It was all over bar the shouting for Nicolette Fernandes who made a graceful exit after suffering a 15/-13, 15-11 defeat at the hands of her cousin David in their semi-final encounter of the Guyana Squash Racquets Association (GSRA)/Bounty Farm Limited sponsored handicap tournament Friday night.
Playing at the Georgetown Club and having endured some tough matches prior to that game, as she was starting at a minus 35
(-35), Fernandes found the going rough in the first set against her opponent who was starting at plus 12 (+12) and only managed to clear 22 of her deficit, before she lost the set.
It was a different story in the second set, as Nicolette who two years ago was ranked at number 29 by the Women’s Squash Players Association, fought tooth and nail with her cousin, who felt the same way some of her opponents feel when they go up against her.
He needed three points to close off the match, but to him it would have been like an attempt to reach the top of Mount Roraima without any assistance, as Nicolette displayed a never-say-die attitude in the contest, with some deft strokes and drop shots to all corners of the court.
But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end and that’s exactly what happened for her, as David took the second set and subsequently the match, 15-11 to book his place in the final.
He was scheduled to face Caribbean Under-13 champion Victoria Arjoon (+12), who defeated another Caribbean champion, Under-15 queen Mary Fung-A-Fat (+10) 17-16, 15-12 in their semi-final matchup.
Lydia Fraser (-10) and Nyron Joseph (-15) also claimed their place in the finals of the Category A division, recording victories over Nase-d Benn (-8) 15-9, 11-15, 15-11 and Ashley De Groot 15-6, 15-2 respectively.
In other results, Jerozeno Bell, Andrew Arjoon, Oliver Kear-Downes, Allan Downes, Daniel Persaud and Randy Hope all recorded victories in the Open category and category A Plates respectively.
The full results of Friday night’s action are as follows:
Open Category Semi-finals
David Fernandes defeated Nicolette Fernandes 15/-13 15/11
Victoria Arjoon defeated Mary Fung-A-Fat 17/16 15/12
Category A Semi-finals
Lydia Fraser defeated Nase-d Benn15/9 11/15 15/11
Nyron Joseph defeated Ashley deGroot 5/6 15/2
Open Category Plate
Jerozeno Bell defeated Keisha Jeffrey 15/9 15/9
Andrew Arjoon defeated Lloyd Fung-A-Fat 15/11 11/15 15/10
Oliver Kear-Downes defeated Brian Yong 15/11 15/14
Allan Downes defeated Luca Palazzotto 15/14 15/12
Category A Plate
Daniel Persaud defeated Kristina Cheeks 15/7 15/12
Randy Hope defeated Ryan DaSilva (scores unavailable).
