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 Berkshire
Open 2006
02-07 Oct, Williams College, MA |
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07-Oct-06,
Finals:
[1] Sharon Wee (Mas)
[8] Joshna Chinappa (Ind)
9/4, 9/0, 9/4
[4] Cameron Pilley (Aus) bt
[6] Hisham Ashour (Egy)
11/9, 11/9, 11/5
Men's Draw
Women's Draw |
Berkshire titles for
Sharon and Cameron
Malaysia's Sharon Wee collected her second WISPA title in
a month, and the sixth of her career, as she fulfilled her top
billing to beat India's surprise finalist Joshna Chinappa in
straight games in the final at Williams College.
The men's title went to Australia's Cameron Pilley, who also
enjoyed a straight-games win in the final, over Hisham Ashour, to
claim his eleventh career title and his first of 2006. |
Action
Photos by Tavis Moonan, reports from the Williams
College squash
team,
scenes from
Williams in Pictures |
 |
 |
Pilley and Wee take care of business in Berkshire
By Chris Newbound
Williamstown? For squash fans in the Berkshires, being able to
watch a top international field compete at the Simon Squash Center
at Williams College this past week has been squash nirvana.
For Cameron Pilley, playing in the finals of the Berkshire Squash
Open must have been more like deja vu. Although it
wasn't quite a case of 'been there, done that' Pilley had reached
the finals of last year's tournament. The lanky Australian,
however, had lost in last year's final, making it more a case of,
'been there, but not quite done that'. Not yet, at least.
Needless to say, the twenty-four-year old had a bit of unfinished
business to complete. But on Saturday night, Pilley took care of
that unfinished business by winning the third annual Berkshire
Squash Open and doing so in a business-like manner, efficiently
defeating Egyptian
Hisham Mohd Ashour in three straight games that took less than 33
minutes to complete.
Sharon Wee, the women's champion, didn't exactly procrastinate
either, defeating the eighth-seed upstart (and happy-just-to-be
there) Joshna Chinappa of India, 9-4, 9-0, 9-3 in just 28 minutes.
Which is not to say that there wasn't some brilliant squash out
there. Just that it was somewhat short-lived, and perhaps not
quite as brilliant as had been showcased on previous nights, most
notably Friday night's men's semi-final match when last year's
winner Laurens Jan Anjema of the Netherlands was upset by Ashour.
While the Berkshire Squash Open, the brainchild of tournament
director and squash coach at Williams College, Zafi Levy, is now
in its third year, this was the first year that top professional
women were invited to compete for some of the $31,400 in total
prize money. But for those who came
especially to see the top women compete, they must have been a
little disappointed. After pulling off the upset of the women's
tournament the night before by defeating fifth-seed Dianne Desira
of Australia, Chinappa seemed a bit overwhelmed to be in the final
against such an experienced opponent.
Chinappa even brought this fact to everyone's attention in her
pre-match remarks when she said that the Malaysian Wee was a much
more experienced player who had many good results on the circuit,
all but saying 'and so, she'll
most likely beat me'. Both players, however, seemed a bit
tentative at first, getting off to slow starts. Each player made
some bad errors on the points when they were serving, resulting in
neither player getting on the board for the first two minutes of
the match. But after working themselves into a 2-2 tie, points
began to come more easily to Wee, mostly due to continuing gifts
from Chinappa who stubbornly went for low-percentage drops that
either found the
tin, or allowed Wee to control the 'T'.
After running off six points in a row, Wee then coasted to a 9-4
first-game win that took her ten minutes to complete.
If Chinappa seemed a bit unfocused in the first game, she was
completely elsewhere in the second. The combination of Chinappa's
rather lacklustre play and Wee picking up her game considerably,
tightening up her rails, and then easily picking off Chinappa's
loose shots in the air and volleying them away with a deft touch,
led to a blink-and-you'd-miss-it 9-0 second-game win for Wee.
While Chinappa displayed a few bursts of brilliance in the final
game, playing at moments the kind of squash that led to her being
there in the first place, it was a case of too little, too late;
Wee finished
the match off without too much of a fight from Chinappa, winning
the final game 9-3.
