MacPherson upsets the odds to win final

BADMINTON: Heather MacPherson (Royal High School) scored an upset win over Knox Academy’s Hannah Laing in the final of the senior girls’ singles at the Scottish Schools’ Championships at Ravenscraig Sports Centre in Motherwell.

In a thrilling final, McPherson, the No 3 seed, beat her top-seeded Scottish junior colleague 21-19 22-24 21-17.

Heather then teamed up with her younger sister, Julie, and won the senior girls’ doubles with a 21-7 21-5 final victory over Carol Nicoll and Candice Towler (King’s Park Secondary School).

It continued a great season for the MacPherson sisters – they were both winners at the Ashaway Meadowbank Junior Tournament in December.

In an all-Ayrshire senior boys’ singles final, Ben Torrance (Prestwick Academy) justified his No 1 seeding with a 21-10 20-22 21-14 win over James Milton (Auchinleck Academy).