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Sun 11th, Day Two
Everything stops in
Cayman on Sunday - apart from the squash ... it's another busy
day at South Sound Squash Club, by the end of which we'll know
the finalists ... and Dan Kneipp even managed to leave a nice
break after lunch so that everyone can watch the world cup final
on the big screen (that's the front wall of court two).
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Morning
Semi-Finals:
Evening semi-finals
U13 Boys:
[3/4] Jason Doyle (Oecs) bt [1] Iain McCallum (Cay)
11/1, 12/10, 11/7
[3/4] Julian Jervis Cay) bt [5/8] Ben Mekdeci (Guy)
11/2, 11/9, 11/4
U13 Girls:
[1] Alyssa Mullings (Jam) bt [3/4] Taylor Fernandes (Guy)
11/3, 11/7, 11/7
[5/8] Faith Gillezeau (T&T) bt [5/8] Demi Olliviere (Oecs)
11/7, 11/6, 11/6
U15 Girls:
[1] Victoria Arjoon (Guy) bt [3/4] Emma Keane (Ber)
11/2, 11/7, 11/7
[2] Charlotte Knaggs (T&T) bt [3/4] Mary Mahfood (Jam)
11/7, 6/11, 11/9, 11/8
U17 Girls:
[1] Mary Fung-A-Fat (Guy) bt [5/8] Eilidh Bridgeman (Cay)
11/2, 11/3, 11/5
[3/4] Kristina Myren (Cay) bt [2] Ashley Degroot (Guy)
10/12, 11/7, 11/9,
7/11, 11/5
Mixed success for hosts
 It
was a mixed morning for the Cayman Islands as they saw one of
their top seeds fall in the first match of the day, but things
picked up when they gained two unexpected finalists.
In the Boys' U13 top seed Iain McCallum made a slow start
against Jason Doyle, seemed to pull things together in
the second before a few unforced errors let the game slip away,
and the OECS's Doyle needed no second invitation as he closed it
out in the third.
But Cayman will have a finalist - Julian Jervis, playing
in his first CASA - "I've only ever really played Iain before,"
he admitted - took out Ben Mekdeci, the Guyanese who yesterday
upset the second seed, in straight games.
In the Girls' semis Alyssa Mullings put in a determined
performance to justify her top billing, and the tall Jamaican
will face the diminutive Faith Gillezeau for the title
after Guyanese won her battle of the 5/8 seeds with Demi
Olliviere.
 No
upsets in the U15 girls, top seed Victoria Arjoon eased
through in three while Charlotte Knaggs got the better of
a tough encounter with Mary Mahfood, just edging ahead in the
latter stages of the last two games.
Mary Fung-a-Fat looked in control as she ended the run of
Cayman's Eilidh Bridgeman in the Under 17s. Two title already to
her name, the Guyanese worked the ball to the corners well,
forcing her opponent into errors.
 The
expected all-Guyanese final won't happen though as, egged on by
the Cayman crowd, Kristina Myren dug deep to beat second
seed Ashley Degroot in an up and down five-setter.
Match of the morning was probably Nku Patrick's dismissal
of top seed Julian Morrison in the U15 quarters - it was
certainly the noisiest, even drowning out the Vuvuzelas (ok,
there's only one of them, but it doesn't half make a din!). The
Trinidadian edged the first on extra points, lost his way with
careless errors in the second, took the third comfortably and
then edged it 12/10 in the fourth to bring the T&T crowd close
to boiling point (not that it usually takes a lot to do that). |
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Evening Semi-Finals:
Boys U17:
[1] Noah Browne (Ber) bt [3/4] Mandela Patrick (T&T)
12/10, 11/5, 11/3
[2] Jason Ray Khalil (Guy) bt Romario Constance (OECS)
11/8, 11/5, 11/5
Girls U19:
[1] Keisha Jeffrey (Guy) bt [3/4] Brooke Burrows (Jam)
11/8, 11/8, 11/6
[2] Ashley Khalil (Guy) bt [3/4] Kayla Jeffrey (Guy)
7/11, 12/10, 13/11, 5/11, 11/6
Boys U15:
[5/8] Nku Patrick (T&T) bt [3/4] D'Vario Thompson (Ber)
5/11, 11/4, 11/8, 11/4
[2] Jean Claude Jeffrey (Guy) bt [5/8] David Mullings (Jam)
11/5, 11/7, 11/4
Boys U19:
[1] Cameron Stafford (Cay) bt [3/4] Alex Arjoon (Guy)
11/1, 11/5, 11/5
[2] Micah Franklin (Ber) bt [3/4] Kale Wilson (T&T)
11/7, 11/7, 11/8
Nku does it again
There was only one upset in the the evening session's
semi-finals, and it was that boy Nku Patrick who did it
again, on what was otherwise a good night for Guyana, who took
half of the available places in the finals.
 First
up was the boys U17, where Nku's brother Mandela
Patrick (a year or so older but just as slight of build) was
overpowered by Bermuda's top seed Noah Browne. Mandela
ran for all he was worth - he had to - but as the match wore on
the constant pressure of Noah's shots, and not a little skill
and deception too, took its toll.
 In
the final he'll meet second seed Jason Ray Khalil, who
was pushed in the opening two games by unseeded Romario
Constance, but here too it was the higher seed who pulled
clear in the third.
 The
Jeffrey sisters were next on court for the Girls U19
semis. Top seed Keisha held firm in the face of a
battling performance by Jamaica's Brooke Burrows, who
never stopped fighting and running for one moment. Try as she
might though, Keisha always managed to keep just ahead, and
managed to find some lovely winners just when needed as she won
in three tight games.
 Kayla,
the younger one, took to the court at the same time as her
sister and started well against second seed Ashley Khalil
in an all-Guyanese matchup, taking the first. If Brooke's
battling was to no avail on the adjacent court, Ashley showed
that she's a battler too as she fought her way back into the
match, never letting anything go and taking every opportunity to
fling herself headlong to reach the ball, sometimes
successfully.
 Both
had opportunities in the second and third games but it was
Ashley who took both on extra points. Kayla took a good start in
the fourth and levelled, but in the decider Ashley took an early
lead - aided and abetted by some careless errors from Kayla -
and never looked like relinquishing it.
 Then
it was Nku Patrick's turn. After toppling the top seed in
the morning he now faced Jamaica's 3/4 seed D'Vario Thompson.
Nku was at a physical disadvantage, but not as great as the one
his brother had faced. Nevertheless D'Vario took early control
and the lead, but as the match wore on Nku got to grips with his
opponent's game and was able to run down pretty much everything
D'Vario could throw at him. The Jamaican persisted in trying to
outpower his opponent, but it wasn't working any more, and Nku
grew more and more assured as he progressed to the final in four
games.
 He'll
need to create another upset to take the title though, as in the
final he'll meet second seed Jean Claude Jeffrey, who was
always in control of his match against a game David Mullings.
 For
Cayman fans the Boys U19 is the big one, with Cameron
Stafford aiming to go one better than his runners-up spot
last year. He looked good enough tonight as he eased past
Alex Arjoon in straight games, but tomorrow will be a
tougher test.
Second seed Micah Franklin had a tough-looking draw against Kale
Wilson, and the rallies were tough indeed. It was the Jamaican
though who consistently found a way to win them, and his delight
at clinching his 3/0 win was evidence as to how tough it had
been.
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