06-Aug, Finals:

[1] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) bt Suzie Pierrepont (ENG)
      9/2, 10/8, 9/2 (35m)

[2] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt [1] Phillip Barker (ENG)
      11/7, 11/4, 11/6 (27m)

Boswell in 7th Heaven
in Salt Lake City ...
Craig Bennett reports from Salt Lake City

Australia's Stewart Boswell claimed his seventh PSA title in row as he beat England's top seed Phillip Barker in the final in Salt Lake City.

Boswell's efficient and consistent play simply wore Barker down in each game. The pattern was the same: the early stages filled with long rallies but with Barker doing more work; then in the latter part of the games the rallies were shorter as Barker's court coverage faltered and Boswell capitalized with precise winning shots.



To Barker's credit, he stayed in the rallies despite the fatigue caused by a difficult semi final with Shawn De Lierre. In the end, Salt Lake fans were treated to a glimpse of top ten level squash. There was clearly a difference in Boswell's play and the rest of the field.

Mike Corren, after losing the first game to Boswell in the semi finals commented that he "needs to get used to the pace" at which Boswell plays.

Those watching throughout the week could see that Boswell was forcing the other players to play this uncomfortable pace ... a pace that in the end gave him the latest in a long list of titles, and an unbeaten run now stretched to 35 PSA matches!
                   Craig Bennett
 

Photos by
Arash Bashirullah

Men's Draw    
Women's Draw
Reports

Engy Eclipses Suzy

Top seeded Egyptian Engy Kheirallah claimed the 2005 Squashworks Open on saturday as she defeated England's Suzie Pierrepont in the final.

Kheirallah's ability to keep Pierrepont on the move with accurate lengths and working boasts set up many winning opportunities.

The first and third games were easy victories for Kheirallah but the critical stage of the match came in the second where Pierrepont played a good basic game of squash, keeping Kheirallah in the back court and capitalizing on Kheirallah's errors to claim an 8-6 advantage.

However, she was not able to claim the game as Kheirallah steadied and Pierrepont faltered. Once Pierrepont lost the advantage in the second, it seemed to shake her confidence and the third game was not close as Kheirallah closed the third game, the match, and the tournament,  9/2, 10/8, 9/2 in 35 minutes.

On Saturday, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson came to the matches to welcome the international players to the city.

Throughout the week the matches were well attended as the numbers were aided by the fact the 2005 Intermountain Championships were being played at the same time. Players of all skill were competing along side the pros which made for a busy week of squash at the club.

Many thanks to all the sponsors: Clinical Development Sciences; Merrill Lynch Bank USA; Krispy Kreme Doughnuts; Zions Bank; Prince Yeats Law Firm; Rick Waltman; Holland and Hart Law; Salt Lake Airport Hilton; Alta Capital; Head Penn Racquet Sports; Oasis Cafe; Zotes; Red Rock Brewery; Budget Rental; and Mainstream Marketing. Also, to all the patrons and volunteers and the many local squash players and fans that supported the tournament. 

     2004 Final: [6] Jenny Tranfield (Eng) bt [4] Stephanie Brind (Eng)  9-4, 9-2, 9-1

  

    
    2004 Final:  [2] David Evans (Wal) bt [1] Joey Barrington (Eng)  15-9, 15-1, 15-12 (48m)

   
  

Men's Semi-Finals:

[1] Phillip Barker (ENG) bt [8] Shawn De Lierre (CAN)
    11/1, 7/11, 6/11, 11/10(3-1), 11/5 (88m)

[2] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt Mike Corren (AUS)
    11/6, 11/8, 11/6 (50m)

Barker edges out De Lierre

Similar to the women's semi final between Reta and Pierrepont, the first men's semi final match between Phillip Barker and Shawn De Lierre also had a disruptive flow with too many referee decisions.



Both players had moments of frustration mixed in with very exciting play. De Lierre easily lost the first game (11-1) and seemed to be showing the effects of his tough quarter final match with Rafael Alarcon, but he picked up his court coverage in the second game and cut down on his errors and evened the match by winning the second game 11-7.

De Lierre continued his amazing court coverage in the third game and many times hit athletic winners at full stretch on some good shots by Barker. The very end of the fourth was the defining moment of the match. De Lierre had stretched to an 8-4 lead and then to match ball at 10-7; this lead was attained with some bad errors from Barker, along with some distracting play stoppages, and the continued tenacity of De Leirre's game. Just when it seemed that De Lierre was going move onto his second straight final, Barker steadied his game and it was the Canadian who started making loose shots and Barker calmly put them away. This stretch cost De Lierre the match ... as he was not the same in game five, losing it 11-5.

