Arroyo Seco Celebrates
by Bob Hanscom

May 21, 2014

The Sponsor: HEAD/Penn Racquet Sports

What better way to celebrate the one-year anniversary of installing a new squash court in a club and area that had no previous exposure to squash...why not host a squash tournament!?

One year ago, (May 17th, 2013)...the first squash court in the San Gabriel Valley of Southern California available to the general public was installed at the Arroyo Seco Racquet Club. Over the year, many juniors and adults of all ages and levels have been introduced to the game and are now making good use of the court, taking lessons, playing round-robins and playing friendly matches.

Over the May 17-18 weekend, the Arroyo Seco Inaugural Anniversary Squash Invitational was held, which was sponsored by HEAD/Penn Racquet Sports. Many of the best players from greater Los Angeles participated in the event which featured two divisions of eight players each. In addition, a 12 Noon lunch break for the main draw players made the court available to a group of young juniors who played in a fun-filled round-robin format.

Richard Irving; Asish Law; David Kaye; Bob Hanscom (host)
Kelvin Shang and John Dewis

The players had some interesting quotes regarding the event: Al Preston, former PSA tour player from New Zealand said: "It was great seeing the juniors hitting around at the lunch break. I think that's a great way to start many of them - without the pressure of a more formal structure."

David Jung, former Franklin & Marshall and Cornell varsity player; "It was a fun tournament with great energy and a relaxed atmosphere. We all had a nice time and are excited to see the growth of the squash program at Arroyo Seco. The court produced the most unreal nicks I've ever seen!"

Christian Ceci, Architect; "Personally, it was a good opportunity to see some of the better players in the area face-off against each other in competitive play, but without some of the hoopla surrounding bigger tournaments. The environment of the space is comfortable, with the sun-lighting almost giving the impression of playing outside. The fact that the club is affiliated with the city's rec department makes it all the better for me; I'd love to see the squash element expand beyond this early development."

Asish Law, PhD in computer science; "The entire weekend was great fun...especially to see the enthusiasm among the juniors playing against each other. There’s definitely some potential there!"

Nick Guethe, former Princeton University varsity player All-American; "Bob ran an excellent tournament as always. I only wish a couple of bounces went my way at the end. But LA squash has another viable (squash) club, which is great for the community!"

Division II and I finalists and winners!

Division II finalist Victor Lam (L) and winner, Scott Williams

Division I finalist Nick Guethe (L) and winner, Al Preston

Player Roundup Results: Division II...Scott Williams, winner; Victor Lam, finalist; Richard Irving, consolation winner; Kelvin Shang consol finalist; Christian Ceci and David Kaye, semi-finalists; Pranav Law and Michael Cahill, consolation semi-finalists. Division I...Al Preston, winner; Nick Guethe, finalist; Asish Law, consolation winner; John Dewis consol finalist; David Jung and Carlo Valdesolo, semifinalists; Dermot Connell and Ryan Ranson, consolation semi-finalists.



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