May 21, 2014 The Sponsor: HEAD/Penn Racquet Sports
What better way to
celebrate the one-year anniversary of installing a new squash court in
a club and area that had no previous exposure to squash...why not host
a squash tournament!?
One year ago, (May
17th, 2013)...the first squash court in the San Gabriel Valley of
Southern California available to the general public was installed at
the Arroyo Seco Racquet Club. Over the year, many juniors and adults of
all ages and levels have been introduced to the game and are now making
good use of the court, taking lessons, playing round-robins and playing
friendly matches.
Over the May 17-18
weekend, the Arroyo Seco Inaugural Anniversary Squash Invitational was
held, which was sponsored by HEAD/Penn Racquet Sports. Many of the best
players from greater Los Angeles participated in the event which
featured two divisions of eight players each. In addition, a 12 Noon
lunch break for the main draw players made the court available to a
group of young juniors who played in a fun-filled round-robin format. Richard Irving; Asish Law; David Kaye; Bob Hanscom (host) Kelvin Shang and John Dewis
The players had some
interesting quotes regarding the event: Al Preston, former PSA tour
player from New Zealand said: "It was great seeing the juniors hitting
around at the lunch break. I think that's a great way to start many of
them - without the pressure of a more formal structure."
David Jung, former
Franklin & Marshall and Cornell varsity player; "It was a fun
tournament with great energy and a relaxed atmosphere. We all had a
nice time and are excited to see the growth of the squash program at
Arroyo Seco. The court produced the most unreal nicks I've ever seen!"
Christian Ceci,
Architect; "Personally, it was a good opportunity to see some of the
better players in the area face-off against each other in competitive
play, but without some of the hoopla surrounding bigger tournaments.
The environment of the space is comfortable, with the sun-lighting
almost giving the impression of playing outside. The fact that the club
is affiliated with the city's rec department makes it all the better
for me; I'd love to see the squash element expand beyond this early
development."
Asish Law, PhD in
computer science; "The entire weekend was great fun...especially to see
the enthusiasm among the juniors playing against each other. There’s
definitely some potential there!"
Nick Guethe, former
Princeton University varsity player All-American; "Bob ran an excellent
tournament as always. I only wish a couple of bounces went my way at
the end. But LA squash has another viable (squash) club, which is great
for the community!"
Division II and I finalists and winners! Division II finalist Victor Lam (L) and winner, Scott Williams Division I finalist Nick Guethe (L) and winner, Al Preston
Player Roundup
Results: Division II...Scott Williams, winner; Victor Lam, finalist;
Richard Irving, consolation winner; Kelvin Shang consol finalist;
Christian Ceci and David Kaye, semi-finalists; Pranav Law and Michael
Cahill, consolation semi-finalists. Division I...Al Preston, winner;
Nick Guethe, finalist; Asish Law, consolation winner; John Dewis consol
finalist; David Jung and Carlo Valdesolo, semifinalists; Dermot Connell
and Ryan Ranson, consolation semi-finalists.
