The reigning Caribbean Under-15 girls champion, Cheri-Ann Parris, and five-time Caribbean junior title holder, Bryant Cumberbatch, swept all before them to claim two titles each as the curtain came down on the Sagicor General Junior National Squash Championships on Sunday afternoon at the Barbados Squash Club (BSC), Marine Gardens, Hastings.
Fourteen year old Cheri-Ann Parris had already won the girl?s under-15 title the previous day by beating Tanya Marshall without dropping a game, or breaking sweat, but it was in the under-19 age group final that she really showed the audience her true class by comprehensively outplaying her rival, Nadia McCarthy, in three straight games. After winning at five a quick first game in which she never, Parris then withstood the McCarthy fight back in the following stanza and prevailed at seven in the twelve minute second game. With a two game lead Parris visibly grew with confidence and never trailed again in the match. Forceful drives and straight kills flowed from the Parris racket as she powered her way through the third game to win 9/5 9/7 9/3 in half an hour and claim her fourth straight under-19 title in the past eight months. This is also Parris? fifth successive win over the 17 year old McCarthy and confirmed her status as one of the top two under-19 players in the English speaking Caribbean . In this age group Maia Blackman also placed third and Tanya Marshall fourth.
The boy?s under-19 final was no less intriguing. The top seed and defending champion, Rhett Cumberbatch, faced his younger brother and #2 seed Bryant in yet another age group final. At the Caribbean level these two brothers have collectively won seven age group titles but Bryant has enjoyed greater success, winning five of them. At the local level, however, 17 year old Rhett has consistently dominated his 16 year old brother, who had only ever beaten him once before in a local junior tournament. At first it seemed as if this trend would be repeated as Rhett never trailed in the first game and won it at seven. Bryant then stormed back and held a commanding 8-4 lead in the second game before Rhett changed tactics and played more lobs to slow the game down to close the gap to 7-8. However, Bryant held his nerve and closed out the second game at 9/7. In the context of the match it was this second game that proved to be decisive. Had Bryant lost it to go 0-2 down it is likely that he would have lost heart and the match with it. At one game all, however, Bryant seemed to sense that finally he had an opportunity to defeat his older sibling. The quality of squash from both players improved from here on. Long, lung bursting rallies were followed by more of the same, as both boys thrilled the audience with their speed about the court, agility and ability to retrieve lost causes. At times like these the fitness of the players becomes a crucial factor and it was the younger brother who had the legs on the day. Rhett led briefly at the start of both the third and fourth games but the long rallies were taking their toll and more and more errors crept into his game. The final three points in both of these games were won in a single hand by the confident Bryant who triumphed 7/9 9/7 9/4 9/5 in 42 minutes. Alex Jordan finished third and Alex Garcia fourth in this age group.
Earlier in the day Bryant had dismissed Alex Garcia in the under-17 final 9/0 9/6 9/3 in 19 minutes to claim multiple age group titles for the first time in a local junior tournament. Alex Jordan finished third and Nkosi Ross fourth in this age group. Liu Ross defeated Ryan Foster 3-0 in the plate final to finish fifth.
In the boy?s under-15 age group final #2 seed Liu Ross upset his older brother Nkosi, the top seed in the longest match of the tournament. Nkosi is a southpaw and seemed unwilling to increase the tempo in the match and allowed Liu to take control of the centre of the court with accurate straight length and drops. After falling behind 1-2 in games Nkosi picked up the pace to win the fourth game at a canter and then allowed Liu to seize the initiative once again in the fifth and final game. A run of seven unanswered points in a single hand transformed a 0-2 deficit to a 7-2 lead for Liu and there was no way back for Nkosi after that. Liu triumphed 9/2 4/9 10/8 6/9 9/5 in 50 minutes and once again proved that seemingly insurmountable odds can be overcome by a well thought out and well executed game plan. Jonathan O?Dowd defeated Ryan Foster 3-0 to finish third in this age group. Ciaran Raymer defeated Sam Robinson 3-0 in the plate final to finish fifth.
In other matches, the boy?s under-13 age group was won by Jonathan O?Dowd who defeated the top seed, Moishe Steinbok, 9/3 9/6 9/1. The boy?s under-11 age group was won by the top seed, Mikey Cox, who defeated the #2 seed Maarten Edwards 9/7 9/5 9/5 in the final. Raymond St. John finished third and Sebastian Straker fourth in this age group. Benjamin Duckhouse defeated Stewart St. John 3-2 in the plate final to finish fifth.
The girl?s under-13 event was a round robin event, and finished in a three way tie. By a count back system Melanie Mark finished first, Kennilee Ward second and Zoe Lisk third. Asha Gibbs also placed fourth and Ashleigh Robinson fifth.
At a short ceremony after the final match, Roger Spencer of Sagicor General, congratulated the participants and presented trophies and t-shirts to the winners. Trophies were also awarded to Bryant Cumberbatch and Kennilee Ward respectively for the Most Outstanding Effort by a Male and Female Player, while the first annual Richard Walcott Sportsmanship award was won by a beaming Liu Ross.
