February Report From Canadian #1 Samantha Cornett
February 7, 2013
The New Year has started off reasonably well so far!
I have played two tournaments this January, the Tournament of Champions in NYC, and the GLO Greenwich Open.
I’m very excited to have qualified for the main draw at the Tournament of Champions, winning two solid matches in the qualifying. The first was a 3-0 win against Sarah Cardwell (AUS), and the second was a 3-2 win over Misaki Kobayashi (JPN). This time last year I was sulking because I had missed out getting into the main draw of the same event by 2 points, losing 11-9 in the fifth in the last round of qualifying.
Now don’t get me wrong, I always want to get into the main draw of any tournament I’m qualifying for, but this tournament is extra special. Why? Because the main draw matches are played on a gorgeous glass court situated right in Grand Central Station, in downtown Manhattan. Thousands of people pass through Grand Central every day, and when you see the court, you see that many of those people stop to check out the spectacle as they pass by! So it’s a pretty exciting venue.
I was really happy to get there, and maybe too excited, since I proceeded to quickly lose my match on the court 3-0 to Sarah Kippax (ENG). Sarah and I have played a few times; I believe our head to head is around 3-1 now. I pulled off a win against her in September, in five, and was looking to do the same. She had other plans, however!
The day after that match, I travelled the short distance from NYC to Greenwich, Connecticut, for the GLO Greenwich Open. This tournament was a bit larger than the 25k TOC, at 35k. I was a qualifier yet again, playing first round against Samantha Teran (MEX). Samantha and I have played before, just once I think, at the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara. I lost 3-0 then, and I lost 3-0 now. Unfortunately I didn’t seem to be able to get stuck into the rallies, and she ran away with the match pretty quickly. My use of the whole court was not up to standard, with loose cross courts, and not enough quality length to set up an opportunity.
Lots to take away from playing both events and I stuck around to watch and get some good hits in Greenwich, so enjoyed that.
Next up for me is the CSC Delaware Open, a 10K tournament, where I’m the second seed. It’s also my birthday, so let’s get me a nice birthday present! Straight away after that is the NSAngels Ontario Open at the NSA in Toronto, and at the end of February I am playing the 5k Montreal Open at the MAA club that Yvon Provencal has organized. Looking forward to playing! Then the two 10k events we have coming up here in Toronto in March will be fabulous.
On top of all the usual excitement that comes with being a squash pro, I am really proud and honoured to have been presented with the WSA Sportsmanship Award for the year of 2012. I am a happy believer in fair play, and I try to be a positive role model.
I also am really excited to have my own racquet with Black Knight, the Sam Cornett Ion X-Force in red!!
Thank you so much to my sponsors for helping me through 2012, and for continuing to support me through 2013. Sport Canada, Vinnie Taylor, Black Knight, Bell Canada, RacquetSource, BioSteel, and Slaight Music for believing in me and supporting me! Looking forward to working with you all through 2013.
Sam Cornett
February 7, 2013
The New Year has started off reasonably well so far!
I have played two tournaments this January, the Tournament of Champions in NYC, and the GLO Greenwich Open.
I’m very excited to have qualified for the main draw at the Tournament of Champions, winning two solid matches in the qualifying. The first was a 3-0 win against Sarah Cardwell (AUS), and the second was a 3-2 win over Misaki Kobayashi (JPN). This time last year I was sulking because I had missed out getting into the main draw of the same event by 2 points, losing 11-9 in the fifth in the last round of qualifying.
Now don’t get me wrong, I always want to get into the main draw of any tournament I’m qualifying for, but this tournament is extra special. Why? Because the main draw matches are played on a gorgeous glass court situated right in Grand Central Station, in downtown Manhattan. Thousands of people pass through Grand Central every day, and when you see the court, you see that many of those people stop to check out the spectacle as they pass by! So it’s a pretty exciting venue.
I was really happy to get there, and maybe too excited, since I proceeded to quickly lose my match on the court 3-0 to Sarah Kippax (ENG). Sarah and I have played a few times; I believe our head to head is around 3-1 now. I pulled off a win against her in September, in five, and was looking to do the same. She had other plans, however!
The day after that match, I travelled the short distance from NYC to Greenwich, Connecticut, for the GLO Greenwich Open. This tournament was a bit larger than the 25k TOC, at 35k. I was a qualifier yet again, playing first round against Samantha Teran (MEX). Samantha and I have played before, just once I think, at the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara. I lost 3-0 then, and I lost 3-0 now. Unfortunately I didn’t seem to be able to get stuck into the rallies, and she ran away with the match pretty quickly. My use of the whole court was not up to standard, with loose cross courts, and not enough quality length to set up an opportunity.
Lots to take away from playing both events and I stuck around to watch and get some good hits in Greenwich, so enjoyed that.
Next up for me is the CSC Delaware Open, a 10K tournament, where I’m the second seed. It’s also my birthday, so let’s get me a nice birthday present! Straight away after that is the NSAngels Ontario Open at the NSA in Toronto, and at the end of February I am playing the 5k Montreal Open at the MAA club that Yvon Provencal has organized. Looking forward to playing! Then the two 10k events we have coming up here in Toronto in March will be fabulous.
On top of all the usual excitement that comes with being a squash pro, I am really proud and honoured to have been presented with the WSA Sportsmanship Award for the year of 2012. I am a happy believer in fair play, and I try to be a positive role model.
I also am really excited to have my own racquet with Black Knight, the Sam Cornett Ion X-Force in red!!
Thank you so much to my sponsors for helping me through 2012, and for continuing to support me through 2013. Sport Canada, Vinnie Taylor, Black Knight, Bell Canada, RacquetSource, BioSteel, and Slaight Music for believing in me and supporting me! Looking forward to working with you all through 2013.
Sam Cornett
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