Andrusco comes up short in local squash tourney

Past champions eclipsed and future champions emerged during the 21st-annual La Place Rendez-Vous squash tournament last weekend at the Memorial Sports Centre.
Seven divisions squared off for squash supremacy.
In men’s ‘A’ action, former local player Ben Andrusco, now residing in Winnipeg, defeated 11-time champ Bob Shine of Thunder Bay for the first time 9-7 in the fifth-and-deciding game.
Shine’s shot-making just failed against Andrusco’s retrieving, along with his awesome speed and court coverage.
But current three-peat winner Darrell Cole of Thunder Bay still had the answer—defeating Andrusco in the final 3-2 with very few unforced errors to capture the ‘A’ title.
In men’s ‘B’ action, local veteran Bob Tkachuk went undefeated in the round-robin and then captured the title 3-0 over speedster John Sivonen of Fort Frances.
The men’s ‘C’ division proved to be a battle of veteran player versus very promising junior Eric Wetendorf of Kenora.
Wetendorf’s consistency and speed were too much to match for veteran Lorne Skogberg of Thunder Bay, with Wetendorf blanking him 3-0 in the final.
In the men’s ‘C’ consolation championship, 14-year-old Anniss Seid of Fort Frances dug his way out of a two-game deficit and down 7-1 in the third game to win 3-2 against local Dave Gustafson.
Seid will be attending the Ontario Winter Games with Team Northwestern Ontario on March 7-9 in Barrie and also the Canadian National Junior Championships on April 16-20th in Victoria, B.C. as a singles under-15 player.
In ladies ‘B’ competition, local veteran Mary-Beth Tkachuk swept Megan Ross 3-0 after Ross had upset Nikki Bagacki 3-0 in the semi-finals.
Ladies ‘C’ action pitted Dana Kosowick against 13-year-old junior Kimika Alexander. Kosowick’s game was too strong, prevailing 3-0 in the final.
Alexander also is a team member under 15 of Team Northwestern Ontario.
In junior ‘A’ round-robin action, Michael Murphy of Thunder Bay was undefeated in all four matches while 10-year-old Anika Alexander of here was runner-up—only losing to Murphy by a 3-0 margin.
Anika Alexander will represent Team Northwestern Ontario in girls under 13 at the Ontario Winter Games.
Junior ‘B’ play, also a round-robin event, had Kaitlyn DeGagne emerge as champion—defeating arch nemesis Jordy McTavish 3-2 (the identical score as prior week at the Manitoba Junior Open tournament).
Team Northwestern Ontario members will continue to train for the Ontario Winter Games. The squad consists of four boys—Steve Boileau of Fort Frances (under 19), Eric Wetenforf of Kenora (under 17), Anniss Seid of Fort Frances (under 15), and Jordan Olsen of Kenora (under 13).
The female members include Katie Arpin of Thunder Bay (under 19), Samantha Mueller of Fort Frances (under 17), Kimika Alexander of Fort Frances (under 15), and Anika Alexander Fort Frances (under 13).