DOC SQUASHES ‘EM

Dr. Sherian Slater of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is the Women’s Over-40 Caribbean Squash Champion. Playing for the O.E.C.S. team, Dr. Slater won all her matches to clinch the title. In the Overall Team standings, O.E.C.S finished in 5th place ahead of Cayman Islands. In the final individual rankings, James Bentick and Paul Cyrus were ranked in the Nos. 11-16 group.{{more}}

The Senior Caribbean Squash Championships were held in Trinidad only a week after the conclusion of the Caribbean Junior Squash Championships, from August 6-13. The tournament attracted players from Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Guyana, Jamaica, O.E.C.S and hosts Trinidad. The O.E.C.S team comprised 11 Vincentians, along with a player each from British Virgin Islands, Dominica and St. Lucia.

The Individual event was played from August 6-9, with James Bentick and Paul Cyrus seeded in the top 16 in the Men’s Open. In the qualifying round, 17-year-old Shane Slater fought back from a 1-game deficit to defeat Julian Henry (TRI) 7-9, 10-8, 9-1, 9-5 to secure his place in the 1st round, while Roy Defreitas lost by default to Guyana’s Ryan Farnum. In the 1st round, the Vincentian trio of Bentick, Cyrus and Slater came up against Jamaicans Douglas Beckford, Joey Levy and Chris Binnie respectively. Both Bentick and Cyrus advanced in straight games over their opponents, while Slater lost 3-9, 2-9, 7-9 to the 9th seeded Binnie. In the Round of 16, Cyrus went down expectedly to the #1 seed Shawn Badrinauth (GUY), while the No.6 seeded Bentick suffered a shock 9-6, 9-0, 1-9, 7-9, 7-9 loss to the 16-year-old Binnie.

In the 1st round Plate, Slater was overpowered by Dirk Prudent (TRI) 1-9, 5-9, 0-9 while Defreitas was also ousted by Kristian Jeffrey (GUY) 2-9, 6-9, 3-9. Meanwhile, Bentick and Cyrus were pitted against each other in the 2nd round Plate, with Bentick emerging the 9-5, 6-9, 6-9, 9-7, 9-6 victor. In the semi-finals, Bentick succombed to Guyana’s Julian Chin 0/9, 2/9, 8/10.

Vincentians Greta Primus, Vonnie Roudette, Amber Glasgow and Aiko Roudette also competed in the Women’s Open, with only Vonnie Roudette advancing past the 1st round, with a 9-3, 9-6, 5-9, 10-8 win over Amy Gillezeau (TRI). Meanwhile, Aiko Roudette, Greta Primus and Amber Glasgow lost in straight games to their opponents.

In the 1st round Plate, Glasgow lost 1-9, 0-9, 0-9 to Tessa Martin (TRI) while Primus defeated Gillezeau 9-3, 1-9, 9-4, 2-9, 9-6 and Aiko Roudette recieved a bye into the quarter-finals. The Vincentians then met their match against Guyanase Opponents, with Roudette losing 1-9, 0-9, 0-9 to Tiffany Solomon and Primus being edged out 9-5, 9-10, 1-9, 8-10 by Andrea King. In the 2nd round Plate, Vonnie Roudette also lost in straight games to Jamaica’s Melissa Lue Yen.

The Team event was played from August 10-13 in a 6-team Round Robin format. The O.E.C.S Men’s Team comprised Charlie Sonson (LCA), James Bentick, Karl Nassief (DMA), Paul Cyrus and Shane Slater playing at nos. 1-5 respectively, with Roy Defreitas selected as reserve. On Day 1, O.E.C.S lost 0-5 to eventual champions Jamaica, followed by a 1-4 loss to Barbados, with Nassief securing a 10-8, 9-6, 1-9, 3-9, 9-4 victory over Barbados’ Marlon White in the No. 3 match. On Day 2, the Men’s team faced more tough opposition against Guyana, with Cyrus starting off with a 2-9, 9-5, 9-3, 9-5 win against Kristian Jeffrey in the No. 4 match.

Unfortunately, Sonson, Bentick, Nassief and Slater lost close 1-3 matches to their opponents, resulting in a 1-4 defeat. On the final day, the team triumphed 4-1 over the hosts Trinidad and Tobago, as only the reserve player Roy Defreitas lost his match at the No. 5 position. The Men finished 4th ahead of Trinidad and the Cayman Islands (who didn’t field a Men’s team). On the distaff side, the Women’s team of Greta Primus, Vonnie Roudette, Amber Glasgow, Aiko Roudette and Sue Sorrentino struggled against their opponents, losing 0-5 to Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad. In their final match against Cayman Islands, Amber Glasgow, Aiko Roudette and Sue Sorrentino secured wins at the nos. 3-5 positions to win 3-2 and finish in 5th position.

In the Veterans’ team event, Vincentians Sherian Slater (Women’s 40+), Colin Alexander (Men’s 40+) and Keith Boyea (Men’s 50+) had a good start to the tournament, with Slater and Alexander defeating their opponents to secure a 2-1 victory against Jamaica. However, Alexander and Boyea would go on to lose all their following matches, leading to a 6th place finish for the O.E.C.S. The next edition of the biannual Caribbean Squash Championships will be held in Jamaica in 2007.