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Meadowood Pharmacy Open 2012
01-05 Feb, Winnipeg, Canada, $10k |
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Final:
[1] Emma Beddoes bt
[2] Line Hansen
8-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-7
Beddoes retains Winnipeg title
By Cam Mundle
The Winnipeg Winter Club was packed Sunday afternoon, a
standing-room only crowd was buzzing with enthusiasm for the
Meadowood Pharmacy Open Championship Final between number one seed
Emma Beddoes and second seed Line Hansen.
In the early going Hansen dictated the pace, cutting off the ball
and hammering straight volley kills. She built herself an early 7-3
lead and sustained a brief comeback from Beddoes, closing the first
game 11-8. In the second, Hansen continued to push the pace but
Beddoes was able to trade points with her to nine-all when a
fortunate bit of luck went Hansen’s way. She closed it out with a
winner the next point and won the game 11-9.
The third game proved to be a traditional display of Emma Beddoes
squash as she physically controlled the game with superb retrieving
and pacifying effectiveness with her length. A gutsy effort claimed
the third 11-6, Beddoes trailing two games to one. Emma’s black eye
resembled that of a championship prize fighter and so did her
tenacity. Down, but not out, Beddoes endured a demanding fourth game
to level the match at two.
Fifth game. Final round. Love all. Hansen was energetic, she hits
the first winner and follows it with a few more. They were close at
the start, long rallies, played over on lets, lots of collisions and
lots of running.
Emma broke free to lead 7-3 and then 8-5, but Hansen’s outstanding
effort brought her back to 7-8. With the title on the line and the
end in sight, Emma Beddoes hung tough to claim the next three points
and the game 11-7. And that was it: Match and Championship to
Beddoes as she successfully defends her title at the Meadowood
Pharmacy Open.
Emma graciously praised Line’s effort today, thanked the tournament
organizers and sponsors and acknowledged the support and guidance
from Fiona Geaves of England Squash and most recently Malcolm
Willstrop.
A fitting end to an excellent week as the Winnipeg crowd went home
happy thanks to all the matches between the touring WSA players.
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Live streaming from Winnipeg
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 Meadowood
Pharmacy Open 2012
01-05 Feb, Winnipeg, Canada, $10k |
Round One
02 Feb |
Quarters
03 Feb |
Semis
04 Feb |
Final
05 Feb |
[1] Emma Beddoes (Eng)
11-4, 11-1, 11-2
Nikki Todd (Can) |
[1] Emma Beddoes
10-12, 11-7, 13-11, 11-6
[5] Misaki Kobayashi |
[1] Emma Beddoes
11-5, 11-2, 4-11, 11-6
[4] Lauren Briggs |
[1] Emma Beddoes
8-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-7
[2] Line Hansen |
[5] Misaki Kobayashi (Jpn)
11-4, 11-5, 11-6
Alix Younger (Can) |
[4] Lauren Briggs (Eng)
11-2, 11-7, 11-4
Genevieve Lessard (Can) |
[4] Lauren Briggs
11-8, 7-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4
[8] Tesni Evans |
[8] Tesni Evans (Wal)
11-4, 11-2, 11-6
Maia Kirk (Can) |
Tara Chawla (Can)
(11-2, 11-3, 11-1
[6] Samantha Cornett (Can) |
[6] Samantha Cornett
11-7, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9
[3] Gaby Huber |
[6] Samantha Cornett
11-2, 11-6, 11-9
[2] Line Hansen |
Zephanie Curgenven (Eng) (Eng)
11-6, 11-4, 11-6
[3] Gaby Huber (Sui) |
Stephanie Edmison (Can)
11-5, 11-9, 11-2
[7] Alexandra Norman (Can) |
Stephanie Edmison
11-8, 11-7, 11-7
[2] Line Hansen |
[Q] Ashley Malenchuk (Can)
11-6, 11-5, 11-7
[2] Line Hansen (Den) |
Top seeds make Meadowood
final in Winnipeg
The first semi final of the afternoon featured the defending
champion, Emma Beddoes, and the in-form veteran, Lauren Briggs.
The first game was a battle of similar styles, lots of hard cross
courts and strong movement from both players. Emma rattled off five
points in a row to lead 9-2 and she finished the game off which was
much closer than the score suggests.
The second game contained several lets as both players looked to
move directly to the ball and often collided. Briggs battled hard in
the start but Emma weathered the storm and held on to take a two to
love lead.
The third game was really dominated by Lauren, she got an early lead
and never relinquished it. The crowd anticipated a hard fought match
and the players provided just that. With her back against the wall,
Briggs fought to the end but it wasn’t enough to keep Beddoes out of
her third consecutive Meadowood Pharmacy Final.
The second seed Line Hansen has been advancing steadily through the
tournament; today Hansen faced the auspicious Canadian Sam Cornett.