The 29-year-old Wee was obviously not very taxed, saying
afterwards that she'd felt 'very comfortable' out there. And had
felt 'very confident' going into the match. She has very good
touch so I wanted to hit tight drives and wide cross-courts, and I
think she got a bit frustrated.
The men took the court shortly before 7:00 p.m., the crowd now a
bit impatient to see a more hard-fought final. Going into the
match, there was much anticipation about the contrast of styles on
the men's side: The 6'4" Pilley is all about efficiency, playing
the percentages, making things look as easy as possible as he
covers the court in just a few loping steps and using his
expansive wingspan to simply reach for balls that would get past a
smaller player.
Ashour, on the other hand, is all about shot making, playing the
angles, but not always playing the odds. In his brilliant
semi-final match just twenty-four hours before, he'd shown the
guts of a burglar, literally stealing the match away from last
year's winner and number one seed Laurens Jan
Anjema of the Netherlands and showing off the kind of squash that
tournament director Levy called, 'the best match he'd seen in the
three years of the Berkshire Squash Open'.
The question was would his hard-fought semi-final win propel him
to another level against Pilley, or had he already spent his best
squash of the tournament. Initially the answer seemed to be
former, as Ashour came out swinging, playing at a pace that
clearly Pilley wasn't quite prepared for.
Despite Ashour dictating the early pace of the match, going for
his shots right off the bat and making his patented deft backhand
boast near the front, he couldn't quite
break away from Pilley. And it must have been a bit discouraging
for Ashour to be tied at 6-6, claw his way up to 8-6 only to have
Pilley methodically pull even and then ahead to 9-8. Perhaps the
turning point of the first game, and even the match itself, came
at 9-9 when after a long, dramatic rally, Ashour tinned an easy
drop to go down 10-9. Pilley then ended up winning the game on the
next point with a nick winner after another lengthy rally, pumping
his fist
after the twelve-minute first game was his.
Game two mirrored the women's in many ways; Ashour seemed to be
either too tired or simply distracted from having lost the first
game, and made a string of bad errors out of the gate to
practically hand Pilley a big lead and an
eventual 11-5 win.
While the pace slowed considerably in the third game, the players
returning to trading points, at 6-5 Pilley started to slowly pull
away again, and after Ashour briefly flirted with the idea of
mounting a comeback, the 24-year-old Australian was able to seal
the deal, earning himself three
thousand in prize money for his week's worth of work, as well as
some much needed points that will go toward improving his
world-ranking.
|
|
06-Oct-06,
Semi-finals:
Upsets Abound at Williams
[1] Sharon Wee (Mas) bt [4] Samantha Teran (Mex)
9/3, 9/4, 9/6 (33m)
[8] Joshna Chinappa (Ind) bt [6] Dianne Desira (Aus)
9/1, 10/8, 9/2, 10/8 (42m)
[6] Hisham Ashour (Egy) bt [1] LJ Anjema (Ned)
4/11, 11/8, 2/11, 11/6, 11/5 (53m)
[4] Cameron Pilley (Aus) bt [2] Shahier Razik
11/8, 11/6, 11/7 (55m)
Men's Draw
Women's Draw |
|
Action
Photos by Tavis Moonan, reports from the Williams College squash
team, scenes from
Williams in Pictures |
[4] Cameron Pilley (Aus)
bt
[2] Shahier Razik
11/8, 11/6, 11/7 (55m) |
Pilley punishes Razik
In sleepy Williamstown, the Friday night semi-final between
Australian Cameron Pilley and Canadian Shahier Razik opened at a
fast pace.
In contrast to Shahier, who looked at ease, even relaxed, Cameron
appeared driven, quickly moving Shahier to the front of the court.
With Cameron up 6-4, both players settled into a rhythm. The points
developed into much longer rallies, and when Cameron took a large
and audible relaxing breath mid-rally at 8-8, you could almost feel
him lift his level of play. He won the game 11-8, finishing on a
cross-court volley nick to the front-right corner the perfect
choice delivered by a perfect swing.
With hard fought rallies that drew gasps from the crowd, the second
game picked up where the first left off as Cameron and Shahier
stretched and scraped, retrieving balls that seemed buried in the
corners.
