GREG Mairs, from Northwich, reached the end of National League finals day as a runner-up for a second successive year.

He was part of a Loughborough Sport side that avenged a defeat in last season’s showpiece when they saw off defending champions Team Derby in a play-offs semi final on Sunday.

However they endured heartbreak again after going down 3-1 to Birmingham Lions in the decider.

“We were confident going into the final but you can never be sure,” said Mairs afterwards.

“It’s been a good season, especially at home games with our crowd cheering us on but unfortunately not many of them made the final.”

Mairs, along with mixed doubles partner Jenny Moore, played a crucial role in a 3-2 victory against Derby.

They proved too strong for Ollie Baczala and Amanda Hogstrom, winning in four sets.

“We were really happy to get that result,” said Mairs, a former pupil at Weaverham High School.

“We went into it with the match level at 1-1 after two closely-contested games so we knew we needed to win.

“Fair play to our opponents; they came out strongly and, even after we won the first set quite comfortably, they changed their tactics and took it to us.

“We took a while to adapt after that, but in the end we’re pleased to win having played at a high level.”

Mairs and Moore suffered a reverse in the final at the Barclaycard Arena, going down 2-9, 9-6, 9-6, 9-6 against Nico Ruponen and Heather Olver.

The duo now have two more tournaments to play this term.

“We got to the Spanish International final in Madrid last year so hopefully we can retain some points and perhaps take it one further,” added the 21-year-old.

“After that we’ll think about getting stuck into training for next season.”

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