Boswell ends Corren run

Local favourite Mike Corren, with the support of the partisan crowd, had his moments against fellow-Aussie Stewart Boswell, but in the end Boswell's pace and steady play were too much. Corren's very successful tournament ended like all the other players this spring and summer who have come up against Boswell...in defeat.

Boswell demonstrated the characteristics of a top five level player: consistency, pace, retrieving, fitness, shot selection, and creativity. Corren battled hard and used his excellent racquet skills to try to put pressure on Boswell and the end the rallies with hard nicks (both cross court and straight drives); then, he tried slowing the game by taking the pace off.

At times Boswell made some unforced errors, and Corren had stretches of winning shots, but Boswell never seemed in danger as he moved onto his seventh straight final appearance: 11-6, 11-8, 11-6.

Men's Draw    

Women's Draw


Women's Semi-Finals:

[1] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) bt [5] Alana Miller (CAN): 9/4, 9/1, 9/5 (27m)

Suzie Pierrepont (ENG) bt [2] Runa Reta (CAN): 4/9, 10/8, 9/2, 9/2 (52m)



Engy over Alana

Egypt's Engy Kheirallah continued her strong play in the semi finals by defeating Alana Miller in straight games.

Kheirallah's movement and offensive weapons were too much for the Canadian, from the start of the match Kheirallah was getting onto the ball quicker and keeping Miller in the backcourt with good length and then finishing rallies with well-timed drops and boasts.

To Miller's credit, she tenaciously chased many of Kheirallah's shots and, especially in the first and third games, was putting pressure on Kheirallah early; in the third, the score was tied at 5-5, but in the end...too much chasing for Miller.





Suzie shocks Runa

The second women's semi was the second longest women's match of the tournament at 52 minutes. Unfortunately, part of the reason for the length of the match had to do with the amount of interference and collisions.

Second seed Runa Reta started off great and raced to a 7-1 lead in the first game. Suzie Pierrepont was able to close to 4-7, but Reta finished the game 9-4. The second was close at the first part with three hand in and hand outs at 3-3 before Reta stretched her lead to 7-4 and to 8-5.

It was Reta's inability to close out the second that proved to be her undoing. Pierrepont fought back to tie the game and eventually win 10-8.

This gave Pierrepont confidence in the next two games. She seemed to play with more focus while Reta seemed to be getting more and more frustrated with the interference and disjointed rhythm caused by the stoppage of play.

In the end, the 20-year-old, Pierrepont closed the last two games with the identical score 9-2 and 9-2.  
  

Men's Quarter-Finals:
Phillip Barker (ENG) bt Dave Phillips (CAN)
  11-9, 11-4, 11-4 (30m)
Shawn De Lierre (CAN) bt Rafael Alarcon (BRA)
  11-2, 3-11, 11/10(7-5), 11-8 (92m)
Mike Corren (AUS) bt Laurent Elriani (FRA)
  11-10(2-0), 11-7, 4-11, 8-11, 11-10 (4-2) (90m)
Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt Niall Rooney (IRL)
  11-3, 11-2, 11-5 (35m)

De Lierre joins top
seeds in semis ...
Craig Bennett reports from Salt Lake

England's top seed Phillip Barker showed exceptional athleticism and very steady play to capitalise on David Phillips' impatience and errors to claim his match easily after a tight first game. He now faces Canada's Shawn De Lierre, who won a marathon battle with Brazilian third seed Rafael Alarcon.



The match started slowly with each player splitting easy games. DeLierre won the first 11-2, Alarcon returned the favour 11-3 in the second. It was the third game, was tough all the way with the players forcing a lot of decisions from the referee, where things started to get very tight and a bit confrontational.

The game went to 10-10 and then each player had several game balls and DeLierre was eventually able to close the game 17-15. Despite only being 2-1, the match was now well over an hour long and although Alarcon gamely tried to bring the match to a tie he eventually lost the fourth game 11-8 and the match in 92 minutes.

Corren capitalises on home crowd

Mike Corren used the advantage of the homecrowd to help propel him to victory over Laurent Elriani in the third match.

Corren jumped out to a big 2-0 advantage only to see Elriani storm back to tie 2-2. It all came down to the fifth and final game and Elriani made the first push to claim a 5-2 lead.

Just as it seemed it was going to slip away, Corren started placing the ball better. Without over-hitting he simply kept Elriani going deep to the back corners with softer but effective length. This change in pace calmed Corren's nerves and allowed him to once again reclaim the front of the court and end rallies with deadly drops and hard angled nicks.

