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Holtrand Gas City ProAm 2014
28 Jan - 02 Feb, Medicine Hat,
Canada, $10k |
02- Feb, Final:
Koukal cruises to Gas City title
Taylor Martin reports
We had another amazing performance in our final match between Leo
Au and Jan Koukal. Koukal pulled out another 3-0 victory
taking the Holtrand Gas City Pro-Am title with zero losses
throughout the tournament.
Koukal pressed his strategy from the beginning of the match, taking
an all important first game after being down 8-3 in the first. Au
did not have the lightning speed we saw in the semi final versus
Raphael Kandra, so it was evident that the 102 minute semi-final
match took a tole on the young player from Hong Kong.
Jan still had to work hard to upset the first seed and his attacks
on court came out far more in this match than the ones played
leading up to it. Koukal has been in both final matches that have
been held in Medicine Hat, and now has his name etched on the
championship trophy.
When asked privately before the match if his game plan was to win in
3 games Koukal replied, " That's always my game plan!"
And he lived up to his word by taking the tournament with a perfect
win record. What an amazing performance from all the players we had
this year.
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  Gas
City ProAm 2014
28 Jan - 02 Feb, Medicine Hat,
Canada, $10k |
Round One
30 Jan |
Quarters
31 Jan |
Semis
01 Feb |
Final
02 Feb |
[1] Leo Au (Hkg)
11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (40m)
Alex Ingham (Eng) |
[1] Leo Au
11-9, 6-11, 11-1, 11-6 (63m)
[8] Andrew Schnell |
[1] Leo Au
8-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5 (102m)
[3] Raphael Kandra |
[1] Leo Au
11-9, 11-5, 11-7 (48m)
[6] Jan Koukal
28th PSA title for
Jan |
[8] Andrew Schnell (Can)
11-5, 12-10, 11-6 (67m)
Graeme Schnell (Can) |
[7] Dane Sharp (Can)
7-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-2 (67m)
Sebastiaan Weenink (Ned) |
Sebastiaan Weenink
11-4, 11-7, 11-4 (46m)
[3] Raphael Kandra |
[3] Raphael Kandra (Ger)
11-9, 11-4, 11-4 (50m)
[Q] James Huang (Tpe) |
[Q] Ritchie Fallows (Eng)
11-7, 11-7, 11-7 (50m)
[4] Rex Hedrick (Aus) |
[4] Rex Hedrick
12-10, 11-5, 11-7
[6] Jan Koukal |
[6] Jan Koukal
11-6, 11-4, 11-5 (53m)
[5] Ben Coleman |
Mike McCue (Can)
11-8, 11-5, 11-3 (45m
[6] Jan Koukal (Cze) |
Alejandro Garbi (Esp)
12-10, 13-11, 11-6 (87m)
[5] Ben Coleman (Eng) |
[5] Ben Coleman
7-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-4 (93m)
[2] Martin Knight |
[Q] Reiko Peter (Sui)
11-6, 11-7, 11-5 (55m)
[2] Martin Knight (Nzl) |
29-Jan, Qualifying Finals:
Reiko Peter 3-0 Benjamin Fischer
11-9, 11-6, 11-9 (41m)
Richie Fallows 3-0 Michael Harris
9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6 (90m)
Graeme Schnell 3-1 Adam Auckland
5-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9 (65m)
James Huang 3-1 David Letourneau
11-2, 8-11, 13-11, 12-10 (68m)
Lucky
loser draw - #1 David Letourneau #2 Benjamin Fischer
28-Jan, Qualifying Round One:
Reiko Peter (Sui) bt James Earles (Eng)
11-5, 11-4, 11-6 (28m)
Benjamin Fischer (Sui) bt Reuben Phillips (Eng)
11-9, 11-0, 11-5 (31m)
Richie Fallows (Eng) bt Adam Murrills (Eng) 11-8,
6-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8 (78m)
Mike Harris (Eng) bt Will John (Wal)
11-4, 11-9, 11-6
Graeme Schnell (Can) bt Matthew Serediak (Can) 12-10, 8-11,
11-5, 11-8 (72m)
Adam Auckland (Eng) bt Brock Janzer (Can)
11-5, 11-5, 11-2 (31m)
David Letourneau (Can) bt Jonathan Geekie (Sco) 6-11,
11-4, 11-7, 11-9
James Huang (Tpe) bt Micah Franklin (Ber)
11-7, 11-4, 11-6 (42m)
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01- Feb, Semis:
Taylor Martin reports
-- Jan Koukal bt Ben Coleman 3-0
Koukal's methodical play worked Coleman down for the first half of
each game. Then once established Koukal took hold of the game and
didn't look back as he moves into his second Final match at the Gas
City Pro-Am two years running.
-- Leo Au bt Raphael Kandra 3-2
Au celebrated his birthday with an extreme performance with Raphael
Kandra. This extended match had everything from long tight rallies
to flurries of attacks.
Kandra coming off a loss at the final of Bankers Hall to Au had some
serious drive in this rematch. Although the push from Kandra was
incredible Leo Au weathered the storm and played fantastically
himself to secure his second Final match in two weeks.
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31-Jan, Quarters:
Taylor Martin reports
Another day has come to a close here in Medicine Hat, and the
semi-finalists are decided:
--Raphael Kandra bt Sebastiaan Weenink 3-0
These two players started off the day with a hard battle. Kandra's
varying pace and massive volleys proved too much for Weenink. This
was a great game to lead off the day as both players worked hard and
played some great squash.
