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Raneem captures her biggest win in Brooklyn

Egypt's two-time world junior champion Raneem El Weleily, now aged 22, recorded her biggest ever win as a senior at the Carol Weymuller Open as she beat defending champion and world number two Jenny Duncalf in straight games in the final.

Having already beaten Laura Massaro, Camille Serme and Madeline Perry - all well inside the top ten - on her way to the final, El Weleily capped it off in emphatic style and will surely join her Weymuller victims in the top ranks come the new October rankings.

"Raneem was on fire with her short game - and tactically almost flawless," said Bob Hanscom, the long-time WISPA afficianado from Los Angeles who watched the match on the streaming provided by Goshen's Jim Wellington. "That second game was certainly the crucial one, both of them saving game balls," added Bob.
 

"I’m really, really, really, really, really happy!!!!!! I would really like to thank everyone at home who have been following me (on the live streaming) and supporting me.

"It’s been a great tournament and it’s definitely my favourite place now and hopefully this is not the last tournament I will win!!!"

"I’m disappointed to have lost in 3 but I lost to the better player on the day. It’s the best Raneem has ever played against me by far and I don’t think I did too much wrong, but I left too much half court and Raneem was just ridiculous at putting the ball away!!!!

"I shouldn’t have lost the 2nd game as I was 10-6 up but I made a couple of errors and then she hit a mishit and then she just played well. Her weight of shot was so good and it made me do a lot of work.

"It’s been a good week and it’s shame it ended on a 3-0 loss but Raneem has had the week of her career.


"She’s always had potential and this week she’s put it all together."

Linda Elriani reports

Today was the final day of our 2011 Carol Weymuller Open. It’s been a tremendous week of squash and the WISPA players have definitely left everyone inspired and motivated. We sometimes have the honor of Carol Weymuller herself coming to watch the final, but Carol has sent us a lovely e-mail apologizing that she was very busy and could not unfortunately find the time to come. Carol started the junior squash program here at The Heights Casino many years back and it has obviously grown and grown over the years. We always like to thank Carol for all her work and dedication at the start as we wouldn’t be where we are today with our program if she had not been forward thinking enough to develop squash in this area.

Our final today was between defending Champion and world # 2 Jenny Duncalf from England and world # 12 Raneem El Weleily from Egypt, who has taken out 3 players ranked above her to reach the final. The match started at 2pm with packed out bleachers full of excited members. In the WISPA head to head statistics Jenny is ahead 4-0, but with Raneem being on cloud nine this week you never know! Both players won their semi-finals 3-0 yesterday, so should have arrived today in the final not too fatigued.

The match started brilliantly with evenly contested points and great shots at the front from both players. Raneem seemed particularly relaxed and calm and through this she was starting to play even better squash than she had done already in the tournament! Soon Raneem took a 6-3 lead and was putting way anything that Jenny did not keep deep or tight. Most the rallies were surprisingly short and an array of attacking shots were being played by both players. Jenny then dug in and managed to equalize at 7-7 but before we knew it Raneem had cut off a few of Jenny’s short drives and hit some amazing volley kills to take the 1st game 11/7. Everyone was left wondering if Raneem would be able to keep this amazing squash going!?

Jenny started the second game well keeping Raneem deeper on the court and picking her times to go short better. Raneem lost a little of the patience that she’d had in the first game and soon Jenny was up 5-1. Just as Jenny started to find her rhythm Raneem found her length again and put in some great defensive lobs and created some time for herself. Raneem crept back and soon the score was 7-6 to Jenny. The rallies in the second were so entertaining and action packed and both players were hitting some amazing winners. Raneem hit a return of serve in the tin and then a loose length to give Jenny her first game ball at 10-6. Some more amazing rallies and a couple of errors from Jenny and a lucky volley from Raneem and at 9-10 they has the most incredible rally which eventually ended in a let. The crowd gave a huge cheer at the end of that really in appreciation of such awesome squash. Raneem equalized with a perfect backhand drop shot. More incredible rallies and eventually Raneem won the second game 15-13!!!

In the 3rd game it was going to be interesting to see if Raneem could keep her concentration, keep up the error free squash and pressure that she was putting Jenny under. Raneem started the 3rd game flawlessly and was soon 5-3 up and was not looking fazed by the fact that she was within reach of her first gold tournament win and beating the world # 2!