The last half of game five was the most interesting stretch of the tournament thus far. The partisan crowd reacted to each rally. Elriani was very determined and pushed another lead to 9-6 only to see Corren move back to a tie at 10-10. It seemed that each time Elriani had a chance at a match ball he played an overly aggressive shot and ended up making a mistake.

The final two rallies demonstrated the difference as Corren seized and open alley and hit a hard low drive just above the tin which Elriani could not get; then, at match ball 13-12 for Corren, Elriani tried a overhead forehand volley nick to front left corner only to find the camera box under the tin...shattered plexiglass...match over.

Boswell marches on

The final match between Stewart Boswell and Niall Rooney ended in another routine victory for Boswell. Rooney simply couldn't find any answers to Boswell's steady and precise play. Aside from a five game match with Eric Galvez in June, Boswell has not dropped a game in any match of the seven tournaments he has entered since his comeback in April.

Salt Lake fans are anxious to see if his fellow Australian and current Salt Lake resident, Corren, in action with Boswell in the semi finals on Friday.
 

Men's Draw    
Women's Draw

Women's Quarter-Finals:

Engy Kheirallah (EGY) bt Jenna Gates (ENG):   9-3, 9-1, 9-5 (28m)

Alana Miller (CAN) bt Tara Mullins (CAN):   9-0, 9-2, 9-5 (25m)

Suzie Pierrepont (ENG) bt Melanie Jans Burke (CAN):   9-4, 9-1, 9-4 (26m)

Runa Reta (CAN) bt Shabana Khan (USA)   10-8, 9-0, 9-1 (25m)
  

The first match of the evening paired Egypt's top seed Engy Kheirallah  and Jenna Gates. Each game followed the same pattern with Gates staying close early but Kheirallah's consistency and better offensive game slowly took its toll and she was able clearly pull away at the end of each game.

The second match, an all-Canadian affair, saw Tara Mullins fall to Alana Miller. Mullins definitely showed the fatigue of her first round struggle with Karina Herrera Zuniga ... not to mentioned that it took her two days of flight delays and airport waiting to finally arrive in Salt Lake. She was no match for a well rested Miller who enjoyed a bye in the first round and was in control from the beginning.


Tour veteran and third seeded Melanie Jans Burke and fifth seeded Suzie Pierrepont provided an intriging contrast between age and experience. The younger and lower seeded Pierrepont prevailed mainly because of her superior movement. From the beginning, Pierrepont looked relaxed and confident as she stayed in front of Jans Burke with good length and then finished rallies with precise shots to the front.

Finally, the last match of the evening between Runa Reta  and Shabana Khan was really a story of a very tight first game that could have gone either way, and when it slipped away from Khan she could not recover. Uncharacteristically (for a 37-year-old tour veteran), Khan could not rebound and lost the match 10-8, 9-0, 9-1 in 25 minutes.
 

Squashworks Under Way
in Salt Lake

Craig Bennett reports on round one...

The 2005 Squashworks Open started play on Wednesday, the fifth straight year that Salt Lake City has hosted professional squash. This year, for the first time, the PSA and WISPA tournaments are being played during the same week, in addition to the 2005 Intermountain amateur tournament.

Locals in Action
 
Wednesday evening saw all six courts being used and a large gallery of spectators many of whom came to see the two locals in action: Steffanie Moore and Mike Corren, who recently moved to Salt Lake.
  

Barker and Boswell untroubled

The men’s tournament began with a very short match between top seed Phillip Barker and Patrick Bedore. Barker was in control from the start with his smooth style and excellent footwork.

Although only 23, Barker has been playing on the PSA tour since 1999 and has 23 tournaments under his belt along with 3 titles. His experience really showed against Bedore, 18, who was playing in only his 10th tournament. The final score: 11-2, 11-2, 11-3 (20 minutes).

Like most of his matches in his recent comeback, Stewart Boswell’s first round match with Karim Yehia was very routine. He began the match by racing to a 5-0 lead, aided greatly by Yehia’s mistakes. Yehia tried hard to fight back and did for a brief stretch get back to 3-6 only to see Boswell’s consistency and quick pace force the action.

 Boswell finished the game 11-6.  The second and third games were similar to the first with Yehia playing well and providing an excellent match to watch, but simply not being strong enough to counter Boswell’s game.

Next up on the exhibition court was Brazil's Rafael Alarcon and Marton Szaboky from Hungary. Alarcon appeared very comfortable playing at altitude and adjusting to speed of the Squashworks courts. He was moving the ball to all corners with a variety of well executed shots and finished the match 11-2, 11-2, 11-7 in 33 minutes.

