The girls enjoyed their first set of matches in the Woodpecker Products Junior National Squash Tournament on Tuesday evening in the Under-11 category.
The youngest player in the competition at the Georgetown Club, eight-year-old Tiana Gomes, showed great spirit in her clash with category favourite, Christiana Fernandes.
Gomes earned some good points with solid drive retrievals against the talented and athletic Fernandes. In the 3-0 match, Fernandes displayed developing shot execution for the 11-2, 11-5, 11-4 win.
Mohryan Baksh maintained his winning streak against Dhirren Persaud and Joshua Verwey in the Boys Under-13 category, while Louis DaSilva picked up his second win and Chad Deabreu his first.
The ever-improving Nicholas Verwey moved easily around the court against Demetrius DeAbreu to secure a clean sweep 11-5, 11-3, 11-4. DeAbreu was first off the mark in all three games and went hit for hit with Verwey in the first game up until 5-5, then Verwey moved up a gear and took six straight points for the first win.
Despite long rallies and some superb shots from DeAbreu, Verwey dominated throughout.
In the Under 17 and 19 Boys, a category which crosses over two age groups, Shomari Wiltshire displayed the usual brilliance on court against Gianni Carpenter. Conceding very few points, Wiltshire’s calm, precision play left Carpenter unable to return many of his shots.
Some great rallies ensued however, and Carpenter showed evidence of improvement, but was no match for the number one seed, who finished an 11-1, 11-3, 11-1 victory with finesse.
The much anticipated match against training partners Samuel Ince-Carvalhal and Michael Alphonso showed the dynamics of these youngsters who are best buddies off court, but know how to battle inside the squash court walls.
Alphonso’s use of deception and speed edged him ahead in the first game for an 11-8 victory, but Ince-Carvalhal’s improved retrieval and racket head speed put him clearly ahead in the second for an 11-4 answer.
The third game came nail-bitingly close when Alphonso battled from a 10-6 deficit to level at 10-all. However, Ince-Carvalhal held on to close off the third at 12-10. In his stride, Ince-Carvalhal flowed through the fourth with excellent court movement and well-timed winners to seal a 3-1 victory over Alphonso.
“The level of squash displayed was testament to the dedicated hours of training many of the junior players are putting in to their development, and the remaining days of the Junior Nationals promise to showcase more of the young talent,” the Guyana Squash Association said in a statement.
Play continues at the Georgetown Club, Camp Street, for the remainder of the week, finishing on Saturday with two sessions from 11:00h and 18:00h.
RESULTS
GIRLS UNDER-11
Christiana Fernandes defeated Tianna Gomes 11/2, 11/5, 11/4
Shriyah Persaud defeated Maya Dean 11/5, 11/6, 113
BOYS UNDER-13
Mohryan Baksh defeated Dhirren Persaud 11/1, 11/0, 11/0
Louis DaSilva defeated Shiloh Asregado 11/4, 11/3, 11/2
Chad DeAbreu defeated Matthew Spooner 11/2, 11/2, 11/4
Mohryan Baksh defeated Joshua Verwey 11/0, 11/0, 11/3
BOYS UNDER-15
Nicholas Verwey defeated Dimetrius DeAbreu 11/5, 11/3, 11/4
BOYS UNDER-17 & 19
Shomari Wiltshire defeated Gianni Carpenter 11/1, 11/3, 11/1
Samuel Ince-Carvalhal defeated Michael Alphonso 8/11, 11/4, 12/10, 11/3
Gianni Carpenter defeated Demetrius DeAbreu 11/6, 12/10, 11/1
