By Sean Devers
THE final evening of the BCQS Masters Squash Championships climaxed at the Georgetown Club on Saturday as Guyanese Alex Arjoon extended his winning streak against Bajan Shawn Simpson to three matches, by taking the 30-44 age group title.

Watched by the biggest gathering for Squash since the Junior CASA in Guyana last year July, Arjoon followed up two victories over Simpson last year in Jamaica at the Senior CASA with an 11-5, 11-9, 11-7 victory as the curtain came down on a well organised four-night tournament which attracted players from five nations.

In a battle of the southpaws, Simpson, the tallest player in the PSA at 6ft 6ins, was again outplayed by Arjoon in the feature match of the night to prove that his wins in the Reggae Country were no fluke.

Despite some well-calculated cross-court shots and fairly long rallies from the Bajan, Arjoon, watched by his fans which included the Arjoon clan, raced to a six-point margin of victory in game one.

The lanky Simpson played with increased intensity, hitting a few winners and tested Arjoon in an evenly contested second game, which the 38-year-old Simpson would eventually lose 9-11 before Arjoon won the next game and the match 3-nil.

In the third-place play-off, the affable Nicolette Fernandes and the talented Daniel Ince went at each other as if it were the final itself.

The 39-year-old Fernandes, whose only loss in the Men’s 30-44 division was in the semi-finals against Simpson, rebounded from a 6-11 loss in the opening game, to win the second (11-5) and third (11-8) before Ince fought back in the fourth.

The pair engaged each other with some audacious shots from all angles and excellently played back-hand drives and drop shots from Ince. However, the Canada-born Guyanese Fernandes earned an 11-8 win to take the match into a fifth game.

Despite showing signs of tiredness in the final game Fernandes prevailed to win 11-7 and take the hard-fought match 3-2 to finish third.

Nicholas Narain beat Regan Pollard 9-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-6, to finish fourth in the other 30-44 match on Saturday night.

In the Men’s 45-54 division, Bajan Don Benn defeated Guyana’s Khalil Alli 11-7,11-4, 11-2
In the Women’s over-35 final Kathy Ten Pow beat Lydia Fraser 11-6, 11-1, 11-6 while Tian Edwards beat Vincentian Hazel-Anne Sandy 11-8, 11-8, 11-5 to finished in the third position.

With the smell of Bar-B-Q chicken, Beef and Pork in the air, BVI’s Winston Findlay, the cousin of former West Indies and Combined Islands’ Wicket-Keeper Mike Findlay, defeated Guyana’s Dennis Dias in a riveting over-65 Final; 9-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7, 11-4.

In the Men’s 55-64 age group, World Masters semi-finalist Bajan Mark Sealy defeated T&T’s John Holley 11-9, 11-4, 11-6, Bajan Peter Harris beat Guyana’s Narendra Singh 11-8, 11-6, 11-4 while Joe Mekdeci beat Marlon White of Barbados 11-6, 11-8, 12-10 to finish fourth.

At the Presentation Ceremony, Vice-President of the GSA David Fernandes, presented a token of appreciation to BCQS’ CEO Sanjay Amin while it was disclosed that the next BCQS Masters tournament will be held in the 166Sq Mile Island of Barbados.