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02-Dec, Final:

[1] Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt [5] Jenny Duncalf (Eng)  
          9/3, 9/4, 9/6

Grainger powers to
Weymuller title

Natalie Grainger continued where she left off last night with another scintillating performance.

Natalie began the match with an incredible pace with early volleys which took Jenny by surprise, culminating in a 9/3 first game. From the beginning of the second game Jenny started to challenge Natalie by using a mixture of pace, better movement and she constructed rallies with more patience.

In the last two games there were a lot more service exchanges where jenny was trying to break through Natalie's dominance of the T but Natalie stayed strong and positive and there was no way through for Jenny.

Natalie went 6/3 up in the third and all of a sudden Jenny looked like she was going to make another one of her amazing come backs that we witnessed the night before against Vanessa as she clawed her way back to 6/6 but once again Natalie remained calm and totally focused and took the game 9/6.

This was a wonderful tournament and the players treated our members to some outstanding squash and we all hope they will all return next year.
 

(Happy 40th from us too!)

Two for one in Brooklyn ...

In Hong Kong Natalie talked of her aims, one of which was to regain the US Open title. At that time, to her disappointment, the Weymuller wasn't doubling up as the US Open (as it did last year).

Mid-way through the tournament came a request to bill it as the "Carol Weymuller US Open", so double congratulations are indeed in order for Natalie ...

27-Nov, Qualifying First Round:

Raneem El Weleily bt Stephanie Edmison         9-2 9-3 9-5
Annelize Naude bt Victoria Chishimba              9-3 9-0 9-2
Alana Miller bt Neha Kumar                             9-3 9-0 9-2 (16m)
Carolyn Russell bt Larissa Stephenson             9-3 9-0 9-5
Manuela Manetta bt Julie Cerullo                      9-6 9-2 9-5 (28m)
Lauren Briggs bt Nayelly Hernandez                 9-0 9-2 9-1
Amelia Pittock bt Samantha Cornett                 9-2 9-0-9-4
Tara Mullins bt Tina Rix                                    9-0 9-1 9-4 (32m)

01-Dec, Semi Finals:

Jenny Duncalf bt Vanessa Atkinson                   2-9 9-3 2-9 9-7 9-7
Natalie Grainger bt Shelley Kitchen                  9-4 9-1 9-3

The night started off with a tremendous battle between two good
friends culminating in a five set match which kept the crowd on the
edge of their seats.

 Vanessa will be extremely disappointed to have let this match go
considering she was mostly in control taking the first game in quick
fashion and then going 2-1 up in games and then to be 7-2 up in the
fourth and lose that game in one hand. The fifth was the same story as
Vanessa took another 7-2 lead playing some beautiful well constructed
rallies stretching Jenny to all parts of the court, but another lapse
in concentration saw Jenny claw her way back again in one hand.

 To Jenny's credit she played well through out the match and never
gave up, she seemed to save her best squash when she was down. At 7-2
down in the fifth she seemed to be the calmest player out there and as
she took one point at a time Vanessa began to get more and more edgy
culminating in a few unforced errors.

"I'm very pleased with the way I played tonight, as Fiona said
it was clinical. I was totally focused and managed to take the ball
early and move her around the court. I'm looking forward to playing
Jenny tomorrow."

"I just couldn't get in front of Natalie tonight. She
dominated the "T" and I didn't get the ball away from her enough. I
needed to change things up a bit and take her short and vary the
pace. I'm looking forward to a break now and celebrating Christmas."

"Really happy to be in the final. Started slowly but
managed to find my way back into the match in the 2nd but then Vanessa played a great 3rd game. I knew the fifth would be a close game so I was surprised to suddenly find myself 7-2 down and just told myself to give one more big push and it worked. Not really sure how I did it but I did and I am thrilled to be in the final. I really love this tournament but all this winning has cut down on my Christmas shopping!"

"I'm completed gutted!! It's the first time I have managed
to choke twice in one match!"

30-Nov, Quarter Finals:

Natalie Grainger bt Alison Waters                     5-9, 9-5, 9-3, 1-9, 9-2
Shelley Kitchen bt Kasey Brown                      9-7, 9-10, 9-1, 9-6
Vanessa Atkinson bt Laura Lengthorn-Massaro  9-1, 9-5, 9-1
Jenny Duncalf bt Vicky Botwright                    9-4, 7-9, 9-3, 8-10, 9-2

2006 Event

"I got the ball behind her better as the match went on and I took her into the front. Happy with my game, we play and practice together all the time so we know each others game and what to expect, I came out on top today."

"I was trying to slow the ball down and not hack and start the match really well but then lost my way. In the second I started slow but got back in front and volleyed and took it in short. pretty happy with my game and now I have a break until the new year."

"Really happy to be in the semis, as I have lost in the quarters in the last few events. I am happy with the way I am playing and I hope Jenny and Vicky have a marathon match."