Shahier's antics, including two creative hand-gestures, also drew a
few gasps and laughs from the crowd. Cameron appeared content to let
his flash come from his nick-seeking cross-courts. Although, after a
driving volley that left Shahier plastered to the back-wall, Cameron
asked the referee, "you should have given me three points for that,
no?"
Winning the second game 11-6, Cameron used the momentum from his two
game lead in the third. He hunted the nick with deadly precision,
also showing patience by slowing the game down in the middle, the
Australian clearly dictating the pace and style of play.
Cameron could stop the rally at will, as Shahier seemed unable to
counter his kill-shots. At 6-6, Cameron, ranked 24th in the world
pulled ahead of the 22nd player and did not look back, winning the
third 11-7, and advancing to the final.
|
[6] Hisham Ashour (Egy)
bt
[1] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
4/11, 11/8, 2/11, 11/6, 11/5 (53m) |
Ashour outlasts Anjema
In the second men's semifinal, Hisham Ashour barely edged Laurens
Jan Anjema to advance to the men's final.
 Ashour's
creativity in the front court finally proved to be too much for
Anjema's tenacious, consistent play. Anjema made few errors, but
Ashour's persistent cross-court nicks frustrated the Dutchman and
provided Ashour with the edge he needed to take this long
five-game match.
Ashour's incredible deception did not faze Anjema in the first
game, who was able to cruise through by a score of 11-4. Anjema's
wrist-flick, half-volley forehand kept Ashour in the back court
for the majority of the game, and forced the Egyptian to make some
errors that eventually gave Anjema the game.
In the second, Ashour jumped out to an early 7-2 lead due to some
tight drop shots, but a few incredible efforts and cross-court
nicks brought the hard-working Anjema back into contention.
However, some long rallies and fast-paced play eventually caught
up with Anjema, and Ashour was able to take the game 11-8.
Anjema's hard work frustrated Ashour in the third, and Anjema
easily took the game. It was a different story in the fourth,
however, as Ashour easily took the game from Anjema by the score
of 11-6. Although both competitors fought through some long
rallies characterized by cross-court volley battles, Ashour's deft
drop shots eventually provided him with the necessary advantage to
take the game.
In the end, Ashour's creativity and deception proved to be too
much for the tired Anjema. He made fewer mistakes in the fifth,
and came through with some winning drop shots to the corners. He
took the fifth in convincing fashion 11-5, and advanced to the
final to play Australian Cameron Pilley.
|
[1] Sharon Wee (Mas) bt
[4] Samantha Teran (Mex)
9/3, 9/4, 9/6 (33m) |
Sharon stops Samantha
Top seed
Sharon Wee of Malaysia took on Samantha Teran
of Mexico first women's semi-final.
 With
powerful movements and a touch that seemed to come alive as the
match progressed, Sharon came on the offensive early and often,
stretching Samantha to all four corners of the court. As Sharon
upped the intensity with her volleys, Samantha tried to counter with
a mixture of high-arcing lobs and penetrating lengths, but
ultimately, it was not enough as Sharon won the first 9-3.
 Sharon
began the second game with the same precise ball placement that won
her the first. In what developed into a highly contested game,
Samantha must have felt as though she was running a marathon on
court.
Would her tremendous court-speed be enough to overcome Sharon's
calculating shots? Both players volleyed more in this game, further
intensifying the pace, forcing more bumps and let calls. But
Sharon's consistent attacks, especially from the volley, won her the
game 9-4.
In the face of a few close calls against her, Samantha kept her
composure and focus after going down 0-3 in the third. She battled
back to go up 5-3, and for a moment, it seemed as if the match's
momentum had turned.
Sharon survived this scare by returning to her volleys. Under this
pressure, Samantha tried to end the rallies quickly but too often
found the tin, losing the third 6-9, and the match. |
[8] Joshna Chinappa
(Ind) bt
[6] Dianne Desira (Aus)
9/1, 10/8, 9/2, 10/8 (42m)
|
Joshna jettisons Dianne
Indian champion Joshna Chinappa created a second successive upset
as she advanced to the final at the expense of Australian Dianne
Desira.