Jenny needed to keep the ball wider and deeper but she was under such a barrage of attacking squash that she just couldn’t regain her normal composure. Raneem went almost straight through to 11-4 playing the best squash of her career and winning the biggest tournament of her career to date. This week Raneem has beaten the world #2, world #3, world #5 and world # 8, so we can safely say she was on fire!!!!!


Congratulations to both players for reaching the final, especially to Raneem for winning her first gold tournament, it was a pleasure to watch them both play.

And Finally ...

I’d like to say a HUGE thank you to some key people who have put a lot of time, effort and generosity into making this tournament what it is.

Firstly our corporate sponsors Corcoran, who generously support us year after year and to all our amazing members who contributed to the prize fund. We wouldn’t have a tournament if we didn’t have this incredible support.

This year we raised the prize money to Gold $45K and we was definitely worth it because the entry was so strong and the matches were of such high caliber all the way through from the qualification to the final.

To all the WISPA players for choosing to come and play our event and for playing such beautiful squash and inspiring all of us, especially our juniors.

To Jim Wellington and his family who drove all the way from Cleveland to stream our event live on the internet for us. They did a fantastic job and we really appreciate their hard work. The streaming is not only great for the squash enthusiasts around the world but it’s so lovely for the family and friends of the players to be able to watch the matches live if they chose. We hope that they will come back again next year.

To all our members who opened up their homes to house the players and to Judy Scofield-Miller who excellently organized all housing of the players.

To www.squashsite.co.uk who put up my reports and photos so quickly and brilliantly   every day.

To Emily Lungstrum, our adult squash chair for all her support throughout the Weymuller and the squash year.

To Becky McDevitt the chair of the Weymuller this year, She did a tremendous job and has worked very hard with the fund raising, as obviously without the money there is no tournament or players.

Then last but certainly not least, Cristian, Jayson, T and ALL our Heights Casino staff. We have an amazing team of dedicated people here at The Heights Casino, who all pull together and make every event we run here a success. Thanks SO much.

Thanks again and we hope you all enjoyed the 2011 Carol Weymuller Open as much as we did and we look forward to running it again next year.

Congratulations again to Raneem and good luck to all the WISPA players for the rest of the season. Cheers!

 11/8 11/6 11/9

[5] Kasey Brown

14.00

Raneem El Weleily

14/12, 11/0, 11/8

[2] Madeline Perry

Qualifying:

Finals:
Samantha Teran bt Delia Arnold                                      14/12, 11/8, 11/5
Joey Chan bt Sarah Kippax                                      5/11, 11/3, 11/2, 11/6
Dipika Pallikal bt Amanda Sobhy                            10/12, 11/6, 11/5, 12/10
Emma Beddoes bt Low Wee Wern                     11/3, 9/11, 6/11, 11/8, 11/3

Round One:
Samantha Teran beat Niki Clement                                   11/6, 11/2, 11/2
Joey Chan beat Tania Bailey                                             11/4, 11/3, 13/11
Sarah Kippax beat Manuela Manetta                                   11/2, 11/9, 11/4
Amanda Sobhy beat Victoria Lust                      11/1, 9/11, 11/5, 9/11, 11/4
Dipika Pallikal beat Latasha Khan                                      11/6, 11/7, 11/8
Emma Beddoes beat Olivia Blatchford                                11/6, 11/8, 11/5
Delia Arnold beat Orla Noom                                   11/5, 10/12, 11/8, 11/3
Low Wee Wern beat Haley Mendez                                     11/9, 11/4, 11/4

2010 Event

Before the semi finals began we held a ‘Play a Pro’ event for our juniors so that they had a chance to get on court with some of the top women’s squash players in the world.

World # 20 Samantha Teran, world # 4 Rachael Grinham, World # 16 Jaclyn Hawkes, World # 19 Sarah Kippax, World # 14 Donna Urquhart and World # 26 Emma Beddoes all very kindly agreed to play with our two groups of juniors.

We had the under 11 kids playing first and then the 12 and over playing second. They all had such a fun time, trying their hardest to win a point or two off the pros!

Thanks so much to the WISPA players for taking part in this. We really appreciate it. They are all a credit to women’s squash as they are so prepared to give back to the tournaments and help spread the joy of playing squash.

