We did have a great turn out for the 2007 Sanctuaire Open, with about 100 players competing in the event.   Although there were many competing in the mens events, we did unfortunately see low numbers on the ladies side, which has become standard in the last few years.

Mens A
The mens A was restricted to 16 players, which made it a very strong draw, with everyone who played reasonably close to each other in the provincial ranking.

David Delierre, Pat Pedore, Max Camiruga and Jason Delierre made it out to the semi-finals.  Unfortunately David Delierre was feeling too injured, and had to default his semi-final match against Pat Bedore, who had been very impressive in the tournament.  In the other Semi-final Max Camiruga had been playing well to reach the semis, but Jason Delierre was too much and took the match.  The final was set up with the two strongest players from the weekend, and promised for a good match.  Going into the third game the match was tied at 1-1, and Jason started to chip away at Pat.  Pat started to become frustrated, and seemed to try and do too much.  Jason stayed cool hit some great nicks, and was consistent on all his shots.  In the end Jason took the match and the title, winning 3-1.

Even the consolation rounds were very tough! Ben Marien and Julian Drobetsky made it to the A consolation final.  Ben got up early leading 2-0.  Julian got the third game, and after coming back on Fernando Hernandez in the semis, he felt energized going into the fourth.  However Ben was too strong, too good this day and won the match 3-1.

Mens B
The mens B draw was really where all the excitement was over the weekend.  With no Pro draw and a 16 man A draw, it forced many of the top B players to play in the B draw.  I even had to restrict it to 32 players, which is the most amount of players I have ever seen in a B draw at any provincial tournament!  Not only that, but they were all strong B players, many normally contend for spots in the mens A.  After many good matches, the top four seeds got through, and saw Jeff Tory play Warren Huxham, and Phlippe Roy play Joffre Godin in the semis.  Jeff and Warren had a good match, two veterans going head to head, there was a lot of thinking and strategy at work.  Jeff got up 2-0, and though Warren fought and won the third game, it wasn’t enough and Jeff took the match in four.  Phil and Joffre clashed as they played for the last spot in the final.  Phil had been impressive thus far in the tournament and was able to battle past a tricky and motivated Joffre to get the last spot.
It was an all ‘lefty’ final between Philippe and Jeff.  Phil was very calm and was not easily fooled by some of Jeff’s shots.  With Phil up 2-1, the effects of a big draw started to show on both players, but Philippe pushed the extra bit to win it in four.  It was a great tournament for both players, and must say, this is the best I have ever seen Philippe play and to come out of that draw with a win, is definitely worth a spot in the A ranking.

The B consolation was no easier.  With legend of the B and C consolation players having to play three matches on the Sunday, it is truly a battle of the fittest.  Only two players made it to their third match, Ken Filgiano and Alex Cowper.  Both having to previously take out some pretty tough competition.  But it was the junior Ken Filgiano that survived a little longer to out duel Alex and take the win in three games.

Mens C
The C draw did not have 32 players, but was somewhere close.  Again I had to push some B hopefuls down to the C, making the C draw quite strong as well.  After the first couple of matches got underway a young Tristan Holder stayed on the main draw sheet, taking out a the fourth seed and bunch of the better guys, making his way to the Semis to face  Nicolas Dupont of Gatineau.  I had watched some of Nicolas’s matches and he looked very strong.  However Tristan was in a zone, and was hitting very good smart shots to cut his way through Nicolas and take the first final spot.  The other Semis saw a very strong Alex Vruvides take on the only seeded player to make the semis Nick Cileli.  This semi was truly a battle and had to go to five games to see Alex come out and secure his place in the final. 

In the final, again Tristan played very smart shots, and for a junior kept his cool, and focus on each ralley.  Alex looked very strong in his other matches but Tristan again was on a mission, and took the match and the C title, only losing one game the entire tournament!

The C consolation, also had three matches on Sunday.  Guy Gelinas and Val Mancini, saw it through until the end.  Val was able to survive the barrage of matches on the Sunday, and came out with the win, and third place finish.

