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BOSWELL'S MARCH CONTINUES
Australian Mike Corren, now based in Salt Lake City, delighted his new US fans when he pulled off the biggest upset in the men's quarter-finals of the Squashworks Salt Lake City Open Squash Championships by defeating fourth seed Laurent Elriani.

It was a dramatic marathon encounter in which the unseeded Corren withstood a brave fight-back by the Frenchman, then survived a nail-biting fifth-game tie-break to prevail 11-10 11-7 4-11 8-11 11-10 in 90 minutes.

He now meets fellow Australian Stewart Boswell, the No2 seed who brushed aside Ireland's Niall Rooney 11-2 11-3 11-5 in just 35 minutes

There was a notable upset in the women's quarter-finals when England's 20-year-old Suzie Pierrepont upset Canada's experienced third seed Melanie Jans Burke 9-4 9-1 9-4 to earn a surprise semi-final clash with another Canadian, second seed Runa Reta.

WOMEN'S PLAY: PIERREPOINT CREATES UPSET     [WISPA results]
The first match of the evening paired Engy Kheirallah (EGY) and Jenna Gates (ENG). Each game followed the same pattern with Gates staying close early but Kheirallah's consistency and better offensive game slowly took its toll and she was able clearly pull away at the end of each game, 9-3, 9-1, 9-5 (28 min).

The second match saw Tara Mullins (CAN) fall to Alana Miller (CAN). Mullins definately showed the fatigue of her first round struggle with Karina Herrera Zuniga (MEX)...not to mentioned that it took her two days of flight delays and airport waiting to final arrive in Salt Lake. She was no match for a well rested Alana Miller who enjoyed a bye in the first round. Miller was in control from the beginning and closed the match 9-0, 9-2, 9-5 (25 min).

The third match between tour veteran and third seeded Melanie Jans Burke (CAN) and fifth seeded Suzie Pierrepont (ENG)
provided an intriging contrast between age and experience. The younger and lower seeded Pierrepont prevailed mainly because of her superior movement. From the beginning, Pierrepont looked relaxed and confident as she stayed in front of Jans Burke with good length and then finished rallies with precise shots to the front 9-4, 9-1, 9-4 (26 min).

Finally, the last match of the evening between Runa Reta (CAN) and Shabana Khan (USA) was really a story of a very tight first game that could have gone either way, and when it slipped away from Khan she could not recover. Uncharacteristically (for a 37-year-old tour veteran), Khan could not rebound and lost the match: 10-8, 9-0, 9-1 (25 min).

MEN'S PLAY: DELIERRE STREAK CONTINES    [PSA results]
In the men's first match, Phillip Barker (ENG) showed exceptional athleticism and very steady play and capitalized on David Phillips' (CAN) impatience and errors to claim the match easily after a tight first game 11-8, 11-4, 11-4 (30 min).

The second match between Rafael Alarcon (BRA) and Shawn De Lierre (CAN) started slowly with each player splitting easy games: DeLierre won the first 11-2, Alarcon returned the favor 11-3 in the second. It was the third game where things started to get very tight and a bit confrontational. The third game was tough all the way with the players forcing a lot of decisions from the referee. The game went to 10-10 and then each player had several game balls and DeLierre was eventually able to close the game 17-15. Despite only being 2-1, the match was now well over an hour long and although Alarcon gamely tried to bring the match to a tie he eventually lost the fourth game and the match 11-2, 3-11, 17-15, 11-8 (92 min).

Mike Corren (AUS) used the advantage of the homecrowd to help propel him to victory over Laurent Elriani (FRA) in the third match. Corren jumped out to a big 2-0 advantage only to see Elriani storm back to tie 2-2. It all came down to the fifth and final game and Elriani made the first push to claim a 5-2 lead. Just as it seemed it was going to slip away, Corren started placing the ball better. Without over-hitting he simply kept Elriani going deep to the back corners with softer but effective length. This change in pace calmed Corren's nerves and allowed him to once again reclaim the front of the court and end rallies with deadly drops and hard angled nicks. The last half of game five was the most interesting stretch of the tournament thus far. The partisan crowd reacted to each rally. Elriani was very determined and pushed another lead to 9-6 only to see Corren move back to a tie at 10-10. It seemed that each time Elriani had a chance at a match ball he played an overly aggressive shot and ended up making a mistake. The final two rallies demonstrated the difference as Corren seazed and open alley and hit a hard low drive just above the tin which Elriani could not get; then, at match ball 13-12 for Corren, Elriani tried a overhead forehand volley nick to front left corner only to find the camera box under the tin...shattered plexiglass...match over.

The final match between Stewart Boswell (AUS) and Niall Rooney (IRL) ended in another routine victory for Boswell. Rooney simply couldn't find any answers to Boswell's steady and precise play. Aside from a five game match with Eric Galvez (MEX) in June, Boswell has not dropped a game in any match of the seven tournaments he has entered since his comeback in April. Salt Lake fans are anxious to see if his fellow Australian and current Salt Lake resident, Mike Corren, in action with Boswell in the semi finals on Friday.

SQUASHWORKS OPEN 2005:
Quarter-finals:
WOMEN:
[1] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) bt [6] Jenna Gates (ENG) 9-3, 9-1, 9-5 (28m)
[4] Alana Miller (CAN) bt [7] Tara Mullins (CAN) 9-0, 9-2, 9-5 (25m)
[5] Suzie Pierrepont (ENG) bt [3] Melanie Jans Burke (CAN) 9-4, 9-1, 9-4 (26m)
[2] Runa Reta (CAN) bt [8] Shabana Khan (USA) 10-8, 9-0, 9-1 (25m)

MEN:
[1] Phillip Barker (ENG) bt [5] David Phillips (CAN) 11-9, 11-4, 11-4 (30m)
[8] Shawn De Lierre (CAN) bt [3] Rafael F Alarcon (BRA) 11-2, 3-11, 11-10 (7-5), 11-8 (92m)
Mike Corren (AUS) bt [4] Laurent Elriani (FRA) 11-10 (2-0), 11-7, 4-11, 8-11, 11-10 (4-2) (90m)
[2] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt [7] Niall Rooney (IRL) 11-2, 11-3, 11-5 (35m)

Semi final Schedule:
Engy Kheirallah (EGY) vs. Alana Miller (CAN) @ 5:00 PM
Phillip Barker (ENG) vs. Shawn De Lierre (CAN) @ 6:00 PM
Suzie Pierrepont (ENG) vs. Runa Reta (CAN) @ 7:00 PM
Mike Corren (AUS) vs. Stewart Boswell (AUS) @ 8:00 PM