"Vanessa played really well and my legs felt heavy from yesterday's match and I struggled to move to the front to pick up her short shots. because I was moving slowly to the front I felt like I was scrambling all the time and on the end of too many rallies. Vanessa got more confident as the match went on."

"Happy to get through it. My concentration was very patchy hence too many unforced errors. Once I got in the front of her and picked up the pace and kept the ball tighter I got in control."

"n the first and half of the second game I didn't feel like I was timing the ball well and my movement wasn't very flowing. Really disappointed to lose tonight as the last time we played I had to retire due to back injury and especially when I am seeded two in the event and this being my last tournament for 2007.

"Glad I won in the end. I felt like I was in control of most rallies but Vicky chases everything down which made the rallies tough. I tried to hold as much as possible to make her work extra hard. I couldn't convert any of match balls in the fourth. Happy to get a good lead in the fifth which gave me more confidence as the last game went on. I last played Vanessa in HK and won 3-1 just recently. She played well against Laura tonight and I am looking forward to playing her again as its always a clean match."

The Canadian Contingent ...


Some of the club juniors watching the matches

30-Nov, Quarter Finals:

Shelley Kitchen bt Kasey Brown                          9-7 9-10 9-1 9-6
Vanessa Atkinson bt Laura Lenghtorn-Massaro     9-1 9-5 9-1
Jenny Duncalf bt Vicky Botwright                        9-4 7-9 9-3 8-10 9-2
Natalie Grainger bt Alison Waters                        5-9 9-5 9-3 1-9 9-2

Qualifying complete in Brooklyn

The last day of qualifying is over after some very tough and competitive matches. One of our first matches featured no 1 qualifier Annelize Naude up against Alana Miller. Although Annelize went through to the main draw in three games it was a tough match, especially the first game. There were some long very contested rallies as both girls moved the ball around excellently and played some very patient squash, but that style of squash did seem to take its toll on Alana and from 4-3 Annelize then took control and raced to win that game 9-3 but the score line really does not reflect how tough that first game was.

The second was a rather quick affair, again the first game did seem to take the punch out of Alana as Annelize closed it out in quick fashion 9-0. A second wind from Alana did produce a better third game as she found her strength again and hit tighter balls and stepped up to volley more but Annelize was far too confident and in control by this stage although it took her 5 match balls to seal the victory with a backhand kill into the nick. Annelize now faces number 4 seed Shelley Kitchen from New Zealand in the main draw.

On the opposing court the very young and talented Egyptian Raneem El Weleily had an extremely tough battle with Canadian Carolyn Russell. After taking a 2-0 lead Carolyn dug deep and managed to tie the match at 2-2 the fourth game being a very tough affair, probably taking too much out of Carolyn as the young Egyptian went on to take the fifth game 9-1 and proceed into the main round to face number 3 seed Vanessa Atkinson.

Lauren Briggs looked totally in control in her match against Amelia Pittock from Australia dropping just 8 points in total and progressing through to play fellow English woman Jenny Duncalf in the main draw.

Manuela Manetta had a tough battle with Canadian Tara Mullins but eventually took control of the match after they were tied at 1-1 to go through to the main draw to face Kasey Brown yet again.

27, Nov, Qualifying Round One:

Raneem El Weleily bt Stephanie Edmison         9-2 9-3 9-5
Annelize Naude bt Victoria Chishimba              9-3 9-0 9-2

Alana Miller bt Neha Kumar                             9-3 9-0 9-2
Carolyn Russell bt Larissa Stephenson             9-3 9-0 9-5

Manuela Manetta bt Julie Cerullo                      9-6 9-2 9-5
Lauren Briggs bt Nayelly Hernandez                 9-0 9-2 9-1

Amelia Pittock bt Samantha Cornett                 9-2 9-0-9-4
Tara Mullins bt Tina Rix                                    9-0 9-1 9-4

Qualifying under way
in Brooklyn ...
Kasey Brown reports from Casino Heights

The first day of qualifying is complete with all the top seeds safely through without dropping a game.

The match of the night for the local crowd featured the highly talented and ever rising Italian Manuela Manetta taking on the club's very own top Junior Julie Cerullo. The club did not disappoint Julie with their support and Julie played one of her best ever matches against a formidable opponent.

Julie started off the match superbly and forced many un forced errors from Manuela who did look very uncomfortable and raced to a 5-1 lead in the first game, then going onto 6-2 and seeing the danger Manuela's experience shone through as she clawed her way back with Julie only serving once more to take a very nervy first game 9-6 in just over 12 minutes.

From then on the Italian found her confidence and eased through the second in just five minutes. The third sore a spirited fight back by the young US Junior but Manuela's experience and fitness took her through to the final round of qualifying in 28 minutes.

Number one seed for qualifying Annelize Naude played a very decisive game against Victoria Chishimba, dominating the 'T', looking for the volley and cutting the ball off short at every opportunity.

Victoria battled well with a small run of points in the middle of the first game and was controlling Annelize by putting her deep, but Annelize's length was very good too and she soon regained control for the rest of the match.