World No 31 Emily Whitlock Wins Southern California Crown by Howard Harding September 15, 2014
- It was second time lucky for Emily Whitlock in the final of the
Women's Equinox Orange County Open in the USA when the England squash
star beat South African Siyoli Waters in straight games to win the WSA
Tour 10 event in its fourth straight year at Equinox Sports Club Irvine
in Irvine, California.
Runner-up in 2013,
Whitlock was seeded to triumph on her return - and the 20-year-old from
Colwyn Bay in Wales did not disappoint.
Whitlock reached the
14th Tour final of her career to date after seeing off Egypt's sixth
seed Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy in a four-game semi-final.
Second seed Waters,
the South African champion from Cape Town, also recorded her 14th WSA
Tour final appearance after winning the other semi-final, against
fourth-seeded New Zealander Amanda Landers-Murphy.
The climax marked Whitlock and Waters' third Tour meeting - remarkably, all in finals!
"All seats were full
and there was not a spot left to stand," reported Jessica Helal, the
club's Squash Manager & Head Coach. "The crowd were excited to see
Emily return and compete in her second final at the club.
"With a three nil defeat, Siyoli never truly settled in to her game and Emily stormed to victory."
The 11-2, 11-7, 11-9
victory led Whitlock (pictured above, left, with Waters) to the ninth
Tour title of her career: "When I saw the tournament was up on the
calendar again, I put my name in it straight away as I really like
coming here," commented world No31 Whitlock on receiving her trophy.
"Everyone is really
nice and it's a really nice environment to be in. We all seem to get
on, I think it's the weather that does it! It puts everyone in a good
mood!"
Helal added: "We are
proud to be a tour stop for the WSA on the West Coast. As the
newly-appointed Program Manager for Equinox Irvine, I look forward to
increasing our involvement with the professional squash affiliations
and facilitating the growth of what is one of America's fastest growing
sports."
RESULTS: Women's Equinox Orange County Open, Irvine, California, USA
