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First
Round
President
Pohrer In Powerful Plaza Opener
By Howard Harding © 2003 SquashTalk; all rights of reproduction reserved.
March 27, 2003
[Full draw]
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| Plaza of the Amercias, Dallas ©2003 Debra Tessier |
Natalie Pohrer led domestic interest
in the opening round of the Women's
Texas Open Squash Championship in Dallas, USA, in powerful style as she
crushed Egyptian qualifier Omneya Abdel Kawy in straight games 24 hours after
being elected the first US President of the Women's International Squash
Players' Association (WISPA).
Office workers and shoppers looked
down from the balconies and windows of the levels on all four sides of the
Plaza of the Americas in downtown Dallas,
where the first WISPA Grand Prix event of the year is being staged on
WISPA's
all-glass showcourt on the atrium ice rink - a highly innovative and public
setting for the high-level competition between the world's top women squash
players.
Second seed Pohrer, the 25-year-old
world No2 from St Louis, took just 23
minutes to beat 17-year-old Kawy, the world No13, 9-4 9-1 9-5 to earn
a place
in the quarter-finals.
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| Natalie Pohrer and Omneya Abdel Kawy ©2003 Debra Tessier |
compatriot Cassie Jackman, the seventh seed who survived an all-English first
round clash with unseeded Jenny Tranfield. Tranfield, who boasts a PhD in
Sports Psychology, scurried to an 8-3 lead in the opening game, but Jackman -
winner of the Las Vegas Open four days earlier - fought back to claim a 10-8
9-1 9-4 victory in 35 minutes.
Another all-English battle went the full distance when qualifier Vicky Botwright pulled back from 2-0 down to level the match against 8th seed Rebecca Macree. The Lancastrian had little left in reserve at this point, and Macree stormed to a 9-6 9-5 6-9 5-9 9-1 win in 65 minutes to move into the last eight where she faces top-seeded New Zealander Carol Owens.
 |
| Cassie Jackman and Jenny Tranfield ©2003 Debra Tessier |
Title-holder Owens, playing in her first event since becoming world No1, beat England's Fiona Geaves 9-4 9-0 9-5 in 30 minutes. "I've come over here feeling good after having some good hits at home and getting to a few local men's event finals," said the confident favourite afterwards.
The most disheartened competitor was
undoubtedly England's sixth seed Tania
Bailey, hoping to resume her playing career after resting completely for more
than two weeks trying to shake off a mystery virus. The world No4 from Lincolnshire
withdrew after practice in the morning, feeling "sick and shaky"
again after the workout. "I thought it had cleared my body as my practice
went okay yesterday and my heart rate was fine. Now I feel bad again so
need
to get some more tests done," said the disconsolate 23-year-old.
Australia's unseeded Natalie Grinham
was the beneficiary of the walkover and
will now face her sister Rachael Grinham in the quarter-finals.
 |
| Rachael Grinham and Rebecca Chiu ©2003 Debra Tessier |
Fourth-seeded Rachael took
just 19 minutes to conquer Hong Kong qualifier
Rebecca Chiu 9-2 9-1 9-6 to set up the siblings' first WISPA World Tour
clash
since the British Open last April, when the older Rachael won in straight
games.
RESULTS: Women's Texas Open Squash Championship, Dallas, USA
1st round:
[1] Carol Owens (NZL) bt Fiona Geaves (ENG) 9-4, 9-0, 9-5 (30m)
[8] Rebecca Macree (ENG) bt [Q] Vicky Botwright (ENG) 9-6, 9-5, 6-9, 5-9,
9-1 (65m)
[4] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Rebecca Chiu (HKG) 9-2, 9-1, 9-6 (19m)
Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [6] Tania Bailey (ENG) w/o
[5] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt Stephanie Brind (ENG) 9-1, 9-7, 9-5 (32m)
[3] Linda Charman (ENG) bt [Q] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) 9-5, 9-7, 10-8 (37m)
[7] Cassie Jackman (ENG) bt Jenny Tranfield (ENG) 10-8, 9-1, 9-4 (35m)
[2] Natalie Pohrer (USA) bt [Q] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 9-4, 9-1, 9-5
(23m)
 |
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| Carol Owens and Fiona Geaves ©2003 Debra Tessier | Vicky Botwright and Rebecca Macree ©2003 Debra Tessier |
 |
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| Shelley Kitchen and Linda Charman ©2003 Debra Tessier | Vanessa Atkinson and Stephanie Brind ©2003 Debra Tessier |
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