184 Compete at Urbans '05
June 20 2005, by Jane Parker
Squashtalk Independent News; © 2005 SquashTalk LLC
Photo © 2005 Stocktonphoto.com

2005 Urban Squash Individual Championships Groton School, Groton, MA

One hundred and eighty four youngsters from the nation’s five urban squash programs took to the courts for the third annual individual championship from June 17th to June 19th 2005. The event was held at the beautiful Groton School campus in the recently opened squash center, the site of 12 international glass back courts.

Urban Nationals '05 at Groton; SquashTalk photo © 2005 Stocktonphoto inc.

Programs represented were:

(SQB) SquashBusters, Boston, MA
(SS) StreetSquash, Harlem, NY
(CS) CitySquash, Bronx, NY
(SQSM) SquashSmarts, Philadelphia, PA
(KS) KidzSquash, Poughkeepsie, NY

Participation included 110 boys and 74 girls who competed in eight age group divisions.

Girls under 19 Final

Shanita Williams the GU19 winner; SquashTalk photo © 2005 Stocktonphoto inc.

Shanita Williams (SQB) defeated Eliza Melendez (SQB) 9-3, 9-5, 7-9, 9-6 (3-0)
All went according to seeding in this group as high school junior, Shanita Williams (#!) defeated team mate and senior, Eliza Melendez (#2) in a close 3-1 final. On her way to victory Miss Williams beat her cousin, Jacinth Cooke (3-0) and team mate Vicky Flamenco (3-1).

Girls under 17 Final
Tempest Bowden (SQSM) defeated Monete Johnson (SQB) 9-2, 9-3, 6-9, 9-1 (3-0)
SquashSmarts first national champion, Tempest Bowden proved to be the giant killer of the tournament when she took the scalps of #1 seed in the final, #2 seed Judy Braga (SQB) in the semi and #6 seed, Sydney Smith (SQSM) in the quarter final. Meanwhile Miss Johnson sailed through against #4 seed Asia Giles (SS) and Ar-Riana Glover (SS).

Girls under 15 Final
Bianca Vega (SQB) defeated Ashley Brooks (SQB) 4-9, 2-1 retired
At 0-1 down Bianca Vega had everything to fight for to find her form but at 2-1 ahead in the second game #3 seed, Ashley Brooks felt a pain in her shoulder and subsequently retired with a suspected rotator cuff injury. On her way to the final Brooks had endured a 3-1 marathon with #6 seed, Samantha Matos (SS) and also took out Jasmin Wingate (SQSM) who had exited #2 seed Sheena Suckoo (SS) in her previous round. Upsets galore in this event as #5 seed and champion, Bianca Vega eneded the run for #1 seed, Tanesha Jackson (CS) in the semi final after surviving a thrilling 3-2 win over Brandy Robinson (SS) in the quarters.

Girls under 13 Final
Jesse Pacheco (CS) defeated Mirsada Bolic (CS) 9-0, 9-1, 9-1 (3-0)
Miss Pacheco took this title without losing a single game throughout against Jennifer Huynh (SQB), Ashley Dona (SQB) and #4 seed, Yuleissy Ramirez (SQB). Miss Bolic had a 3-1 battle with Janiot Bonilla (SQB) but otherwise did not drop a game including her semi-final victory over #2 seed Andrea Tran (SQB)

Boys under 19 Final

Davian Suckoo - Boys U19 winner; SquashTalk photo © 2005 Stocktonphoto inc.

Davian Suckoo (SS) defeated Lonnie Gibbs (SS) 9-7, 9-5, 9-0 (3-0)
StreetSquash veterans, Suckoo and Gibbs had their final battle before they go off to college in the fall. Suckoo moves upstate to the University of Buffalo where he is sure to enjoy amongst other things, the local squash scene. Urban hero, Lonnie Gibbs, meanwhile is heading off to Wesleyan to play for the men’s squash team headed by the recently appointed coach, Shona Kerr.

Boys under 17 Final
Patrick Williams (SQB) defeated Pedro Souza (SQB) 9-4, 7-9, 9-0, 9-6 (3-1)
All went to plan for number one seed, Williams who stormed his way to the final with 3-0 victories against Steven Cotter (SQB), Alan Moronta (SQSM) and Jonathan Rebello (SQSM). Williams, the 2004 under 15 national champ now has another age group crown for his collection.
Number 2 seed faced more of a challenge from unseeded Jean Paul Morais (SQSM) who he narrowly defeated by a 3-2 margin in the semi-final, whilst Nicheren Peral (SQB) and Kwon Hayes (SQSM) were 3-0 victories.

Boys under 15 Final

Pedro Souza - Boys U17 finalist; SquashTalk photo © 2005 Stocktonphoto inc.

David Nash (SS) defeated Prince Mensah (CS) 9-1 9-0 9-2 (3-0)
The largest event of the tournament, this 64 draw boys under 15 saw 48 fight for the title with #3 seed, David Nash claiming the crown without losing a game. Nash fended off challengers, #2 seed Wille Gonzalez (CS), #6 seed Eddie Gentle (SQB), Danel Gimenez (CS) and Ismael Feliciano (SQB). Likewise, Ghana born Prince Mensah had a comfortable ride with victories over #4 seed, Ari Gimenez (CS), Freddy Hernandez (CS), Bilal Abdulkadir (CS) and Cody Levy (SS).

Boys under 13 Final
# 1 seed, Christopher Fernandez (CS) defeated # 2 seed, Shakeele Scott (SQB) 9-6 5-9 9-0 9-3 (3-1)
Fernandez ascended to the final without dropping a game against Kyle Tam (KS), #7 seed, Robert Linton (SQB) and #5 seed Lamin Conteh (SQSM).

Meanwhile Scott dispatched team mates Christopher Alvarez and Jhonathan Guerra (#3) by the same margin but had a close 3-2 encounter with unseeded Raheem Logan (SS) in the quarter final.

Under 11 Awards
Special under 11 age group trophies were awarded to KidzSquash members, Kelsey Grant and Kyle Tam , who reached the furthest in their respective events in the under 13 category. Five KidzSquash members were selected to take part in this tournament, an enjoyable first time experience for the 18 month old Poughkeepsie urban program.

StreetSquash celebrated the high school graduation of 15 program members for the first Guuerra time in 2005. Meanwhile, urban squash program trailblazers, SquashBusters graduated four students this year, having seen their first successes progress onto college in 2001.

The atmosphere throughout this event oozed enthusiasm for squash and excitement at the opportunity to compete in a great event at such a wonderful venue. Sociability was the word of the moment as each empty court soon filled with eager three quarter court contenders of mixed age group, program and gender. Even Vijay Chitnis of the USSRA and David Kay of MetroSquash, Chicago’s new urban program, couldn’t avoid the chance to hit some balls and have some fun. Throughout the weekend the level of play and sportsmanship both on and off court was highly commendable and a credit to the organizers of these amazing squash development programs.

Graduating Seniors at the Urban Nationals '05 at Groton; SquashTalk photo © 2005 Stocktonphoto inc.

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