Women's World
Team Championships
24-30 September, Edmonton, Canada

Sat 30th, Finals:
England reclaim
World Team Title
Howard Harding & John Cushing report

England defeated Egypt 2/0 in the final of the Lexus of Edmonton Women’s World Team Championship at the Royal Glenora Club in Edmonton, Canada to reclaim the title they last won on 'home soil' in Sheffield in 2000.

With a squad featuring four players in the world top ten, England were overwhelming favourites to take the 2006 crown – but became world champions for the sixth time since 1985 in impressive style, winning all matches in their ties and dropping only five games throughout the competition.

Despite ending as runners-up, second seeds Egypt are celebrating their highest finish ever after taking fourth place in the past three championships.

The opening clash between the teams' second strings saw England's world No5 Vicky Botwright poised to open up a 2/0 lead over Engy Kheirallah, ranked ten places lower.

With game-ball at 8-4 in the second, Botwright had a simple straight forehand drop at the front - while her opponent was stranded at the back of the court and reaching for the door handle.

But Botwright's shot hit the tin – and a succession of missed opportunities later (including hitting a return of serve out of the court) led her to lose the game,

Having been handed the momentum, Kheirallah capitalised in the third with a strong range of early takes in the air which led to the Egyptian moving 2/1 ahead.

However, the more experienced 29-year-old from Manchester regained her composure and, after 77 minutes – the longest match of the finals day – Botwright put England ahead with a 9-3, 8-10, 4-9, 9-7, 9-2 victory over the world No15 from Alexandria.

"I knew again I was in the same position as against the Netherlands, that this was a pressure match, that the expectations were for me to win the first match against Engy and take the pressure off the team for their next matches. "There was nothing to lose and all to gain by winning."

By contrast, the clash between the number ones which followed was a one-sided affair that lasted a mere 21 minutes.

Bailey certainly had the upper hand throughout the match. The first game was played with great intensity, but in the second, Kawy moved less effectively on the court, moving late to get to Bailey’s shots especially along the left side wall, and Kawy’s returns were more defensive, high and soft, rather than the deep driving wall shots that are needed to keep Bailey moving.

Kawy had stepped onto the court wearing a bandage on her right calf. "It was too tight yesterday," said the 21-year-old from Cairo. "It felt much better today, but I felt it when I stretched so it was difficult. Squash players use their right leg a lot so it is no good when it doesn't work properly."

For the first two (and only) rallies of the third game, Kawy stayed back at the back court when completing her return, and Bailey just made winning shots to the front of the court with Kawy making no effort to go for the shot.

Then Kawy went to Bailey, conceded the game and the match, and shook hands. The surprise ending gave England the tie at 2-0, and the title of World Team Champions.

The final: Blow by Blow
  

Malaysia grab third

In the battle for third place, third seeds Malaysia beat Netherlands, the fourth seeds, 2/1 after world number one Nicol David levelled the tie by beating her Netherlands' rival Vanessa Atkinson – a former world number one in 44 minutes.

Tricia Chuah went on to clinch victory for the Asian nation with a straight-games win over Orla Noom to give Malaysia their first top three finish in eight appearances in the event since 1990.

Despite winning the play-off for fifth place, sixth seeds New Zealand marked their lowest finish in the event since making their debut in 1981 – but runners-up South Africa will not be unhappy with sixth place after beginning the event as 12th seeds and losing veteran captain Claire Nitch to injury early in the 2006 campaign.

Teenager Tenille Swartz rounded off her Edmonton experience with the biggest scalp of her short career. The 19-year-old South African from Parys, who has yet to make her debut on the WISPA World Tour, beat New Zealand's world No12 Shelley Kitchen – bronze medallist in this year's Commonwealth Games – 3/2 in 54 minutes.

Ireland claimed seventh place as they beat France 2-0. Celia Allarmargot took a two-game lead for the French - missing their number one Isabelle Stoehr for the whole of the playoff stage - before succumbing to a comeback from Aisling Blake, and world number eight Madeline Perry wrapped the tie up for Ireland.

