THREE BARBADIANS THROUGH TO 2ND ROUND; SIMPSON PUTS UP A GALLANT FIGHT BUT FALLS JUST SHORT
Three local players made it safely through the first round as exciting squash action commenced in the second annual PSA TMI / TDC Barbados Squash Open which got underway at the Barbados Squash Club (BSC) on Tuesday afternoon June 27th at 3:30 p.m.
Barbados’ second ranked player, Rhett Cumberbatch, received a walkover as his Paraguayan opponent did not arrive in Barbados while Rhett’s younger brother, Bryant Cumberbatch defeated the local and Caribbean Masters champion Mark Sealy in four competitive games. Promising local junior player Joshua Seale also benefitted from a late withdrawal by his opponent, the Barbados’ junior boy’s team captain, Zachary Harris, who withdrew with a hand injury.
In one of the matches of the first round Barbados’ top ranked player and 9-times and reigning National Champion, Shawn Simpson, put up a fantastic fight against the 4th ranked player in the Caribbean, Sunny Seth, from Guyana, but lost in four pulsating games which were of great quality. The local spectators were treated to a match full of long rallies, great shots and stunning recoveries, which was played at a high tempo. The left handed Simpson led 7-5 in the first game and 8-7 in the second game but Seth reeled him in each time to win both for the loss of 8 points. Simpson again established a 7-5 lead in the close third game and then held a slim 10-9 advantage before Seth pulled back to 10-all deuce. Two excellent winners gave Simpson the third game 12-10, to the delight of the home crowd and he seemed to have the early edge in the fourth game, building a quick 6-2 advantage. But Seth claimed the next 8 rallies to take a commanding 10-6 advantage. Simpson put in a big push and clawed back three points to 10-9 but Seth just had enough left to take the last point to win 11-8 11-8 10-12 11-9 in 45 minutes.
The longest match of the evening was a 55 minute shoot out between the #7 seed Timothy Lasusa (USA) who came back from 1-2 down in games to outlast the left handed Malaysian, Elroy Leong, in a top encounter that went the full distance. Leong took the first game at 8 and then held a 10-8 advantage in the second which Lasusa was able to overcome to restore parity at 12-10. Leong swept through the third game for the loss of 7 points but started to make a few more mistakes as he began to tire as Lasusa took the fourth game 11-8. The fifth was very close but the tall American was just a bit steadier from 9-all onwards and eventually won in five games 8-11 12-10 7-11 11-8 14-12 in five minutes short of an hour.
The remaining matches were all 3-0 victories to the overseas players but local players Don Benn, Gavin Cumberbatch, Tony Mackenzie and Zaki Williams all gave a good account of themselves against Armando Olguin (Mexico), Edgar Ramirez (Colombia), Cory McCartney (Canada) and Ahad Raza (Canada) respectively. Top local juniors Khamal Cumberbatch and Chemar Burnham also went down in straight games gained valuable exposure versus the #8 seed Spencer Lovejoy (USA) and the #6 seed, Joe Chapman (BVI) respectively ahead of the Junior Caribbean Squash Championships to be held in Guyana next week.
The results of the nine matches that were played on Tuesday as follows (players from Barbados unless otherwise indicated):
Bryant Cumberbatch bt. Mark Sealy (3-1) 11-5 11-6 5-11 11-3
Armando Olguin (MEX) bt. Don Benn (3-0) 11-3 14-12 11-7
#8 Spencer Lovejoy (USA) bt. Khamal Cumberbatch (3-0) 11-2 11-5 11-3
#7 Timothy Lasusa (USA) bt. Elroy Leong (MAS) (3-2) 8-11 12-10 7-11 11-8 14-12
#6 Joe Chapman (BVI) bt. Chemar Burnham (3-0) 11-2 11-2 11-2
Cory McCartney (CAN) bt. Tony Mackenzie (3-0) 11-8 11-9 13-11
Edgar Ramirez (COL) bt. Gavin Cumberbatch (3-0) 11-6 11-1 11-7
Ahad Raza (CAN) bt. Zaki Williams (3-0) 11-2 11-3 11-6
Sunny Seth (GUY) bt. Shawn Simpson (3-1) 11-8 11-8 10-12 11-9
The PSA BTMI / TDC Barbados Squash Open is being held by the Barbados Squash Association under the auspices of the Professional Squash Association and is being played at the BSC, which is located in Marine Gardens, Christ Church. The second round will take place on today (Wednesday) beginning at noon and is expected to be completed around 3:00 PM and the quarter-final matches will take place on the same day beginning at 6:15 PM and ending around 8:00 PM. The two semi-finals will take place one after the other on court #1 on Thursday, June 29th, beginning at 6:00 PM and the final will take place on Friday evening starting at 6:00 PM with the presentation of awards immediately thereafter.
