Day 5 of Team Competition

Out final day in Eindohoven. Tomorrow we will head back to Canada. We were set to play New Zealand in the 5/6 today at 11am. The order of play was 1,3,2. 

Chloe was up first, she had a some trouble settling into the match but once she gain confidence she made some great shots. Chloe won 3-1 putting us in the lead 1-0. 

Maddie was up next. She already played the girl earlier in the tournament and won in a very close 5 set match. She was nervous but it didn't show because she played well and won 3-1. 

Another win for Canada!! We didn't have to play the #2 match because we were up 2-0. We placed 5th. Upsetting our 8th seeding and matching the Canadian Girls team's 5th place finish at the 2013 World Juniors. 

We went back to the hotel and relaxed for a little bit before the closing ceremonies banquet. It was at a local sports complex. Unfortunately, I don't have any of the pics on my phone but I will upload them once I get them. 

We are catching a 7am train to Amsterdam tomorrow for our flight home. 

Day 4 of Team Competition

We had a great day today. Our match against Hong Kong was at 2:30pm. We had a late buffet breakfast then heading to the club around 1pm. 

Hong Kong is seeded 4. Behind Egypt (1), USA (2) and England (3). We knew we had a tough match today. The order of play was 2, 1, 3. Sophie, Chloe and Maddie to finish it off. 

Sophie had a tough match to start us off. It was rough with lots of lets. Sophie tried to play a clean game but the other girl kept running into her and being very physical. She lost 3-0 but it was really close. 

Chloe was on next with more pressure because Hong Kong had to win one more match to win the encounter and advance to the 5/6 play off. She lost the first game but it was really close with some questionable reffing. She fought hard in the next three games and squeezed them out. Chloe won her match 3-1.

Maddie had the most pressure because matches were tied 1-1. She was a little shaky in the beginning because of nerves but won the first game 14-12. After she relaxed a bit more and got used to her opponents style she was able to win the next two games 11-5, 11-8. 

Win for team canada!! We will play for 5/6 tomorrow at 11:00am. 

Day 3 of Team Competition

We had a fun morning but a tough evening today. 

This morning we rented bikes at our hotel and went on bike ride around the city. Our hotel feels like it's in the middle of nowhere but since it's so flat here we got downtown in about 15 minutes. We explored a few of the local parks and there were a some art exhibits set up. There is also a carnival in town but we couldn't find it today so we are going again tomorrow morning. 

Biggest picnic bench we've ever seen. It was at one of the art exhibits. 

We got back to the hotel around 3:30 and relaxed until we caught the 5pm shuttle to the club for our 7pm match up against USA who are seeded 2nd. The order of play today was 3, 1, 2. 

We had a tough match. Everyone played well but couldn't outlast the U.S. We lost the encounter 3-0. Tomorrow we will play Hong Kong in the 5-8 playoff. We are hoping to upset our seeding (8th) and place 5th. 

We will play tomorrow at 2:30pm. Our match won't be on the show court though. 

Day 2 of Team Event

We played Switzerland at 12:30 today. We knew this one was going to be tough because they are seeded right behind us. The order of play was 1, 2, 3. I had a rest day today so Chloe, Sophie and Maddie played. 

Chloe won the first match 3-0. She moved her opponent around the court and played some good shots. 

Sophie had a tougher match against the #2. Sophie played great squash but couldn't finish it off so ended up losing 3-2. 

With matches tied 1-1 Maddie had to win in order for us to make the top 8. (Quarter finals). She played well and had some great attacking shots. She won the match 3-0. The final score of the match up was 2-1. 

Our next match up was Egypt at 7pm so we had a few hours to kill. There is a sports complex right beside the Squash club with a go karting track so our whole team went. We got decked out in suits and helmets to make us look like we were race car drivers. I have never seen such a complicated track, it's 10x better than the one at Western Speedway in Victoria. There were hills, turns, ramps..

Richard was the winner. Lapping everyone a few times. 

We had a tough time against Egypt. The order of play was the same as this morning: 1, 2, 3. Sophie took the evening off so Chloe, Maddie and myself played. Playing their team was a great experience but we all lost quiet badly in 3. The top two on the Egyptian team are ranked #12 and #15 in the world.

We placed 2nd in our Pool so we will still advance to the Quater finals at 7pm tomorrow against the U.S. 