“ I’m SO excited!!!! After two 5 game matches this week, I didn’t expect it to be 3-0!!! I tried and it worked! It’s always a plan to get the right combination between patience and shots and when I get that it’s really good. It’s my first gold final so I’m just happy to be there”.

“I felt I played well. Similar to yesterday really, fairly in control. I felt calm throughout the match and that my length and width was good.  I was trying to keep her off her volley. My basics were good which allowed me to finish it off at the front. Raneem’s playing well . She quite different from all my other opponents so far and I feel that I’ll have to be on my toes tomorrow…I’ll be ready for anything! It should be a good game”.

24-Sep-2011, Semis:
  
RANEEM, YET AGAIN...
Linda Elriani reports

Semi finals day is here at the 2011 Carol Weymuller Open. Everyone was excited to see some more action packed squash as the quarter final matches were so entertaining and such a tribute to how strong and amazing women’s professional squash is.

The first semi final on this afternoon was World # 3 Madeline Perry and World # 12 Raneem El Weleily.

In the head to head, Madeline is 3-1 up but Raneem has been playing so well and gaining more and more confidence by the day that we knew it would be a great match.

The first game was amazing squash. Both players were hitting the ball tight and early and battling to get each other out of position. Raneem took at 10-6 lead, but Madeline showed her experience and played great focused squash to take her straight back to 10-10.

Madeline had one game ball at 11-10 but Raneem had clearly decided to be patient and push up the court as much as possible. Eventually Raneem clinched the first game 14/12.

The second game Raneem was basically on fire! She could not miss! She played precise, exciting and accurate squash and managed to dominate the T and volley almost everything. Madeline struggled to find her length and rhythm and was always on the end of each rally. Raneem played faultless squash to win the second 11-0.

Madeline started out steadier in the 3rd and managed to get Raneem behind her more and a glimpse of Madeline’s strong attacking game started to come through. In the middle of the game there were some unforced errors from both players and the game lost the fluidity that we had seem in the first.

With the score quite even at 9/8 Raneem showed a lot of maturity and kept the ball deep to get her openings and managed to come through to win the 3rd 11/9. Looking back at the match it made you realize how important that first game was for Raneem and how her momentum just kept growing after that.

With the wins that Raneem has had this week over Laura Massaro who is World # 5, Camille Serme World # 8 and now Madeline World # 3, we can safely say she is having the best tournament of her career!

The second semi-final match was between defending champion and world # 3 Jenny Duncalf and Kasey Brown world # 6.

They have a head to head of 7-1 in Jenny’s favor, but Kasey has taken Jenny to 5 in 3 of the last 4 matches they have played, so we knew that this could be a fantastic match too.

The first game was closely contested with both players vying for the T and looking to take the ball early. Jenny came out on top 11/8 finishing the game with some lovely holds, making it impossible for Kasey to get onto the ball early.

Kasey started the 2nd well going 5-2 up by hitting deep penetrating lengths and forcing Jenny back on the court, not giving her chance to use her deadly short game. Then mid game Kasey’s drives started to drop a little short and Jenny took back the control and went through to 7-5. The end part of the second had some great flowing rallies with both players playing accurate squash, but Jenny managed to find the openings at the right moments and made no errors, taking the second game 11/6 and a 2-0 lead.

Kasey took an early lead again in the 3rd and went 5-2 up and we were left wondering if Kasey could capitalize on the lead this time. Jenny was making a few unforced errors and lost her earlier patience and Kasey kept her lead and enhanced it to 8-4.

But from 4-8 back to 8-8 Jenny hit an array of amazing short shots from almost nowhere and managed to re-gain her control of the game. Kasey made an unforced error on the return of serve to give Jenny a 9-8 lead and then hit a perfect tight length on the forehand to equalize at 9-9.

A perfect backhand drop shot form Jenny took her to match ball and Jenny was through to reach the final of the Carol Weymuller Open for the 4th year running. The last 2 years Jenny has been the champion and the year before she was a finalist.

Congratulations to the winners and we look forward to the final tomorrow’s final between Jenny Duncalf and Raneem El Weleily at 2pm and everyone is so excited to see who will be the 2011 Carol Weymuller Champion. See you then!