Using a combination of deceptive drop shots and great depth,
Chinappa easily took the first game 9-1. Desira started out
with a defensive mindset, and was unable to reach Chinappa's
effective cross-court drops.
 Chinappa
opened up the second game in much the same way as the first and
built up an 8-0 advantage. However, Desira calmed down, stepped
forward, and took advantage of some costly errors by Chinappa.
Longer rallies favoured Desira's hard-hitting style, and she
managed to work her way back to a second-game tiebreaker. However,
Desira momentarily lost focus and two untimely shots into the tin
gave Chinappa the second game.
 Chinappa
looked poised to take the third and the match, but Desira appeared
determined to mount a comeback. The Australian opened the game
with a 6-0 advantage, and did not look back on her way to taking
it 9-2. Things were looking a little less optimistic for Chinappa
as Desira began to anticipate the Indian's previously effective
cross-court drop shots.
The atmosphere was tense as both players arrived on court for the
fourth. Chinappa opened with four straight points, but Desira did
not give up. In a similar fashion to game two, Desira came back
and forced the game into a tie-breaker. It was an exciting finish
as both players battled hard, but Chinappa emerged victorious
after Desira placed two final shots into the tin.
|
 Berkshire
Squash Open
Williamstown, MA, 02-07 Oct, $20k |
Round One
04 Oct |
Quarters
05 Oct |
Semis
06 Oct |
Final
07 Oct |
[1] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
11/6, 11/6, 11/8 (45m)
[Q] Julian Illingworth (Usa) |
Laurens Jan Anjema
11/1, 11/8, 11/6 (39m) Chris Gordon |
Laurens Jan Anjema
4/11, 11/8, 2/11, 11/6, 11/5 (53m)
Hisham Ashour |
Hisham Ashour
11/9, 11/5, 11/5
Cameron Pilley |
[7] Mark
Chaloner (Eng)
11/7, rtd (14m)
Chris Gordon (Usa) |
[4]
Shahid Zaman (Pak)
7/11, 11/5, 11/1, 8/11, 11/7 (40m)
[Q] Amr Ramzy Swelim (Egy) |
Amr Ramzy Swelim
11/10(3-1), 11/7, 11/8 (43m)
Hisham Ashour |
[6] Hisham Ashour (Egy)
11/7, 0/11, 11/3, 11/9 (40m)
[Q] Chris Ryder (Eng) |
[Q] Reghardt Schonborn
(Ger)
11/4, 11/4, 11/5 (30m)
[6] Borja Golan (Esp) |
Borja Golan
11/8, 11/10(2-0), 5/11, 11/10(3-1) (63m)
Cameron Pilley |
Cameron Pilley
11/8, 11/6, 11/7 (55m)
Shahier Razik |
Jean-Michel Arcucci
(Fra)
11/6, 11/8, 11/4 (35m)
[4] Cameron Pilley (Aus) |
Mark Heather (Eng)
8/11, 11/7, 3/11, 11/5, 11/5 (75m)
[8] Matthew Giuffre (Can) |
Mark Heather
11/5, 11/6, 11/6 (41m)
Shahier Razik |
Shawn DeLierre (Can)
12/10, 11/4, 11/7 (45m)
[2] Shahier Razik (Can) |
Qualifying
02/03 Oct:
Finals:
Chris Ryder (Eng) bt Miguel Rodriguez (Col)
11-2, 11-4, 11-0 (25m)
Reghardt Schonborn (Ger) bt Wade Johnston (Aus)
15-13, 11-1, 7-11, 11-9 (55m)
