Drombolis tops annual squash tourney

Any questions as to the identity of the best male squash player in Fort Frances were quickly answered Tuesday at the Memorial Sports Centre.
Colin Drombolis made short work of each of his four opponents—losing just one of the 13 sets he played en route to the ‘A’ championship of the annual Boxing Day men’s squash tournament.
“It was good,” Drombolis said. “It was a good way to work off two Christmas dinners in the last day.”
Drombolis swept Steve Krag 3-0 in the best-of-five finale to capture the tournament crown.
But while the scores might suggest Drombolis stood head-and-shoulders above his competitors, the tourney champ was quick to dispel the notion—lauding his opponents for their strong play.
“It’s a very good quality of squash here,” he remarked.
“We had a couple people from out-of-town and Steven Krag, who I played in the finals, is from the University of Waterloo.
“Next year he’s probably going to kick my butt.”
Drombolis and the rest of the field also were forced to contend with the rigours of the one-day tournament format—one that stresses endurance almost as much as it does quality of play.
“I just grinded it out,” Drombolis replied when asked the secret to his success at the event.
“I was pretty tired,” he admitted. “Four matches in a matter of six hours is quite a bit, but I just grinded it out at the end.”
Indeed, the difference in the championship match may well have come down to which player—in this case Drombolis—had the most energy left in reserve.
“I just kind of gassed at the last,” Krag said of his performance in the ‘A’ final. “It’s a lot of squash in a short time.
“Colin and I were kind of pooped at the end.”
Despite running out of steam, Krag still was pleased with his showing on Tuesday.
“I haven’t played in a couple of weeks with exams and being on the move, so I was pretty happy with how I played,” he remarked.
Drombolis advanced to the ‘A’ final courtesy of victories over Cole Derksen (3-0), Mark Faragher (3-0), and Jason Kabel (3-1). Krag, meanwhile, found himself in the final thanks to wins over Salem Seid (3-0), Toby Munro (3-2), and Bob Tkachuk (3-1).
In other action, Al Christiansen swept John Sivonen in three sets to capture the ‘B’ crown.
The annual Boxing Day men’s squash tournament continues to enjoy strong support in the more than 20 years since its inception.
“Every year we think we’re not going to fill the 16 players but, of course, we had 18 players again this year,” event organizer Bob Tkachuk said.
“It always fills up. It seems to always be a success,” he added. “Everybody wants to come home and play the Boxing Day tournament.”