Mens D
The mens D had 16 players, and returning finalist and Mens D regular Viano Oghenekevwe.  Viano again made it to the semis taking on Oliver Saleh.  Oliver had beat out some good players to get there but Viano was on a mission to try and take the title this year, and won the match to reach the final.  The other semi was between another Gatino local Alex Simard and Sanctuaire hopeful Samuel Dansereau.  Samuel gave everything he had, but wasn’t enough as Alex fought past winning 3-1.  The final was probably the closest final of the tournament, going to five games and many words and accusations being thrown out there.  In the end Viano squeaked by winning only by a few points, and claiming the D title which slipped away from him last year.

The D consolation had Sid Goldberg and Derek Patino meet in the final.  Both players looking very strong going in, Derek was able to pull it out and win in four games.

Womens B
The womens B only had 8 players, but did make for some strong matches.  Brigitte Tousignant looked strong in her round robin, but was beat by Martine Gariepy which sent Martine to the final.  On the other side Jane Shaw won all her matches which gave her the other spot in the final.  In the final Martine had a tough time with Jane but was still able to secure a win, by winning the first three games and took the womens B title.

Womens C
The womens C only was able to bring out 6 girls.  Beth Buttars was favored to win, and easily won her round robin matches.  New comer Katya Ryzhikova came out on top of the other box and set the stage for the final.  The final was a tough match up, and tested both girls.  In the end Beth took the match 3-1 and proved why she is the best provincial ladies C player.

I do want to thank everyone who participated, and all those who came by to cheer and support the players.  The referee’s that got out to ref some matches.  Big thanks to Paul Gagnon who was the referee machine on Sunday.

The sponsers Vincent (Lotto), Mammoud and Vahid (Double Pizza), Alex (Black Knight), Eli (Orleans Watches), Bill (Place Versailles), and all the staff at the club.

My helpers, Lionel Barbedet, and especially to Maxym Leclair, who by the end was pretty much running everything on his own.

Until next time...

Trevor Bowes

[Photos]

We had over 100 players participate in the 2006 edition of the Sanctuaire Open. It was an extremely tight schedule, as we tried to squeeze everyone into the three days, but did manage to get everyone in and have a number of great matches, and a lot of fun.

Pro

We had a couple of the top local players come out for the Mens Open. After the first rounds we were left with the four highest ranked players. QUE#1 Shawn Delierre, QUE#3 Dave Phillips, QUE#5 Mike Reid, and QUE#7 Pat Bedore.

Pat Played Shawn in the first Semi. Shawn used his speed and fast racket to eliminate Pat in 3 games. The other Semi however was a bit of a different story. Mike got a head 2 games on Dave, and looked to be dominating the match. However in the third game there were some controversial calls from referee Gio Piccolino, that Mike did not agree with, and let it get to him. After being frustrated he could not regain focus and Dave came into his zone and won the following three games to come back and win in five.

The final was set up for Shawn Delierre and Dave Phillips. The final had all the makings of a great match. Both players came out strong making great shots from all over the court. Dave seems to be continuously improving with some great deception, and caught Shawn coming out of the gates a little slower. However Shawn speed, and hard low drives, were enough to stay ahead the rest of the match, and take the Pro final win 3-1.

MA

We had a large number of As, and some of the top Bs make an apperance in the A draw.
The top four seeds were, Ivan Rojas, Franck Martin, Ben Uliana and Lionel Barbedet.
There were a number of players who had some good wins, including Aldo Raffo who took out the forth seed Lionel Barbedet. Azmat Noon had a couple of good wins including one against Henry Clutsum, and Aldo Raffo which sent him to the semi final only to lose to the number 1 seed Ivan Rojas.
However the player who really stood out was our B finalist from last year Maxym Leclair. 17 year old Maxym started from the bottom of the draw, and beat Jeff Tory, Ben Uliana, Neil Frisbey, Marc Lizotte (who had a tough 5 game battle with Franck Martin the night before), only to run into the number 1 seed Ivan Rojas, in the final. Maxym only started to feel the effects of his previous matches and could not find the energy or strength to take out a dominating and determined Rojas, who won the mens A event.

The A consolation had Jeff Tory and Henry Clutsum in the final. After a long weekend, and a couple of tough matches on route to the final Henry fell 3-0 to Jeff.