Amr Swelim (Egy) bt David Phillips (Can)
11-9, 10-12, 7-11, 11-3, 11-5 (55m)
Julian Illingworth (Usa) bt Raj Nanda (Aus)
11-7, 6-11, 11-9, 11-1 (45m)
Round One:
Miguel Rodriguez (Col) bt Yann Perrin (Fra)
11/9, 12/10, 10/12, 11/6
Chris Ryder (Eng) bt Ahmed Maged Hamza (Egy)
11/5, 11/9, 11/8
Wade Johnston (Aus) bt Andre Holderegger (Sui)
7/11, 13/11, 20/18, 11/6
Reghardt Schonborn (Ger) bt Nicholas Kyme (Ber)
12/10, 11/7,11/7
Amr Ramzy Swelim (Egy) bt Bernardo Samper (Col) 11/6,
11/4, 11/7
David Phillips (Can) bt Ryan Donegan (Usa)
11/4, 11/3, 11/3
Julian Illingworth (Usa) bt Siddarth Suchde (Ind)
5/11, 3/11, 11/9, 11/7, 11/7
Raj Nanda (Aus) bt Michael Reid (Can)
11/4, 11/0, 11/9
|
 Berkshire
Squash Open
Williamstown, MA, 02-07 Oct, $11k |
Round One
04 Oct |
Quarters
05 Oct |
Semis
06 Oct |
Final
07 Oct |
[1] Sharon Wee (Mas)
9/0, 9/5, 9/1 (19m)
Katie Patrick (Can) |
Sharon Wee
9/3, 9/3, 9/3 (30m)
Mami Nishio |
Sharon Wee
9/3, 9/4, 9/6 (33m)
Samantha Teran |
Sharon Wee
9/4, 9/0, 9/4
Joshna Chinappa |
[7] Georgina Stoker
(Eng)
9/6, 10/9, 9/6 (60m)
Mami Nishio (Jpn) |
[4] Samantha Teran
(Mex)
9/2, 9/0, 9/1 (30m)
Tara Mullins (Can) |
Samantha Teran
9/7, 9/6, 9/10, 9/5 (44m)
Louise Crome |
[6] Louise Crome (Nzl)
9/4, 9/0, 9/0 (30m)
[Q] Hope Prockop (Usa) |
[Q] Lauren Polonich (Usa)
9/3, 9/2, 9/6 (20m)
[6] Dianne Desira (Aus) |
Dianne Desira
9/6, 9/1, 9/2 (37m)
Runa Reta |
Dianne Desira
9/1, 10/8, 9/2, 10/8 (42m)
Joshna Chinappa |
[Q] Neha Kumar (Can)
9/5, 9/0, 9/1 (21m)
[3] Runa Reta (Can) |
[Q] Sachiko Shinta (Jpn)
9/4, 9/5, 9/4 (30m)
[8] Joshna Chinappa (Ind) |
Joshna Chinappa
9/6, 7/9, 10/8, 4/9, 9/1 (51m)
Tricia Chuah |
Chinatsu Matsui (Jpn)
9/3, 9/9, 9/3, 9/0 (39m)
[2] Tricia Chuah (Mas) |
Qualifying 02/03 Oct:
Finals:
Sachiko Shinta (Jpn) bt Fernanda Rocha (Arg)
9-3, 9-3, 6-9, 9-4 (40m)
Neha Kumar (Can) bt
Joann Jee (Usa)
9-5, 8-10, 9-4, 9-2 (40m)
Hope Prockop (Usa) bt Toby Eyre (Usa)
9-3, 9-5, 2-9, 10-8 (45m)
Lauren Polonich (Usa) bt Ashley Clackson (Can) 1-9, 9-5,
9-6, 9-4 (55m)
First Round:
Sachiko Shinta (Jpn) bye
Fernanda Rocha (Arg) bt Olivia Blatchford (Usa) 8/10,
9/2, 9/7, 9/6
Neha Kumar (Can) bye
Joann Jee (Usa) bt
Jennifer Cox (Usa)
9/1, 10/9, 9/4
Toby Eyre (Usa) bt Kathleen Whipple (Usa)
9/2, 9/1, 9/2
Hope Prockop (Usa) bye
Lauren Polonich (Usa) bt Julia Drury (Usa)
9/3, 9/0, 9/?
Ashley clackson (Can) bye
|
06-Oct-06,
Quarter-finals:
Desira and
Chinappa
upset the odds
Quarter-finals day at Williams College,
and this time around it was the women's draw that produced the upset
results.
Top seed Sharon Wee, on her birthday, duly reached the semi-finals
with a solid 3/0 win over Mami Nishio, and will meet fourth seed
Samantha Teran after the Mexican overcame Louise Crome in four close
games.
