US Men Face Egypt Today In World Quarters Following Win Over Canada
from DailySquashReport.com
August 25, 2011 - The US men’s team will square off against powerhouse Egypt today in the World Team quarterfinals after celebrating yesterday’s 2-0 win over Team Canada.
It will mark the first appearance in the quarters by a US men’s squad in nearly 30 years. In 1983, the predominantly hardball-playing contingent of Mark Talbott, Ned Edwards, Kenton Jernigan and John Nimick finished seventh at the world championships in Auckland, New Zealand. The 1981 team anchored by Billy Andruss also finished seventh in Stockholm, Sweden.
In a match-time decision, US Coach Paul Assaiante decided to go with collegian Todd Harrity at #3 after Gilly Lane was not pronounced fit to play, and Harrity responded in his first appearance on a big-time world stage, beating Andrew Schnell in four.
Next came Illingworth versus Razik. Shahier dominated the first two games but the momentum shifted dramatically at the beginning of the third, and Illingworth collected the final three games and the match for the US: 6-11 3-11 11-2 11-0 11-5
Razik possibly struggled with cramping during the match, which may have accounted for the momentum shift, but Illingworth deserves full credit: he did what he had to do, and he came into the event in prime condition. Fitness is part of the game.
The US takes on Egypt today at 12 noon EST.
Quarterfinal Match-ups:
England versus Italy
Australia versus India
Malaysia versus France
USA versus Egypt
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