New Zealand & Wales Make World Quarter-Finals
by Howard Harding
July 28, 2011 - After a dramatic final day of qualifying action in the WSF Women's World Junior Team Squash Championship in Boston, USA, ninth seeds New Zealand and tenth seeds Wales claimed unexpected place in the quarter-finals of the World Squash Federation event at the Murr Center at Harvard University.
New Zealand faced eighth seeds Canada for second place in Pool A - and a berth in the quarter-finals. Megan Craig put the Kiwis ahead with a 41-minute win over Danielle Letourneau, but the match was anyone's all the way up to a nail-biting nine-all in the fifth!
Canada then battled back from the brink of early defeat when Hollie Naughton came from 2/0 down and eight-all in the third to beat Danielle Fourie 12-14, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-6 to level the tie.
The decider reached one game all before New Zealander Rebecca Barnett beat the Canadian number two Michelle Gemmell 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9 to put the ninth seeds into the last eight.
"We knew that this would be the crucial one, and in matches like this anything can happen," Kiwi coach Joanne Williams said later. "The pressure was really on both sets of girls, but I think we were a little more nervous than they were, for some reason.
"Megan played so well, she did what needed to be done, and Danielle was so close to finishing it off. But Rebecca played really well in the last match. We're all just delighted to be through!"
Wales made their Pool B breakthrough on day one by beating seventh seeds Australia. But after going down to hosts USA, the No2 seeds, in the morning, the tenth seeds brushed aside championship newcomers Guyana 3/0 to ensure a second place finish in the pool - and a place in the quarter-finals.
The slip by Australia will leave the three times former champions outside the top eight for the third time in a row since 2005.
England, winners of the title five times, slipped up in their final tie in Pool D. After Emily Whitlock put the fourth seeds ahead against Malaysia, Vanessa Raj levelled the tie for the No5 seeds with an 11-8, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8 victory over Sophie Lemom.
Malaysian second string Sue Ann Yong then clinched victory for the underdogs after fighting back from 2/0 down to beat Katie Smith 12-14, 5-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6 in 62 minutes.
The result puts both sides into the quarter-finals - but whilst Malaysia will line up against sixth seeds Hong Kong China, England must face third seeds India.
"That's a really good win for us - to beat England is a great achievement," said Malaysian coach Allan Pete Soyza. "The decider was an up and down match, but Sue Ann did really well to come back from two games down.
"It's a young team we have, and one of the best I've been involved with for team spirit and camaraderie.
"Tomorrow's another day, and it's wonderful that we're now guaranteed at least one Asian semi-finalist, but for now we'll just enjoy this win."
RESULTS: WSF Women's World Junior Team Squash Championship, Boston, USA
Final qualifying rounds - Pool A:
[1] EGYPT bt [8] CANADA 3/0
Nour El Sherbini bt Michelle Gemmell 11-2, 8-11, 11-2, 11-1 (19m)
Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy bt Abbey Foster 11-2, 11-3, 11-5 (17m)
Nouran El Torky bt Hollie Naughton 11-4, 11-5, 11-9 (22m)
[9] NEW ZEALAND bt [13/16] SOUTH AFRICA 3/0
Megan Craig bt Alexandra Fuller 11-8, 8-11, 12-10, 11-9 (32m)
Danielle Fourie bt Lume Landman 11-6, 12-10, 11-9 (23m)
Rebecca Barnett bt Elani Landman 11-8, 11-4, 11-8
[1] EGYPT bt [13/16] SOUTH AFRICA 3/0
Nour El Sherbini bt Elani Landman 11-0, 11-4, 11-6 (15m)
Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy bt Julie Lee 11-2, 11-6, 11-2 (16m)
Nouran El Torky bt Lume Landman 11-2, 11-6, 11-2 (16m)
[9] NEW ZEALAND bt [8] CANADA 2/1
Megan Craig bt Danielle Letourneau 5-11, 11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9 (41m)
Danielle Fourie lost to Hollie Naughton 14-12, 11-9, 9-11, 7-11, 6-11 (47m)
Rebecca Barnett bt Michelle Gemmell 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9 (36m)
Final positions: 1 Egypt, 2 New Zealand, 3 Canada, 4 South Africa
Pool B:
[2] USA bt [10] WALES 3/0
Amanda Sobhy bt Tesni Evans 11-5, 11-8, 11-4 (23m)
Haley Mendez bt Jennifer Haley 11-4, 11-7, 11-1 (16m)
Olivia Blatchford bt Hannah Davies 11-3, 11-4, 11-4 (23m)
[7] AUSTRALIA bt [13/16] GUYANA 2/1
Tamika Saxby bt Ashley Khalil 11-1, 11-3, 11-3 (14m)
Jennifer Brown bt Kayla Jeffrey 6-11, 11-7, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7
Selena Shaikh lost to Keisha Jeffrey 5-11, 12-10, 4-11, 5-11 (25m)
[2] USA bt [7] AUSTRALIA 3/0
Amanda Sobhy bt Tamika Saxby 11-7, 11-3, 11-5 (18m)
Sabrina Sobhy bt Jennifer Brown 11-8, 11-6, 11-4 (20m)
Olivia Blatchford bt Bethany Brazier 11-8, 11-8, 11-2 (23m)
[10] WALES bt [13/16] GUYANA 3/0
Tesni Evans bt Ashley Khalil 11-2, 11-6, 11-3 (13m)
Fiona Murphy bt Kayla Jeffrey 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 (16m)
Hannah Davies bt Keisha Jeffrey 11-7, 11-6, 11-3
Final positions: 1 USA, 2 Wales, 3 Australia, 4 Guyana
Pool C:
[3] INDIA bt [13/16] ECUADOR 3/0
Anaka Alankamony bt Mireya Lucia Espinosa Proano 11-0, 11-2, 11-0
Ankita Sharma bt Maria Jose Guarderas 11-2, 11-5, 11-2
Aparajitha Balamurukan bt Nicole Gordillo Bravo 11-5, 11-2, 11-5
[6] HONG KONG CHINA bt [11] FRANCE 2/1
Ho Ka Po lost to Melissa Alves 6-11, 8-11, 3-11 (33m)
Choi Uen Shan bt Marie Stephan 11-3, 11-5, 11-8 (22m)
Ho Tze-Lok bt Julia Lecoq 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4 (38m)
Final positions: 1 India, 2 Hong Kong China, 3 France, 4 Ecuador
Pool D:
[5] MALAYSIA bt [4] ENGLAND 2/1
Tan Yan Xin lost to Emily Whitlock 7-11, 6-11, 5-11 (26m)
Vanessa Raj bt Sophie Lemom 11-8, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8 (34m)
Sue Ann Yong bt Katie Smith 12-14, 5-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6 (62m)
[12] GERMANY bt [13/16] NETHERLANDS 2/1
Caroline Sayegh bt Ilona Lagerweij 12-10, 13-11, 11-9
Steffi Rosner lost to Nikki van der Heijden 7-11, 5-11, 8-11
Annika Wiese bt Tessa ter Sluis 11-5, 6-11, 11-5, 11-4
Final positions: 1 Malaysia, 2 England, 3 Germany, 4 Netherlands
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