Jamie Mountain
Ryley Booth of the Sunset Country Squash Club had a weekend to remember at the Winnipeg Squash Racquet Club’s Classic tournament.
Competing in both the men’s ‘D’ division and junior U17, Booth had a very successful weekend of squash as he captured the ‘D’ title.
“A very tiring weekend with a total of eight matches over two-and-a-half days,” said club member Bob Tkachuk.
Booth reeled off wins against Joe Healey, Emily Hargraves, Liam Mancer (all of Winnipeg) before dispatching Noah Lowen of Winnipeg in the final by a 3-1 count to capture the ‘D’ crown.
In the junior U17 division, Booth defeated Mathew Podolsky, lost to Mohamed Elzayad, but then rebounded by beating Liam Mancer (all of Winnipeg).
He then lost to his nemesis, local junior Owen Riches, in a five-game battle.
Riches returned the favour after his loss to Booth in Thunder Bay recently. Riches ended up winning the U17 Classic Plate by finishing in place while Booth wound up sixth.
“The two had their new ‘best’ with great length and timely front wall shots,” said Tkachuk, who is one of the coaches for the juniors.
“The length and width was very pleasing to watch, carrying them to a higher level of play.”
Riches defeated Gabe Gunderson (Fort Frances), lost to Owen Borland (Winnipeg), then dumped Quinn Leschuk (Thunder Bay) before his defeat of Booth.
He had a tougher time in the ‘D’ division, however, ending up with a 2-2 record and settling for ninth place.
In ‘C’ action, meanwhile, local junior squash coach Josh Councillor played solidly all weekend. He opened with a loss to Eidan Hassan (Winnipeg) but then rattled off three straight wins over Kyle Wires-Munro, Lucas Mol, and Davis Mulder (all of Winnipeg) to snag the consolation title.
Lane Booth in the junior U17 division had mixed results over the weekend with losses to Liam Mancer and Mathew Podolsky of Winnipeg before rebounding with wins over fellow locals Aidan Taggart and Gabe Gunderson.
Corbin Riches also ended with a split record. He had close losses to Quinn Leschuk and Sam Bernardi (both of Thunder Bay) before snaring wins over Ben Andrusco (Winnipeg) and Aidan Taggart (Fort) to wind up ninth in the division.
Gabe Gunderson had a learning experience weekend in losing to Owen Riches (Fort), Sam Bernardi (Thunder Bay) and Lane Booth (Fort), but he did get a win over Ben Andrusco (Winnipeg).
Aidan Taggart of the Fort had a frustrating weekend with a knee issue, losing to Ivo Thiessen (Winnipeg and Lane Booth before having to drop out due to the injury.
Coaches Tkachuk and Councillor said they were very pleased with their juniors’ play.
“Winnipeg is a definite level up and the juniors got to see proper footwork and set-up in the Winnipeg players,” Tkachuk remarked.
“It can’t help but to propel our players to want to be better!”
Up next for local squash players is the Boxing Day tourney (which is nearly full) and the 33rd-annual La Place Rendez-Vous tourney on Jan. 3-5.
It is filling quicker than usual, so make sure to sign-up at the Memorial Sports Centre ASAP.