The disappointing run of defending champions Australia took a turn for the worse when they lost 2/0 to Hong Kong in the play-off for 9th place. Melissa Martin and Kasey Brown both endured 75-minute battles – but 17-year-old Annie Au beat Martin and Asian Games champion Rebecca Chiu defeated Brown, both in five games.

The outcome sees Australia finish outside the top three for the first time since the inaugural event in 1979 – while Hong Kong celebrate their best conclusion in eight appearances since 1985.

Hosts Canada, who have competed in every event since its inauguration in 1979, rounded off with a 2-1 win over Japan for thirteenth place, their worst-ever finish.

FINAL & PLAYOFFS

FINAL
[1] ENGLAND [2] EGYPT 2-0
Vicky Botwright bt Engy Kheirallah 9-3,8-10,4-9,9-7,9-2 77m
Tania Bailey bt Omneya Abdel Kawy9-2,9-2,2-0 retired 21m

3rd/4th Playoff
[3] MALAYSIA bt [4] NETHERLANDS 2-1
Sharon Wee lost to Annelize Naude 1-9,3-9,6-9 27m
Nicol David bt Vanessa Atkinson 9-6,9-0,9-6 44m
Tricia Chuah bt Orla Noom 9-3,9-0,9-5 35m

5th/6th Playoff
[6] NEW ZEALAND bt [12] SOUTH AFRICA 2-1
Jaclyn Hawkes bt Diana Argyle 9-10,9-3,9-0, 10-9 54m
Shelley Kitchen lost to Tenille Swartz 9-1,7-9,9-3,7-9,0-9 54m
Louise Crome bt Karen van der Westhuizen 9-2,9-5,9-7 35m

7th/8th Playoff
[9] IRELAND bt [10] FRANCE 2-0
Aisling Blake bt Celia Allamargot 2-9,5-9,9-5,9-0,9-0 57m
Madeline Perry bt Camille Serme 9-1,9-1,9-1 19m

9th/10th Playoff
[5] AUSTRALIA lost to [8] HONG KONG 0-2
Melissa Martin lost To Christina Mak 9-1,3-9,5-9,9-6,9-5 75m
Kasey Brown lost To Rebecca Chiu 9-3,9-2,1-9,1-9,6-9 75m

11th/12th Playoff
[11] USA bt [13] GERMANY 2-1
Meredith Quick lost To Katharina Witt 10-8,7-9,6-9,3-9 40m
Latasha Khan bt Daniela Schumann 9-6,9-1,9-3 26m
Louisa Hall bt Kathrin Rohrmuller 9-6,1-9,9-1,6-9,9-5 40m

13th/14th Playoff
[7] CANADA bt [14] JAPAN 2-1
Carolyn Russell bt Chinatsu Matsui 9-5,7-9,10-8,9-5 59m
Runa Reta lost to Mani Nishio8-10,2-9, 10-8,9-3,2-9 67m
Alana Miller bt Sachiko Shinta 9-1,9-4,9-4 34m

15th/16th Playoff
[15] SPAIN bt [16] AUSTRIA 2-1
Chantal Moros lost to Birgit Coufal 0-9,5-9,0-9 19m
Elizabet Sado bt Pamela Pancis 6-9,9-7,9-7,9-3 44m
Laura Alonso bt Theresa Gradnitzer 9-1,9-6,9-2 23m

Egypt 2-1, far from easy ...

Second seeds Egypt on the other hand did not have as easy a time defeating the third seeded Malaysian team, who had reached the Semis for the first time since their debut in the event in 1990.

After Engy Kheirallah defeated Sharon Wee 3-0 in the first match, it seemed that Egypt might settle matters when Omneya Abdel Kawy took world number one Nicol David of Malaysia to the limit in the first game.

When David tied the score at 8-8, Kawy called “Set 1”, and returned David’s serve with a crosscourt nick. She repeated the feat when down a second game ball, but on the third occasion it was David's turn to hit a winner.

Kawy was so extended from the first game that David easily took the next two 9-0,9-0 to set up a decider.