Corren capitalises

Perhaps the most anticipated match of the evening saw Mike Corren (who now lives in Salt Lake City) return to PSA action against United States under 19 junior champion Christopher Gordon. Corren, age 31, is no stranger to PSA competition. He has played in over 50 events and has 17 titles. Gordon, now 19, showed flashes of brilliance with his retrieving and determination but he could not match Corren’s offensive repertoire.

The match started very tight, but then Corren was able to race from a 5-5 tie to finish the game 11-5 with a variety of impressive hard nicks and a few Gordon mistakes.

In the second game, Gordon really dug in, and aside from an early 3-0 by Gordon, no player was able to extend their lead more than two points. In the end, however, it was Gordon who faltered in the tie-breaker with costly errors and Corren had a very important 2-0 lead in games. Corren took the momentum of closing out the second game tie-breaker and finished the match 11-5, 11-10 (2-0), 11-5 in 40 minutes.

Laurent Elriani had an easy time with Kumail Mehmood. Mehmood never led in any game and Elriani closed the match 11-5, 11-1, 11-2 (30 minutes)

For a time Jago Nardelli seemed poised to beat seventh seed Niall Rooney. The match score was 1-1 with each of the first games being very close. In the 3rd and 4th games, however, Rooney took control and finished each game with a run of 8 straight points: 11-8, 9-11, 11-1, 11-3.

The final match of the evening on men’s side, Shawn DeLierre and Ahmed Hamza, saw each game played almost identical. Early in each game the score was tight up till about 3 or 4; then, one of the players would run off 6 or 7 straight points. 

Unfortunately for Hamza, DeLeirre performed this feat three times while he was only able to do it once. Final score: 11-4, 2-11, 11-2, 11-3 (49 minutes).
es.

Women's Round One

Moore started the evening off by facing Jenna Gates in the opening match. Moore, who has only played squash for three years, fought the nerves of taking on a world-class player. Buoyed by the support from the local crowd, she fought valiantly but in the end Gates simply had more experience and was able to control each rally by keeping the ball deep to the back corners and then volleying any loose shots for winners. Gates moves on to the quarter-finals 9-1, 9-1, 9-0 (21 min).

Experience over youth

The second women’s match of the evening featured an intriguing matchup of two American players: Shabana Khan  and Britt Hebden. Khan, 37, is a former U.S. National Champion and a veteran of the WISPA tour; Hebden, 17, is playing only her second WISPA event and will be completing high school next year.  

Although Hebden has a bright future in squash and will obviously be a fixture in U.S. women’s squash, Khan made it clear that she is not ready to yield to the youngster. She was simply more steady and relaxed and finished the match 9-5, 9-0, 9-1 in 24 min. Afterwards, Khan was pleased to get her first victory in Salt Lake City. She has been to the WISPA tournament all four years—the only player in the draw to claim that accomplishment.

Youth over Experience

The third match on the women’s side was a match up of two English players: Suzie Pierrepont and Emma Parke. Unlike the Khan/Hebden match where experience prevailed against youth, Pierrepont (age 20) looked more experienced and comfortable on court than the older Parke (age 31) and prevailed 9-3, 9-1, 9-0 in 30 minutes.

Worth waiting for

The final women’s match for the evening, Tara Mullins and Karina Herrera Zuniga proved to be the best. The match was delayed from its original starting time of 5:45 PM to 9:00 PM to accommodate the travel delays of Mullins who was stuck in Toronto due to bad weather and the Air France plane crash. To both players' credit, each of them battled through the challenges caused by the delays. Unexpectedly, Mullins seemed fresh and eager in the first game and took advantage of Herrera Zuniga’s errors to jump to a 9-1 win.

Herrera Zuniga steadied herself in the second however and let Mullins know that this match was going to be tough as she fought back from 4-7 down in second to claim the game 10-8. Mullins regained the advantage by jumping to a 7-3 lead in third game and then closing the game 9-5. Once again, however, Herrera Zuniga responded and raced to 5-0 lead in the fourth. Mullins fought back to tie at 5-5 only to see Herrera Zuniga respond again and close the game 9-5. The fifth game started much like the fourth with Herrera Zuniga racing to a 5-1 lead only to see the Mullins respond and show superb mental toughness resulting in her retaking the lead 6-5.

The game went back to Herrera Zuniga’s favour by one point 7-6 and then Mullins reached deep to close the game, the match, and a very long two days 9-7 in 73 minutes.