WA

The womens A saw four regulars, Fabienne Beaujault, Sue Dufresne, Fiona Curthoys, and Tara Newman. However there was a hired gun, who is in Montreal Coaching and studying at McGill. Former number 38 in the world Olga Puigdemont Sola. Olga was much stronger than the other ladies and went on to win all her matches without dropping a game. It was a close second place finish with Fiona upsetting Fabienne, which created a tie in points between Fabienne and Tara. Because Fabienne had beaten Tara, she took the second place finish.

MB

From the beginning it was suppose to be young gun Julian Drobetsky that was seeded number 1 to take the B title. After starting strong it did not seem like anyone was going to be able to stop him. However there was another young gun in the shadow Matt Aussel, that after being down 2-0, his opponent Louis-Martin Tremblay hurt himself and could not continue the match. As luck may have it Matt took that win and made the best of it, by coming out in the semis against Julian, and shocked everyone by taking a 2-0 lead. Julian did his best to come back but Matt had too much momentum and won 3-1.
The other Semi had yet another Junior Ken Filgiano against a machine of a man, Patrick LaPlante. Patrick was the number 2 seed and his fitness proved to much for Ken, as he hunted down everything and was able to keep up and stay ahead of the rallies going on to win the match 3-0.
The final was set and even in it, Matt seemed to be the underdog. However a humbled Matt seemed to have found a new level in his game and took out the number 2 seed in three games, winning his first B draw. Way to go Matt!!

The B consolation saw local boy Nial Neven battle his way through Sylvain Charbonneau, Tony Gudic, and James Bush all on Sunday, to win the Consolation!

WB

The womens B had a couple of the tougher ladies out with Antonieta Martinez, Jane Shaw, Clemencia Castillo and some McGill ladies, Norah Hutchinson and Eva Monson. Jane Shaw dominated early and went on to win the round robin, without losing a game. Second place came down to Eva and Clemencia. Clemencia won, and had only lost to Jane in a second place finish!

MC

There was a large number of tough C players. Number 1 seed Rob Ditrapani, dominated from the beginning, charging his way through his opponents without even losing a game on route to the final. The other half of the draw had some tougher results. Peter Mogilnitski, came out as a contender, however he ran into a speedy David Olivier, who managed to get all his balls back, having his opponents tire out before he did, and patiently waiting for an error from them. David managed to get past Peter in five games, however he did not have anything against a strong Rob Ditrapani, who assured me he was exhausted, but did manage to win without dropping a game all tournament.

The C consolation had Richard Leclair and Anthony Piccolino. Richard a former A player, with son Maxym in his corner, was too strong for Anthony, and came away with the win.

WC

An early exit from Susana Stroll Opened up the door for Alyson Grant, who easily won all of her matches. The real match of the womens C was for second place between Charlie Fidelman and Heidi Muchall, which was played on Sunday. It had it’s fair share of supporters and an excited Charlie emerged from the court after beating Heidi in four games.

MD

The Ds was a mad scramble to the finish. The biggest draw in the tournament, with no way to determine who was going to be around at the end. There was many good matches, and just when it was suggested someone was too strong, they would lose to another player. In the end Viano Oghenekevwe and Junior Shawn Filion came out to the final. Each having tough semi final matches, it was set to be a great match. Though the crowd always seem to be behind any junior playing, Viano brought out his fair share of supporters. This seemed to be a highlight match as each game was about 20-25mins long, and went to five, with Shawn only winning 10-9 in the fifth!

The D consolation players were the true champions of the weekend, as they had four matches scheduled on Sunday! I like to call it ‘training day’. George Voulounanos and Simon Gemmrich took the challenge and reached the fourth match. It only came down to fitness in the final, and George had the gas in the tank to eliminate Simon and take a valued D consolation title!

WD

The womens D had two 15 year old ringers from Hudson. Dominique Smith and Brigitte Tousignant, absolutely crushed their opponents barely allowing them to get any points. They met in the final, and Brigitte was able to get the best of Dominique, but are definitely ready for some harder competition!

Special thanks to referees Eric Planmondon and Guy Vigneault who seemed to be there all day and night, and who were both needed for a F. Martin/ M. Lizotte match up Saturday night.
And to all the refs that came out, Barry Faguy, Wilson Miller, Gio Piccolino, Timur Burganov, Paul Gagnon, and Laurie Lanfer.

