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05-Dec, Final:
Pierrepont denies Ranieri
Louis Daignault reports
Top-seed Suzie Pierrepont of England had her hands full with Miranda
Ranieri of Waterloo, Ont., in the championship final on Saturday at
the MAA Invitational women’s professional squash tournament but
prevailed in the five-game limit.
Pierrepont, ranked 35th in the world, won the match 9-11, 8-11,
11-3, 11-6, 11-3 in 43 minutes for her first victory this year.
Ranieri, the second seed, was looking for her second victory this
season on the pro circuit and her second win against Pierrepont this
year.
‘’I played well the first two games but the momentum completely
switched in the third game,’’ said Ranieri, ranked 54th in the
world. ‘’ She just got stronger with each game. I guess I needed to
win it in three. After the second game, I started playing
impatiently and she started attacking more.’’
Still this week’s showing was a huge step for Ranieri who had not
played in a tournament in four months due to tendonitis in her foot
which flared up in July at a tournament in Malaysia.
‘’I’m training a lot right now and I’m looking forward to playing in
many events in 2010,’’ she said. ‘’It’s completely healed now and is
getting stronger.’’
04-Dec-09:
Top two in Montreal final
Louis Daignault reports
Miranda Ranieri of
Waterloo, Ont., advanced to the championship final on Friday at the
MAA Invitational women’s professional squash tournament with an
11-5, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8 victory over Laren Kronemeyer of the
Netherlands.
Ranieri, seeded second and ranked 54th in the world, will be vying
for her second pro tour title after winning the St. Luke’s Open in
the U.S., in May as the fourth seed. She was expecting a tough
semifinal from the sixth-seeded Dutchwoman.
“She has a very tricky game style and I was ready for it,” said
Ranieri, 23 who was ranked a career high 47th in October. “The games
were close and we had a really good match. I tried to move up on the
tee and play tight lengths.”
In the other semifinal, top-seed Suzie Pierrepont of England, ranked
35th in the world, defeated Alexandra Norman of Montreal 11-7, 11-7,
11-8 to advance to her first final this year.
Pierrepont and Ranieri, who both live in Greenwich, Connecticut
where they coach at different clubs, last met in January at the
Greenwich Open with Pierrepont prevailing in five games.
“She is playing better than ever right now,” said Ranieri of her
finals opponent. “She is a very tough player.
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Match Points from Yvon Provencal
Suzie Pierrepont beats Alexandra Norman 11-7, 11-7, 11-8 in 31
minutes
Alexandra had the home crowd behind her and was pumped to play well.
But sometimes too much energy can be a handicap. She started playing
nervous and overhitting her length a few times too many.
Suzie took
advantage of the loose balls and took an early lead that Alex could
not overcome. Game 2 was very similar with Suzie taking an early
lead with a mix of good lengths and soft drops.
The third was closer
with Alex able to stay closer in the score with wide crosscourts and
volleys, a strategy that put pressure on Suzie. But at the end of
that game, Suzie was able to stay calm and close the match.
Miranda Ranieri beats Karen Kronemeyer 11-5, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8 in 30
minutes
After a very short first game where Karen made numerous mistakes,
this match seemed like it would be a quick affair. But the shots
started going in in the second and the match was on.
Karen likes to
break the rhythm constantly and Miranda had to run down many shots
in the third to take that game. Again, it seemed the match was over
but Karen hung in and pushed Miranda to the front of the court in
numerous occasions.
Miranda dug in again, and after a massive rally
at 6-8 where she relentlessly returned everything that Karen hit,
she was able to close out the match.
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  MAA
Invitational 2009
01-05 Dec, Canada, $5k |
Round One
02 Dec |
Quarters
03 Dec |
Semis
04 Dec |
Final
05 Dec |
[1] Suzie Pierrepont (Eng)
11-3, 11-6, 11-7 (23m)
Imelda Martinez (Mex) |
[1] Suzie Pierrepont
11-3, 11-2, 11-3
(17m)
Karina Gonzalez |
[1] Suzie Pierrepont
11-7, 11-7, 11-8 (31m)
[3] Alexandra Norman |
[1] Suzie Pierrepont
9-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-3 (43m)
[2] Miranda
Ranieri |
[7] Belkys Magaly Velez (Ecu)
9-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-2 (43m)
Karina Gonzalez (Mex) |
[3] Alexandra Norman (Can)
11-4, 11-6, 11-5
[Q] Fernanda Rocha |
[3] Alexandra Norman
11-4, 11-8, 11-6
(23m)
[8] Ivonne
Diaz |
[8] Ivonne Diaz (Mex)
11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6 (27m)
[Q] Erin Roberts (Can) |
Lisa Aitken (Sco)
11-7, 11-9, 11-7 (23m)
[6] Laren Kronemeyer (Ned) |
[6] Laren Kronemeyer
11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 11-2
(42m)
[4]
Samantha Cornett |
[6] Laren Kronemeyer
11-5,
9-11, 11-9,
11-8 (30m)
[2] Miranda
Ranieri |
Lily Lorentzen (Usa)
11-8, 11-4, 11-3 (20m)
[4] Samantha Cornett (Can) |
[Q] Olga Puidgemont (Esp)
11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 11-2 (32m)
[5] Genevieve Lessard (Can) |
[Q] Olga Puidgemont
11-6, 13-11, 15-13
(31m)
[2] Miranda
Ranieri |
[Q] Pamela Ankerman
11-5, 11-9, 11-7 (23m)
[2] Miranda Ranieri (Can) |
Qualifying:
Erin Roberts bye
Pamela Anckerman beats Tara Newman (12-10, 11-6, 11-4)
Tara got
off to a very good start in the first game taking a
lead, building the points well and hitting great shots but
Pamela started playing better, limiting the errors and came
back to win a close first game 12-10.
