Bob Hanscom, LAAC Squash Professional

Predictably…Pro Seeds Come Through

The seeding of Stefan Casteleyn, Chris Walker, Natalie Grainger and Latasha Khan as the top four seeds in the men's and women's draws of this years EBG USSRA Professional Squash Championships held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club, didn't take "rocket-science!"

The women's final found Natalie Grainger, former #1 player in the world from South Africa now residing in Washington, DC, pitted against six-time and current United States Champion, Latasha Khan. Although their WISPA rankings are some 20 places apart, (5 and 25) Latasha was not fazed in her efforts to give Natalie "a game." In fact, she was able to win the second of the four-game match. Natalie, realizing she was in the court with an experienced and highly proficient player, decided it was time to bare-down, thus taking the final two games, winning the match Championship. The ¾ playoff went to Meredeth Quick over Shabana Khan in three, with U.S. under 19 Champion, Lily Lorentzen winning the consolation finals over Dana Betts.

Local spectators like Ed Brooks had this to say… "While the men hit hard and are fast, I find it easier to watch the women, as the play and positions are easier to see and understand." Rene' Kern…"After watching the women play, I will begin in earnest to have a daughter so that she can be taught the game." And…Dr. Omar Tirmizi said…"The women's involvement was a treat to watch; I am more than ever determined to get my daughter in the game."

The men's final was a classic! Here we had two former world top-ten players, who…although recently retired from the PSA tour, are extremely fit, strong, flexible and quick. Quoting a local observer/player, (Nagy El-Guindy) "Watching these guys retrieve such tight or low shots and return them with purpose was inspiring." The contrasting styles (Casteleyn's driving length and width, Walker's pace-changing placement) were a joy to watch, each using their strategy to set-up effective deft touch-shots to the front-court. Being down two games to none, (11/10-11/9) Stefan came out strong in the third, upping the pace. After a couple of rallies, he was able to score five straight points, which seemed to convince Chris that he'd better conserve his energy and begin preparing for a fourth game. Following a few rallies, (interrupted by many "let" requests being granted by referee pro-player, Patrick Chifunda) Chris was able to maneuver the ball around the court and "wrong-way" Stefan just enough times to pull out the match, winning the fourth and Championship by a scant two points, 11/9. The ¾ playoff was won by Karim Yehia over Patrick Chifunda. The consolation final was not played, with Imran Khan winning by default over the "traveling" Muhammad Sadiq.

Perhaps Dr. Basil Amer summed-up the pro level best by saying…"The quality of squash was outstanding, with (the play of) Chris Walker and Stefan Casteleyn…very impressive!"

There were many comments regarding the "quality" of the amateur draws as well. In fact, the men's 5.5-6.0+ draw could have been considered a semi-pro event. Top seed Ronen Goldberg (who played in the pro qualifier as well) took the Championship match over Natlalie Grainger (who requested some "extra" work) in three games. The result could have been closer, had Natalie not elected to play the match immediately following her Championship match with Khan because of a "tight-flight" schedule. However, Natalie did win her two preliminary rounds over "A" players Jamie Fishkin and Juan Castilla, both in three games. Ronen took out Will Davis and USSRA Junior Development Director Vijay Chitnis in his first two rounds.

The 5.0 division was won by teenager, Daniel Wagman over Rob Smith in a very contentious five game final. Wagman won his early matches over Asish Law and Canadian Todd Christian. Smith was successful over Colin Jacobson and Sunil Mirwani.

The 4.5's was battled-out by two LAAC locals, Omar Tirmizi and Tarit Tanjasiri. It was Tirmizi winning in four, following his two earlier wins over Naomi Webb and Vijay Prasad. Tanjasiri had two tough five-game wins over Nagy El-Guindy and Joe Mersola.

In the 4.0 division, it was John Scherrer taking a close five-gamer over Tom Aarts. Scherrer was victorious over Joe Mussabini and Martin Murray, while Aarts was able to dispose of Hani Wassan and Basil Amer in his first two matches.

Oliver Berghof needed five games to win the 3.5 Championship over Sasha Mahtani. Berghof won his first two matches over Nigel Williams and Margarita Franco. Mahtani got by Geoff Thompson and Terry Dunn on his way to the final.

In the 3.0's, it was David Coen dominating, losing only one game in the division. He won the final in three over Hanif Sarangi after taking out Adam Pollack and

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