Our sponsers were a very big part in making this tournament possible and want to thank, Sami (Saga Realties), Bill (Place Versailles), Vincent (Lotto), Francois Charbonneau (Le Plateau Papeterie), Vahid (Double Pizza), Alexandre (Black Knight), and of course my side-kick Lionel Barbedet.

Until the next one!
Trevor Bowes

Men's Pro

In the men's Pro draw we had Shawn Delierre (Quebec #1), Ian Power (Quebec #2), Ken Flynn (Quebec #3) and Yasser Kammel from NYC as the top 4 seeds. Mike Reid (Quebec #5) met Yasser Kammel in the quarters, and took down the 4th seed allowing Yasser only one match on his trip to Montreal. David Delierre (Quebec #6) made his way to the quarters set to take on Ken Flynn. However hours before the match Ken came down with a stomach illness which kept him from competing. Ivan Rojas (Quebec #8) replaced him, but David made quick work of him to move on to the Semis. Shawn and Ian proved to be too strong for Mike and David in the semis, setting the stage for another Shawn-Ian final.

Under the guiding light of ambitious referee Paul Gagnon, both players came out with some great shots, and tough calls to keep Paul on his toes. Ian was the stronger of the two, keeping the ball really tight, and not giving Shawn much to shoot at. Most of the match Ian kept Shawn running, and only near the end did Shawn start taking more chances and trying different things. However by this time it was too late and Ian had already built up enough of a lead to stay ahead and win the match 3-1.

I want to thank all the pro’s for coming out, I do want to give special thanks to Ian and Shawn, under a busy PSA schedule, it was nice to see the #1 and #2 in Quebec playing in a Squash Quebec final.

Men's A

In the Men's A the top four seeds made it through to face each other. In the first semi Marc Biron faced Franck Martin. Marc played well making some great shots, but Franck is a retrieving machine, and is very sticky, staying close to opponents both of which can be frustrating allowing for more errors. Marc made more errors, and Franck moved on to the final winning 3-0. In the other semi, top junior Ben Marien faced last year’s A champ Ben Uliana. B. Uliana was on a mission and did not give much to the top junior showing how tough a hungry A player can be. It was a Ben Uliana, Franck Martin final, which has always been a battle for that last few top ten positions in Quebec. Ben has great power in his shots, is very quick to the ball and loves attacking. The combination of the two made for a long, well fought match, even coming down to a key ‘let’ on game ball in the forth. But Ben scraped up the last few points winning the final 3-1.

In the A Cons Chris Palmer made his way through to meet Sherif Luka in the final. Sherif was up 2-0 when Chris decided to make a come back. Chris got to the fifth, but had given everything he had to get there and Sherif took the last game in an exciting match, to win the consolation round 3-2.

Mens B

The Men's B was all about the Juniors. There were two Juniors that looked pretty good from the start Maxym LeClair and Maxime Blouin. After some doubt they made their ways to the semi’s to take on my number 1 and 2 seeds Philippe Roy and Sebastien Meliot. Even after watching them play earlier matches I still gave the upper hand to P. Roy and S. Meliot. Maxym LeClair took on Sebastien Meliot, and seemed un-phased by the powerful shots S. Meliot was throwing out. Maxym kept digging, and stayed so cool in front of a French cursing Meliot, I was amazed. Maxym took the match, and the first spot in the final. Even after seeing this I was still convinced number 1 seed Philippe Roy would beat the other Junior Maxime Blouin. Maxime came out kept everything tight, made great shots from all over the court, and used this unbelievable backhand to eliminate Philippe 3-0. It was an all junior final with Maxym LeClair in his first senior’s tournament and Maxime Blouin already in the 50s in Quebec. It was really nice to see the 15 and 16 year old battle it out in front of many eager spectators, showing us where the future of this sport is going. Maxime Blouin was able to come out ahead and win 3-1, but I am already looking forward to seeing these two play again, and will not underestimate them again.

It really was a clean sweep by the juniors, when Julian Drobetsky fought off a number of tough opponents and beat Matt Aussel in the B Consolation final. The juniors are coming!