The bottom half of the draw saw Australia's Dianne Desira and
India's Joshna Chinappa upset the odds with wins over Runa Reta and
Tricia Chuah, respectively.
The men's matches were more predictable, with LJ Anjema setting up a
semi-final against Hisham Ashour while Shahier Razik will face
Cameron Pilley.
|
Photos by Tavis Moonan, reports
from the Williams College squash team |
[4] Cameron Pilley (Aus)
bt
[6] Borja Golan (Esp)
11/8, 11/10(2-0), 5/11, 11/10(3-1) (63m) |
Pilley edges out Golan
The first match to kick off the quarterfinals kept fans on the edge
of their seats as Borja Golan and Cameron Pilley both delivered an
exceptional performance.
 Solid
length and fast paced rallies defined the first game, and Pilley was
able to win it 11-8. In the second game, they battled to maintain
control of the T as Golan took a strong lead 10-7.
Despite being down three game-points, Pilley remained composed and
focused in order to tie the game score at 10-10. Pilley’s composure
carried him to a 12-10 second game victory, putting him ahead 2-0.
In the third, Golan took advantage of a momentary lapse in Pilley’s
focus. Golan played a game, winning 11-5, to make the match score
2-1.
Neither player would give the other an inch in the exciting fourth.
Both players fought evenly to bring the score to 10-10. Pilley’s
focus would ultimately pull through, however, winning the game
13-11.
|
[8] Joshna Chinappa (Ind) bt
[2] Tricia Chuah (Mas)
9/6, 7/9, 10/8, 4/9, 9/1 (51m) |
Joshna in the end ...
Joshna Chinappa and Triciah Chuah played a fast-paced five game
match. Both players hit very tight and accurate shots, which made
them cover the entire court for most of the match. The accurate
shot-making also forced both opponents to make several unforced
errors.
Until the last game, when it seemed like Chuah lost steam and the
players didn’t cross paths very much, many rallies ended in lets.
In the first game, Chinappa had a slow start, but then picked up
momentum and won 9-6. In the second, both players fought hard to
win and called a lot of lets. Chuah won 9-7.
Much of the third game was played in the front court, as both
women displayed their excellent drop shots and forward movement.
The game was close, but Chinappa made less unforced errors, and
won in overtime 10-8. Chuah won the fourth decisively. She gained
a quick 4-0 lead, and despite Chinappa’s tying of the score at
4-4, Chauah’s drops on the forehand side were too good.
She maintained her lead to win the game 9-4 after hitting a shot
that nicked and rolled out from the backhand corner.
The fifth game began with several 1-1 handouts, but then it seemed
like Chuah lost a lot of energy as she was overpowered by
Chinappa, who aggressively racked up six points in a row to win
the game 9-1 and the match 3-2. |
05-Oct-06:
Round ONE in Williamstown
It was the end of the road for the American qualifiers in
Williamstown, as Julian Illingworth, Hope Prockop and Lauren
Polonich all fell in the first round. That left Chris Gordon to
carry home hopes, and the National Under 23 champion will carry the
flag into the quarter-finals after enjoying an easy ride against the
injured Mark Chaloner. Gordon now faces top seed Laurens Jan Anjema.
There were two more unexpected quarter-finalists in Amr Ramzy Swelim
and Mark Heather, both beating seeded opposition - Shahid Zaman and
Matthew Giuffre, respectively - in five games.
Only one upest in the women's event though, with seven seeds through
and an all-Malaysian final between top seeds Sharon Wee and Tricia
Chuah still on the cards ...
Arcucci & Pilley |
Men's Draw
Women's Draw
Zafi's Corner
 The
tournament is progressing very well so far. Adding the
women's event makes a huge different as there are so many
players around all the time. Tonight we had 16 first round
matches, which was a lot of work.
My players on the Williams Squash team really help me a lot
with the organization of the event. The courts (we have 12
of them) are full all morning with the pros training for
their matches and the Williams players doing their workouts.
Starting at 5pm each night everybody around comes to watch
the pros play, our facility is rocking!
I am very happy to see some of the young players doing very
well in our event. Nothing makes me feel better than handing
a check to a struggling player. Chris Ryder, Reggie
Schonborn, Julian Illingworth, Chris Gordon and Amr Swelim,
all beat higher ranked players and will improve their
ranking because of the tournament.
