Junior squashers shine in Winnipeg

Nearly 50 junior squash players from Winnipeg, Fort Frances, Kenora, and Thunder Bay converged at the Winnipeg Winter Club to face off for a weekend of squash.
Squash director Trevor Borland arranged a great feed in system that kept the players thirsty and hungry.
In the older age group competitive division, local player Anniss Seid was the consolation winner after upsetting Andrew Thiessen of Winnipeg in the final, coming back from a two-game deficit to win 9-5 in the fifth and final game of a very physical, hard-hitting affair.
The semi-final was just as taxing for Seid, who downed his arch-nemesis, Eric Wetendorf of Kenora, 9-7 in the fifth game to earn the best-of-five showdown by a 3-2 margin.
In the younger competitive division (age eight-13), Anika Alexander of Fort Frances was victorious in Pool ‘A’ with three wins by 3-0 margins and an exciting 3-2 victory (16-14 in the fifth game) over Nic Wiest of Winnipeg.
In Pool ‘B,’ Angel McCormack of Fort Frances was the winner after taking three three games by 3-1 margins and one game by 3-0 while losing just once.
This meant Alexader squared off against McCormack in the final of the division, with Alexander winning a seesaw battle 3-1 to capture top honours.
McCormack’s lone loss in round-robin play was to Kimika Alexander of Fort Frances by a 3-1 margin. K. Alexander ended up in third place after defeating Cobus Jacobs of Winnipeg 3-2 (including 17-15 in the fifth and deciding game).
In the recreational division, local players Jillian Gustafson, Kaitlyn DeGagne, and Jordy McTavish competed in the 10-player field.
Gustafson emerged as the consolation champ with a 2-2 record, blanking Matt Schettroff of Kenora 3-0 in the final.
DeGagne lost matches by margins of 3-0, 3-1, and 3-2 before upsetting McTavish 3-2 (including a 15-10 decision in the deciding game) for fifth spot in her first travel event.
McTavish also had a win of 3-0 before losing his next 3-1, pitting him against DeGagne.
Players all showed good effort and gamesmanship throughout the weekend.
Next up for local squashers is the annual La Place Rendez-Vous Open this coming weekend, with play running Friday night through to Sunday’s finals at the Memorial Sports Centre.
Spectators are welcome.