Alexander wins bronze at squash jr. nationals

Results certainly outpaced expectations for the two young athletes from the local Sunset Country Squash Club at the Canadian Junior Nationals in Victoria, B.C. on April 17-20.
Anniss Seid, 14, and 11-year-old Anika Alexander, coached by Bob and Mary-Beth Tkachuk, set goals of maybe winning points, then games, and possibly a match.
Alexander, one of the youngest competitors at the nationals, played exceptionally well in her final of the Bronze event.
She followed the game plan to a ‘T’ with great length and cross-courts moving her opponent to the front with tight drops, defeating Railynn Dane of Alberta 3-0 to capture the bronze medal.
Alexander lost her first match to #5 Ontario-ranked Madlen O’Connor 3-0. Moving to the Silver event, she then lost to the #9 Ontario-ranked Natalie Foote 3-0.
But in Bronze action, Alexander, currently ranked 14th in Ontario for players under 13 years of age, handily defeat Janel Gaube (B.C.) 3-0 to advance to the final.
Seid, meanwhile, was victorious in three of five matches before retiring in the Silver event.
He opened with a dominating 3-0 win over Liam Bindle (Sask.), but his second match was a loss to No. 1-ranked Tyler Olson of B.C. in the Gold event.
Dropping down to Silver event action, Seid won by injury retirement over John Buck (Alta.) Then his fourth match was another 3-0 affair—this time over Scott Freberg (B.C.)
Seid’s last game was a 3-0 loss to No. 10-ranked Ontario player Taneer Dhanjal to end his hopes for the silver medal.
Seid currently is ranked 15th in Ontario for those under 15 years of age.
New goals are now to reach the top 10 in Ontario for 2009.
These two are the first Fort Frances players to ever attend the national stage in squash and hopefully paves the way for future local athletes.
The hard work and practice, as well as attending regional, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Ontario Winter Games events, has paid dividends for these athletes.
Overall, it was a very successful season for the Sunset Country Squash Club’s junior athletes.