Bank of Bermuda Foundation CASA Championships ends…
Posted by Pat Foster on 21-Jul-2008Categories: News Comments: [comments closed]
The BSRA was strangely quiet yesterday as a handfull of volunteers helped to restore the club to it’s previous state.
120 competitors, plenty of parents, coaches, spectators, press people, friends, ex players, brothers, sisters, cousins, grand parents and 10 days of thrilling competition all helped to make the 2008 Bank of Bermuda Foundation Junior Carribean Championships a massive success.
Reports on Bermuda’s results are available on this site and on www.squashsite.com
All of the event photos will eventually (there are a lot of them!) be archived in the gallery section.
Well done to the teams and everyone who volunteered.
Rogers Report…
Posted by Pat Foster on 21-Jul-2008Categories: News Comments: [comments closed]
Reports by Roger Sherratt
Girls Final
Bermuda v Guyana
There was never any doubt as to which team would win the Girls Team Championship in the Bank of Bermuda Junior CASA Squash Tournament.
Guyana has completely dominated the Girls Division and had already won 3 of the 4 individual titles. They showed no mercy on hosts, Bermuda, completing a clean sweep of all five matches without conceding a single game.
Mary Fung-a-fat, in Girls Under 15, started the ball rolling with a comprehensive 9-0,9-0,9-0 win over Bermuda’s Alex Marshall. This was the 3rd successive match in which Fung-a-fat has not conceded a point. In the 2nd match, Kelly Barnes started well, taking the first 2 points from Guyana’s Under 17 individual champion, Keisha Jeffrey, and she continued to have some great rallies with the Guyana #1, but Jeffrey was just too strong in all aspects of the game, and always had the ability to kill the ball. The final score in this match 9-2, 9-0, 9-0 for Jeffrey.
At this point Bermuda had been completely outclassed, but during the next match, the Under 19 #1 between Rachel Barnes (Ber) and Daina King (Guy) the home spectators finally had something to cheer about as Barnes immediately went on the attack, playing deep and winning her share of points in the first game. It was close 9-7 for King but Barnes had shown that she does have the speed and power to play at a higher level. She continued to play well in the 2nd game but King began to ease ahead and won it 9-4. She conceded just one point in the 3rd game, and Guyana had by this time won the Girls Team Championship.
Next on court were the Under 13’s, with Bermuda’s Emma Keane facing the Girls Under 13 champion for the last 2 years, Victoria Arjoon (Guy), who is an exceptional young squash player. Arjoon won the first game 9-2 although Keane was still in the rallies and fighting hard. In the 2nd game Keane really came into her own, attacking the ball, driving well and causing Arjoon to look unsettled for the first time in the championships. Keane streaked ahead to 7-0 before Arjoon settled down and got back on track. She levelled at 7-7 and went on to win the 2nd 9-7. By this time Keane was beginning to tire while the young Guayana star was in full flow. Arjoon cruised through the 3rd game without dropping a further point.
The last match of the Team Finals saw Jenni Schroder for Bermuda taking on the Under 17 individual finalist, Kayla Jeffrey who’s twin sister had beaten her in the Final. Schroder and Jeffrey were playing as the Under 19 #2’s. Jeffrey was clearly the much stronger player and won the first two games without dropping a point, but as with all of the Bermuda players, Schroder showed fighting spirit and managed to score 2 points in the 3rd before it was over.
Boys Team Final
Bermuda v Guyana
The Boys Team Final proved to be the perfect finale to the championships for everyone, that is, except a disappointed Bermuda Team who can only wonder what might have been but for an unfortunate fall by one of their stars in the last match.
The Bermuda team started well as their Under 15, Noah Browne, stepped on court against Abhishek Singh. Brown, who is well over 6 feet tall, used his height and reach to great advantage, cutting off any loose cross court shots and being able to play winners without undue pressure. He dropped just 2 points in the 3rd game for a convincing win - first blood to Bermuda.
The 2nd match was a very fast paced encounter between Under 17’s Kristian Muldoon for Bermuda and Alex Arjoon for Guyana. Arjoon is a hard hitting attacking player but Muldoon was able to match him stroke for stroke. Both displayed great athleticism and stroke play, with Arjoon playing just slightly better length and with slightly more accuracy, especially on his forehand. He gradually eased ahead to win the first game 9-4. In the 2nd Arjoon maintained the furious pace, keeping Muldoon constantly changing direction and having to work harder for each point. As Muldoon began to show signs of tiring the young Guyanan began to utilize his effective drops to wins points. He won the 2nd game 9-4 and all looked lost for Muldoon, who then showed his grit and determination as he continued to chase every ball in the 3rd. On several occasions he had Arjoon running corner to corner, but Arjoon is clearly one of the fittest juniors in these championships and his “never say die” attitude won him points that other players might have given up on. He eventually proved too strong for Muldoon and won the 3rd game 9-6 to take the match.
