DailySquashReport.com

Turner Cup Rd-Of-16 Recap: Stephenson/Rocha Take 18-17 Fifth-Game Thriller    
by Rob Dinerman, for DailySquashReport.com

Dateline May 11th, 2012 --- Trailing two games to one and then faced with a double-match-ball against them in a fifth-game best-of-nine tiebreaker Larissa Stephenson and Fernanda Rocha, teammates at Trinity College during the mid-2000's, emerged with an 18-17 victory over Shireen Kaufman and Victoria Simmonds this afternoon in a pulsating first-round match as the $30,000 Turner Cup, the most lucrative stop on the 2011-12 WDSA pro doubles tour, kicked off its third edition. Rocha, who thereby won her second five-game match this week (preceded by the route-going win that she and Dan Roberts engineered against Pat Malloy and Margot Kearney Monday evening in the final round of the Mass State Mixed Doubles tourney), and Stephenson, whose nick-finding backhand cross-drop on simultaneous-match-ball sealed the issue, will now face Suzie Pierrepont and Narelle Krizek, champions in the inaugural Turner Cup in December 2009, in the quarterfinals Saturday afternoon at 4:00 at the New York Athletic Club, which along with the University Club of New York are the tournament's two main host venues.

   In the other three round-of-16 matches today in this 12-team main draw (with the top four seeds byed to the quarters), Karen Jerome and Sarah West, after dropping the opening game, won in a close four over Tehani Guruge and Joyce Davenport; Seanna Keating and Natarsha McElhinny survived an 18-17 opening game against qualifiers Kelsey Engman (who caught the top of the tin on a back-wall drop shot on that 17-all point) and Amy Gross en route to a straight-set win; and Tina Rix and Carrie Hastings (barely) overtook the Toronto pair of Adrianna DiMauro and Marci Sier by a score of 6-15 15-16 15-13 17-15 15-9. If today’s matches, all of which were highly competitive, are any indication, this should be a very memorable next few days, culminating with the final at the University Club at 6:30 Monday evening.

Quarterfinal Match-Ups (at the New York Athletic Club Saturday afternoon)

Meredeth Quick/Steph Hewitt vs. Karen Jerome/Sarah West

Dawn Gray/Amy Milanek vs. Seanna Keating/Natarsha McElhinny

Dana Betts/Emily Lungstrum vs. Tina Rix/Carrie Hastings

Suzie Pierrepont/Narelle Krizek vs. Larissa Stephenson/Fernanda Rocha


DRAW