2003 SOUTHWEST OPEN

The Southwest Open was held March 6-8 at the Downtown Club at the Met.  With 42 players participating, the tourney was laid-back and friendly.  Relative newcomers Sharon Cornish and Molly Cummins made a very respectable debut in their first tournament.  One of our favorite out-of-towners, John Velasquez made the trek to Houston from San Antonio, and Jorge (Coco) came from Austin to play in the event.

The Met kids, having honed their skills at kids’ clinic every Saturday, participated in their own competition, with Sarah Fernando and Kat and Mason Blakeslee winning their choice of racquets or bags for their efforts. 

As a special treat, an exhibition match took place Saturday night between club pros John Clark and Muhammed Sadiq.  Unfortunately, old man and tournament director John Clark soon felt his age as his hip went into spasm early in the match.  Luckily, Chris Spies, squash’s energizer bunny was on hand and gave Muhammad a run for his money.

Thanks to those who pitched in to referee:  Pat Nicholls (dressed in evening attire), Mark Matthes, Ken Rothstein, Owen Smith, Gihan Fernando, Muhammed Sadiq and Rishad Alikhan, to name a few.

Winners and runners-up were:  A Division:  Craig Hiddleston and Gihan Fernando; B Division:  John Markson and Ed Montayne; C Division:  Andrew Slocum and Jonathan Barrow; D Division:  Toon Athmer and Jeremy Jameson; Women’s Division:  Constance Moore Marlin and Stacey Coppel.  Thanks to the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza and to the Met’s wonderful staff for supporting the event.