Staff
With defending champ Anniss Seid opting not to play this time around, the door was wide open for Steve Boileau.
Boileau made good on the opportunity to sit atop the ‘A’ Open division once again as he downed Jason Kabel 3-1 in the final at the Sunset Country Squash Club’s annual Boxing Day tournament held at the Memorial Sports Centre.
Former Fort junior Anika Alexander, now of Winnipeg, and Kabel had a real battle in the semi-finals earlier in the day, with Kabel edging her out 3-2.
Kabel then lacked a little “gas” in losing to the smooth-retrieving Boileau in the final.
Boileau has proved to be a premier player at the Boxing Day tournament with wins in 2015, 2016, and now 2018.
Mark Faragher claimed the ‘A’ division title with a 3-1 win over Josh Councillor 3-1 while Jeff Gustafson swept Ryan Brady 3-0 to nab the ‘B’ crown.
In ‘C’ division action, former Fort junior Davis Jackson narrowly lost to current club junior Ryley Booth 3-2 in a match of similar styles.
Booth then went on to defeat Chris Bobczynski 3-1 in a see-saw battle in the final, where each player would make large runs of points–only to give up as many points.
Brothers Mike and Ryan Brady had a close match, with Ryan outlasting his older sibling once again 3-2 in a mental and physical battle.
Up next for the local club is the 32nd-annual La Place Rendez-Vous Open that runs this Friday through Sunday.
Club member Bob Tkachuk noted a full slate of 66 players–competing in men’s, women’s, and junior divisions–are scheduled to take part, with local players starting tomorrow in order to keep court times in order.
