It will be Kumar vs Siebert and Sachvie vs McGuinness

The essence of the internationally-flavored US Junior Open Squash tournament was fully encapsulated in the wonderful semi-final contest this evening between Milet Zarazua of Mexico and Arjun Gupta from Canada.

With supporters, fans, casual observers, coaches and friends yelling earnestly in at least three different languages, Gupta and Zarazua staged a sophisticated and increasingly desperate contest to reach the finals of the Under-15 division of the US Jr Open. The finals will be at 11:45PM at the Payne Whitney Gym in New Haven CT, tomorrow Tuesday.

The finals, in eight division and eight consolation divisions, bring to a close four densely packed days of junior squash, in which some 475 contestants were whittled down to 16.

Both Gupta, a slightly built 14-year old from Toronto and his opponent, the equally short Milet Zarazue, put on display a sophisticated tactical sense and an excellent command of touch. Gupta's touch was combined with somewhat more well-developed deception, but Zarazue's wonderful ability to accelerate at a moment's notice and reach all four corners of the court, stood him in good stead to neutralize Gupta's placements.

Zaraue took the early lead, buoyed by the boisterous Mexican crowd that spilled out of the stands behind him. In fact, the enthusiastic and underrated Mexican contingent had been everywhere in the Broadway area of Hew Haven, starting last Thursday, when they arrived fresh from the Canadian Jr Open, unphased by the cold weather and snow. They were ready for everything, but above all tough squash. The Mexican crowd whooped up some noise and assisted Zaraue in gaining the momentum. Gupta's supporters increased their noise level in return, just to make sure that Zaraue and Gupta knew they were there. It was all in good taste, and the squash was of surprisingly high quality.

It looked like Zaraue was set to put the match in the bag, with a two game to zero lead. But Gupta kept Zaraue moving, kept using the court, forced Zaraue up front and back, mixed up hard shots with soft. It took its toll and Zaraue's energy level flagged as Gupta pulled even.

In the final game, Zaraue regained his magical movement and increased the pace to put pressure on Gupta. The game reached 8-8. But Gupta had made his Mexican protagonist run just a few court lengths too many. In those final points, Arjun Gupta had more in reserve and moves into the final against Nick Sachvie from Canada.

Following that contest, the Mexican cheering section retired to the rear of the pavilion, where Antonio Diaz Glez from Mexico took on Chris Binnie of Jamaica. Binnie, seeded only ninth, and sporting a full head of blond hair, was one of the surprises of the tournament. In the quarters, Binnie had put out first seed Alex Domenick of Philadelphia in straight games.

The Binnie and Glez contest happened on Yale's rear glass court, an arena with a considerably more intimate feeling, since the supporters can crowd around the court on all sides, yelling from above. And yell they did. The match was a complete contrast in styles, with the severely hard-hitting Glez facing the counterpunching Binnie.

Binnie wanted to show Glez that he could run all day, placing the ball around the court. But Glez's explosive power game was able to just keep Binnie slightly off balance, slightly always on the run, so that Binnie was always doing a bit more work and having to put more into his shots. Too, Binnie was unable to match with his modest group of Jamaican supporters the infinitely more demonstrative, emotional and involved Mexican supporters. Binnie was able to take a big lead in the second game, but Glez took energy from the crowd, seized the momentum, and never looked back.

On the girls' side, Amada Siebert, with Chris Walker and Paul Johnson in her corner, will take on Canada's Neha Kumar, in an attempt to reverse last weekend's results in Canada. It will be an intriguing contest. If you are in New Haven, it is at 11:45, Tuesday Morning.

RESULTS:   US Junior Open, Yale University, New Haven CT

BU19
Quarterfinals:
[1] Trevor McGuinness (PA) def [9] Juan Ferro (MEX) 9-2 9-10 9-1 9-3
[3] Mark Froot (MA) def [5] Jesus Pena (MEX) 9-4 9-2 9-2
[4] Christopher Sachvie (CAN) def [11] Christopher Plimpton (CT) 9-4 6-9 9-2 9-7
[2] Santiago Imberton (EL SAL) def [10] Reed Endresen (PA) 9-4 9-5 9-5
Semi-finals:
[4] Christopher Sachvie (CAN) def [2] Santiago Imberton (EL SAL) 9-4 2-9 9-6 9-3
[1] Trevor McGuinness (PA) def [3] Mark Froot (MA) 9-10 9-3 9-0 10-9

BU17:
Quarterfinals:
[9] Chris Binnie (JAM) def [1] Alex Domenick (PA) 9-3 9-1 9-0
[4] Antonio Diaz Glez (MEX) def [5] Kamran Khan (UK) 9-2 4-9 10-9 9-1
[6] Thomas Mattson (PA) def [3] Michael Maruca (DC) 9-2 9-2 9-2
[2] Todd Harrity (PA) def [10] Frederick Reid (CAN) 9-1 9-6 9-5
Semifinals:
[9] Chris Binnie (JAM) def [4] Antonio Diaz Glez 9-5 9-7 9-1
[2] Todd Harrity (PA) def [6] Thomas Mattson (PA) 9-2 9-1 9-3

BU15:
Semi Finals:
[5] Arjun Gupta (CAN) def [8] Milet Zarazua (MEX) 4-9 3-9 9-0 9-7 10-8
[3] Nick Sachvie (CAN) def [2] Sam Cantle (UK) 9-1 6-9 9-3 9-4

BU13:
Semi Finals:
[8] Mario Yanez (MEX) def Luis Rene Quintal (MEX) 7-9 9-0 9-3 9-3
David Wardle (UK) def [2] Peter Dylan Murray (NY) 9-4 9-0 9-2

GU19
Semi Finals:
[1] Neha Kumar (CAN) def [4] Kristen Lange (WA) 9-3 10-8 9-4
[2] Amanda Siebert(CT) def [11] Logan Greer (PA) 9-2 9-0 9-6

GU17
Semi Finals:
[1] Emily Park (NY) def [5] Cece Cortes (MA) 9-5 9-0 9-6
[3] Julie Cerullo (NY) def [2] Jackie Moss (CAN) 9-3 1-9 8-10 9-3 10-8

GU15
Semi Finals:
[1] Laura Gemmell (CAN) def [4] Katie Ballaine (NY) 9-2 9-6 9-5
[6] Graciala Lopez (MEX) def [2] Olivia Blatchford (NY) 4-9 9-6 9-7 6-9 10-9

GU13
Semi Finals:
[1] Skyler Bouchard (DE) def [4] Amy Smedira (OH) 9-2 9-5 9-5
[2] Anna Harrison (CT) def [3] Michelle Gemmell (CAN) 9-0 9-4 9-3