A New Zealander, an Egyptian, and two English women advanced to the semifinals of the 2006 WISPA Tournament at Vassar College, New York. One thing that they all had in common was outstanding skill not to mention incredible mental toughness.

Shelley Kitchen (NZ) defeated Lauren Briggs (ENG).  3-0. 9-1, 9-5, 9-1
Kitchen's game plan of hitting early and forcing her opponent deep had its desired effect. Lauren Briggs, who yesterday produced a marvelous display to oust the number 1 seed Natalie Grainger, could not recapture that form.  In the second game Briggs tried to break the pattern with some slow ball play but Kitchen still managed to prevail. The taller Kiwi, who trains mostly with men, kept up the pressure and deserved her win. Seeded 5 in this event, Kitchen now faces #4 seed, Laura Lengthorn in the semi-finals on Wednesday at 5:00pm. On paper Kitchen is seeded to lose this match, but at last week's Texas Open she defeated Lengthorn in a 3-1 encounter.

Laura Lengthorn (ENG) defeated Rebecca Chiu (HK) 3-0. 9-5, 10-8, 9-4

Laura Lengthorn advanced . (photo © 2006 Carlisle Stockton)

Laura Lengthorn, notorious for coming from behind, lived up to her reputation in today's quarterfinal against Rebecca Chiu.  She trailed 2-8 in the second game but then staged a rally to win 10-8. It was a game full of incident with disputed lets generating plenty of discussion.  Lengthorn hit deep and kept up the pace of the match, while Chiu was adept at using drop shots. It made for some lovely rallies. Chiu has great skills at the front and she was pleased with her performance overall, though she did think she had played a little too often in the middle. Laura Lengthorn's strategy included only going short when absolutely necessary and it kept Chiu in the backcourt for long periods.

Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) defeated Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) 3-1. 8-10, 9-2, 9-2, 9-7
This was a match to savor. It was nip and tuck the whole way with the crowd fully appreciative of the players' efforts. Both players were semifinalists last year at Vassar and only one would be this year, so that no doubt gave an added edge to the match. In addition Kawy and Stoehr are infamous on the squash circuit for having moments of absolute brilliance, followed by completely erratic episodes! Today was no exception and more disruption was created by the excessive let calls from both players.  The Egyptian flair kicked in with more consistency and was perhaps the difference in this torrid and absorbing match. Kawy surprised the crowd and her opponent on several occasion with her delayed yet deft crosscourt drop shot flick.

Tania Bailey advanced past Pam Nimmo . (photo © 2006 Carlisle Stockton)

Tania Bailey (ENG) defeated Pamela Nimmo (SCO) 3-0. 9-6, 9-4, 9-2
This was a fast paced battle that was much, much closer than the score line suggests. Both players agreed that the rallying was evenly matched, but in the end it was the finishing touches that made the difference. Nimmo's game plan was to keep the ball away from Baileys lethal backhand drop shot. Bailey employed a style of play revolving around taking the ball early to keep the pressure on.  She figured that while this is tiring for both players, she'd had a good season, and felt fit and strong enough to sustain such an energy taxing strategy. In the end this worked well as she was able to get in some of her backhand drops and also forehand winners.

 

 

Vassar Class of '32 WISPA Results      [COMPLETE MAIN DRAW]
Quarterfinals:
Tania Bailey (ENG) defeated Pamela Nimmo (SCO) 9-6 9-4 9-2
Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGYPT) def Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) 8-10 9-2 9-2 9-7
Laura Lengthorn (ENG) def Rebecca Chiu (HK) 9-5 10-8 9-4
Shelley Kitchen (NZ) def Lauren Briggs (ENG) 9-1 9-5 9-1

Wednesday     04/12/06        5.00-7.00 pm Semifinals
Thursday         04/13/06        6.00 pm Final