Eindhoven (NLD) – Day three of the WSF World Juniors took place yesterday at Squash Time in Eindhoven. The Canadian girls competed in four games; two games by Maddie O’Connor, and one apiece for Chloe Chemtob and Tara Shannon. Sophie Mehta and Grace Thomas had the day off, which they used to be the team’s acting cheerleaders.
Eindhoven (NLD) – Day three of the WSF World Juniors took place yesterday at Squash Time in Eindhoven. The Canadian girls competed in four games; two games by Maddie O’Connor, and one apiece for Chloe Chemtob and Tara Shannon. Sophie Mehta and Grace Thomas had the day off, which they used to be the team’s acting cheerleaders.
In the first game of the Canadian’s day, Maddie O’Connor played against Maria Fernanda Rivera of Mexico. The contestants split the first two games before Maddie took over, winning the match 3-1 (11-6,3-11,11-8,11-7).
At the same time on a different court, Tara Shannon was taking on Malaysian, Nazihah Hanis Abdul. Abdul had lost to the 5/8 seed, England’s Georgina Kennedy in the 3rd round of the main draw. In a 21 minute battle, Tara fell 0-3 (9-11,8-11,3-11) and was officially eliminated from the Individual event.
With the earlier victory, Maddie would play Lucy Turmel, a native of England. The Canadian jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with 11-6,11-8 victories. In the third game, O’Connor and Turmel traded points in a back and forth affair. The game reached 10-10 before Turmel stayed alive by wining the next two points and grabbing a 12-10 victory. The momentum swayed heavily in Turmel’s favour after that game, as the English girl was regenerated with newfound confidence. Turmel took the next two games, winning 11-4,11-4 and the match 3-2. With the loss, Maddie was eliminated from the Individual event.
The Quebec native, Chloe Chemtob took on Sarah Mekhalfi of France in her only match of the day. Chemtob cruised to victory, winning 3-0 (11-3,11-3,11-6). With the win Chemtob advanced to the Quarterfinals of the Plate, where she will take on Céline Walser of Switzerland.
With a bye past the 3rd round, Grace Thomas will take on Nele Hatschek of Germany in another Plate Quarterfinal match.
Here is Team Manager, Janet MacLeod and her thoughts on Day 3:
"Day 3 – Tuesday – and the Canadians were feeling pretty good today!! Grace and Sophie had the day off, so the matches began at around noon with Maddie (aka Mad-dawg) and Tara (aka the Tara-izer).
Tara had a challenging match and lost in 3 in a tough battle to Nazihah Hanis Abdul from Malaysia. Tara fought hard in the first two games to stay in it, but lost 9-11, 8-11. In the third game, Tara seemed to tighten up, and lost 3-11. This was the first time Tara Shannon had been at the World Junior Championships and she has had a great run and her squash game will only benefit from this experience. Well done Tara.
Maddie’s first match, of the day, on the show court, was against Maria Rivera of Mexico. Maddie came to play as she was in total control in the first game and won 11-6. However, Maria also came to play and fought back to tie the match with a 11-3 in the second. At 1 all, Maddie became more patient and steady and hit her length and width with much more consistency. She won the third and the fourth as a result, 11-8 and 11-7.
Chloe faced off against Sarah Mekhalfi later in the day with little trouble. Chloe pressured Sarah by using good pace and a variety of shots that Sarah could not handle. Chloe won the match 11-3, 11-3, 11-6.
The last match of the day, Maddie’s second, was against Lucy Turmel of England. Maddie looked in total control the first two games as Lucy struggled to keep pace with Maddies’ length and width. However, the momentum seemed to shift in a very close, tight hard hitting third game that, had Maddie won, would have been the match. Maddie lost a close third game 12-10. Lucy seemed to wake up and gather more energy as the match progressed and Maddie had difficulty adjusting and lost the next two. Much experience will be gained here for Maddie as she heads into the team event on Friday.
The girls are bonding extremely well – coach and manager are on the same page as well. We have witnessed some amazing squash matches that are very inspiring as we head into the team week. The host hotel is very comfortable and the buffet is excellent with a wide variety to serve all tastes both the breakfast and dinner buffets."
UPDATE: Grace Thomas and Chloe Chemtob are through to the Semifinals of the Plate! Grace won a thrilling five game match this morning, 3-2 (8-11,8-11,11-8,11-6,11-4) and will take on Tinne Gilis, a 5/8 seed at 6pm in Eindhoven, or 12pm EST.
Chloe won her match against Céline Wasler, coming back from 0-2, winning 3-2 (10-12,9-11,11-8,11-3,11-5). She will take on Dutch native, Elena Wagenmans in the Semifinals at 5:20pm or 11:20am EST.
Go Canada Go!
For full event information, visit http://wsfworldjuniors.com/
