Grainger Debuts with Win
Feb 4, 2005, by Tony Brown, Vassar College Sports, Reported to SquashTalk,
SquashTalk Independent News Service © 2005 all Rights Reserved;

Latasha Khan Survives Furious Charge    [Main Draw]

Laura Lengthorne Stretches out in round one at Vassar College (Photo © 2005 by Stockton Photo Inc)

A couple of 5 set thrillers and a retirement - it's all happening at Vassar!

Latasha Khan advances over Pierrepont in Poughkeepsie (Photo © 2005 by Stockton Photo Inc)

Natalie Grainger picked Poughkeepsie New York for her 2005 tournament debut, and wasted no time defeating Canadian Opponent Katie patrick.

Her Canadian opponent Katie Patrick was coming off a good qualifying win, but was not afforded any time to settle as the world No6 from Washington DC strode to her 9-4 9-0 9-2 win in her first WISPA World Tour outing of the New Year.

Grainger now faces Scotland's sixth seed Pamela Nimmo for a place in the last four. The Scot was focused throughout her match against unseeded Egyptian Eman El Amir, winning 9-1 9-6 9-5.

England's No2 seed Fiona Geaves survived a first game loss against Australia's Heidi Mather, but the 37-year-old tour veteran came back to claim a 4-9 9-2 9-1 9-7 victory. Despite putting up a strong showing against the world No12, Queenslander Mather, just 26, clearly decided that 'enough was enough' and duly announced her retirement from the game.

MATHER ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
On day 3 of the WISPA Vassar Tournament the big news was on and off the court. Australian Heidi Mather announced her retirement from the game and she put up a strong showing against the number 2 seed before bowing out.

The seeding committee will be pleased with the day's results as there were no upsets but that didn't mean there weren't a couple of great 5 setters and plenty of outstanding squash all around.

Omneya Abdel Kawy handled Kasey Brown (Photo © 2005 by Stockton Photo Inc)

Natalie Grainger (USA) defeated Katie Patrick (Canada) 3-0 (9-4, 9-0, 9-2).
The number 1 seed, Natalie Grainger, wasted no time in setting out her stall. Katie Patrick was coming of a good qualifying win but she was not afforded any time to settle.

Pamela Nimmo (Scotland) defeated Eman El Amir (Egypt) 3-0 (9-1, 9-6, 9-5).
Egypt's # 3 player, Eman Amir, got off to a poor start and that allowed Pamela Nimmo to develop a real pace and rhythm to her game. They had met recently at the Malaysian tournament and that had gone 3-2 in the Scots favor. Nimmo kept up the pressure and was focused throughout this match.

Omneya Abdul Kawy (Egypt) defeated Kasey Brown (Aust) 3-0 (9-4, 9-7, 9-4).
The defending Vassar WISPA champion looked sharp and in control. Currently ranked #7 in the world Kawy used an array of deceptive strokes to win in 3 sets. Australia's Brown had played her tough in Dayton, Ohio a couple weeks ago but not today.

Madeline Perry Looks Strong in downing Louisa Hall (Photo © 2005 by Stockton Photo Inc)

Laura Lengthorn (Eng) defeated Manuela Manetta (Italy) 3-0 (9-6, 9-4, 9-2).
These two players had never met previously but it didn't take long for England's Laura Lengthorn, ranked #21 in the world, to get past qualifier Manuela Manetta.

Latasha Khan (USA) defeated Suzie Pierrepont (Eng) 3-2 (9-4, 9-2, 3-9, 7-9, 9-6).
This was the match of the day as these two heavy hitters stood toe to toe in a thrilling 5 setter. America's Khan jumped ahead 2-0 but Pierrepont battled back to tie matters up. Down 7-4 in the fourth set Pierrepont took it 9-7. Khan should really have closed the match out at this point. So to a fifth set it went. No quarter was asked and none given. Khan had 8-6 for what seemed an eternity before she prevailed.

Isabelle Stoehr (France) defeated Melissa Martin (Aust) 3-2 (6-9, 9-6, 9-0, 2-9, 9-4).
Like the match before this was an exciting 5 setter. Stoehr took the second, third, and fifth sets to advance to the quarterfinal stage. Both players were quick and nimble around the court and rallies were lengthy. There was little to choose between them but the French woman squeezed out the win.

Madelaine Perry (Ireland) defeated Louisa Hall (USA) 3-0 (9-5, 9-0, 9-2).
After a first set that was highly competitive Madelaine Perry kept the pressure on the qualifier Hall. The formers pace was just a little too much and she ran out a convincing winner 3-0.

Fiona Greaves (England) defeated Heidi Mather (Aust) 3-1 (4-9, 9-2, 9-1, 9-7).
The #2 seed Fiona Greaves started slowly but never stopped gathering momentum to overcome Australia's Heidi Mather. Even in the fourth set, Greaves came back from 6-1 down and rattled off 8 straight points before eventually closing out the game 9-7

1st round:
[1] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt [Q] Katie Patrick (CAN) 9-4, 9-0, 9-2
[6] Pamela Nimmo (SCO) bt Eman El Amir (EGY) 9-1, 9-6, 9-5
[3] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt Kasey Brown (AUS) 9-4, 9-7, 9-4
[8] Laura-Jane Lengthorn (ENG) bt [Q] Manuela Manetta (ITA) 9-6, 9-4, 9-2
[7] Latasha Khan (USA) bt [Q] Suzie Pierrepont (ENG) 9-4, 9-2, 3-9, 7-9, 9-6
[4] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) bt Melissa Martin (AUS) 6-9, 9-6, 9-0, 2-9, 9-4
[5] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt [Q] Louisa Hall (USA) 9-5, 9-0, 9-2
[2] Fiona Geaves (ENG) bt Heidi Mather (AUS) 4-9, 9-2, 9-1, 9-7

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