The turning point in the deciding match, between Egypt's world junior champion Randeem El Weleily and Tricia Chuah, came with a missed winning drop shot by Chuah when serving at 7-8 in the first. Weleily then hit a winning drop shot of her own on the next rally to win the game 9-7.

From there on, Chuah could not sustain any momentum in the second game, and in the third game even with 6-3 and 7-5 leads she seemed to lose her concentration. Nonetheless, Weleily displayed some excellent winners from boasts and soft drop shots. Her 10-8 win in the third gave Egypt a berth in the final against England.
  

South Africa Surprise Package

Perhaps the surprise of the Championship is the play of South Africa.

Even as the 12th seeded team, they managed to continue their winning ways with a 2-1 win over No. 10 seed France to gain a berth for the 5th / 6th playoff against New Zealand.

Even though France was missing their No. 1 seed player, Isabelle Stoehr, South Africa’s coach, Richard Castle, said:

“If Claire (Nitch) too was playing, then I think the result would have being the same.”

Nitch suffered a knee injury in her second match forcing her out of the Championship. This is Nitch’s 8th World Team Championship, and probably her last, indeed she is one of the “veterans” of this Championship.

It is difficult comparing the rankings of players of the countries with those of South Africa as none have played WISPA tournaments.

That will change as their No. 1 seed Tenille Swartz will be going to the Netherlands to train with them, and eventually enter the World Open in Belfast in November. Swartz certainly showed her various squash skills in defeating Camille Serme 3-0 to give South Africa the victory.

Canada Composed

Host team Canada put their nerves away, and easily handled No. 16 seeds Austria 3-0.

Carolyn Russell played the No. 2 position for the first time, and showed her determination as she has in past matches by beating Birgit Coufal 3-0.

Runa Reta did the same at number one over Pamela Pancis, the 30-year-old who has been on the Austrian National Squash team since the age of 12.

26-Sep-06, Pools Day Three:
South Africa, Ireland & France surprise quarters, Aussies out
John Cushing reports (adapted by Steve Cubbins)

On the final day of pools action in Edmonton top seeds England, Egypt, Malaysia and Netherlands all made it through to the quarter-finals, but three teams made unexpected progress and hosts Canada and defending champions Australia had to settle for the 9-16 playoffs ...

Team Canada made a valiant effort to reach the Quarter Finals. Carolyn Russell, playing at number three, came back strongly from a game down to take the next three games to beat Egypt's Amnah El Trabolsy of Egypt. However, both Omneya Abdel Kawy and Engy Kheirallah, ranked 9 and 15 in the world, proved to be too much for Runa Reta and Melanie Jans as they both beat their Canadian opponents 3-0.

Ireland, seeded 9th, came to their last match tied with 8th seeded Hong Kong 1-1 in matches. Aisling Blake prevailed against Christina Mak, as Ireland won and advanced to the Quarter Finals at Hong Kong's expense.

South Africa continued from their upset over Australia on the opening day by beating Germany 2-1. They dropped the first match when Karen van der Westhuizen lost to Kathrin Rohrmuller, but South Africa’s number one Tenille Swartz breezed past Daniela Schumann to level the match. In the decider, having dropped the first game Diana Argyle persevered to win the next three games, thus giving South Africa a spot in the top eight.

Tenth seeds France seed had an easier time in advancing to the quarters by beating Spain 3-0, although they had wait for the outcome of the Egypt and Canada match before their place was confirmed.

For Australia, this is the first time since the Women’s World Team Championships started in 1979 that they have not made the Quarter Finals.
 
 

Amelia Pittock & Michelle Martin

Top seeds England on course

Results of the day:

A: England 3/0 Hong Kong
A: Ireland 3/0 Austria

D: Netherlands 3/0 South Africa
D: Australia 3/0 Germany

C: Malaysia 2/1 New Zealand
C: USA 2/1 Japan

B: Egypt 3/0 France
B: Canada 3/0 Spain  

Day Two full results:
  

Hong Kong Squad
 

Raneem v Soraya

''We had our most important match right off the start and unfortunately we didn't come out with the win. ''I knew I had a tall order against Isabelle and tried to pull something out. I had a great start and played well in patches. But I'm not as consistent as her right now. "All credit to France, they came out with nothing to lose, while we had the pressure.''

