Anselm, Sorrentino Take Squash Titles
The Senior Squash Championships plate and finals took place at the Tortola Sports Club on Saturday, February 13 and saw Zoe Sorrentino and Dion Anselm emerge as champions.
In the men's final Dion Anselm beat Neville Sorrentino 11-6, 11-5, 12-10. Anselm started this match at a really high intensity and he showed he meant business from the very first point.
Unfortunately, Neville didn’t quite have such a positive start. Right from the beginning, it was apparent that he wasn’t on his ‘A game’. Anselm was ruthless and capitalised on this as he should.
He stormed out to an 8-1 lead and closed out the game 11-6. The second game followed a similar pattern where Anselm ran out to an early lead and then managed to hold on to it for the remainder of the game 11-5. On top of his obvious skills with the racket, Neville is nothing if not a fighter and he got stuck in in the third and made it much tougher for Anselm.
He saved two match balls and forced a tie break at 10-10. However, Anselm once again showed his ruthlessness and closed the match out 12-10 and in doing so became our Men’s Squash Champion.
While undoubtedly disappointed with his performance in the final, Sorrentino dug in and made things as difficult as possible for his opponent, but credit must go to Anselm for sensing a slight drop in Neville’s usual level and being relentless in moving towards the finishing line.
In the women's final, Zoe Sorrentino beat Musonda Poole 11-9, 11-5, 11-8. Poole started this game on fire and marched out to a 4-0 lead in the first game. As Zoe’s nerves settled she gradually clawed her way back by extending the rallies and hitting with great power into the back corners.
Zoe managed to sneak the first game 11-9. This was crucial and really gave Zoe the momentum as she came out looking much more confident in the second game. She started using her boast to good effect moving Poole over the full court. The second game wnet to Zoe 11-5. The game was anyone’s at 8-8; however, Zoe then held her nerve and closed the match out with three solid points to once again be crowned TSC Women’s Squash Champion!
In the men's plate final Zak Jelusic beat Ian Chambers 11-7, 11-9, 11-8, while in men’s 3rd/4th playoff Luca Reich beat Rory Thornton 13-11, 11-9, 11-8.
The women’s 3rd/4th playoff saw Natalie Fay beat Mandi Atack 11-9, 11-6, 11-6.
Adam Murrills, tournament organizer and national Squash Coach noted that squash has more and more players joining all the time which can only serve to improve the overall level of competition.
“A big thank you to everyone that entered the event and I’d of course like to congratulate all of our winners!I look forward to watching this event continue to grow over the coming years,” said Murrills.
He added, “I’m also looking forward to watching some of our top juniors gradually start emerging in these events. Luca has led the way finishing third in the Men’s Event this year. I know he’ll be hoping to better that come next year’s event! There were also promising performances from Darci Reich, Oliver Henderson and Danny Henderson.”
Unfortunately, Neville didn’t quite have such a positive start. Right from the beginning, it was apparent that he wasn’t on his ‘A game’. Anselm was ruthless and capitalised on this as he should.
He stormed out to an 8-1 lead and closed out the game 11-6. The second game followed a similar pattern where Anselm ran out to an early lead and then managed to hold on to it for the remainder of the game 11-5. On top of his obvious skills with the racket, Neville is nothing if not a fighter and he got stuck in in the third and made it much tougher for Anselm.
He saved two match balls and forced a tie break at 10-10. However, Anselm once again showed his ruthlessness and closed the match out 12-10 and in doing so became our Men’s Squash Champion.
While undoubtedly disappointed with his performance in the final, Sorrentino dug in and made things as difficult as possible for his opponent, but credit must go to Anselm for sensing a slight drop in Neville’s usual level and being relentless in moving towards the finishing line.
In the women's final, Zoe Sorrentino beat Musonda Poole 11-9, 11-5, 11-8. Poole started this game on fire and marched out to a 4-0 lead in the first game. As Zoe’s nerves settled she gradually clawed her way back by extending the rallies and hitting with great power into the back corners.
Zoe managed to sneak the first game 11-9. This was crucial and really gave Zoe the momentum as she came out looking much more confident in the second game. She started using her boast to good effect moving Poole over the full court. The second game wnet to Zoe 11-5. The game was anyone’s at 8-8; however, Zoe then held her nerve and closed the match out with three solid points to once again be crowned TSC Women’s Squash Champion!
In the men's plate final Zak Jelusic beat Ian Chambers 11-7, 11-9, 11-8, while in men’s 3rd/4th playoff Luca Reich beat Rory Thornton 13-11, 11-9, 11-8.
The women’s 3rd/4th playoff saw Natalie Fay beat Mandi Atack 11-9, 11-6, 11-6.
Adam Murrills, tournament organizer and national Squash Coach noted that squash has more and more players joining all the time which can only serve to improve the overall level of competition.
“A big thank you to everyone that entered the event and I’d of course like to congratulate all of our winners!I look forward to watching this event continue to grow over the coming years,” said Murrills.
He added, “I’m also looking forward to watching some of our top juniors gradually start emerging in these events. Luca has led the way finishing third in the Men’s Event this year. I know he’ll be hoping to better that come next year’s event! There were also promising performances from Darci Reich, Oliver Henderson and Danny Henderson.”
