Jess Graham wins Australian Under 19 Girls title

Victorian Jess Graham has stamped herself as one of the up-and-coming stars in Australian squash by securing the national Under 19 Girls title on the final day of the Australian Junior Squash Championships individual tournament in Sydney.

Graham, who represented Australia at the World Junior Championships in Poland in August, claimed the title after winning a gruelling five-game encounter with South Australian 3-4 seed, Lauren Aspinall.

After a slow start which saw her lose the first game, Graham responded to take out the second to get the match back on an even keel. 

Aspinall reclaimed the advantage when she grabbed the third, but Graham dug deep in the final two games to eventually secure a hard-fought 6-11, 13-11, 3-11, 11-8, 11-3 victory in 40 minutes.

The 17-year-old's victory was the highlight of a fantastic day for the Victorian Junior State Team, which also saw Dylan Molinaro compete in the Under 15 Boys final.

The 5-8 seeded Molinaro entered the decider against second seed Wesley Dwyer in impressive form, following imposing wins in his quarter-final and semi-final clashes against top seed Remi Young and 3-4 seed Haani Qureshi respectively.

In yet another tough five-game match, Molinaro's winning streak looked set to continue when he burst out of the blocks to take the first two games, before Dyer found his groove to win the next three and take out a 5-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 victory.

The Victorian Junior State Team's attention now turns to the teams event at the Australian Junior Squash Championship, which will begin on Thursday September 29 and run through to Sunday October 2.

For more results from the final day of the individual event at the Australian Junior Squash Championships, click here.

Image above: Jess Graham (middle) with her Under 19 Girls national title (Image Credit: John Lockton).