Squash Notes - Canada Games 2011
Feature with Allan Cook, Squash Professional
NWT Squash was recently represented at the Canada Winter games by both a ladies and a mens team; the men Chad Hinchey, Devin Hinchey, Travis Kamitomo, and Jeremie Roy. The ladies; Poojah Chugh, Sarah Nesbitt, Paulina Brooks, and Dominique Jure all played exquisite squash throughout the week. On the mens side the competition began hard with a tough loss to Quebec. It became worse when Devin rolled his ankle on match ball. During the second phase of the preliminary competition the boys rebounded with wins against PEI and Nova Scotia (despite playing through some home town cheer). During the final phase the boys were placed 5-8 with a tough win against Saskatchewan. The last encounter was against their arch rivals, Manitoba, in the 5/6 playoff. This was the highlight of the games for the players, fans (parents) and coaches. Travis started by playing his most inspired match of the week winning 3-1, next Jeremie did not disappoint and won in convincing fashion, setting up the stage for Chad to seal the win against his arch rival Jake Hooker. Chad played great squash but the week of tough squash caught up to him and he lost a tough one 3-1. The last to play was Devin who now was fully recovered from his ankle sprain earlier in the week. All Devin needed to do was win one game and the victory was NWT's. Devin succeeded winning 3-1 against a tough opponent Conner Turk. The boys finished 5th and was one of the NWT's highest ever finished by a team in the Canada Games.
On the ladies side the competition began with wins against both Yukon and Manitoba. All the girls played well but with all of the commotion and intense atmosphere of the games some nervous play was displayed. Up next for the girls was Alberta and BC of which they suffered two defeats. Despite this, the girls seemed to find their stride and play very nice squash. During the playoff stage the girls were up against PEI. This was a tough team with strong girls from top to bottom. The girls all played very well and although Poojah got us within striking distance with a win against their #1, PEI was too strong and they suffered a loss moving into the 7/8 playoff - also against Manitoba. After an earlier loss to the Manitoba player, Paulina Brooks started us off with a great 3-1 win. Next up was Dominque Jure and she continued the winning streak with a 3-0 win. With an injury sustained early in the competition the Manitoba #1 had to withdraw sealing the fate for Manitoba and handing 7th place to NWT. Although the encounter was secure, Sarah Nesbitt still had to play #2 on Manitoba. This was a great match and although Sarah did not need to win she played as hard as she could taking the Manitoba #2 to the limit but, unfortunately, losing in 4 games. This was a fantastic result for the ladies, considering we have never taken a ladies team to the games before.
Congratulations to both teams and thanks to Charmaine Wilson for being such a great help as manager for Team NWT.