Line was the more consistent player throughout the first two games,
she controlled the pace with her volleys and made hardly any
mistakes. Sam was close in the second game, getting the score to
6-8, but Hansen’s patience and hard work saw her claim a two game to
love lead. In the final game Cornett looked like she finally got
comfortable in the match, finding better location with her length
and using some awesome deception with the backhand.
Although Hansen led 6-2, Cornett fought back to tie the game at 8-8.
This would be as close as she got; Hansen steadied the ship and held
on to take the match in three games.
An impressive tournament from Sam but the second seed proved to be
too much. Hansen will play her first Meadowood Pharmacy Open Final
tomorrow against the top seed, Emma Beddoes.
By Cam Mundle
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Live streaming from Winnipeg
Streaming from Winnipeg
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Quarters in Winnipeg
Lauren Briggs bt Tesni Evans
11-8, 7-11,
8-11, 11-8, 11-4
In the first match, Tesni Evans of Wales battled Lauren Briggs of
England. This was a back and forth affair, Briggs brought steady
play, veteran saavy and excellent movement on the court to contrast
Evans’ more freewheeling, attacking style. Briggs took the first and
Evans took the next two.
The crowd was roaring with enthusiasm after some rallies in the
fourth, both players were flying around the court making gets,
crushing winners and colliding into each other. Evans looked like
she might take the match in four, but Briggs proved to be too much,
taking a close fourth and then finishing off the fifth.
It’s worth noting there was an unbelievable shot by Evans in game
three, she smashed a behind the back winner which was the highlight
of the tournament so far.
Line Hansen bt Steph Edmison
11-8, 11-7, 11-7
Canadian Steph Edmison put up a tough fight against Line Hansen of
Denmark. Hansen’s length and movement would be a tall task for
anyone and Steph battled her closely. It looked like Edmison would
take the second but a couple errors ruined her chances.
Sam Cornett bt Gaby Huber
11-7, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9
Crowd favorite Canadian Sam Cornett was the underdog against Gaby
Huber of Switzerland. Both players displayed impressive fitness,
barely slowing down through four challenging games. Sam was able to
win some longer rallies towards the end of the first game, forcing
Huber into errors due to consistent length and quick pace.
Gaby fought back in game two; there wasn’t much to separate the
players early on, Gaby refused to make a mistake and claimed the
second game on attrition. This close match went two more games: it
was up and down with not much to choose from between these players.
Sam was able to find the nick more than the tin in the end of the
final games and she used some remarkably deceptive backhand cross
court flicks to close out the match.
Emma Beddoes bt Misaki Kobayashi
10-12, 11-7, 13-11, 11-6
In the most anticipated match of the night, Misaki Kobayashi clashed
with defending champion Emma Beddoes. Kobayashi has a very
aggressive style, often the first to move the ball to the front
while Beddoes is more steady and more willing to extend the rallies.
Kobayashi raced out to a big lead in the first game, Beddoes saved
several game balls but then Misaki found two winners to finish the
game. From that point, it was all Emma.
The Winnipeg crowd is used to seeing the tough battles Beddoes can
sustain and she was just too much for the very exciting, very
skilled Kobayashi.
By Cam Mundle
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Live streaming from Winnipeg
Streaming from Winnipeg
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Round One in Winnipeg
Lauren Briggs continued her strong form as of late by beating
Genevieve Lessard in three games. Briggs brought a fast pace and
quality length that gave Lessard trouble after several challenging
rallies. Lessard had a great opportunity, up 7-3 in the second game;
she had changed the flow of the game but Briggs fought back to take
the second game and then the match.
Defending champion Emma Beddoes looked comfortable in her debut
match this year. Local fan favorite, Nikki Todd, put up an
impressive fight by staying in the long rallies and pushing Emma to
hit one extra shot. In three games , the power and consistency of
Beddoes proved to be too much.
In an all Canadian affair, Stephanie Edmison and Alexandra Norman
put on an impressive display of squash, mixing their excellent shot
making with remarkable retrieving. The first two game were closely
contested, Alexandra had a chance to take the second game but came
up short due to Stephanie’s working boasts and measured attacks. By
the third game, it was clear that Norman had sustained an injury but
she fought proudly to the end, making Edmison earn every last point.
The most entertaining match of the night was between local Alix
Younger and the Japanese player Misaki Kobayashi. The two brought
contrasting styles, Alix with a bit more pace and Misaki with a bit
more touch. The rallies were long and even but Kobayashi seemed to
end up on the winning side by finding a nick when she needed it.
Alix made a push in both the second and third games, particularly by
using some deceptive attacks, but Misaki’s coolness prevailed,
claiming the match in three games.
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Live streaming from Winnipeg
Streaming from Winnipeg |
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