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Canadian National Team Championships 2012
06-08 Jan, London, Ontario |
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Alberta
Ontario
Manitoba
The Refs
Final placings:
1. ALBERTA
2. ONTARIO 1
3. MANITOBA
4. QUEBEC
5. BRITISH COLUMBIA
6. ONTARIO 2
7. PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
8. NOVA SCOTIA
9. SASKATCHEWAN
10. NEW BRUNSWICK
11. NORTH WEST TERRITORIES
12. ARMED FORCES |
TOP SEEDS ALBERTA DENY
HOME TEAM IN FINAL
Dave Morrish
reports
 After
3 grueling days of squash, Alberta were crowned Canadian
Team Champions. They beat host province Ontario 3-1 in the
final, which was a sweet victory for them as last year they
lost to Quebec in the final.
First on court were Graeme Schnell of Alberta against Matt
Seridiak of Ontario. Graeme came out of the blocks the
quicker and established a 6-2 lead, but in a flash he lost
the first game 11-7. Matt raced to 7-3 in the 2nd at which
point Graeme found his line and length to level the match
1-1 (12/10). Graeme kept his head in front from this point
and closed out the match 3-1.
3: Grayson Wicher (Alberta) v
Ian Power (Ontario):
11-7; 11-9;
2-11; 4-11; 5-11
Grayson Wicher:
“First time I have played him. I played so well in the first
2 games – aggressive, good length, positive, and then just
seemed to take my foot off the pedal (the worst thing you
can do against someone like Ian) and never got back into it.
Credit to Ian though!
Ian Power:
“We had to play British Columbia, Manitoba and Alberta in
such a short space of time – 3 quality provinces. Really
tough squash! I felt I started off a bit shaky and slow, but
credit to Grayson as he didn’t let me into the game. I felt
I started controlling my game better as the game went on and
mo foot work got better and my drop started to go in better.
It was disappointing to lose the final but they Alberta were
a strong unit and deserved winners.
2: Graeme
Schnell (Alberta) v Matt Seridiak (Ontario):
8-11; 12-10; 11-9; 11-4
Graeme Schnell:
“I have played Matt before and never beaten him. Played him
last in June and lost a close 3-1 – been looking for him
since then! I was well up in the first and then managed to
lose that game and fall well behind in the next. I felt he
damaged my confidence in the first with his quality and
maybe I damaged his in the next. I had to go back to basics
and lengthen the rallies out. He is a really tough player to
play when he is in his rhythm. Very happy to win.
Matt Seridiak:
“I did well to take the first after being behind and felt
like I was on top at 7-3 up in the second. My legs suddenly
started to go and I found it hard to push off and get onto
the ball. It didn’t help having time off at Christmas! I am
looking forwards to playing him again – this is the last
time he will beat me and you can quote me on that!”
1: Andrew
Schnell (Alberta) v Fred Reid (Ontario):
11-8; 11-1; 11-9
Andrew Schnell:
“Didn’t feel it was my greatest match. I started off playing
to his strengths which was not bright as he is one of the
best in Canada when he gets into his stride and can play how
he wants to. I was opening up the court too early and
getting punished. I could have easily lost the first and the
3rd games! It is a great honour to win this event. The club
looked after us like kings and left us wanting for nothing!
It was also great coverage on Squashsite which the players
all really appreciated.”
Fred Reid:
“Gutted! I was competitive in the first and 3rd games but
wasted the 2nd. If I could go back in time, I would have
lengthened the rallies out, and played straighter and
deeper. He is quick and makes you force the game. One bad
choice each rally meant that I was always playing catch up.
All credit to Andrew – good player.
Manitoba beat Quebec for the bronze medal 2-1 – Justin Todd
and David Glass being the 2 victors.
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HOME TEAM CRASH THE FINAL
Dave Morrish
reports
Hosts Ontario crashed into the final of the Canadian
Team Championships, beating second seeded Manitoba
3-0….. but the score line did not in any way reflect the
closeness or quality of the squash.
 Ian
Power of Ontario was first on against Evan Mancer of
Manitoba. The first 2 games were shared 12-10 and 11-9. At
6-2 down in the 3rd, Manitoba looked like they were going to
have a 2-1 lead but Ian found his length, cut out his errors
and rattled off 9 out of the next 10 points to win 11-7. The
4th was nip and tuck up to 6 all before Ian put together a
sting of great rallies to lead 10-6. A spirited fight back
from Evan got him to 8-10 but Ian managed to close it our
11-8 and give Ontario a valuable 1-0 lead.
Freddie Reid was on next and after scraping the first 14-12
against Justin Todd,
proceeded to lose the next 2 11-8 and 11-8. Some words of
wisdom from team mates Matt Seridiak and Ian Power got him
back on course and he won the next 2 games 11-6 and 11-8 to
put the host province through to the final.
Despite it being a dead rubber, the number 2’s had their
national rankings to think about! Matt Serediak, ranked 17
took a 2-0 lead against Dave Glass, ranked 14. A tight 3rd
saw Matt have a match ball at 11-10 but Dave was not going
down without a fight and clinched the game 13-11. Matt
steadied the ship and won the 4th 11-7 to give Ontario a
clean sheet.
 On
the adjacent court, Alberta, the second seeds, were
battling it out with Quebec (4th seeds). All the
games were well contested, and despite a 3-0 win for
Alberta, the match could have gone either way. Grayson
Wicher of Alberta beat Maxim Blouin 13-15 in the 4th to give
the top seeds the lead. Andrew Schnell, the top ranked
player in the tournament , shared the first 2 games with
David Phillips of Quebec before running out 3-1 winner. With
the match already won, brother Graeme emulated his brother,
winning in 4.
In the play off positions, Ontario 2 beat Nova Scotia and
British Columbia beat Prince Edward Island. The 2 winners
will be playing off for 5th place.
So the perfect setting is set for the home province!
The final, Ontario against Alberta, will be at 12:30pm
local time.
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The Canadian
Men’s team championships will be taking place at the
London squash Racquets Club in South West Ontario (home
of the Nash Cup) from 6-8 January 2012.
Most provinces and territories will be taking part this year
with a record entry of 12 teams. Alberta (Calgary, Edmonton
etc) head the draw with the Schnell brothers (Andrew 6 and
Graeme 8) leading the way. Manitoba (Winnipeg), a prairie
province, is seeded 2, with 3 players in the top 16 (Justin
Todd 13; Dave Glass 14 and Evan Mancer 16).
Host province Ontario (Toronto etc) are seeded 3 with Fred
Reid 11; Matt Serediak 17 and Ian Power 19 (Jonathan could
not be persuaded to come out of retirement!). Completing the
top 4 seedings are Quebec (Montreal etc) who are without
Nash Cup winner Shawn Delierre (Dave Phillips 7; Eric Dingle
57 and Maxime Blouin 66). All rankings are Canadian national
rankings.
The snow has just arrived and is still falling – hopefully
the teams will not encounter too many problems getting here!
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