GUYANA experienced mixed fortunes on day one at the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) championships at the Liguanea Club, Kingston Jamaica, during the individual category as three of the four Under-13 players were eliminated from the main draw. Junior team member Shomari Wiltshire was eliminated from the main draw in the Under-13 category after losing his first match to local boy Joshua Newman in four games 11- 8, 11-6, 4-11, 11- 5.
The eight-year-old Wiltshire, who is Guyana’s national U-11 and U-13 champion will now compete in the Plate round of this his second Junior CASA tournament and will gain experience prior to the team tournament, when he will have to represent Guyana as the U-13 representative on the junior team.
The Islam twins, relative newcomers to squash, gave their best efforts but they too were eliminated from the U-13 title race. Experienced campaigner Kai Bentick of the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) defeated Daniel Islam 11-2, 11-0, 11-3, while Anthony Islam put up a fight before Trinidad and Tobago’s Sebastian Krogh overcame him in three games 11-3, 11-7, 11-5.
Sarah Lewis also gave a valiant effort in her Junior CASA debut, forcing a five-game thriller against Jamaica’s Mia Lake before conceding defeat. Lewis lost 11-9, 12-14, 11- 8, 6-11, 13-11 and will be taking on Sarah Conway of Jamaica in her next match in the consolation round.
National U-13 Girls champion Rebecca Low managed to survive the first round and is Guyana’s only hope at making the podium in the U-13 category. Low managed to secure a gutsy four-game win against Convay11-7 , 9-11, 11-8, 11-3.
Three of the other four Guyanese, who were in competition during the first session of the tournament, won their first-round encounters. Team captain Jason Ray Khalil, who has been seeded in his U-19 debut defeated Jamaica’s Daniel Schwapp11-6, 11-3, 11-2. Khalil’s Under-19 teammate Steven Xavier also overpowered Bermuda’s Beau Orchard.
In the Under-15 category, Benjamin Mekdeci defeated Cameron Anderson (Jam) 11-9, 11-5, 11-6, while Patrick Fraser disposed of Benjamin Griffith of Barbados 11-9, 11-5, 11-6. Alec Melville was eliminated by number two seed Jason Doyle. Other members of Team Guyana were scheduled to compete during the second session late last night.