Mens C

JP Guguy, Greg Vainberg, Toufik Djeridane, and Tony Gudic all made it to the semi-final in the C draw. JP and Greg slugged it out in the first Semi going to five with JP coming out ahead. Toufik proved to be stronger than Tony in the other semi, with great hesitation on his swing, Toufik would catch Tony off-guard and wore him down. After an exhausting run to the final Toufik and JP went head to head. Toufik won 3-0 the effects of playing in a big C draw started to show in JP’s game.

In the C consolation, number 1 seed David Olivier, who had been originally knocked out by JP Guguy, made his way to the final, where he played my assistant for the weekend, and one of the best Badminton players in Quebec Alex Tremblay. Alex playing in his first Squash tournament, found David too strong, and even with his quick speed, David was able get the upper hand winning 3-0.

Mens D

In the Men's D two players really shot out from the beginning, Pierre Fiola, and Harry Hhasehuendl. Both of them had won all there matches 3-0 leading up to their match in the final. The final proved to be much more difficult for each of them, going to five, and having to give every last bit to finish the last game. In the end it was Pierre who came ahead to win the D title. In the D consolation Dan Lazaratos made it to the end and outlasted Wayne Baldo for the Consolation win.

Women's A

There were four ladies competing in the womens A; Fiona Curthoys, Suzanne Dufresne, Tara Newman, and Fabienne Beaujault. Tara came out strong with wins over Fiona and Suzanne, but a loss to Fabienne. After Fabienne won that match, she sustained an injury from slipping at the club which forced her to forfeit her match against Suzanne, allowing Tara to come out with the first place finish, and pushing Fabienne to second.

Women's B

There were six girls that played in the womens B, split in 2 Boxes. In the first box, Jane Shaw came out very stong, surprising Melissa Maione, and Dana Sanford, finishing first in her box, and a guaranteed trip to the finals. In the other box it came down to Clemencia Castillo and Natalie DeChamplain for the last spot. Clemencia was the stronger of the two, and set off to meet Jane. In the final Jane got off to a great start winning the first two games, however before the fairytale could be complete and we could crown a new B champion, Clemencia started to make her way back. The match went to five and in the end Clemencia took the win to spoil what was looking like a very good weekend for Jane.

The consolation match was between M. Maione and N. DeChamplain, where Melissa was able to get the best of Natalie this day and finish third.

Women's C/D

We had a number of girls competing in the C/D, but all four seeds came out to meet in the semis. In the first semi it was fourth seed Alyson Grant to take on number one seed Susanna Stroll. Susanna had been playing well and was hungry for the win, but since leaving her coach from the Sanctuaire was missing a step. Alyson played smarter shots and took out the number one seed to advance to the finals. The other Semi saw Beatrice Pelissier against Sylvia Cox. Beatrice had been playing well all weekend, and her speed was too much for Sylvia. Alyson and Beatrice clashed in the finals, and even with the speed Beatrice had, Alyson played more relaxed and made fewer errors, in the end capturing the C title.

In the consolation Haley Twerdun faced off against Charlie Fidelman. Charlie was playing very strong, and Haley had made it close, but in the end Charlie was too much and took the consolation win.

Special thanks to Alexandre Tremblay and Lauren Young for helping with the tournament

Thank you to the referees that came to help out: Barry Faguy, Paul Gagnon, Wilson Miller, Laurie Landfer, Robert Mawhinney, Heidi Muchall, and Tim Burganov.

A Big Thank you to our sponsers for making the tournament possible;

Vincent (Lotto), Sami (Saga Realties), Bill (Place Versailles), Eli (Orleans Watches), Vahid (Double Pizza), and Alexandre (Black Knight).

Trevor Bowes

Résultats

RO: We were able to witness some excellent squash in the pro event.

In the Semis [2] Shawn Delierre was down 2-1 to [3] Ken Flynn who was very determined to pull out with an upset win. Shawn however regained focus and fought his way back to a 3-2 victory.

[1] Ian Power beat [4] Dave Phillips in the other Semi, where it seemed the only difference in the match was that Dave had made a few more mistakes, which allowed Ian to come away with a 3-1 win.