23-Sep-2011, Quarters:

QUARTERS' NIGHT
Linda Elriani reports

It was the quarter finals night of the Weymuller Open. The quarter final night is always my favorite night at tournaments because it’s usually four extremely high quality matches all on one court. A feast of great squash!

First up on the championship court was the world # 3 Madeline Perry against the young left handed world #11, Annie Au from Hong Kong. Annie started the match so steadily and worked the ball around the court, changing the pace so efficiently that Madeline was struggling to get control of the rallies enough of the time. Madeline still battled to the end but ended up losing the first 13/11.

Annie took a 5-2 lead in the second but Madeline suddenly started finding her length and forced herself up the court. Madeline was very quick onto Annie’s amazing sort shots. Annie eventually started making some errors because of the pressure that Madeline was applying. Madeline won the second 11/9.

The 3rd and 4th were still great games but Madeline found her game and started to add some hold to her shots and really took time away from Annie. Madeline came through the 3rd and 4th 11/3, 11/8.

Second on court was French world # 8 Camille Serme against giant killer Raneen El Weleily the world # 12 from Egypt. Camille won the 1st game 11/9 playing a very consistent game and managing to tame Raneem’s fire. A few unforced error cost Raneem the first game 11/9.

Camille continued in the same vain and was steadier than Raneem in the vital points and managed to grasp the second 11/9. Raneem came into the last 3 games and obviously had decided to not shot so early and to get Camille deep and chose her moments for her amazing attacking shots. Camille started to play a little defensively and didn’t control the T the way she had at the beginning of the match. Raneem won the 3rd and 4th 11/8, 11/9.

Raneem took a 6-3 lead in the fifth and Camille started to show signs of being tired and eventually Raneem won the 5th 11/9. It was fantastic match and the crowd were so excited. This was Raneem’s second 5 setter after beating world # 5 Laura Massaro last night.

Third match of the evening was between Australian and world # 4 Rachael Grinham and fellow Aussie and world # 6, Kasey Brown.

Rachael came out strong and as usual was moving effortlessly around the court picking up Kasey’s short shots and putting Kasey under a lot of pressure. Rachael won the first 11/7.

Kasey found her game in the second and managed to force Rachel to the back more and control the T. Kasey’s volleys were great and Rachael started to make some unforced errors. Kasey won the second 11/8.

Kasey managed to keep in front and dominate the T really well for the remainder of the match, though Rachael’s flair and exciting squash kept us guessing as to whether she could make a come back. Kasey keep her focus and came through to win the third and fourth 11/5, 11/6. 

The last match of the night was between defending champion and world #2 Jenny Duncalf and world # 13 from New Zealand, Joelle King, who took out the world # 7 yesterday.

Jenny started off a little slow but very soon found her groove and was very much in control of the match. Joelle kept trying to attack Jenny deep with hard hit lengths and take time away from Jenny but she couldn’t do this consistently enough to stop Jenny taking control. Jenny hit an array of wonderful drops and along with some very effective holds Jenny won the match 11/8, 11/4. 11/6.

We all look forward to some more amazing women’s squash tomorrow afternoon at 4.00pm and 5.00pm. Jenny and Kasey played in the semi-finals last year so we’ll see who gets through to the final this time. We’ll also see if Raneem can take another scalp of a higher ranked player to reach the final.

I look forward to seeing you all again soon and finding out!

22-Sep, First Round:
AN EXCITING EVENING
Linda Elriani reports

Tonight was the 1st round of the 2011 Carol Weymuller Main draw. The quality of the matches tonight was amazing and the matches were so exciting and closely contested.

It’s so inspirational for our Heights Casino juniors to watch. There’s a cute group of our youngest players who come watch nearly all the matches and have got as many signatures from the WISPA players as is humanly possible!

The weather in Brooklyn has been damp and very humid over the last 2 or 3 days and this has made for very hot court conditions and long hard matches, proving to us even more how fit and athletic the women players are.

First on the Championship court was # 2 seed and world # 3 from Ireland, Madeline Perry, against the young Indian qualifier Dipika Pallikal. This was fast and furious match with each player searching for the T and openings to hit hard low kills. Madeline made a very steady start and won the first 11/6.

Dipika really attacked and showed her flare in the second winning it in a close 13/11. Madeline regained her length and moved amazingly to pick up some fantastic shots form Dipika and eventually came through 11/6 and 11/7 in the 3rd and 4th respectively.