At one match each, it was the turn of the Under 19 #1’s, with Robbie Maycock, the Under 19 individual champion stepping on court after his shock loss to Joe Chapman the previous day (Maycock had beaten Chapman comfortably in the individual finals by the same score), and Bermuda fans wondered with their star would have another uncharacteristic off day when it mattered the most.
Maycock was facing Raphael deGroot and he quickly dispelled any doubt about his intentions, starting confidently. He took an early lead in the first game, made few mistakes, and kept deGroot on the defensive. Maycock won it 9-3, and the 2nd game followed a similar pattern. deGroote, however, was still very much in the game and he chased everything Maycock could hit. At 2-0 for Maycock they had a superb rally, both making miraculous recoveries to keep the rally going. Maycock finished it off, or so everyone in the gallery thought, by playing a ball that was impossible for deGroot to retrieve but he hurled himself across the court, falling full length on the floor, while keeping the ball in play. Maycock flicked the ball to the back of the court, and deGroot made a superhuman effort to jump up and chase it - this time to no avail, but to the roars of appreciation from cheering spectators for his valiant effort.
Maycock continued to keep deGroot under pressure and took the 2nd game 9-2, then cruised through the 3rd game 9-0 to record the win for Bermuda. The captain had given his team the lead.
With possible victory in sight for Bermuda, their Under 13 hopeful, Beckett Simmons, was next, playing against Nyron Joseph for Guyana. Joseph proved too tough for Simmons and was able to coast through with a 3-0 win to level the overall match scores at 2-2.
The decider was between Micah Franklin for Bermuda and Oliver Kear-Downs for Guyana. With the combined hopes of both their teammates and fans, have these two youngsters ever played under such pressure? There was just one concern for the Bermuda contingent. Franklin had missed the semi-finals due to a slight groin strain and they wondered if he was match fit.
This promised to be a superb match - and it lived up to its billing at the start. Both players ran incessantly, played great shots, had lengthy rallies which had the gallery cheering every point. Kear-Downs won the first game 9-3, but Franklin fought back in the 2nd which he won handily 9-3, playing at a furious pace. The battle was on. The two continued at a fast pace at the start of the 3rd until Franklin, stretching for a ball deep in the back of the courts slipped, causing him to do the splits. The gallery was quiet for the first time in the Finals. He was given a couple of minutes to recover but at the re-start he was clearly limping. He continued to fight valiently although it was becoming obvious that he was having difficulty retrieving from the back of the court. He tried slowing down the pace but Kear-Downs was having none of it. He went on the offensive and won the 3rd game 9-5.
Although Franklin gamely played on, he looked uncomfortable, and exhausted, and Kear-Downs won the last game 9-0 to win the last match of the championship and secure the Boys Team Title for Guyana, to add to their Girls Team title. A clean sweep for Guyana.
This Championship has been played in the true spirit of the game of squash, and all credit to the players, their managers and coaches, the organizers and volunteers, the spectators, and all the parents who support their kids and their squash clubs throughout the Caribbean.
Denise Sommers, Bermuda National Coach
“I’m very pleased with the whole team. After working with them for the past 2 years I’ve seen an enormous improvement.
This year we were seeded 4th in both Boys and Girls Team championships, so reaching the finals and finishing 2nd in both is even better than expected. Guyana has an exceptionally strong Girls Team and were always going to win, but this year our girls gave them a good run around. Emma Keane played very well against Victoria Arjoon. Alex had a good tournament overall. She won a very important match in the semi-finals and I was pleased with her performance.
Rachel and Kelly Barnes both handled the extra pace well, and I hope it inspires them all to train more.
Our Boys Team also played very well indeed. Noah Browne was expected to win and he gave us just the start we needed.
Kristian Muldoon was on next and he played really well despite losing 3-0. He was always in the rallies. He just needs to be more patient and he needs more experience and exposure to international competition.
Robbie Maycock was clearly the better player in his match against Raphael deGroot. He plays the ball so well. He’s had excellent coaching and is very talented. Robbie plays at pace, knows where to hit the ball, and with his past experience he’s easy to coach. That experience overseas makes such a big difference. It was good to see him win his 4th individual title in his last year as a junior.
Beckett Simmons lost today but overall he has also played exceptionally well. He played what was really the deciding match in the semi-finals and kept his cool. He is a lovely lad to coach.
Micah Franklin played great throughout the championships. He has all the abilities. He’s mentally strong and very dedicated, and his racket skills are rapidly improving. He can handle a very fast pace technically and as he develops physical strength he has the potential to be a really great player.
We’re had an excellent performance by both of our teams; we have a young squad and they can only get better. After competing so well it should inspire them to continue improving. The future looks good for our juniors.”
