Cleveland Ohio Burning River Classic Squash Racquets

Suzie Stops Stoehr In Cleveland Upset

No upsets as top seeds progress…

The higher ranked player in each match progressed through to the semi-finals this evening without the loss of a single game between them.

Kasey Brown started what turned out to be a good night for the seeds by running the legs from under Line Hanson. Hanson, like Mylotte in the first round, battled hard against the Aussie keeping her on court for just shy of an hour. Hanson took the lead in the first and second games, but the tenacious world number 15 kept tracking ball after ball down until an error came from the Danes racquet. At 8-4 game ball in the first Brown must have run a dozen court sprints as Hanson was unable to find the outright winner. Eventually as so many rallies before ended Hanson went for just a little too much and court the top of the tin. By the third game the pace of play was leaving Hanson looking somewhat deflated as her brick wall of an opponent seemed to just relish the idea of more running. Yet to drop a game Brown is looking strong, although the two hours already spent on court may start coming into play as the week progresses.

Suzie Pierrepont was unable to find the same magic that she produced in the first round going out to Lauren Briggs with just 11 points to show to her name. Briggs moved about the court with an effortless ease and seemed to have no problem maneuvering round her larger opponent. Pierrepont was unable to make much of an impact in the first two games but showed signs of a comeback going up 4-0 in the third. Briggs changed the pattern of play at that point and moved away from the straight drives that Pierrepont had been picking off on the volley. She added more delay to her shots and started hitting 8 out 10 balls crosscourt which turned her opponent to good effect. Once the momentum shifted, Pierrepont had no answer and Briggs moved through to set up an intriguing semi-final with Kasey Brown.

The top half produced the same semi-final match up as 2007 between Natalie Grainger and Dominique Lloyd-Walter. Grainger looked very sharp in dismissing the challenge from US team mate Latasha Khan. Khan was unable to put a point on the board until 7-0 down in the first when Grainger showed she was human by tinning a backhand volley drop. Khan had looked very convincing in the first round, but was unable to deal with the higher pace that Grainger was bringing to the court. The number one seed had the answer to everything that Khan could throw at her and ran out a convincing winner. The rematch was made complete when Dominique Lloyd-Walter ended the run of in-form Irish girl, Aisling Blake. Blake, currently sitting at her highest ranking to date and fresh off a victory against sixth seed Louise Crome, was unable to get into her stride in the first losing 9-1. The second became a real match though as Blake started finding a better length and was able to turn Lloyd-Walter with some held cross court volleys moving into a 6-3 lead. Then followed a spell of five physically demanding rallies in which Lloyd-Walter came out looking the stronger. The first step slowed slightly and the errors started to creep into Blake’s game but the points stayed challenging. One final forehand tin sealed the fate for Blake as that was to be her last stand. The third went by 9-0 without much of fight as the previous days five game match took its toll.

While all the matches were being played, the first round losers were trying their hands at hardball doubles in a Pro Am. Although with most of the WISPA Pro’s having never played before, it was at times a challenge to figure out which was the Pro and which was the Am! Everyone involved had a great time though with the winning team of Alana Miller and Rachel Leizman pictured here in the white defeating Laura Mylotte and Andrea Dawson.

RESULTS: Women's National City Burning River Squash Classic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Quarterfinals:
[1] Natalie Grainger (USA) Bt [5] Latasha Khan (USA)              9-3, 9-0, 9-1
[4] Dominique Lloyd-Walter Bt Aisling Blake (IRL)                   9-1, 9-6, 9-0
[7] Lauren Briggs(ENG) Bt Suzie Pierrepont (ENG)                     9-4, 9-2, 9-5
[2] Kasey Brown(AUS) Bt [8] Line Hanson (DK)                  9-4, 9-5, 9-2

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