By Isaiah Chappelle
GUYANA’S Damien Da Silva and Barbadian Bryant Cumberbatch successfully defended their titles in the Western Union/Supligen Caribbean Junior Squash Championships at Georgetown Club, Monday night.
New Girls Under-19 champion Andrea King and new Under-17 champion Kristina King added two more gold to Guyana’s eight-medal haul in the Individual championships.
Silver medals came from Tiffany Solomon, Stanley Marcus Jr and Daina King, while Ryan Farnum and Kristian Jeffrey got bronze.
Barbados matched Guyana with gold medals, but ended with one silver and three bronze. The gold came from Bryant Cumberbatch (Boys Under-15), Bo Harris (Girls Under-15) and Cheri-Ann Parris (Girls Under-13), while Nadia Mc Carthy produced the silver and Rhett Cumberbatch, Akil Ross and Sherice Mac Donald the bronze.
Gold medals also went to Bermuda’s James Stout (Boys Under-19) and Cayman Islands Alain Mudeen (Boys Under-13).
Bermuda, also, bagged a silver medal and Cayman Islands a bronze, while Jamaica ended with a silver and a bronze, Trinidad & Tobago a silver and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) a bronze.
The matches of the night were the gruelling encounters between Andrea King and Solomon for the Girls Under-19 title and Da Silva and Marcus for the Boys Under-17 crown.
Andrea King scored the first three points, then went on to win the first game, 9-5, an inkling that she would take the title easily to add to her previous Under-14 and Under-15 crowns.
That was not the case. King raced ahead 5-0 in the second, but Solomon stormed back to level the match, with a 9-7 win, setting the stage for a truly big showdown.
Solomon scored the first three points in the third and King closed in to 2-3. Solomon eventually won 9-2, to take the match lead.
In the fourth, Solomon scored the first point, but King took back the initiative and raced to 8-1, eventually winning, 9-2, sending the match into the fifth and deciding game. King easily won the last, 9-2.
King was unbeaten in four matches to take the title, while Solomon ended with three for the silver, while Sherice Mac Donald (Barbados) took care of Jessica Mitchell (Bermuda), 9-7, 4-9, 10-9, 9-3, to also end with three, but she had lost to Solomon, thus got the bronze.
Immediately after, another scorcher enveloped the main court as Marcus gave Da Silva a strong challenge for the Under-17 crown, but faltered in the fourth, apparently lacking the killer instinct and Da Silva retained the crown.
The first game was tied twice at 3-3 and 6-6 and eventually Marcus won 9-6 to take the match advantage. But Da Silva raced to 6-0 in the second and won, 9-3, to level the match.
Da Silva scored the first four points in the third, but Marcus came back and tied the game at 4-4. Da Silva again went ahead reaching 7-4, but Marcus was back, tying the game again at 7-7. And in an amazing turn around, Marcus clinched the game, 9-7, to take the match lead.
In the fourth, Marcus still had the momentum and scored the first point but Da Silva came back to tie the game at 2-2. Marcus again went ahead, holding the initiative at 4-2, but seemed to lost focus and Da Silva came back to tie the game at 4-4 and raced to 9-4 win to level the match.
The fifth and final game was tied three times, after Marcus scored the first point. Da Silva tied score at 1-1, went ahead. Marcus tied it at 2-2 and went ahead. Da Silva again tied the game at 3-3, surged ahead to 6-3 and controlled the game to eventually win, 9-4.
In the third place play-off, Rhett Cumberbatch (Barbados) beat Chris Binnie (Jamaica), 9-0, 9-6, 9-4.
Stout whizzed to the Under-19 championship title, scoring 27 points within ten minutes. Opponent Gerard Greaves served about three times with scoring a point. Eventual score: 9-0, 9-0, 9-0.
Guyana’s Ryan Farnum defeated of Brad Low (Jamaica), 9-4, 9-5, 1-9, 9-8, to place third.
Bryant Cumberbatch easily disposed of Chris Binnie (Jamaica), 9-0, 9-6, 9-4, to retain his Under-15 crown, while Kristian Jeffrey (Guyana) needed four games to place third over Robert Maycock (Bermuda), 9-5, 4-9, 9-6, 9-0.
In straight games, Alain Mudeen (Cayman) put away Justin Sanguinette (T&T), 9-6, 9-7, 9-2, for the Boys Under-13 title, while Akil Ross (Barbados) beat Raphael De Groot (Guyana), 9-6, 0-9, 10-8, 10-8, for the third place.
Guyana’s Kristina King made light work of Nadia Mc Carthy (Barbados), 9-5, 9-5, 9-1, to take the Girls Under-17 crown, and Chantelle Day (Cayman) defeated Chantelle Fernandes (Guyana), 9-5, 9-2, 9-7, to place third.
Bo Harris (Barbados) needed four games to claim the Girls Under-15 title over Laura Robinson (Bermuda), 9-6, 9-1, 7-9, 9-4, while Kristina Bell (Jamaica) had a tough third place match with Tessa Martin (T&T) eventually winning, 6-9, 10-8, 7-9, 10-8, 9-5.
In the Girls Under-13 final, Cheri-Ann Parris (Barbados) beat Daina King (Guyana), 9-4, 9-4, 9-4, while Sherina Slater (OECS) went through five games to place third over Keisha Jeffrey (Guyana), 8-10, 1-9, 9-5, 9-4, 9-7.
After a rest day yesterday, the team battles begin today from 9:00 hrs at Georgetown Club.