The second match was between #48 WISPA ranked Melanie Jans of Canada and #49 WISPA ranked Camille Serme of France. Serme won the first two games, both by scores of 9-5. in the third game, Jans came back winning throughout, 9-5. Serme appeared tired in the fourth game making several unforced errors hitting into the tin, losing to Jans 9-0. In the fifth, Serme played steady, hitting three boast winners, and prevailed to win 9-2. Serme took 62 minutes to win the second match 3-2, giving France with tie and overall win.

The match between third strings, Carolyn Russell of Canada and Soraya Renai of France was also a five game match. Russell prevailed in the fifth 10-8 to give Canada some consolation.

Good morning Fram, "I didn’t have a great start. Actually, I started playing as Camille was still on court, and my match could have been the decisive one. Then I found that we had already won… "I lost the first two games rather quickly, as I was stunned by the speed of her shots… "I was not able to slow the pace down to start with, but was able to do so as the match went on, got back to 2/2, but still lost the match having had 5 match balls…"

Hi Framboise "The whole team is delighted to have won, although it’s only the first step on a long journey. "My match was far from easy, my opponent had a very “different” squash, which took me time to get used to. I got tired after the first two games, and allowed her to come back at 2/2. "In the fifth, I was able to do what Philippe (my coach) was telling me, as in step in front and volley more. "Tonight will be a tough affair against the Egyptians. We are going to do our best even it’s going to be very hard…"

Aussies beaten by
South Africa

Meanwhile, the other upset of the day saw defending champions Australia - seeded five due to the absence of the Grinham sisters - suffer a 2-1 defeat at the hands of South Africa.

Australia were on course for their expected victory, however, when Queenslander Kasey Brown defeated South African teenager Tenille Swartz in 61 minutes. But squad No2 Claire Nitch, the 35-year-old South African who retired from the WISPA World Tour six years ago, played a true 'captain's innings' when she defeated world No27 Melissa Martin in just 25 minutes.

The 12th seeds achieved their historic victory when Johannesburg part-timer Diana Argyle fought back from 4-7 down in the third game to beat Australia's Amelia Pittock, ranked 31 in the world, 9-2, 9-3, 9-7!

"I was a bit uncertain, but when Claire won I knew I had a chance too," said Argyle later. "We're ecstatic!"

"It is the first time we've ever beaten Australia. "A fantastic effort from the team which showed that their work this year has been worth it." Coach, South Africa

Hi Framb, you’re OK ? "In the first game against Runa, she surprised me, she was playing well, and I was a bit slow. I was a bit wary, as after the Press Conference at the start of the event, I knew the Canadian Team was pretty well motivated for our match… "Although I lost the first game, I didn’t lose my head, despite the crowd very much involved.. It took me a game and a half to get into the match, to get the control. I still made errors, I didn’t play my best squash, but what was important was to give the first point to the team."

England:
Bailey, Botwright & Duncalf

France:
Stoehr, Serme, Renai

One of the features of these Championships will be the installation of an all Glass Squash Court in the tennis court area of the Royal Glenora Club. In addition, the other newly renovated squash courts at the Club will be used. This Glass Squash Court will be used for the Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse in March 2007.

Tickets for the World Team Squash Championships may be obtained through the Royal Glenora Club at Member Services at 780-482-2371. Sales for weekly ticket passes at $50 or $30 for Students - 18 yrs and under (GST not included) are going fast, and daily tickets may be available on the day of play.
  

Hawkes, Crome & Kitchen in India

Third for NZ in 2004

TEAMS (2004)
 
Australia   (1)
Austria   (-)
Belgium   (-)
Canada   (9)
Egypt   (4)
England   (2)
France  (16)
Germany  (17)
Hong Kong  (12)
Ireland   (7)
Italy   (-)
Japan  (18)
Malaysia   (5)
Netherlands   (6)
New Zealand   (3)
South Africa  (10)
Spain   (-)
USA   (8)
 

FULL HISTORY

2004, Amsterdam

2002, Odense