Dane Sharp Captures Toronto National Squash Academy Open
by Mike McCue
photos courtesy Meghan McCue
August 19, 2012 - Dane Sharp successfully defended his home title with a grinding 3-1 win over hero qualifier Colin West. Colin took an excellent start and earned a 10-5 lead in the first game. He would go on to hold 9 game balls in total, but eventually Sharp stole the game 16-14. In hindsight this was the key point of the match; Dane earned not only the crucial 1-0 lead, but also the confidence to win big points later in the match. West again took a lead in the second, this time 8-4, and once again Dane was able to work his way back into it with solid defense. Going down 2-0 on two tiebreaks is clearly demoralizing, but Colin stayed positive and finally consolidated a lead in the third to pull one game back. The top seed put an end to this potential comeback early in the fourth though, and never looked at risk of losing.
So, Dane impressively defends his title, Colin reaches the final from qualifying, and all four semi-finalists are Canada; not a bad week for the NSA and Canadian squash overall!
Results:
(1) Dane Sharp (CAN) d. Colin West (CAN) 16-14, 12-10, 6-11, 11-4 (62m)
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