Perhaps the most important junior tournament on the squash calendar began on Tuesday evening at the Georgetown Club, Camp Street, as junior players started the journey to make their mark in the Woodpecker Junior Nationals.
Players began contending for the titles by age group from 18:00h, with the first of the games played in the Girls’ Under-11 category where Christiana Fernandes got the better of Safira Summer in three straight games and Malia Maikoo followed suit taking three off Rylee Rodrigues 11-2, 11-3, 11-4.
Makeda Harding
In the Boys’ Under-13 match, Nicholas Verwey came out full force against
Demetrius DeAbreu and showcased his lately improved form by pushing DeAbreu to 10-8, but DeAbreu took the next four points to take the first game 12-10. After that, Verwey was unable to match the speed and placement of the more experienced player and DeAbreu won the match 12-10, 11-3, 11-4. Aliyah Persaud, playing above her age category in the Girls’ Under-17 match-up with seasoned Makeda Harding, put up a good fight after her short break from the game. Persaud kept up the rallies and piled on the pressure to gain five and six points respectively in the first two games.
She seemed to lose momentum in the third, earning only one point against the dominance of Harding, who earned seven, before a run of five points put Persaud back in the game at 6-7. Harding, however, buckled down to win the next four and secure an 11-6 victory. Matches will continue throughout the week starting at 18:00h, with two sessions on Saturday from 11:00h and 18:00h, before finishing on Sunday afternoon after an 11:00h start.