This set the stage for the much anticipated showdown between the top 2 players in Quebec. The first rallies went on for 5-10mins at a time, and it took at least 15mins to get past 1-0 in the first game. Both players were exchanging perfect shots down the wall, tight drops, and knicks that would be returned just before rolling out. Making the game look so easy, Ian was finally able to pull away and take a 2-0 lead. Both men tired from exhausting rallies Shawn took advantage and started to make his way back winning the third game 9-1. In the forth Ian was trying to catch his breath by arguing with referee Barry Faguay about when you can and cannot call a let. In the middle of rallies both players were making high lobs to the back in what seemed to be a gentlemen’s agreement to catch their breath. Shawn was able to chip away and take the game evening it up at 2-2. The fifth game, saw both players trying to finish the ball which would lead to some incredible returns, and more attacks. The score was stalled at 6-6, and at one point Ian pushed Shawn out of the way quite aggressively. Barry immediately gave Ian a conduct warning, which allowed Ian some time to poke his head out the door and plead his case. After a brief discussion Barry reminded Ian “You stand warned!” Shawn who had been relatively quiet during the match, repeated the referee’s decision “Stand warned!” and the crowd burst out laughing. Ian did his best to keep his composure, but had to walk to the front wall to keep from laughing himself. The last few points saw Shawn squeak by 9-7 to complete the upset, comeback, win, and provide one of the most entertaining matches I have ever seen.

MENS A

First round losers became the top 4 seeds in the Mens A. [1] Ben Uliana (lost to R. Pilon 3-2), [2] Frank Martin (lost D. Delierre 3-0), [3] Ivan Rojas (lost to M.Reid 3-1), [4] Joffre Godin (lost to I. Power 3-0).

There were 16 other A players, playing for the chance at a shot with the seeded A’s. Lionel Barbedet was able to get to Ben Uliana, however Ben proved too strong and won the match 3-0.

Ben Marien survived his early games to meet Frank Martin. Frank and Ben had a good match which saw Frank win 3-1.

Ivan Rojas took on Alan Fern who had yet to lose a game. The games were going back and forth but saw Alan take out the number three seed in five games.

Marc Biron came out very determined against number four seed Joffre Godin, and only needed three games to advance to the semis.

In the semis Ben Uliana met Marc Biron. Ben determined to win the Mens A beat Marc 3-0.

In the other semis, dark horse Alan Fern made it interesting against second seed Frank Martin. The match ended going to 5, with Alan winning 9-6 in the fifth.

Everything was set for the final, with Ben Uliana v.s. Alan Fern. After 1-1 it looked like Alan was not going to make it easy for Ben. However Ben won the third game to make it 2-1, and in the forth, Alan started to wear down, the effects of his previous matches starting to be evident. This was Alan’s fifth match in three days. Ben Uliana did win the match 3-1 to claim the Mens A title.

MENS B

The Mens B was really between the two top seeds. Chris Palmer and Richard Lapointe. Chris advanced through his matches and reached the final without dropping a game. Richard Lapointe had a little tougher time going 3-2 against Richard Gontarski, and Patrick Meunier. The final however was still set for a showdown between the top two seeds. It did not disappoint, games went back and forth and after five games Chris, having kept a bit more juice for the end was able to win the match and his first ‘B’ title.

MENS C

The Mens C saw two dominante figures early. Patrick LaPlante, who reached the final without dropping a game. And Louis-Martin Trembly, who ended up just reaching the final, by getting by some tough opponents, including a controversial win against Matt Aussel 3-2, 9-7 in the fifth.

In the final Patrick Laplante continued his dominance winning 3-0 over Louis-Martin, and completing the tournament without losing one game.

MENS D

The Mens D had Le Sanctuaire’s own Laurent Benghozi, make his way to the final winning all his matches 3-0. There he met Hector Giraldo who had also looked very strong in previous games. Laurent however proved to strong winning 3-0 and worthy of moving to the MENS C in the next tournament.

WOMENS A

This ended up being a show down between Fabienne Beaujeault and Anne-Christine Lajoie. Fabienne was able to get to a few more balls and put away a few more shots giving her the 3-1 victory in the final.

WOMEN B

Two McGill squash players ended up in the final, Diane Liu and Eva Monson. After a tough match Diane Liu won 3-1 to win the event.

