Former Caribbean Junior Champion Guyanese Ryan Farnum defeated OECS player Jules Snagg seeded 9/16 three games to one winning 7-11,11-9,14-12,11-4, to score the first upset of the Digicel 2013 Senior Caribbean Squash Championships powered by Powerade and Smalta which commenced yesterday at the Georgetown Club Squash Courts with the individual singles competition.
Some three rounds of matches were scheduled to be played in the men’s individual competition and two rounds in the women’ singles.
Up to press time two of the three rounds scheduled for the men’s had been played.
Another former Guyanese Junior player Kristian Jeffrey gave Cayman Islands player Cameron Stafford Caribbean Individual runner-up in 2012 and seeded 3/4 in this tournament a major scare when he won the first game 11 – 8 and had game ball in the second at 10 -9. However Cameron won that game 15 – 13 and then won the next 11-1 and then 11- 5.
Defending men’ singles champion Jamaican Chris Binnie won his second round match against Nku Patrick 11-0,11-4,11-5 and then cruised into the quarter finals with a fairly comfortable victory over Farnum winning 11-5,11-7,11-2.
Top Guyanese players Sunil Sett, Richard Chin and Alex Arjoon had all progressed into the round of 16 with easy victories over their opponents. Sett beat Cayman Islands player Julian Jervis 11-4, 11-6, 11-3; Chin beat Kevin Bailey of the OECS 11-3, 11-2, 11-9 and Arjoon beat 11-7, 11-4, and 11-0.
Guyanese Jamaal Callender who earlier had defeated Caribbean Under 17 Champion Nyron Joseph 11-2,12-10,9-11,11-3, lost in the round of sixteen to Former Caribbean Champion Gavin Cumberbatch 12-10,11-5,11-8 and Jason Ray Khalil lost to Jamaican 5/8 seed Bruce Burrows 11-9,9-11, 12-10,3-11,3-11.
Defending women’ singles champion Nicolette Fernandes cruised into the quarter finals with an easy victory over Barbadian Amanda Haywood 11-3,11-4,11-5 and Barbadian Karen Meakins seeded two also had an easy victory over Jamaican N Boreland 11-4,11-0,11-4.
Guyanese Keisha Jeffrey made a welcome return to the courts with a victory over Barbadian Nadia Mc Carthy 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 and in an all Guyanese match up Victoria Arjoon beat Gabrielle Fraser 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7.
Mary Fung-A-Fat beat Akeila Wiltshire 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 and Ashley De Groot beat Larissa Wiltshire 10-12, 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-3. Former Caribbean Under 19 Champion Ashley Khalil defeated another former Under 19 Champion Kathy Shuffler-Ten-Pow 11-5, 11-1, 11-5. Barbadian Caribbean Under 17 Champion Gylla Mc Kenzie defeated Guyanese Taylor Fernandes 11-9, 11-4, 11-3.
Matches continue today with the quarter finals and semi finals in both the men’s and women’s Open Divisions and in the plate competitions.