Also on court at 5.30pm was Hong’s Kong’s Annie Au and world # 11 against English qualifier Emma Beddoes.

Annie Au came out on top in this tough match but Emma put up an amazing fight and had some chances in the 3rd and 4th games, especially after her incredibly long match yesterday.

Annie made it through winning 6/11, 11/8, 11/8, 13/11.

Second match on the championship court was World # 5 from England, Laura Massaro, playing Egyptian and world # 12 Raneem El Weleily.

This match had a real contrast in playing styles with Laura being steady and accurate and Raneem being flary, skilful and random! Raneem took a 2-1 lead but Laura came back well in the 4th with a very controlled game and then started the 5th in the same vain taking a 5-1 lead.

Raneem dug in and before we knew it they were playing right down to the wire with Laura getting 2 match balls but not managing to capitalize on them. Raneem eventually came away the victor winning 13-11 in the 5th.

French # 1 and World # 8, Camille Serme played the Mexican qualifier, Samantha Teran.

This was another hard fought match with most games ending with only a 2 point difference. Camille lost the 1st 11/9 and then managed to get the next three 11/9, 11/8, 12/10.

“I think that Samantha played well. It was my first match in a competition for 2 months and I couldn’t find my length and Samantha was in control most of the time. "But I felt like when I was calm I could play pretty well and played the ball tighter. "I felt I got a little lucky with a couple of shots at the end! I’m glad I won. It’s going to be tough tomorrow against Raneem as I won 12-10 in the fifth last time!”

Rachael Grinham from Australia and world # 4 played against her compatriot and training partner Donna Urquhart world # 14. Rachael came out well and won the first 11/7.

Donna managed to find her length more in the second and got Rachael behind her and won the second 11/4. Rachael recovered well and snatched back the control to win the 3rd and 4th 11/5, 11/7.

American based Australian Kasey Brown and world # 6 played against Hong Kong’s Joey Chan. Joey started out well and chopped the ball in short and managed to move Kasey around and out of position enough to win the first 11/9.

Kasey battled to get in front of Joey and did enough of the time to just clinch the 2nd game 12/10. The 3rd and 4th games Kasey took much more control of the pace and match and won them 11/2 and 11/6.

Jenny Duncalf the world # 2 and current champion of the Weymuller played the last match on the championship court tonight against New Zealander and world # 16.

Jaclyn had a great start really playing it deep and being patient and won the 1st 11/8. Jenny dug in and took more control of the match as it went on, with long rallies and patience. Jenny won the last 3 games 11/6, 11/8, 11/5.

The last match of the evening to finish but certainly not lacking fantastic squash and drama was the match between World #7 from Egypt, Omneya Abdel Kawy and World # 13 from New Zealand, Joelle King.

Joelle took a relatively comfy 2-0 lead winning the 1st and 2nd 11/3, 11/7, but then Omneya pushed on through and managed to win the 3rd 11/9 and 4th in a nail biting 17/15, where Joelle missed out on 2 match balls.

Joelle started the 5th game perfectly and got up 10/6, but Omneya gave one last huge effort and managed to edge her way back to 10 all. Joelle finally closed out the match with a lovely backhand drop shot that Omneya couldn’t reach to win 12/10.

So here ends another exciting night of squash here at The Heights Casino and we all look forward to the quarter finals tomorrow night. See you again soon!

21-Sep, Qualifying Finals:

Samantha Teran bt Delia Arnold                     14/12, 11/8, 11/5
Joey Chan bt Sarah Kippax                     5/11, 11/3, 11/2, 11/6
Dipika Pallikal bt Amanda Sobhy          10/12, 11/6, 11/5, 12/10
Emma Beddoes bt Low Wee Wern   11/3, 9/11, 6/11, 11/8, 11/3

Qualifying Finals
Linda Elriani reports

Tonight was the last evening of the qualification at the 2011 Carol Weymuller Open. It’s always an exciting round as it really is all or nothing…main draw or out! The qualifying event is the strongest we’ve ever had with all the players in the finals of the qualifying being ranked #26 in the world or above. The matches were exciting and a fantastic display of how athletic and skilled the top women squash players are.