WOMENS C/D

Jen Sydell was able to stay focused in her run to the final. She was met there by Beatrice Pelissier. Jen continued to play well in the final and won the event 3-1 capturing her first Womens C title.

Thank you to all the Pro’s as well as everyone who participated for making the event successful.

Résultats

Le second tournoi provincial de squash de la saison a été tenu du 1er au 3 novembre au Sporting Club du Sanctuaire. La participation a été excellente particulièrement dans les catégories Hommes C et D.

Chez les hommes, la catégorie A avait des airs de Australian Open. En effet, le seul Canadien à se rendre en demi-finale a été Robin Clarke d'Ottawa qui a été défait par Michael Joint 3-0, dans un match quand même peu plus serré que lors de leur dernière confrontation, en finale du Montréal Ouvert.. Dans l'autre demi-finale, Mark Price, frère de Paul Price, a facilement disposé de Darren Barclay 3-1.

On a eu droit à une finale vraiment excitante entre la puissance de Michael Joint et l'habileté phénoménale de Mark Price. Ce dernier, manifestement pas au sommet de sa plus forme physique avec quelques livres en trop, réussit quand même à parer les attaques de Joint grâce une maîtrise incroyable de la raquette. Il peut retourner la balle à l'endroit où l'on s'attend le moins, et ce, de n'importe quelle position sur le court. Les trois premières parties sont très serrées. Joint remporte la première 10-8 et perd le seconde 10-9, À 5-4 dans la troisième, Price marque quatre points de suite pour prendre l'avance 2-1 alors que Joint semble au bord de l'épuisement. Tirant de l'arrière 3-0 dans la quatrième, Joint trouve son second souffle et l'emporte 9-6. Il gagnera facilement la partie décisive (9-3) alors que Price commet plusieurs erreurs non provoquées. Fatigue ou politesse Australienne envers le Pro local ? Du très beau squash de toute façon.

Chez les femmes, la victoire est allée à Anne-Christine Lajoie qui a défait Sue Dufresne 3-1.

Un gros merci aux commanditaires du tournoi : Black Knight, Molson Dry, Lotto, Double Pizza, Montres Orléans, PV, Concenso et Ramada Inn.

Ghislain Lessard

Résultats

Du 2 au 4 novembre, le Sporting Club du Sanctuaire était l`hôte du second tournoi provincial de squash de la saison. Pour un début de saison, la participation a été excellente avec un total de 92 inscriptions. David DeLierre, le nouveau pro du Sporting Club, qui en était à son premier tournoi comme organisateur, s'est très bien tiré d'affaire. La plupart des matches ont débuté à l'heure prévue et il n'y a eu aucun temps mort..

Dans la catégorie A, la victoire est allée à Shawn DeLierre, du Club Sportif MAA qui a défait Ian Power également du MAA dans un match à sens unique. Le début du match avait pourtant été marqué par de longs échanges qui promettaient un autre combat enlevant entre ces deux fiers compétiteurs. Tel ne fut pas le cas. Solide à l'attaque autant qu'en défensive, DeLierre a pris graduellement le contrôle du jeu. Jamais pris hors position, Shawn y est même allé de quelques lobs. Du jamais vu. En fait, il s'est toujours demandé à quoi pouvait bien servir ce coup. À 5-4, il marque quatre points d'affilée pour remporter la première partie. Par la suite, Power n'a jamais pu se remettre dans le match, s'inclinant 9-3 et 9-6.

Les quart de finale ont donné lieu à quelques surprises alors que les compatriotes Australiens Darren Barclay, pro du Club Mirabel et Michael Joint, pro du Club West Island, subissaient la défaite aux mains de David DeLierre et d'Eric Zambora. Autre victoire digne de mention: la finale consolation remportée par notre vétéran préféré, Normand Papin. Misant sur sa longue expérience, sa grande forme physique et sa technique incomparable (oui, c'est bien le moins qu'on puisse dire) Normand s'est offert le luxe d'étirer ses matches à cinq parties pour défaire entre autres (le jeune) Richard Pilon et (le un peu moins jeune) Dan Ayoub.

