Guyana open team competition with wins against Bermuda, Cayman Islands

GUYANA’S Daniel Islam played the match of his life last night at the squash courts of the Georgetown Club but still went down in a rematch against Taylor Carrick, as the Guyana Boys team closed off with a 4-0 win over Bermuda, matching the 4-0 finish that the Girls team ended with yesterday morning when they came up against the Cayman Islands.
As the first day of team competition in the Junior Caribbean Squash Championships commenced yesterday, Guyana started things off on the right footing, letting rivals know early on that the home team will be pulling out all the stops as they hunt for that exciting 13th team title.

Unlike in the Boys’ Under-17 third-place playoff which ended in a 3-0 win for Carrick, yesterday’s rematch went to the wire, as Islam fought to avenge his earlier loss, and Carrick sought to ensure his team did not go out without at least one match win.
In the end the cookie crumbled for Carrick but he was made to sweat for it every step of the way in the nail-biting five-setter. Despite the outcome the Guyana Boys’ team captain, Benjamin Mekdeci, was very proud of the “cutthroat” action that he saw from the boys, on their opening day.

“I feel every person on this team today gave their all, I mean sometimes we didn’t get the outcome we hoped for. We really wanted the 5-0, but we just have to go into our next match with the same mentality: cutthroat. We just need to do our best in the coming matches,” Mekdeci said.
Mekdeci himself had his own intense battle when he got the ball rolling for the Boys’ team, taking on Bermuda’s Anaya Smith, and winning 11-3, 11-8, 11-3.

It was 17-year-old Alexander Cheeks’ match against 13-year-old Matthew Elliott, which first gt the ample gathering of supporters fired up, as the young player gave Cheeks a run for his money. The modest 11-3, 11-2, 11-6 score did not do justice to the hard work that Elliott had to put in for every point he ekcd out against Cheeks out on the courts.
The Bermudan handled many of Cheeks’ drop shots well and even had the Guyanese diving for a few of his own.

Michael Alphonso had perhaps the easiest match among the Boys, triumphing 11-3, 11-1, 11-3 against Graham Moss. Boys’ Under-15 champion Shomari Wiltshire also closed in a straight-set win 11-7, 11-9, 11-0 against Charlie Riker.
It all went down to Islam for him to see if Guyana could start off with wins in all five matches. Carrick was already established as the stronger player when the two met last Tuesday, but there was just a little more determination from Islam.
Islam came out charging and was rewarded with the first game 11-7. Before Carrick could recover Islam bagged the second game with an improved 11-3 margin this time. Carrick realised he needed to tighten his game or he was about to lose his match, and he came out gunning for the third.

Carrick’s increased aggression and the pressure of the match began to get to Islam. The situation was only compounded, as a number of strokes were awarded against him, the first one coming as he held the third set 10-7 in his favour. From there things crumbled for Islam, and Carrick’s drop shots were more than he could handle, ending the set 12-10, for the Bermudan.

Both players fiercely stormed out back onto the court for the fourth set/ A well-placed drop shot from Taylor gave him the first point and set the tone of the match. Taylor, however, was also dealt his share of strokes as the intensity of the match increased.
The set went 11-9 for Carrick before he returned and wrapped up the match 11-7.
Earlier yesterday morning Girls’ team captain Taylor Fernandes continued to lead by example, defeating Emma Turnbull in straight sets 11-4, 11-5, 11-8.

It was Kirsten Gomes, however, who had started the team’s good luck when she locked off a simple win against Olivia Kluyver, in a replay of her Girls’ Under=13 quarter-finals match. The Girls Under-13 finalist had an even easier time this time around, hardly giving Kluyver a chance to get in a few points, winning 11-1, 11-0, 11-3.
Abosaide Cadogan followed by scoring a similar straight set 11-1, 11-2, 11-1 win against Shaelah Parchment-Henry. Girls’ team captain Taylor Fernandes continued to lead by example, and added another win for the team, when she disposed of Emma Turnbill 11-4, 11-5, 11-8.

Makeda Harding’s loss to Jade Pitcairn tarnished the Girls’ winning streak. Although she gave it her all, Harding again came up short. Giving an improved performance, she drove the match to a four-set fight. She won the first set 11-5, but faltered as Pitcairn collected the next three sets 11-8, 11-9, 11-8.
The girls final win went to Rebecca Lowe who beat Kali MacLean in another four-setter, ending 6-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-5.