Nicolette Fernandes easily walked away with the female national title as the Digicel Senior Squash Championships concluded with the finals Saturday night at the Georgetown Club on Camp Street.
Fernandes, who is ranked 46th in the world by the Women’s International Squash Players Association (WISPA), topped Caribbean under-19 champion Ashley Khalil 3 – 0 to come out victorious.
Caribbean under 17 champion, Mary Fung-A-Fat played with enough heart to capture third place over Victoria Arjoon who has won consecutive Caribbean titles and Ashley deGroot who placed fifth.
Fernandes, who is Guyana’s most dominant player in the sport to the point where she competes in the men’s category to test her skill level, reached the final of the men’s category but was stopped by her male counterpart Alex Arjoon who played with enough testosterone to withstand Fernandes 3 sets to 1.
“I went into the match with a game plan and I spent a lot of time thinking about what I had to do. It was tough but it feels good to stick to the game plan and come out on top.
“I never won this tournament and it was one that I really wanted to win, so I deem this as a big victory for me,” Arjoon told Stabroek Sport.
Arjoon also gained the honour of being named the Most Improved Player at the conclusion of the tournament.
Reagan Pollard defeated Jason Ray Khalil 3-1 in the third place playoff in the men’s Open singles while Jamal Callender outlasted Deje Dias 3-2 for fifth place.
In the men’s consolation round, Raphael deGroot, former national hockey player, outplayed Steven Xavier, who also plays hockey 3 sets to 1 to win the men’s plate.
