North Kessock squash star Greg Lobban spearheads historic Heriot-Watt University run to championship finals
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Greg Lobban will be part of a history making squad tomorrow afternoon as he leads Heriot-Watt University into a national final.
The 31-year-old, who came through the ranks at Inverness Tennis and Squash Club, enrolled into the institution's sports scholarship programme last year, balancing a degree in international sports management with competing on the Professional Squash Association World Tour.
It is the first time the Edinburgh university have made it to the British University and College Sports (BUCS) Championship final, which will take place in Loughborough as part of BUCS Big Wednesday.
The Scots have already beaten Aberdeen, Loghborough and the University of the West of England – who were the top seeds – to reach the final, with only Birmingham left standing in their way.
Scottish number one Lobban leads a Heriot-Watt side that also includes Andrew Glen, Anoopp Nithiyanandam, Connor Hayes, Finlay Halton, James Taylor and Tino Mackay Palacios.
Birmingham boast a strong squad of their own, featuring former world number 22 Moustafa Elsirty and Scottish prospect Rory Richmond.
Heriot-Watt head coach, Lobban's wife Donna, said: “The guys have been putting in so much hard work this year, and they’ve been getting better and better.
“Playing in the championship finals is huge for the squash team and huge for the university – there’s a real buzz about the team and the sports union at the moment – everyone is behind the team.”
The University team have been making waves in the Scottish National League as well this season, with both the men’s and women’s teams currently topping the tables.
With a mixture of experienced heads and first year students, the opportunity to play squash regularly and compete at a high level has been welcomed by the players involved.
Ben Graham, sports union co-ordinator at Heriot-Watt University said: “For years we’ve been extremely proud of the great achievements of our male and female squash athletes at Heriot-Watt, working so closely with the Scottish Squash set up previously to now thriving in their own Scholarship Programme with additional investment and support from Oriam and the university to make us a destination for top level squash players to thrive alongside their academic endeavours.
“The programme is spear-headed by Donna who has had such great success since she came in two years ago. We’ve seen development at the top of the ladder all the way through to thriving beginners and recreational activity, so making it further than we’ve been before in BUCS is a great way to cap off a really exciting year for Squash here on campus.
“We follow the team down with every hope they can come back with some silverware, but also really enjoy the experience of representing their university alongside their peers at the top of their sport as a lifelong memory.”
