26-Apr-09:
Gemmell and Schnell crowned national
junior squash champions
Record
fourth straight title for Laura Gemmell
NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ont. – Laura Gemmell of Toronto
earned a record fourth straight women’s under-19 title at
Canadian junior squash championships on Sunday while
Andrew Schnell of Calgary took the men’s under-19 crown.
In the women’s under-19 final, Gemmell defeated Samantha
Cornett of Ottawa, 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 11-4 in a battle of the
top-two seeds. Jaime Laird of Calgary won the third place
match over Nikole Todd of Regina. Gemmell won her first
national under-19 title at age 15 in 2006.
 “Sam
and I meet in many finals and we just continue to push each
other,” said Gemmell, 18. “It was another great match. After
the third game, I had to refocus and I just tried to keep
her off balance with lower drop shots.”
Cornett has never beaten Gemmell but she felt this was one
of their closest battles.
“It was intense,” said Cornett. “It was sort of a mental
battle for me because I’ve never beaten her. This was
probably though the most I’ve challenged her in recent
years. I was right in there.”
In addition, Cornett received the Alex Doucas Award for the
player that best exemplifies the spirit of fair play and
commitment to excellence at the junior nationals.
“It’s nice that other people can see that in my game,” said
Cornett about the award.
In the men’s under-19 class, Schnell defeated Brian Hong of
Toronto in the final 11-6, 11-6, 11-2. Schnell and Hong were
seeded third and fourth in the tournament respectively.
“I went in there with a game plan and stuck to it,” said
Schnell. “There’s a lot of depth at this group, anyone of us
could have won it. A lot depended on the performance on the
day. I just tried to keep focused on my own game and I
really stepped it up a notch this week.”
In men’s under-17, top-seed Tyler Osborne of
Kingston, Ont., ended a great run by Michael McCue of
Sudbury, Ont., winning the final 11-5, 11-7, 11-7. McCue,
seeded fifth, had eliminated the number-two and three seeds
en route to the final. Remington Hall of Delta, B.C., won
the bronze match over Tyler Olson of North Vancouver.
“Michael was on a roll and that certainly made me nervous
for this match,” said Osborne. “So it was really important
for me to win that first game. I thought overall I had my A
game and I hit a lot of excellent shots to create
opportunities for myself.”
In women’s under-17, second-seed Jennifer Pelletier
of Richmond Hill, Ont., repeated as champion beating
third-seed Danielle Letourneau of Calgary in the final,
11-7, 11-5, 11-9. Top-seed Alix Younger of Winnipeg, who
lost to Letourneau on Saturday, took the third place match
over Nicole Bunyan of Victoria.
“I played pretty well,” said Pelletier. “I was really
determined to win it again. Danielle was coming off a big
win and I knew she would be very tough. It was important for
me to play to win rather than play to not lose.”
In the boys under-15, top-seed Zachary Leman of
Langley, B.C., defeated Jason Field of Calgary in the final
15-13, 13-15, 11-5, 11-2. Cole Osborne of Kingston was
third.
“I thought I played quite well in the last two games,” said
Leman. “Jason put me under pressure a lot early on. Plus I
felt some extra weight as the number-one seed. My game plan
was just to keep him guessing with my shot and make him
work. I tired him out in the end.”
 In
girls under-15, Michelle Gemmell, Laura’s sister,
also earned a national crown defeating Hollie Naughton of
Oakville, Ont., in the final 11-7, 12-10, 11-3. Abby Foster
of North Vancouver was third.
“The experience of reaching the final before really helped
me,” said Gemmell, last year’s runner-up. “It was a good
match and I always had to stay alert. Hollie is a very
dangerous player and if I would have lost my focus she would
have comeback.”
In under-13 play, Carter Robitaille and Alyssa
Mehta, both of Toronto, were the champions.
“It feels pretty go to get the win” said Robitaille, 11. “I
relied more on lob and drop shots. I can hit the ball hard
but it’s not the strongest part of my game.”
“I made some errors but overall it was good,” said Mehta,
12, who successfully defended her title. “I didn’t feel any
pressure to repeat and I look forward to moving up in the
next age group next year.”
The Canadian senior championships take place April 29 to May
2 at Calgary’s World Health Club.
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FULL DRAWS
Michelle & Laura Gemmell
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