The first match on tonight was between World # 23 Delia Arnold from Malaysia and World #20 Samantha Teran from Mexico. This match started off with very long and hard fought rallies with Samantha just sneaking the 1st game 14/12. This game seemed to be the deciding game of the match as after that Samantha took more control and got in front of Delia and won the next two 11/8, 11/5.

Samantha said after the match “I feel good as it’s always hard to play in qualifying rounds. I’m really happy to get in the main draw as I knew it would be a hard game. It was important to win the 1st game, it gave me confidence. It didn’t feel like it was 3-0 it was a long match. I don’t mind who I play in the 1st round of the main draw, I’m just happy that I’m in!” Samantha now plays Camille Serme from France in the main draw.

Second on was Joey Chan from Hong Kong and world # 22 against English women and world # 19 Sarah Kippax. Sarah started off the match playing the perfect game plan and won the first in a convincing 11/5. Joey came out with a totally different plan for the next 2 as she managed to change up the pace and get in front of Sarah, who lost her great length that she had in the 1st game. Joey won the 2nd and 3rd 11/3, 11/2.

The 4th game was closer with some tough rallies and exchanges through to 4-4 and then Joey found her length again and Sarah couldn’t take back the control enough. Joey won the 4th 11/6.

Joey said after her match “Sarah’s a fast pace player and I tried to vary the pace and get her deep and cut it off. I wanted to attack her short before she could attack me short. I tried to play her on her back hand too. I ‘m very happy to be through to the main draw and to also get my first win over Sarah”. Joey now plays Kasey Brown from Australia tomorrow.

Next on was USA’s budding young star Amanda Sobhy and already world # 21 playing India’s favorite squash player and model Dipika Pallikal (it was Dipika's birthday too) who is currently world #23. This match was very entertaining with some fast pace rallies, early volleying and great winning shots. Amanda came out on fire and very quickly took a 5-0 lead. Dipika dug in and eventually only lost the 1st game 12/10.

As the match progressed Dipika managed to slow Amanda down with some accurate lobs and break her rhythm and Amanda made some unforced errors at important points of the match. Birthday girl Dipika managed to give herself the best 20th birthday present by qualifying for the main draw beating Amanda 10/12, 11/6, 11/5, 12/10.

Dipika said afterwards “I’m very satisfied to be through. I’ve never played Amanda in a WISPA event, but I’ve seen her play a lot. I wanted to keep her deep and then float it and vary the pace. I surprised myself with some of my lobs!!! I really wanted to qualify especially on my birthday!”. Dipika plays Madeline Perry from Ireland and world #3.

Our last match of the evening was between Low Wee Wern who is the #1 qualifier and world #17 from Malaysia against Emma Beddoes from England and currently ranked world #26. This was by far the longest match of the evening with Emma and Low battling away for an impressive 1hour 45mins.

The match was so grueling that in the fifth game Low started to cramp up in her legs and Emma, though clearly sympathetic to her opponents ailments, took advantage of the situation and moved her around the court skillfully. Emma got her own back on Low from their previous meeting which was the reserve result and an equally long and tiring match.

Emma said “It’s always hard against Low, if you don’t stick it on the wall or in the nick it comes back! I’m obviously really pleased to win especially as I had a tough loss against her in Malaysia last time. I haven’t played Annie Au in a couple of years so I’m looking forward to it”.
 

2010 Event

20-Sep, Qualifying Round One
Linda Elriani reports

The 2011 Carol Weymuller Squash Tournament is now underway with the first 8 qualification matches starting at 5.30pm on our Heights Casino squash courts. We were lucky to have 4 USA players competing in the Weymuller Qualification. Olivia Blatchford, Amanda Sobhy, Niki Clement and our very own Haley Mendez.

The 5.30pm match was Samantha Teran from Mexico, who is 20 in the WISPA world rankings. Samantha played Niki Clement from the USA. Samantha’s experience and faultless play got the better of the American though Niki put up a great fight in the first game.

Samantha said after her match “I find the court very different from the ones in Mexico so this was a good match to get used the court. Niki played well in the first and I had to find my rhythm. Now I wait to see who I play tomorrow!”. Samantha won 11/6, 11/2, 11/2.

The second 5.30pm match was Delia Arnold from Malaysia and Orla Noom from Holland. This was a closely contested match with both players really battling for the T. Delia came out on top in a close 4 setter.

