28-Feb, Final:

[7] Graeme Schnell (Can) 3-1 [8] Baptiste Masotti (Fra)
                9/11, 11/8, 11/0, 11/1 (44m)

Home winner in Calgary as
Schnell takes first PSA title
Kiefer Waite

In his maiden PSA final playing in front of his hometown crowd, Graeme Schnell won his first ever PSA title, defeating Baptiste Masotti in four games.



A crowd of 150 people were on hand for the final, and most were fans of Graeme Schnell. However, Baptiste had established himself as a crowd favourite over the course of the week, scoring upsets against higher ranked Aqeel Rehman of Austria and Reuben Phillips of England and also appearing in his first ever PSA final. The packed crowd was anticipating a hotly contested battle, and they were not disappointed.

The first game was the most exciting of the match, with both players playing at an incredible pace and fighting hard to take the lead. Baptiste raced off to a 7-3 lead, taking the ball early and using the devastating deception that the crowd has come to expect from him over the week. Despite making a few unforced errors, Baptiste was able to pull off even more winners and closed out a very tight first game 11-9.

In the second, Graeme started picking up more and more of Baptiste's shots, and Baptiste began to force things a little too much resulting in flurries of unforced errors. Graeme was up 10-2 and although Baptiste managed to hit a number of incredible shots including some outrageous cross court nicks to make things interesting, Graeme closed out the game with steady length and patience at 11-8.

In the third and fourth, it became evident that the Baptiste's earlier matches throughout the week and the altitude change in Calgary had taken their toll on his body. Baptiste managed to stave off the bagel in the fourth game, but Graeme's steadiness and pace of play wore Baptiste down. Midway through the fourth game, it became evident who was going to win.

After the match, Graeme was overjoyed as his friends and family were on hand to witness the match. "It means a hugh amount to me to see everyone here cheering me on. To win my first PSA tournament in my hometown really means a lot."

Graeme really enjoyed a home town advantage this week, saying after the match that "most of the time I can play at high pace, and when I meet an opponent that's from sea level that comes up and tries to play at a high pace, I get a warm fuzzy feeling in my stomach and think, alright this is going to be good."

Baptiste was very humble in defeat, saying "all credit to Graeme, he played very well today. I was a little bit tired because of the match yesterday, but all credit to him. He played very well."

Baptiste also throrughly enjoyed the atmosphere of the tournament, and said "I want to thank the crowd for the week. It was incredible. I'll be back next year to win."

Overall, the tournament was a great success and the MRU community is already looking forward to next year's tournament.

Kiefer Waite

Sibling rivalry ?

Q: Are you and Andrew still friends after your match yesterday?

A: He hasn't talked to me except for the coaching, so I'm not too sure ...

7-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-4 (101m)

[7] Graeme Schnell

[7] Graeme Schnell

9/11, 11/8, 11/0, 11/1 (44m)

[8] Baptiste Masotti

 6-11, 13-15, 11-9, 11-3, 11-8 (78m)

[8] Baptiste Masotti

27-Feb,Semis:
Two semi-final comebacks in Calgary
Kiefer Waite reports

We had an other incredible day of squash at Mount Royal University as both matches were hotly contested. Both semifinals went two five games, and in both cases, the eventual victor was down 2-0.

Graeme Schnell 3-2 Andrew Schnell
             7-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-4 (101 mins)

This one match was one that I'm sure both brothers were dreading but the crowd was highly anticipating. The Calgary squash community has witnessed Graeme and Andrew play in countless finals and semifinals in important tournaments over the years, but this one might have been the most hyped as neither player has ever made it to a PSA World Tour final.

Andrew and Graeme play and train together daily and are very familiar with each other's games, but Andrew has had Graeme's number as of late, winning all five of their previous PSA encounters. Andrew played at an incredible pace in the first two games, outlasting Graeme in the rallies and taking the first two games relatively comfortably. At times, it seemed like one brother knew exactly what the other brother was thinking and moved to get onto the next before shot before the ball was even struck, and the rallies were long and intense.

Going into the third, the crowd got behind Graeme, not wanting the match to end in three. Graeme stepped up his pace of play and was retrieving absolutely everything, perhaps getting into Andrew's head a little bit (as older brothers are known to do). Early in the fifth game, Andrew began to show signs of cramps, which allowed Graeme to close out the match in five incredible games of squash. The packed crowd was on the edge of their seats for the whole match and gave both players a great deal of praise after the match.

Baptiste Massoti 3-2 Reuben Phillips
           6-11, 13-15, 11-9, 11-3, 11-8 (78 mins)

Although this match didn't have the same domestic interests as the first, both players have emerged as crowd favorites throughout the week. Baptiste was coming off a huge upset in defeating tournament top seed Aqeel Rehman in the quarter finals, and Reuben was also coming off a close match from yesterday, upsetting Argentinean Rodrigo Pezzota in four tight games.

