Steven Xavier secured a resounding victory against Nyron Joseph to ignite team X-Men’s triumphant run on Wednesday evening during the Farfan and Mendes Junior Team Tournament at the Georgetown Club squash facility.
Xavier’s win had a significant effect on the final outcome of the evenly matched team battle which remained tied at 2-2 after the first four games. However, Black Panther player Lucas Jonas conceded a walkover victory to Makeda Harding, thereby giving the X-Men a narrow 3-2 win against the Black Panthers.
Xavier, who was the number one ranked player for Team X-Men which included Pablio Mundini, Shomari Wiltshire, Maya Collins and Makeda Harding, motivated his team with the unlikely win against the reigning Caribbean Under-15 champion.
Joseph, who also added the 2012 National Under-17 title to his trophy cabinet, had defeated Xavier in the Kool Aid Junior Skill Level Tournament as well as the Woodpecker Junior National tournament.
But this time around, Xavier prevailed in straight games 11/4, 11/8, 11/8 against Black Panthers’ number one seed Joseph.
Following the game, Joseph explained that he was under the weather and found difficulty breathing during the high intensity duel against his arch rival Xavier.
The strength and experience of Andrew Peroune proved to be too much for X-Men’s prodigious third string Shomari Wiltshire. Peroune prevailed 11/1, 11/5, 11/7 against the eight-year-old Wiltshire for the Black Panthers.
The other Black Panthers’ win came from fourth string Anthony Islam, who defeated Collins 11/6, 11/5 and 11/3 before Mundini held his composure to prevent national Under-15 champion Taylor Fernandes from clinching the win for the Black Panthers.
Fernandes brandished quality shots in the first game and took Mundini down to the wire before committing back-to-back unforced errors to lose the first game 11/13. Mundini then took control of the game and disposed of Fernandes 11/3, 11/9.
The Abusement Park won the first three matches against Victorious Secrets
Team D, who dubbed themselves ‘The Abusement Park’, managed to subdue Victorious Secrets by winning their first three games to clinch the team victory.
Team captain Mary Fung-A-Fat led things off for The Abusement Park by overcoming four-time Caribbean champion Victoria Arjoon in her first game back. After losing the first game 9/11, Arjoon, a squash scholarship recipient at St George’s High School in the USA, battled back into the match and won the second game 11/7.
However, Fung-A-Fat was able to withstand the comeback heroics of Arjoon and close out the match with two dominant wins 11/2 and 11/3 in the third and fourth game.
Abusement Park’s Patrick Fraser was also able to orchestrate a remarkable comeback victory against reigning Caribbean Under-15 champion Akeila Wiltshire. After losing the first two games 5/11 and 7/11, Fraser went on an unbelievable run to win the next three games 11/9, 11/5 and 11/9.
Mahendra Khusial defeated Travis Whitehead which accounted for Abusement Park’s third win to clinch the team victory although the Rebecca Low versus Sarah Lewis and Zach Persaud versus Dominic Collins matches were yet to be played.
Little Rascals defeated Danza Kuduro 3-2.
Number one ranked junior Jason Ray Khalil led his Little Rascals to a close 3-2 win against Danza Kuduro. Khalil defeated Danza Kuduro’s leader Ashley deGroot 11/7, 11/2, 11/6. Alec Melville defeated Justin Gomes 11/0, 11/4 and 11/3, while Daniel Islam defeated Haley Carpenter 11/1, 11/1, 11/1 to give the Little Rascals the team win.
Ben Mekdeci and Lydia Alphonso won the only two matches for Danza Kuduro against Larissa Wiltshire and Gianni Carpenter respectively.
The Farfan and Mendes Junior Team Tournament 2012 was organized by the Guyana Squash Association and will conclude tomorrow evening.