The rest of the mach
wasn't as close, Pamela got more confident as the match went
on and started hitting great winners from the middle of the
court. Tara played good squash but Pamela was a bit too fast
and confident.
Olga Puidgemont beats
Lindsay Bovaird (11-3, 11-2, 11-2)
Olga was
too strong from the start to the end. Lindsay made a few
great gets during the match but it wasn't enough to win many
points. Olga was hitting too many tight shots. Still a good
experience for Lindsay, a young upcoming player from
Montreal, who was playing in her first ever official WISPA
match.
Fernanda Rocha beats Melina
Turk (9-11, 11-9, 11-2, 11-0)
Fernanda Rocha, strongly
favored, started playing very nervous while Melina played
excellent shots. After taking the first and leading being
led 8-6 in the second, Fernanda stepped it up and hit deeper
and with more pace. Melina then started hitting tin and
struggling to get balls back. But in the end, a solid
performance from one of Canada’s junior prospects.
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Match Points from Yvon Provencal
Karen
Kronemeyer beats Sam Cornett (11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 9-11,
11-2) in 42 minutes
Many thought this was going
to be the closest match of the day and they weren’t disapointed.
Karen dominated from the start with a variety of attacking shots
that got the best of Samantha. Karen is gifted to put the ball away
and has good deception when given time to hit her shots. After
losing the first two games handily, Sam was able to start playing
tighter shots and limiting the angles for Karen. She was forced to
rally more and the next two games were much longer and closer in
score. In those games, Sam was able to get in front and put
the ball short for winners. The 5th was a bit anticlimatic with
Karen able to take a quick lead as Sam was not able to put the ball
by her.
Suzie Pierrepont beats Karina Gonzalez (11-3, 11-2, 11-3) in
17 minutes
For the second day, Suzie was not pushed and
spent little time on court. Karina ran down many shots but could not
put any pressure on her. It’s a pleasure for the eyes of a coach to
watch Suzie hit the ball; I spent most of the time telling my
students to watch her strike the ball as her technique is flawless.
Miranda
Ranieri beats Olga Puigdemont (11-6, 12-10, 15-13) in 31 minutes
Olga who upset Genevičve Lessard yesterday
was faced with a much tougher opponent tonight. But she demonstrated
a lot of poise and her experience gave her chances to win the last
two games which were won in extra points. But Miranda demonstrated
excellent play in the final points of every game to close out the
match in 3. Still not playing at her full potential, Miranda played
better than yesterday and demonstrated an intensity level that is
difficult to match.
Alexandra Norman beats Ivonne Diaz
(11-4, 11-8, 11-6) in 23 minutes
Alexandra also played better today as she
dominated the Mexican in the early parts of every game. Very focused
and determined, Alexandra was able to control the pace of her shots
and keep Ivonne on the retrieving mode. Ivonne likes to run and can
put in some winners too, but was kept off balance too often to win
enough rallies.
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03-Dec-09:
Canadians advance in Montreal
Louis Daignault reports
Miranda Ranieri of
Waterloo, Ont., and Alexandra Norman of
Montreal
advanced to the semifinals on Thursday at the MAA Invitational
women’s professional squash tournament.
Ranieri, seeded
second and ranked 54th in the world, defeated qualifier Olga
Puidgemont of
Spain
11-6, 13-11, 15-13. She faces sixth-seed Laren Kronemeyer of
the
Netherlands
in her semifinal on Friday. The Dutchwoman edged fourth-seed
Samantha Cornett of
Ottawa
11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 11-2.
“We both played really well,”
said Ranieri about her match. “Our depth was good and we were
forcing each other to make mistakes. It was so close at the
end of the last two games but I was attacking more but still tried
not too play the low percentage shots.”
Norman,
seeded third, beat eighth-seed Ivonne Diaz of
Mexico
11-4, 11-8, 11-6. That sets up a semifinal encounter against
top-seed and world number-35 Suzie Pierrepont of
England.
Pierrepont won her quarterfinal over Karina Gonzales of
Mexico
11-3, 11-2, 11-3.