Reuben took the first game quite easily, playing some incredibly deceptive drop shots; after the match Baptiste confessed that he almost packed up and went home after one of Reuben's shots. The second game was very tight for the whole way, with both players having game balls. Ultimately, some edgy unforced errors from Baptiste and steady play from Reuben gave the Englishman the second game.

Between games, Baptiste has been getting coaching from fellow pro Adrian Ostbye all week, which seemed to make a large difference in this match. Between points, Baptiste and Adrian shared some long and intense stares, perhaps communicating through some type of ESP. Baptiste raced off to a large lead in the third, but Reuben managed to claw his way back to 8 all. After some long and intense stares with Adrian, Baptiste managed to close out the third with some very intense squash, much to Adrian's joy.

Baptiste cruised through the third, setting the stage for a decider between the two Europeans. The fifth was a very physical affair, with the court cleaner having to be called onto court after almost every point due to the diving and sliding. In the end, Baptiste showed excellent poise and focus and narrowly edged out an exhausted Reuben Phillips at 11-8 in the fifth.

The squash community is very excited for the Final tomorrow, and we will likely see a highly partisan crowd cheering on the Canadian.
 

26-Feb, Quarters:
Schnells set for semifinal clash
as Masotti takes out top seed
Kiefer Waite reports

Andrew Schnell 3-0 Micah Franklin

This match was a battle between coaches. Calgary squash pro Glenn Stark was on hand to coach Micah, as they have ties from from Glenn's time as the National Coach for the Cayman Islands. Incidentally, Glenn was also Andrew's coach as a junior, and Andrew's current coach, Jonathan Hill, was on hand as well. This made for some serious coaching pride being put on the line.

Although Micah put up a good fight and used some incredible deception at times, Andrew's pace was just too much and Andrew pulled out a comfortable 3-0 win. When after the match, Andrew was asked what it was like to have his former coach working with his opponent, Andrew jokingly replied that, "he learned more from me that I did from him." Overall it was great match played in good spirits between the two players and their coaches.

Reuben Phillips 3-1  Rodrigo Pezzota

This match was a very intense encounter between the fifth and fourth seeded players, with only 3 ranking places between them. In the first game, spectators witnessed perhaps the greatest shot ever played (on purpose) at Mount Royal University. Rodrigo drove the ball hard down the middle, and somehow Reuben managed to play an inch perfect reverse boast from behind the back.

The match was a very physical affair, with long grueling rallies and both players trying to wear the other down. At a few key points in the third game, it appeared as if the players were doing a backhand length drill, as both players refused to play a ball away from the backhand corner for entire rallies. Ultimately, it was Reuben that played the big points better, which allowed him to book his place in the semifinals.

Graeme Schnell bt Jon Maloney 11-1, 2-0 rtd

Unfortunately, Jon had to retire midway through the second game due to a pinched nerve in his back. Although he managed to stave off the bagel in the first game, Jon was unable to finish the match due to the pain and retired midway through the second.

Baptiste Masotti 3-0 Aqeel Rehman

This was the most hyped match of the day as it was the first time that spectators saw number 1 seed Aqeel Rehman in action. Coming off a confident first round performance yesterday, his young opponent, Baptiste Massoti, had established himself as a crowd favourite due to his flair on court and exciting style.

The packed crowd witnessed a very confident and exuberant Frenchman pick up what Baptiste called the biggest scalp of his pro career, defeating a player ranked in the top 100 for the first time. Despite a change in strategy in the second game, Aqeel was unable to find an answer to Baptiste's incredible retrieving and adept deception and touch at the front.

Aqeel fought back from 8-2 down in the third game to force extra points, but the Frenchman showed great determination and focus despite his young age to close out the match. After the match, Baptiste was over the moon, thanking fellow PSA player Adrian Ostbye for coaching him and hugging just about everybody in sight.


The semifinals are set to be even more exciting that quarters. The first semifinal will showcase what the Calgary squash community has seen countless times over the years, which is two red haired brothers with the last name Schnell face each other in an important match. Andrew is currently undefeated on the pro circuit by other members of the Schnell family, but Graeme will definitely be hungry to regain family dominance and teach his younger brother a thing or two.

The other semifinal features two players who have established themselves as crowd favourites, Reuben Phillips and Baptiste Massoti. Both scored upset wins in their quarterfinal matches, so it will be interesting to see who will be able to carry their momentum forward into the next round.

25-Feb, Round One:

It was a great day of squash in Calgary and the players played in front of a packed audience. Six seeded players all winning to join the top two, who had byes, in the quarter-finals.

The match of the day was definitely Paul Oppenheim v Graeme Schnell. Paul is a classic weekend warrior and works a full time desk job, but still managed to push Graeme to extra points in the the second and third games.

Paul put in a real gutsy effort saving two game balls in the second game, but he failed to convert on two game balls in the third game as Graeme managed to wear him down with his fitness.