Thirteen year-old Marian Academy student Taylor Fernandes completed the upset of the tournament by defeating Larissa Wiltshire in an impressive five-game battle to win the Girls Under 15 title on the final day of the Woodpecker National Junior Squash Championships yesterday at the Georgetown Club.
It took a sensational
performance from Fernandes to overcome a two-game deficit and snatch the Under 15 title from the grip of Wiltshire 11/13, 8/11, 15/13, 14/12, 11/8. Since both competitors were also in contention in the under 17 category Fernandes also secured the runner up position in that category, behind Larissa’s older sister Akeila Wiltshire, from that win.
Fernandes was also the recipient of the Most Outstanding Player award for her breakout performance this tournament. National coach Carl Ince had stated after Fernandes’ stellar performance in a losing effort against Akeila Wiltshire, that he was pleased with the improvements in to his student’s mobility and retrieving skills.
When asked what inspired her remarkable comeback, Fernandes stated, “the cheering from everyone… everyone just calling my name.”
Fernandes, cousin of world ranked squash star Nicolette Fernandes, also said that she was motivated by the thought of travelling around the world to represent her country. With two months to go for the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Caribbean Junior Championships, Fernandes said that she is excited by the prospect of competing at that level again this year.
The general rule in sports is that almost does not really count for much, but Nyron Joseph’s performance against number one junior player Jason Ray Khalil was definitely the exception to that rule yesterday. Joseph, who dominated the under 17 category without dropping a game, almost captured his second title in the tournament, but after leading 2-0 Khalil found his form and engineered a come from behind win.
Joseph had been trailing 7/10 in the first game but maintained his focus while playing some brilliant shots to prolong the game. After tying the game at 10, Joseph continued to apply pressure and unleashed a superb drop shot that Khalil could not retrieve even with a diving effort. After winning the first game 12/10, Joseph also stole the second game, 11/8, and was on the brink of a three-game upset against the reigning Caribbean under-17 champion. However, Khalil’s experience kicked in at crucial moments in the game and he was able to invoke the rules of the sport by calling ‘let’ on several occasions when Joseph obstructed his chances of retrieving the ball. Khalil would go on to win games three, four and five 11/9, 11/9 and 11/4 respectively.
Benjamin Mekdeci defeated Patrick Fraser in straight games to win the under 15 category, while Shomari Wiltshire took apart Travis Whitehead and strolled away with both the Under 11 and Under 13 titles along with the Most Outstanding Player award. His sister Akeila Wiltshire won the Girls Under 17 title, but finished third in the girls under 19 category after losing to Ashley deGroot on the final day. DeGroot also won the Most Improved Player award for girls while Mekdeci was the male winner of that award.
Boys Under 11
First place: Shomari Wiltshire
Second place: John Phang
Third place: Anthony Islam
Fourth place: Gianni Carpenter
Boys Under 13
First place: Shomari Wiltshire
Second place: Travis Whitehead
Third place: John Phang
Fourth place: Anthony Islam
Boys Under 15
First place: Ben Mekdeci
Second place: Patrick Fraser
Third place: Alec Melville
Boys Under 17
First place: Nyron Joseph
Second place: Ben Mekdeci
Third place: Patrick Fraser
Fourth place: Alec Melville
Boys Under 19
First place: Jason Ray Khalil
Second place: Nyron Joseph
Third place: Steven Xavier
Fourth place: Joven Benn
Girls Under 11
First place: Maya Collins
Second place: Makeda Harding
Girls Under 13
First place: Rebecca Low
Second place: Savannah Mendes
Third place: Sarah Lewis
Girls Under 15
First place: Taylor Fernandes
Second place: Larissa Wiltshire
Third place: Lydia Alphonso
Girls Under 17
First place: Akeila Wiltshire
Second place: Taylor Fernandes
Third place: Larissa Wiltshire
Girls Under 19
First place: Mary Fung-A-Fat
Second place: Ashley deGroot
Third place: Akeila Wiltshire