The Wednesday 6//28/2017 afternoon matches are as follows:
12:00 PM CT 2 Rhett Cumberbatch (Barbados) v. (Trinidad & Tobago) Kale Wilson [3]
12:00 PM CT1 Cameron Stafford [4] Cayman v. (Guyana) Sunny Seth
12:45 PM CT2 Spencer Lovejoy [8] (U.S.A.) v. (Barbados) Bryant Cumberbatch
12:45 PM CT1 Armando Olguin (Mexico) v. (U.S.A.) Timothy Lasusa [7]
1:30 PM CT 1 Edgar Ramirez Bautista (Colombia) v. (BVI) Joe Chapman [6]
1:30 PM CT2 Thomas King [5] (Canada) v. (Canada) Cory McCartney
2:15 PM CT1 Eddie Charlton [1] England v. (Canada) Ahad Raza
2:15 PM CT2 Joshua Seale (Barbados) v. (Colombia) Juan Camilo Vargas [2]
BTMI / TDC Barbados Squash Open serves off on Tuesday June 27th
The BTMI / TDC Barbados Squash Open gets underway at the Barbados Squash Club on Tuesday June 27th and four days of exciting and competitive squash action is eagerly anticipated.
Following the success of the inaugural event held last year this second edition of the BTMI / TDC Barbados Squash Open, which is a Professional Squash Association (PSA) world tour event has attracted even more interest from professional squash players from around the world. Players from the following twelve countries, as well as Barbados, will be here to participate: British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Colombia, England, Guyana, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago and the USA. There are now 30 participants with 18 players flying in from overseas who will pit their skills against the 12 local entries. These PSA players will be coming here to finish as high as they can, in order to earn ranking points and hence improve on their respective world ranking. They will also get to experience some of our warm and vibrant Barbadian hospitality along with their guests.
The PSA is the global governing body responsible for the administration of both men’s and women’s professional squash around the world and currently has more than 835 registered players, including over 570 active male members worldwide and holds more than 200 squash events annually.
Due to a few very late withdrawals of overseas players, due to injury including the former #4 seed, there has been a re-draw of the BTMI / TDC Barbados Squash Open which gets underway at the Barbados Squash Club this afternoon now Tuesday, June 27th at 3:30 p.m.
The top eight seeded players in the BTMI / TDC Barbados Squash Open are now:
#1 Eddie Charlton (ENGLAND) PSA World Ranking # 116
#2 Juan Vargas (COLOMBIA) # 126
#3 Kale Wilson (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO) # 180
#4 Cameron Stafford (CAYMAN ISLANDS) # 206
#5 Thomas King (CANADA) # 210
#6 Joe Chapman (BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS) # 243
#7 Timothy Lasusa (USA) # 259
#8 Spencer Lovejoy (USA) # 349
Barbados’ top ranked player and 9-times and reigning National Champion, Shawn Simpson, is now scheduled to play the 4th ranked player in the Caribbean, Sunny Seth, from Guyana, at 7:15 p.m. while our second highest ranked national player, Rhett Cumberbatch, gets a bye into the second round on Wednesday afternoon as his overseas opponent, Nicolas Caballero, of Paraguay, has had to withdraw.
The BTMI / TDC Barbados Squash Open will be held at the BSC, which is located in Marine Gardens, Christ Church. The first round of matches will now commence on Tuesday 27th June at 3:30 PM and will continue until approximately 8:00 PM.
The second round will take place on Wednesday beginning at noon and is expected to be completed around 3:00 PM and the quarter-final matches will take place on the same day beginning at 6:15 PM and ending around 8:00 PM. The two semi-finals will take place one after the other on court #1 on Thursday, June 29th, beginning at 6:00 PM and the final will take place on Friday evening starting at 6:00 PM with the presentation of awards immediately thereafter.
The Barbados Squash Association (BSA) is managing the event which has a greater number of higher ranked players as compared to last year, so spectators will witness some exciting and very competitive squash over the four days of competition. There is no admission charge for the public so it is expected that Barbadians will come out in their numbers to watch some of the world’s top squash professionals battle it out.
The main sponsors of this event are the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) and the Tourism Development Corporation Inc. (TDC) and without their support this event would not have been possible. The Barbados Squash Association is very thankful to all sponsors, the Organizing Committee, volunteers and the Barbados Squash Club (BSC) for making its facility available. The BTMI / TDC Barbados Squash Open will be held at the BSC, which is located in Marine Gardens, Christ Church. The first round of matches will commence on Tuesday 27th June at 2:00 PM and will continue until approximately 8:00 PM. The second round will take place on Wednesday beginning at noon and is expected to be completed around 3:00 PM and the quarter-final matches will take place on the same day beginning at 6:15 PM and ending around 8:00 PM. The two semi-finals will take place one after the other on court #1 on Thursday, June 29th, beginning at 6:00 PM and the final will take place on Friday evening starting at 6:00 PM with the presentation of awards immediately thereafter.
To view the MAIN DRAW: http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draw.aspx?id=8B8BE43E-AC5B-45F1-B183-C9C55DCE0767&draw=1
To view matches LIVE on USTREAM go to:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/barbados-squash-club—court-cam