The women's draw is going with no surprises so far, though
that might change tomorrow during the quarter finals.
Overall I am very happy with the 2006 Berkshire squash open
and hope that the rest of the tournament will be successful.
 |
Action
Photos by Tavis Moonan
|
Giuffre & Heather |
Crome & Prockop |
Golan & Schonborn |
Mullins & Teran |
Pilley & Arcucci |
Golan & Schonborn |
[8] Joshna Chinappa (Ind)
bt
[Q] Sachiko Shinta (Jpn) 9/4, 9/5, 9/4 (30m) |
Its great to
be back here in the States to play again. I usually play in
different places every time I come and this time its in
Williamstown.
A nice quiet place away from the city which is a refreshing
change!!!
My match today was pretty ok ... Looking forward to playing better
tomorrow.. see ya
 |
[1] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
11/6, 11/6, 11/8 (45m)
[Q] Julian Illingworth (Usa) |
 It's
good to be back here in Williamstown for the third year in a
row and it's good to see a young successful generation of American
players coming up.
Julian is getting better every time I play him! I'm happy to get
through in three games as I hope not to spend too much
energy in the earlier rounds..
 |
04-Oct-06:
Qualifying complete in Williamstown
The second day's play at Williams College saw four qualifiers reach
the men's and women's draws in this, the third Berkshire Open.
In the men's event England's World University Champion Chris
Ryder enjoyed an easy ride against qualifying top seed Miguel
Angel Rodrigues who injured himself early in the match.
Also qualifying were Egypt's Amr Ramzy Swelim, Germany's
Reggie Schonborn and the USA's Julian Illingworth, who
scored an upset win over qualifying second seed Raj Nanda - although
Illingworth's delight was somewhat tempered after being drawn
against top seed Laurens Jan Anjema.
In the women's event two locals, Hope Prockop and Lauren
Polonich made it through, alongside Canada's Neha Kumar
and qualifying top seed Sachiko Shinta of Japan.
|
Men's Draw
Women's Draw
Photos by Tavis Moonan |
| Chris Ryder (Eng) bt
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col) 11-2, 11-4, 11-0
(25m) |
 Just
come off court having basically had a walkover. Was playing Miguel
Rodrigues and he tripped in the third rally of the match and
obviously did some damage to his ankle.
Credit to him, he made me play on and win it but he was way off
the mark. Unlucky him, lucky me! So that makes me pretty happy
with my best points so far on PSA.
Having a good time here too. Arrived early (Friday) and have been
chilling out in Williamstown, which seems to be the 'in thing'.
Not too busy a place but very relaxing - the picture perfect
American small town. Looking forward to having a go at one of the
'big boys'!
|
| Julian Illingworth (Usa) bt Raj
Nanda (Aus) 11-7,
6-11, 11-9, 11-1 (45m) |
 I
started the match very well tonight, which was important because
yesterday it took me two games to find my legs, so I was really
focusing on coming out strong in the beginning. Which after thinking
about it is probably what I should be doing every match...
The third game tonight was critical. I went up 4-0, then he won 8
straight and was leading 9-6, and then I won 5 straight to take the
game and a 2-1 lead. This seemed to kill his motivation and he put
up very little fight in the last game.
I am happy to get through to the main draw, as I have a lot of
points to defend in this tournament from last year, and since I
dropped 30 ranking places in this month’s rankings this will do well
to push me back up a bit.
 |
| Reghardt Schonborn (Ger) bt
Wade Johnston (Aus) 15-13, 11-1, 7-11,
11-9 (55m) |
Wade played a great game and it is
always a tough match against him but I was lucky to push through in
the end.
The first two games went well for me but he came back and varied the
pace well to take the third game.
The people from Williamstown are treating the players really well
and it is nice to come out here and play in this tournament.
 |
 |
Neha Kumar (Can) bt
Joann Jee (Usa)
9-5, 8-10, 9-4, 9-2 (40m) |
 I
think I played a smart game as I was forced too since Jo Ann was a
quick mover and was retrieving my shots very well. Unfortunately I
have not played in a week and that was very noticeable in the lack
of accuracy of my shots and high error rate.
