The field was reduced from past years, but the intensity of the participants was no less evident.
Five adults and four juniors crossed rackets for the annual Boxing Day squash tournament last Thursday at the Memorial Sports Centre.
“We’ve usually had 10-16 competitors,” said Bob Tkachuk, who won the consolation final in the adult division.
But he added it was an accomplishment just to pull the event off, considering only three people had signed up through the end of the week before Christmas.
Ben Andrusco of Fort Frances had his racket rumbling loudly throughout the one-day tournament, going undefeated in the round-robin portion of the adult division with a 4-0 record before edging Winnipeg’s James Knofe 2-1 in the best-of-three final.
Knofe had the upper hand early, taking the opening game 9-3, but Andrusco powered back to take the second one 9-7 before completing the comeback with a 9-6 in the rubber.
Tkachuk and Toby Munro of Fort Frances, who were tied with 1-3 records, clashed in the consolation final, with Tkachuk coming out on top by a 2-0 count in the best-of-three showdown.
After clobbering Munro 9-2 in the first game, Tkachuk eased up only slightly in securing a 9-4 win to complete the sweep.
Former Fort Frances resident Anthony Andrusco, who now lives in Winnipeg, also had a 1-3 mark but had what Tkachuk called the best match of the tournament against his brother and eventual champion, Ben.
Anthony captured the first game 9-5, but Ben struck back for a thrilling 10-8 decision in the second. Then with family bragging rights on the line, the latter came through with a 9-6 win in the decisive third game.
In the junior division, Steven Boileau outlasted Cole Derksen 3-1 in the best-of-five final, clinching the title with a 9-7 win in the fourth game.
Boileau had beaten Brandon Roden and Josh Sigurdson, both by 3-0 scores, in preliminary-round action while Derksen blanked Roden 3-0 and bested Sigurdson 3-1.
Roden nipped Sigurdson 3-2 in the junior consolation final, taking the fifth game by a count of 9-4.
In related news, Boileau, Derksen, Brian Glavish, and Steven Krag will make up the local contingent that will join six Thunder Bay participants at the Squash Ontario Gold tournament in Ottawa on Jan. 31.
