World Juniors Ends In Round of 16 For Ubina and Sobhy
from DailySquashReport.com
photos courtesy Steve Cubbins
July 10, 2012 - American hopes were dashed at the World Junior Women's Individuals in Qatar on Monday, with the 3rd-round eliminations of 5/8 seed Maria Elena Ubina and 15-year-old rising star Sabrina Sobhy.
Maria, the top-ranked US junior girl, lost in four to Melissa Alves of France, while Sabrina ran into a focused Emily Whitlock of England and was beaten in three.
Ubina and Sobhy were the lone remaining US players in both the men's and women's draws.
All six American junior boys' entrants were eliminated following men's round-of-64 play on Sunday.
Ubina and Alves were knotted at 13-all in the first, before Alves squeezed out what proved to be a pivotal 15-13 game. Maria battled hard, staying alive with an 11-9 third game save, but was ultimately shut down 11-7 in the fourth, capping a 31-minute encounter.
The result is considered an upset according to seeding, though Alves came into the event in good form, having captured the Girls Under-19 title at last week's Dutch Junior Open.
Maria, a week earlier, won the equally prestigious Pioneer Open Girls-19s title in Germany.
Sabrina, at this stage of her career, was overmatched by the second-seeded Whitlock, losing in 22 minutes.
Of note in men's play, Cameron Seth of Canada, the lone North American man still alive yesterday, was ousted in the third round by top seeded Marwan El Shorbagy of Egypt, 11-3 11-6 11-4.
Results:
Melissa Alves (Fra) bt [5/8] Maria Ubina (Usa) 15/13, 11/8, 9/11, 11/7 (31m)
[2] Emily Whitlock (Eng) bt Sabrina Sobhy (Usa) 11/3, 11/6, 11/4 (22m)
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