We won't know what court we are on until tomorrow but there is a good chance we will be on the show court with live streaming. Here is the link: 

http://wsfworldjuniors.com/live/

Go Canada go!!

Day 1 of Team Event

We started the Team event today at 2:30 against South Africa. The order of play was 3, 2, 1. Chloe had a rest day so I played position 3, Maddie played position 2 and Sophie played position 1. We won the match up confidently 3-0 without losing a game. 

We have by far the best cheering section. Everyone on our team brought noise makers, hats, decorations, tattoos.. 

My brother, Luke, is our team "Mascot"

After the match we went downtown to an Italian restaurant with the U.S. Team. And then back to the hotel for an early night because everyone is tired. 

Tomorrow we will play Switzerland at 12:30pm and Egypt at 7pm. 

Day 5 of Individual Competition

Today was the last day of the individual event. Chloe had made it to the Plate Final and was taking on Belgian Tinne Gilis. 

Chloe was the only Canadian match on for today and it was an exciting match to watch against the 5/8 seed, Tinne Gilis of Belgium. The first game was really close but Tinne pulled it out 13-11. Chloe came out strong in the second game and won 11-7. Chloe hit a few more tins than she wanted so Tinne got the third game 11-8. Chloe played some amazing squash in the 4th game and took it 11-7. Tied at 2-2 the match was getting more intense. Chloe came out strong but Tinne held her ground and didn't seem to be making any errors. Tinne won the 5th game 11-6. 

We said goodbye to Tara today who is flying back to Canada after a great performance in the Individual draw. We will miss you a lot. :)

The winner of the Girls Individual Event were Nouran Gohar who upset the first seed Habiba Mohammed in a close 4 games. The winner of the Boys Individual Event was Diego Elias who cruised through the tournament without losing a game. 

Tomorrow is the first day of Team Competition. We are seeded 8th but we will be working very hard to prove our seeding wrong. We are in Pool A wit the number 1 seeds; Egypt, the 9th seed; Switzerland and the 13/16th seed; South Africa. 

Day 4 of Individual Competition

The Individual event of the World Junior Championships continued today. The posts have been slow the last few days because we are busy and the wifi isn't great in most places. 

It was an ugly day outside. Tons of rain and wind kept everyone inside the buildings. Just as well as some amazing squash was happening here at Squash Time with semi finals taking place. Semi Final Day for the main round saw 4 Egyptians girls facing off against each other. 

I had my third match of the tournament against the German Nele Hatschek. The German started strong and took full advantage of some loose balls and won the first two games 11-8. However, I was able to win the third game by the same score, 11-8. In the fourth game, the German seemed to be favouring a leg and was really challenged to move when I sent her into the front corners. I took the fourth game 11-6.  In the fifth, it was quite obvious that Nele was not playing the way she could, and again, I was able to take full advantage and won the fifth 11-4 to move into the semi final of the plate.

Chloe played her first match of the day against Swiss Céline Walser. Chloe was hitting it with good authority and sending her deep and won 11-5. In the second game, Céline started to challenge and take advantage of some of Chloe’s decision making, but Chloe was able to hold her and win 11-7.  Chloe went into the third with confidence and won it decisively 11-3.

I had to play a tough opponent in the Semi's, Tinne Gilis from Belgium, the 5/8 seed.  I lost the first two games 3-11, 5-11. I was up 8-5 in the third game and the momentum seemed be to shifting, but then the experience of the European came through and Tinne won the next 6 points to take the final game 11-8.

Chloe will play Tinne Gilis of Belgium in the World Junior Individual Plate final.

We stayed at the club almost all day. Because there wasn't enough time to go back to the hotel in between our matches. There isn't a lot to do around the club because it's on the opposite side of town than the hotel. 

We watched the Semi Final matches. The 4 Egyptian girls are all so close in playing level that it is anyone's game really. It is a lot different than any other junior squash match that you would see in BC. It takes twice as long as an average match because there are so many lets and strokes. It is also a lot more rough. Habiba Mohamed (#1 seed) beat Salma Hany Ibrahim (3/4 seed) in a super close 5 setter. Salma was up 10-6 in the 5th game and Habiba came back to win 14-12. Habiba won 3-2 in just under 90 minutes. The other semi final was just as exciting, Nouran Gohar (#2 seed) beat Mariam Metwally (3/4 seed) in 4 games. 

Behind the show court 

Tomorrow is finals of the individual Competiton and team competition starts on Friday, the 31st.