Lucas Punkari
It was a preverbal mixed bag for seven members of the Sunset Country Squash Club during the Manitoba Junior Open over the weekend at the Winnipeg Winter Club.
“It was a mix of results, as usual, for us over there,” coach Bob Tkachuk explained.
“By far our toughest competition comes from Manitoba, except for maybe Toronto, but it was a good effort from everyone,” he added.
“As a coach, you just tell everyone to put in a solid effort and it was nice to see everyone do that on the road.”
The top local at the tournament was youngster Jesse Quesnel, who won all three of his matches to capture first place in his group.
“He’s a hockey goalie who has just started to take up the game and he loves it,” Tkachuk noted.
“He’s only been playing for a year and this was just his second tournament [his first being in Thunder Bay in December], so he’s really starting to pick things up,” Tkachuk added.
Anika Alexander took home the Classic Plate honours thanks to a 3-1 record over the weekend.
In her last match of the tournament, Alexander found herself down two sets to none to Winnipeg’s Adrian Chamberland-Mike but she rattled off three-straight wins to earn the victory.
Robert Stevens finished up with a 3-2 record while Marita Matais and Ryan Brady both compiled 2-2 marks.
Angel McCormack and Annis Seid rounded the Sunset Country contingent with a win and two losses each.
Local squash club members now are preparing for the annual Wes Derksen Open, slated for Feb. 11-13 at the Memorial Sports Centre, which attracts players from Manitoba and across Northwestern Ontario.
