Canadian Team Set for July Girls' Junior Worlds from Squash Canada June 20, 2015
- Markham (ON) – Canada’s National Junior Women’s team is set for the
upcoming Women’s Junior World Championships. This past weekend at the
2015 Women’s Junior World Team Trials, eight women faced off in a
battle to secure the final two openings on the Junior National Team.
Madlen O’Connor and Sophie Mehta had already secured spots on the team,
leaving two positions up for grabs. The team will be headed to compete
in the WSF Women’s World Junior Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands
from July 26th to August 4th.
Matches started on Thursday, May 7th in a round robin format with two
separate pools. Pool A consisted of Anika Alexander (MB), Hannah Blatt
(MB), Chloe Chemtob (QC) and Tara Shannon (QB). Pool B saw Rhea Dhar
(ON), Emma Jinks (PE), Nicole Kendall (ON) and Grace Thomas (BC) play
for a chance at the Semi-Finals. Each pool was seeded based off the
latest Canadian rankings, with the top two players from each pool
advancing to the Semi-Finals.
The cross-seeded Semi-Finals saw Chloe Chemtob defeat Nicole Kendall
11-2, 11-3, 11-2, while Grace Thomas ousted Tara Shannon in a 5 game
thriller 7-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9.
After the Semis, Chemtob and Thomas had clinched spots on the Junior
National Team based off the National Selection Points Race. This race
is an accumulation of points from national selection events over the
course of the past two years. In the 3rd place match, Tara Shannon beat
Nicole Kendall and clinched a reserve spot on the team.
Canada’s 2015 Women’s Junior Worlds team consists of:
Chloe Chemtob, 17, from Montreal. Chemtob, who plays out of Club
Sportif MAA, is the reigning two-time U19 girls Canadian Junior
Champion. She is currently ranked 2nd in the Canadian Girls Squash
Rankings. She recently placed 5th at the SHOP.CA 2015 Canadian Squash
Championships and 3rd in the Girls Individual event at the 2015 Canada
Winter Games. Chemtob was also a member of Team Canada at the 2013
Junior Worlds.
Another member of the 2013 Junior Worlds, Sophie Mehta, is back for
more. Based out of Toronto at the National Squash Academy, Mehta is
ranked 3rd in the Canadian Girls Squash Rankings. Mehta was a silver
medalist behind Chemtob in the U19 Canadian Junior Championship. She
was also on the Ontario Team that won the 2015 Canada Winter Games in
the Girls Teams event.
Madlen O’Connor was also a part of that Ontario Team with Mehta. Member
of The Granite Club, O’Connor is the oldest member of the team at 18
years. She is currently ranked 4th in the Canadian Girls Squash
Rankings. She was a silver medalist at the 2015 Canada Winter Games-
Individual Event.
Rounding out the roster is 17 year old, Grace Thomas from the British
Columbia Club. Thomas is currently ranked 7th in the Canadian Girls
Squash Rankings. She placed 3rd at the Girls U19 Canadian Junior
Championship in Calgary. She also placed 2nd with the British Columbia
Team at the 2015 Canada Winter Games in the Girls Teams event.
Coach Richard Yendell will be leading these girls into Eindhoven.
Member of The Cambridge Club, Yendell was also the organizer of the
Women’s Junior World Trials, which allowed to him to analyze and become
more familiar with his players. As previously mentioned, Tara Shannon
will act as the non-travelling reserve.