I'm looking forward to my next match tomorrow and hope to put forth
a strong game. I'm excited to be here to learn from the other WISPA
women by playing and watching them.
 |
|
Hope Prockop (Usa) bt Toby Eyre (Usa)
9-3, 9-5, 2-9, 10-8 (45m) |
Toby Eyre is a
great player. I really enjoyed our deep court exchanges. Had one of
us played more to the front, perhaps it would have been a different
outcome.
She is really fit and smart and a really good sport. I think at the
end of the match, wisdom prevailed but had we played a fifth, I
might have gassed out. She was getting stronger with each point.
I look forward to my next match.
 |
PREVIEW
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA—The Third Men’s
Berkshire Squash Open, a tournament featuring professional squash
players from around the world, will be held at Williams College
Tuesday, October 3rd through Sunday, October 8th, 2006.
Organized by Williams College squash coach Zafi Levy,
endorsed by the PSA, and presented by True North Financial,
Williamstown Savings Bank and Sabre Yachts, the event
will provide Williams students, local and visiting squash fans, and
those curious about the sport with an opportunity to watch some of
the best players in the world.
The Berkshire Squash Open is happy to announce the addition of
$11,400 professional women tournament to this year’s event.
With an increase in prize money of $ 31,000, this year’s Berkshire
Squash Open has become one of the top-ten squash tournaments in the
U.S., attracting some of the top-20 players in the international
professional ranking system.
As in past years the draw features players from many countries such
as: Australia, England, France, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, South Africa, and France as well as the U.S.
Begun in 2004, the Berkshire Squash Open is one of the few
professional sporting events in the Berkshires.
 "We
are very happy to help make this event possible. There is an
abundance of cultural and natural offerings in the Berkshires,
and a tournament of this level only adds to that already lengthy
list."
Manager of True North Financial’s Williamstown office |
Since the construction of the Simon
Squash Center in 1998, Williams’ excellent facilities have been a
magnet for a growing body of squash players, consisting of more than
60 Williams faculty and staff, 150 local residents, hundreds of
Williams students and a growing number of junior players from the
Williamstown-North Adams community.
The week-long competition will kick off on Monday, October 2nd with
the qualifying rounds concluding on Tuesday, October 3rd. From the
qualifying rounds, four players will emerge to round out the
16-player draw.
Twelve players will enter the main draw without qualifying,
including one wild-card entry: Chris Gordon, the highest-ranking
U.S. player, currently ranked 80th in the world.
The official opening round, or round of 16, will then begin on
Wednesday, October 4th, with the quarterfinals to be held on
Thursday, October 5th and the semi-finals on Friday, October 6th.
The two finalists will then square off on Saturday, October 7th,
when a third Berkshire Open champion will be crowned. Each day’s
rounds will begin at 5 P.M. |
|
|
"I
felt quite confident going into the match, and I felt very
comfortable out there. 
"He
was just too good at the start. I was just trying to weather
The
game was quite interesting and the enjoyable for the spectators.
It was a close match, and third game was the best since I had
match ball and my opponent played hard and won the game in a tie
breaker. 
Good
win for my birthday today. Mami is a good runner, so I was going
for killing shots when I had the opportunities. It worked. 
The match
today wasn't easy, but the scores was ok. It is always difficult
to play good squash from the first point of the first match
but I try to do it better every time that I play a tournament. 
Comfortable
win for me today. Will take a match at a time. 
G'day.
Again a great tournament here in Williamstown, very professionally
run by Zafi. All credit to him and his staff. 
Neha
played very well today. You really have to be on your toes with
Neha because her short game is so good and she's not afraid to use
it from all parts of the court. 
I'm
very happy to have won. It was tough, I didn't really feel like I
played that well but that was partly because he didn't let me. I
always felt like I was on the back foot with him up in front of
me. 
Today
I was very lucky, I nearly missed my match but thanks to Shahid he
played at the end it was a good match I'm happy to win and get
through to the quarters.
Well,
I guess that's only 1/3 of a win as I only won one game before
Mark 
