Over the weekend five Houstonians made their way to Dallas to participate in this year’s 2007 Texas Open, and two were honored with finalist awards in their respected division—John Leavy, winner of the Men's 50+, and Sylvie Desjardins, second in the Women’s B draw.
Six men representing Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma fielded the Men's 50+ draw. John navigated his way through three rounds to capture the winner’s title, convincingly winning each match 3-0, despite one of his hands being wrapped and protected.
Sylvie Desjardins encountered a women’s B draw consisting of five contenders, all eager to reach the finals. Luck of the draw provided her with a bye in the first round, but she replaced that luck with determination and smart playing to win her second round match 3-0 against left-handed Andrea Callaway, DSRA Director for Women’s Programs. This win propelled her into the finals against Dallas’ local squash darling, Sapna Sudhir, recent third-place finisher of the Women’s National 3.0 level. Sylvie went down in three straight games, but not without a tight fight in the first game going to a tie-breaker.
In addition to their efforts, Sebastian Andreu participated in the 5.0 division, making a first round exit to the consolation draw, as did Ian Munro, esteemed HSRA president, who was making his first appearance in the 4.0 division. Signe Hovem won her first round Women’s B match 3-1, but lack of stamina and conditioning plagued her in the semi-finals against Sadhir losing 1-3.
This year’s venue was at a LA Fitness facility that, remarkably, was designed exclusively for squash with five courts. The DSRA hosted a well-run tournament for 99 registered participants, including twenty-two WISPA players. The WISPA tour ran in conjunction with the amateur tournament and everyone was treated to the spectacular level of women’s professional squash.
World ranked number six, Natalie Grainger, displayed such dominate court sense and power shots that overwhelmed her final opponent Rebecca Chiu from Hong Kong, ranked 15th in the world. Grainger, who is the current WISPA president, disposed of Chiu in a final that barely lasted thirty minutes and comfortably captured her first Texas WISPA title.
The Houston delegation, though not a large group, was well-represented by the efforts of each player. Next year the Open and the WISPA makes its way back to Houston—so get ready Houston Squash community, get training and get ready to host great squash event!
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