“I was more confident tonight,” said
Norman,
26. “The first game I played extremely well and overall I was happy
with my game plan and how I executed it. I had never played
her before so my strategy was to keep the ball tight to the walls
and retrieve everything she threw at me.”
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02-Dec-09
Round One:
Canadians advance in Montreal
Louis Daignault reports
Miranda Ranieri of
Waterloo, Ont., Alexandra Norman of Montreal and Samantha Cornett of
Ottawa all advanced to the quarterfinals with straight game
victories Wednesday at the MAA Invitational women’s squash
tournament.
The tournament being held at the Club Sportif
MAA is a stop on the Canadian squash circuit and the women’s
professional tour.
Ranieri, seeded second, defeated qualifier
Pamela Anckermann of Guatemala 11-5, 11-9, 11-7. Her next
opponent will be Olga Puigdemont of Spain. Puigdemont
eliminated Genevičve Lessard of Montreal 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-2.
“I played really well,”
said Ranieri, 23, ranked 54th in the world. “Pamela attacked
really well in the middle of the court so I played good length into
the back corner and volleyed a lot. My goal here is to make
the final so this is a good start. Still there a lot of strong
players in my half of the draw and I’ll have to keep playing well to
get there.”
Norman, seeded third and playing at her home
club, defeated Fernanda Rocha of Argentina 11-4, 11-6, 11-5. Up next
for Norman is eighth-seed Ivonne Diaz of Mexico who beat Erin
Roberts of Calgary 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6.
“The first match there’s
always a bit of nerves so I was happy to get it out of the way,”
said Norman, the runner-up at the Canadian championships this past
May. “Knowing the courts here really helps. I know where
the bounces go and what works on it. And it’s nice to have the
home support as well.”
Cornett, seeded fourth, defeated Lily Lorentzen
of the U.S., 11-8, 11-4, 11-3. She is slated to meet
sixth-seed Karen Kronemeyer of the Netherlands in the quarters.
“I’m confident here because
the court works well for my game,” said Cornett, 18, who reached the
fourth round at the world junior championships in India this past
August. “The ball really died in the back corner so the lob
and having good length were very effective.”
Top-seed Suzie Pierrepont
of England, who dropped form 27th to 35th in the recent world
rankings played later Wednesday.
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Match Points from Yvon Provencal
Karen Kronemeyer beats
Lisa
Aitken 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 in 23 minutes
The first
match of the day displayed a generous amount of offensive squash.
The slow court allows for many attacking opportunities and this is
what happened. There were only a handful of up and down the wall
rallies but many short ones won with holds, kills, boasts and drops.
The first two games were close until the midpoint, with Karen able
to pull away with a combination of winners and errors from Lisa. She
built a 6 point lead in the third and never looked back.
Karina
Gonzalez beats Belkys Velez (9-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-2 in 43
minutes
The
second match was a Central American affair and the longest of the
day. Karina Of Mexico faced
Belkys
from Ecuador. Karina had slow starts in the first two games and
couldn’t come back losing both. But in the last three games, she
made sure she took an early lead in every game and with Velez
getting
tired, she was not pushed too much and won the last three .
Sam Cornett
beats
Lily
Lorentzen
11-8, 11-4, 11-3 in 20
minutes
Canadian Sam
Cornett played very well to beat Lily Lorentzen from the USA. Sam’s
width was excellent creating many loose shots that she was able to
take in short for winners. This combination put a lot of pressure on
Lily who spent most of the time trying to find an answer to Sam’s
control of the T. Lily fought until the end but this slow court
fitted Sam’s game very well. Good start for the Canadian.
Suzie Pierrepont beats Imela Martinez 11-3, 11-6, 11-7 in23
minutes
This was a mismatch in ranking positions and in size with Imela
doing most of the running but also slotting in some winners in games
2 and 3. But in the end, Suzie’s superior ball striking was too much
for the Mexican.
Olga Puigdemont beats Genevičve Lessard
11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 11-2
in32 min.
The first two games were closely disputed but Olga started
controlling the T early in the third with Genevičve doing most of
the running. Olga, a veteran used all her experience to close the
door in the fourth.
Alexandra Norman beats Fernanda Rocha 11-4, 11-6, 11-5
Alex that plays in Montreal demonstrated superior ball control in
every game moving Fernanda to the front with good working boasts.
Ivonne Diaz beats Erin Roberts 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6 in 27
minutes
The feisty Mexican struggled a bit with Roberts’ shotmaking during
the whole match but managed to run down enough balls to win in 4.
This sets up an interesting match with home favourite Alexandra
Norman tomorrow.
Miranda Ranieri beats Pamela Anckermann 11-5, 11-9, 11-7 in
23 minutes
This was Miranda’s
first match since her injury and
eventhough she looked a bit rusty at first, she was always ahead in
every game. Pamela has improved her game a lot in the last year and
can put the ball away from the middle of the court. But Miranda’s
volleying and movement were too good for her opponent.
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