Vargas and Cornett Take Simon Warder Memorial Titles by Sean Reuthe November 21, 2016
- World No.340 Juan Camilo Vargas battled all the way from
qualification to win the Simon Warder Memorial Prostate Cancer
Tournament, securing his first ever title on the PSA World Tour after
beating Frenchman Vincent Droesbeke at the Huron Oaks Squash Club.
The Colombian entered the tournament in Sarnia, Canada as a qualifier
but blitzed his way past all four of his main draw opponents to secure
the title without dropping a single game.
Bogota-born Vargas was ranked almost 200 places below World No.148
Droesbeke in the PSA World Rankings, but showcased his incredible speed
and agility to build up a 2-0 lead.
Droesbeke forced a tie-break in the third and held a game ball, but
Vargas wasn’t to be denied as he closed out an 11-9, 11-4, 13-11
victory to open his PSA World Tour title account.
“It was a great match with fair play,” said 22-year-old Vargas.
“The hospitality of this tournament was exceptional and I was treated
very specially. I would like to return to Sarnia for this tournament
next year.”
In the women’s tournament, the winner also claimed the title without
dropping a single game, with home hope Samantha Cornett defeating
Emilia Soini of Finland in the final to secure the victory in her home
state of Ontario.
Cornett comfortably beat fellow Canadians Holly Delavigne and Nicole
Bunyan to set up an intriguing semi-final clash with Nessrine Ariffin.
The Malaysian was no match for Cornett though, who earned her place in
a second PSA World Tour final of the year.
21-year-old Soini also had to navigate her way past two Canadians in
the first two rounds, beating Deirdre Bradd and Micaala Seth,
respectively. She then cruised past India’s Janet Vidhi to book a place
in her first Tour final.
Two of the three games went to tie-breaks, but Cornett came out on top
every time to secure a hard-fought 12-10, 11-3, 12-10 victory, lifting
her first PSA World Tour title since April 2015.
“I knew Emilia was going to be fresh and tough in her first Tour final,
so I did my best to dig in, make the rallies longer and get everything
back," Cornett said.
"I’m so happy to have pulled it off tonight.
“I can't thank the folks here in Sarnia enough for putting on a great event. They have looked after the players so well.
“Alongside the pro and amateur events, the squash community here raised
over 40k for the local prostate cancer clinic in Simon Warder's name
which is so amazing. It's been a pleasure, I'm sad to leave and head
back to Toronto."
Result - Final: 2016 Men's Simon Warder Memorial Prostate Cancer Tournament
[Q] Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) bt [7] Vincent Droesbeke (FRA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 13-11
Result - Final: 2016 Women's Simon Warder Memorial Prostate Cancer Tournament
[5] Samantha Cornett (CAN) bt [4] Emilia Soini (FIN) 3-0: 12-10, 11-3, 12-10