Chez les femmes, on a eu droit à une compétition très serrée alors que trois des quatre joueuses ont remporté deux matches lors du round robin. La finale a été remportée par Tara Newman aux dépens de Sue Dufresne. Les autres résultats sont indiqués ci-dessous.

Un gros merci aux commanditaires du tournoi : Double Pizza, Black Knight, Montres Orléans, Molson Dry, Excel Canada, Motel Idéal et Lotto.

Ghislain Lessard

Résultats

Du 3 au 5 novembre dernier, le Sporting Club du Sanctuaire était l`hôte d`un tournoi provincial de squash. Nous avons eu droit à du squash enlevant de la part des joueurs amateurs venus surtout de la région de Montréal. Deux des participants évoluent présentement sur le circuit professionnel de squash (psa). Soit l'australien Jason Randall 108e joueur mondial et le frère du champion du monde le canadien Ian Power 146e mondial.

Jason était première tête de série du tournoi et il s'est retrouvé en finale face à Ian. Ce dernier s'est incliné par la marque de 3 parties à 1. Pour cette 4e édition du tournoi, le calibre était plus élevé que les autres années. Certains membres du Sporting Club ce sont illustrés mais n'ont pu enlever de titres. Voici donc les faits saillants;

Résultats

Les 5-6-7 novembre dernier, le Sporting Club du Sanctuaire a tenu son tournoi annuel de squash. Des joueurs venue même de l'Ontario et de la ville de Québec ont démontré leur savoir faire pendant ce week-end.

Le nombre de femmes participant au tournoi a diminué par rapport à l'année dernière mais cela n'a toutefois pas empêché nos dames de s'illustrer chez les hommes. Notamment, Suzanne Dufresne qui s'est rendue jusqu'en finale dans le C chez les hommes, Tara Mullins en semi-finale du B chez les hommes et Louise Lefebvre a très bien fait sa part en première ronde en forçant Pierre Dupuis de Québec jusqu'en cinq parties.

La grande finale nous a offert du squash spectaculaire avec Shawn De Lierre et Andrew Thompson. Shawn qui adore attaquer de partout, et Andrew surnommé "l'aspirateur avec piles energizer", se sont livré a un match très serré. Shawn s'en est tiré avac la victoire par la marque de 3-2. Le Sporting Club du Sanctuaire tient à remercier tous les participants ainsi que les commanditaires. À la prochaine édition du tournoi!

Joffre Godin

Résultats

Les 13-14 et 15 novembre dernier, plusieurs joueurs de Montréal, Québec et même Toronto sont venu mettre leurs talents à l'oeuvre lors du deuxième tournoi annuel de Squash au Sporting Club du Sanctuaire.

On a assisté à du squash enlevant lors de la finale qui opposait les premier et deuxième favoris du tournoi: Joe Besso et Shawn DeLierre. Nous pensions tous que Shawn allait profiter de sa jeunesse pour remporter les longs échanges, mais Joe nous a démontré qu'il était en mesure d'anticiper les coups de son adversaire et tenir tête aux attaques de Shawn. Ce qui a fait la différence surtout, c'était la tenacité de Joe et le fait qu'il poussait les règle du jeux à la limite.

L'organisateur, Joffre Godin, tient à remercier les montres ORLÉAN pour la commandite de ce tournoi et espère revoir les joueurs en aussi grand nombre l'année prochaine.

Joffre Godin

Résultats

Les 14-15-16 novembre dernier, Le Sporting Club du Sanctuaire a reçu plusieurs talents de squash de tous les niveaux.

Joffre Godin, le profesionnel du club, en était à sa première organisation de tournoi. Le Sporting Club du Sanctuaire en a profité pour introduire sa nouvelle coupe intitulée: "Sanctuaire Open" lors de l'événement. Serait-ce le début d'une nouvelle tradition?

Le gagnant du titre cette année fut Andrew Thompson du Club Mirabel. Andrew a su conserver l'énergie de ses jeunes jambes pour vaincre Stéphane Perron de Québec.

Le Sporting Club du Sanctuaire aimerait remercier tous ceux et celles qui ont mis leur effort ensemble pour faire en sorte que le tournoi connaisse autant de succès. Il y aura certes, plus de bourses en argent en 1998 afin d'attirer quelques joueurs nationaux.

Joffre Godin

Results