NSA Toronto Open Qualifying Is Complete
from DailySquashReport.com
August 17, 2011 - Eric Dingle, Declan James, Lyall Paterson and Michael McCue have qualified through to today’s main draw first round in the National Squash Academy PSA Open at Downsview Park in Toronto.
Mike McCue files this report:
Eric Dingle (CAN) bt Luke Butterworth (ENG) 4/11, 11/7, 11/6, 11/7 (45m)
Luke started off the match looking very comfortable playing a medium pace and feeling the ball around the court. Dingle made several errors and had not yet settled on the relatively lively glass court. He turned the tables after that though, and produced an excellent performance. Especially impressive were his movement and short volleys. Butterworth nearly made a few comebacks but the Google software engineer was in a zone by that time....he drew Dane Sharp in the main event.
Declan James (ENG) bt Marco Antonio Toriz Caddo (MEX) 12/10, 14/12, 7/11, 11/9 (74m)
Mexican Marco Toriz was a bit of an unknown quantity coming into the tournament...no one had seen him play or had an idea of his level. After receiving a bye Monday, he was set to be given a stern test from Dec. Marco started well, mixing in some vicious kills and counter attacks to his slow basic game. He had leads early in the first two games, and held game balls as well. James tightened up as need though to win two tie breaks. Both guys are very tall...Marco maybe an inch taller than Dec, so there was almost 13 total feet of squash player on court, which naturally led to some interference. The third and fourth games were especially choppy. Dec was more often the one requesting Lets, but he managed to contain his frustration and hold it together at the end of the fourth. He plays Dave Letourneau tomorrow.
Lyall Paterson (SCO) bt Ian Power (CAN) 6/11, 3/11, 11/7, 12/10, 11/4 (63m)
This was probably the most anticipated match of the night. Lyall’s exploits with the racquet are well known, but so are Ian’s guile and court craft. Ian took an excellent start, and Lyall wasn’t helping his own cause with some errors and loose balls landing too short. Power looked comfortable and in control after two games, but the differences between a young, hungry pro and a teaching pro began to show. Paterson found his groove and carved some outrageous nicks while Ian seemed to slow a touch. He came very close to snatching the fourth, but that was his last chance. Lyall drew Tyler Hamilton.
Michael McCue (CAN) bt James Van Staveren (CAN) 11/6, 10/12, 11/3, 7/11, 11/7 (58m)
To avoid any accusations of self-serving match reports, I’ll just leave the scoreline for this one! The rest is up to your imagination...will try to find a guest reporter for my match tomorrow.
In First Round Qualifying Play:
Eric Dingle (CAN) bt Ryan Todd (CAN) 11/6, 11/3, 7/11, 11/4 (35m)
Local teenager Ryan Todd took on the more experienced Eric Dingle of Montreal to kick off the tournament. Dingle was simple and steady throughout the first two games while Todd looked out of sorts mentally, which is forgivable considering he is busy preparing to start at Cornell University next week. He picked up his intensity and stole the third but order was restored in the fourth.
Declan James (ENG) bt Ahad Raza (CAN) 15/13, 11/7, 12/10 (50m*) *10 minute blood break
Ahad Raza, another Canadian in his first PSA event, took on English teenager Declan James in the second match. Dec has had some great PSA results lately, but that didn’t faze Ahad. He jumped out to leads of 6-1 and 10-7 in the first game but failed to convert his game balls. He had leads throughout the third as well, including a game ball at 10-9 but could not convert...perhaps some experience lacking. Credit to Dec as well for tightening things up when needed. On the whole though Raza put in a highly credible performance and will be proud.
Ian Power (CAN) bt Jamie Nicholls (CAN) 11/6, 11/8, 11/9 (30m)
Two of the NSA’s teaching pros faced off in the third match, which naturally led to the most crowd involvement of the night. Jamie is certainly the day-to-day face of the NSA and despite his infinite commitments, still manages to play at a high level. His self-analysis... “Ian is one of the craftiest veterans around, he doesn’t make many bad decisions and creates space at every opportunity. My goal was to put on a good show for the crowd, which I think we did – it was a great night of squash all around at the NSA with lots of juniors in attendance and will only get busier throughout the week as we lead into the North American Junior Open. With Ian as one of our main teaching pros at the NSA, the whole club will be behind him tomorrow night as he tries to relive some former glory.”
James Van Staveren (CAN) bt Josh Sekhar (CAN) 11/8, 11/7, 12/14, 11/8 (37m)
In the night’s final match, two locals making their PSA debut squared off. James Van Staveren is renowned for his shotmaking and timing, and showed it with some deft backhand drops that punished Josh on the glass court. Josh certainly had opportunities throughout, but James was better at the business end of each game.
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