Bob Tkachuk
A total of 14 Sunset Country Squash Club players (four adults and 10 juniors) stormed Thunder Bay this past weekend for the Northwestern Open.
Their results were excellent, with winners in many divisions.
In the men’s ‘A’ division, Jason Kabel lost his first match, then reeled off two victories to capture the consolation title—defeating Mark Norton (Kenora) 3-1 in the final.
Bob Tkachuk, meanwhile, went 0-3.
In men’s ‘B’ division action, Al Christiansen finished with a record of 1-2.
In men’s ‘C’ play, local under-17 player Anniss Seid cruised to the championship with three-straight wins, defeating Kristof Karpiuk (Thunder Bay) 3-1 in an exhausting best-of-five final match.
Mary-Beth Tkachuk also played in the men’s ‘C’ division and wrapped up with one win and three losses.
The men’s ‘D’ division was a slam dunk for local junior Donny Brown, winning three-straight matches and defeating Tim Vallant (Thunder Bay) convincingly in the final by a 3-1 score.
Also entered in men’s ‘D’ as a fill-in due to an injured player was local under-13 player Anika Alexander, who wound up with an impressive 2-2 record against mostly adults.
Alexander did capture the junior ‘A’ division with three-straight wins. She and local junior Kaitlyn DeGagne battled in a see-saw affair in the final, with Alexander winning the match 3-0.
DeGagne was crowned the runner-up with two victories and her one loss to Alexander.
Ryan Brady, meanwhile, lost his match to Alexander, then racked up three-straight victories, including a tough 3-2 win over Kyle Davis (Thunder Bay) to capture the junior ‘A’ consolation title.
Eric Bois played junior ‘A’ for the first time ended with an 0-3 record, though many of the games were close.
Angel McCormack played well but also ended with an 0-3 record as she was working very hard doubling up with a hockey tournament also in Thunder Bay.
The junior ‘B’ division featured three local players, including Katie Beninger and Megan Cross, who were playing in their first official tournament.
Cross played with a lot of heart in losing her three matches by identical 3-2 scores. Beninger ended with a 3-2 victory over Cross after losing her first two matches by 3-1 scores to Thunder Bay opponents.
Last but not least, under-13 Shawn Brady lost his first match before earning two victories in a row, including a 3-0 sweep of Tyler Rudnicki (Thunder Bay) to grab the consolation crown.
Coaches Bob and Mary-Beth Tkachuk reported the juniors are continuing to improve their tournament play, showing more poise and confidence.
The next junior tourney will be the one here in Fort Frances in early January.
In other news, a reminder the men’s annual Boxing Day tournament will run Friday, Dec. 26.
Those interested are asked to sign up at the Memorial Sports Centre now.