--Leo Au bt Andrew Schnell 3-1
 Schnell
came out gunning in the first two games, not giving Au a chance to
settle into his own tempo. After the second game in the match Au
came out blazing, making Schnell work hard to stay in the game. The
young Canadian made a fine show keeping the game alive with returned
pressure all over the court. It was not enough in the end as Au
capitalized on a few errors from Schnell sealing his position in the
semi finals.
--Ben Coleman bt Martin Knight 3-2
This was the longest match so far in the tournament extending over
and hour and a half. Knight was able to swoop through the first two
games to be met by a serious reply from Coleman in the third. After
sustaining an injury to his leg Knight was moving slightly slower in
the fourth and fifth games. Coleman kept the gas pedal down to take
over in the business end of the match.
--Jan Koukal bt Rex Hedrick 3-0
Koukal pulled off another win with his steady gameplay. Hedrick made
a solid go in the first game but was cut short after holding game
ball at 10-7. After mounting his comeback Koukal settled into some
of the longest rallies of the day to pull out a win that will send
him on to the semi finals. |
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30-Jan, Round One:
Taylor Martin reports
We had another great day of squash to start off the main draw,
some long games showed the crowd how these players can endure some
serious fatigue and still play quality squash. Results as follows:
 --Raphael
Kandra bt James Huang 3-0
Huang came out gunning in this match, putting Kandra in a rush for
some of his shots. But last years Gas City Champion rallied back and
took over the match with forced pace and some very tight squash.
--Ben Coleman bt Alejandro Garbi 3-0
Coleman was able to come out on top of this double overtime match,
with some serious contention throughout. The long rallies of this
match were interrupted by some interesting explanations of game
play, but in the end some good squash was played to allow Coleman a
pass to the next round.
--Sebastian Weenink bt Dane Sharp 3-2
After a strong start from the Canadian Weenink was able to pull
off the upset of the day by defeating Sharp. After losing the first
two long matches Weenink was able to put a strong game together to
draw even and then run away with the match.
 --Martin
Knight bt Reiko Peter 3-0
Some beautiful rallies were played by both players in this match.
Knight was able to bring himself back after Peter made a four point
run at the beginning of the first game. With the second game in the
bag Knight took a 9 point run in the third with solid rallies and
deliberate placement of the ball.
--Rex Hedrick bt Richie Fallows 3-0
This match seemed to go in spurts for either player, one getting a 5
or 3 point run before the other would gain momentum. Hedrick was
able to keep his errors to a minimum to push Fallows out of the
match.
--Leo Au bt Alex Ingham 3-0
Although the scores portray a different story Ingham held up a solid
battle with some excellent attacks and amazing gets. In the end it
wasn't enough to stop Au from taking the match to continue his
winning streak from Banker's Hall.
--Jan Koukal bt Michael McCue 3-0
McCue rousted a solid start in the match but Koukal's solid rallies
were too much for the young Canadian. Some fine rallies were played
out before Koukal could take home the win.
--Andrew Schnell bt Greame Schnell 3-0
Andrew Schnell put an end to the qualifying upset run of brother
Greame. With a solid performance from both siblings Andrew was able
to come out on top. The anticipation for each others shot was
definitely visible as they battled for every point. This was a great
match for the crowd although many folks did not want to cheer for
one brother over the other!
Schnell brothers in action |
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29-Jan, Qualifying Finals:
Canadian Brother versus Brother!
Taylor Martin
reports
The second round has come to a close and we had another strong day
from the qualifier draw. Results as follows:
Reiko Peter 3-0 Benjamin Fischer
11-9, 11-6, 11-9
(41m)
The two Swiss players squared
off in a close match, both sticking to their own game plan. Reiko
was able to capitalize when it came to the business end of each
match and take the spot in the main draw. Peter will face off
against Martin Knight.
Richie Fallows 3-0
Michael Harris
9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6
(90m)
This was the longest match of the
day, with extended rallies that were interrupted a number of times
with some bump and grind play. This back and forth battle drew out
the best play in game 5 from Richie Fallows who got his
emotions in check and took over the match. Fallows will move
on to play Rex Hedrick in the main draw.
Graeme Schnell
3-1 Adam Auckland
5-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9
(65m)
The elder Schnell brother
pulled off another upset in the second round. Again playing some
serious drive he recovered after the first came and came on strong
to take the match home. Auckland replied with some of his own grit
and hustle in the fourth. under pressure he dove into the back
corner playing off the back wall.
He then leaped up to retrieve a tight front court drop and reset the
rally. After a 3 point run from Auckland, Schnell closed the door
with a couple well controlled rallies to move into the main draw.
Graeme Schnell will now face off against his brother Andrew
Schnell in the first round of the main draw!!
James Huang 3-1
David Letourneau
11-2, 8-11, 13-11, 12-10 (68m)
This was a very close match that
kept the crowd on the edge of their seats. Letourneau held game ball
in the third and 3 game balls in the fourth game to have Huang rally
back and take both in overtime. There was some excellent squash
played by each of these players, but Huang was able to take control
in the business end of the match. Huang moves on to
play Raphael Kandra in the opening round of the main draw.
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