and Thomson/Thomson was the tightest of the lot. Gallacher/McDonald opened with a single, but Thomson/Thomson answered with a four that gave them the advantage. Immediately, Gallacher/McDonald responded and were back in the lead, albeit by a point only after six ends. However, Thomson/Thomson stayed cool and got a three on the board, followed up by a single steal, that earned them a 9-6 win.
On to the semi-finals! Only a point separated Clemie/Rankin and McKenzie/McConnachie in the latter’s favour after six ends. McKenzie/McConnachie stepped up their game even further though in the last ends, scoring three in 7 and stealing two in 8 to bag a 10-4 win. Meanwhile, Thomson/Thomson took control of their game early, forcing Soutar/Rutherford to singles while scoring a three and a four themselves in the first half. There was no way back into the match for Soutar/Rutherford and they conceded with an end to spare, 10-3 the final scoreline.
Thus, the final was set between McKenzie/McConnachie and Thomson/Thomson. The scores were tied on three-all at the break with the second half set to decide proceedings. McKenzie/McConnachie had a quiet restart with a single score, but they went on to steal in the following three ends, to take the game – and the Scottish Junior Mixed Doubles title – by 10-3.
Full results are available here.