Delia commented after her win “It’s the first tournament in a while as I have had a 6 week training period and this is the first tournament after. I felt I was moving well and my shots were going in. I hope that I can play even better tomorrow!” Delia won 11/3, 10/12, 11/8, 11/3.

Next match on the championship court was Sarah Kippax, the English women who is #2 seed in the qualification, against Manuela Manetta from Italy.

They have had many tough matches throughout the past months with many of them going to 5 games but tonight Sarah was the sharper more focused player and Sarah came out with a convincing 3-0 win (11/2, 11/9, 11/4). Sarah said after “I’m really happy to win in 3 as we’ve had lots of battles in the past.

Manuela didn’t find her length today and I managed to find good depth and put her under pressure. I don’t mind who I play tomorrow, both players are skillful so I’ll have to play well whoever I play!!”

Joey Chan from Hong Kong beat English woman Tania Bailey 3-0 (11/4, 11/3, 13/11) in their qualification match. Joey played a great match, though Tania was suffering from a sinus infection and was definitely not firing on all cylinders.

Tania is also returning from several month off the court with a knee injury so we wish her all the best with getting back into fighting form again.

Joey said after her match “ I played well tonight and I just worked her. I didn’t let her get on the T and give her a chance as she has good hands. It was a great warm up match for tomorrow. I looking forward to playing Sarah and fighting back as I have never beaten her before!”

Dipika Pallikal from India and world #24 beat USA Latasha Khan and world # 30. Even though Dipika beat Latasha in 3 (11/6, 11/7, 11/8) the score did not depict this match.

Latasha has endless experience and Dipika really had to our maneuver Latasha to get her openings. Dipika commented “I felt that we were always equal throughout the match and that I got lucky as Latasha played a couple of tins. I’ve been in the USA for 2 weeks now preparing for this tournament and I’ve also been working with Sarah Fitzgerald over the last year and now live in Melbourne to train with her and it’s all starting to come together. I’m excited about playing my match tomorrow.”

Emma Beddoes, world #26 from England, took on home grown Olivia Blatchford. Olivia is just embarking on her professional squash career and came along to try and qualify for this Gold event. Emma proved too tight and experienced for the young player but I feel there are good things to come from Olivia in the not too distant future.

Emma said “I played Olivia a year ago so I knew what to expect as she is good at the front. I felt that I moved well, though my length could improve. It’s good to be playing tournaments again after 5 weeks training break”. Emma won 11/6, 11/8, 11/5.

Amanda Sobhy the world #21 from USA and recent addition to the Harvard squash team played Victoria Lust world #34 from England and it was a battle to the end! Amanda took a 2-1 lead but Victoria fought back to win the 4th game 11-9. Amanda took control of the 5th game in the end and Victoria started to show signs of tiredness and got the 5th 11/4.

A red faced Amanda said about her match “It was a little long and longer than I wanted it to be, but a wins a win! I’ve never played Dipika before so it’ll be interesting to see how it goes”.

Last but certainly not least was our very own Haley Mendez, who was playing qualification #1 seed and world #17 Low Wee Wern from Malaysia.

Haley who has just started at Harvard alongside her team mate Amanda Sobhy, travelled down to play in the Weymuller. She put up an amazing fight in the first game playing very patient tight squash and Low only managed to win in 11/9.

The last 2 games were still great squash but Low managed to control the T more and work Haley hard around the court. Low won in the end 11/9, 11/4, 11/4. Low said after her match “It’s the first time I have been here and I like it and the weather is good….surprisingly! I never played Haley before and she came out very steady so I had to be patient. In the 2nd and 3rd she got more tired and I also became more settled. I played Emma Beddoes in Malaysia in July in the qualification finals (same as tomorrow) and I won 3-2 so it’s going to be another hard match!”

Haley commented “I was really happy with the first game and then I played well in patches in the 2nd and 3rd. I didn’t feel that I got to prepare the way I would have liked to with just starting College one month ago.

I am happy that some of my momentum carried over from the World Junior Open this summer. It’s ALWAYS great to be back home in Brooklyn and also to be at the Casino again!”

It was a great evening of squash to start off the 2011 Weymuller and we look forward to the final round of the qualifying tomorrow night.
 

2010 Event

2010 Event