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Pearson
Stars in USA Historic win
(
Martin Bronstein, Squashtalk reporter on the scene
in Penang's Squash Centre.
[also:
team draws]
All content © 2001 Squashtalk
by Martin Bronstein, Penang,
24 July 2001 (updated 07/27/2001 7:44 AM)
All content
© 2001 Squashtalk. Photos
© 2001 Ho Kah Yeow for SquashTalk
USA CHALKS UP HISTORIC VICTORY OVER AUSTRALIA
UNCLE
SAM OVERWHELMS WALTZING MATHILDA
There was true ecstasy in the middle of the Stars and Stripes and a huge
buzz of interest in the Penang Squash Centre when, in the most exciting
match so far, the US beat Australia 2/1 to take first spot in Pool D.
None of the experts (including me) thought that the US had a chance of
beating the talented Aussies, but nerves from the Australian number one
and tremendous determination from Ali Pearson, the US third string, made
for an historic and well deserved victory.
ALI PEARSON, NEW AMERICAN HERO
Ali Pearson from Philadelphia, will come out as the hero of this encounter
with her totally focussed performance against the very promising Kasey
Brown, whom she finally ran into the ground. We all know that this is
a team performance, but Pearson went on court with the match tied 1/1
with all that responsibility on her shoulders and she bore it like Atlas.
A helluva cool head for a 16 year old.
AMY
LEAVES IT TOO LATE
The number two's started the match and Amy Gross was never expected to
beat the talented Amelia Pittock on skill, but there was a chance on fitness.
She lost the first game 9-3, but in the second fought all the way coming
back from 4-6 down to 7-7 before losing it 9-7 after 14 minutes. In the
third the cool headed Miss Gross came back from 1-7 down to eat away the
lead from an obviously tiring Pittock. All Gross had to do was to keep
the ball going and she succeeded admirably until Pittock, who tinned the
ball on her first match ball managed a last ditch effort to win 9-7. "I
felt I could have won the second and third games. I was fitter than her,
but I just left it too late," said a disappointed Gross.
NEVER MIND THE TALENT,LOOK AT
THE DETERMINATION
Michelle Quibell was also not expected to match Lisa Camilleri on skill,
but Quibell has experience and, like her team-mates, never loses her cool.
She lost the first game 9-5, and then started playing her own game of
good, solid length and putting in the short stuff at just the right time.
She cruised from 0-3 down to win the second 9-3 and kept on cruising to
win the third 9-4.
Camilleri was looking increasingly
unhappy and was going for too many winners with the usual result - errors.
Nevertheless, she led the fourth game 4-1 but with more errors and a decreased
belief in herself she never made another point as Quibell, showing no
emotion, just hard-headed, nose-to-the-grindstone application, took the
game 9-4. 
Then
there was some emotion.
"Sure I felt the pressure, and in that first game, I was just having a hit, playing her game and made more errors," Michelle told me after match. "I knew her background and played to it. I knew she had lost to Kasey Brown and I knew too that she would get to the point where she would be making errors. I tried to get to everything back and knew the longer I kept her on court, the better my chance of winning."
Australian coach Dean Landy's analysis was "Lisa tried to rush rallies because she felt the pressure. She got tired, not physically, but from the pressure. She is older than the American girl, but not as experienced. Michelle has a lot of experience under her belt."
ALEXANDRA THE GREAT
With the match tied 1/1 poor old Aidan Harrison was almost speechless
with tension. On 
paper
Kasey Brown, the very promising Australian 15 year old had the beatings
of his number three. Alexandra, for that is her real name, showed the
same cool demeanour as her team-mates. She also lost the first game 9-6
and Harrison shook his head in disbelief at the pace these two kids were
playing. Ali settled down and started socking everything to the back,
earned a 6-1 lead, stayed calm as Brown fought back to 5-6 and then settled
it with some cracking shots and good thinking to win it 9-5 to tie the
match.
"Such intensity!" Harrison was to remark later, and he could have added "And what focus!" That driven performance continued into the third game to earn Pearson a 5-0 lead and once again the gutsy Brown fought back to 5-6 and once again Pearson kept to her plan to win it 9-5.
ALI LOSES THE PLOT
When the American girl took a 3-0 lead in the fourth, there were signs
that Brown was feeling the pinch. All Pearson had to was to keep to her
game plan, but she suddenly 
started
playing boasts and when they weren't hitting the tin, Brown was gobbling
them up. Suddenly it was all the other way and Brown quelled her tiredness
to win 9-4 and tie the match at 2/2. But then it was really all over as
Brown's head went in the fifth and Pearson ran through to 9-1 for a famous
victory. The photographers crowded around, the team hugged each other
and the spectators that packed the 150 seats all smiled at the underdog's
victory.
"I always had a positive attitude. I tried to keep her on court as long as possible. I saw she was tired early in the fourth game. She was tired and I was still very focussed," Pearson told me. "She has never played that well before, she was incredible," said an emotional Harrison. Last year he led three junior teams to victories over Canadian in the PanAm junior games in South America. Now he has secured this epic victory. Fairly good bet to have his contract renewed by the USSRA.
AND NOW BRING ON NEW ZEALAND
Canada lost 2/1 to New Zealand, whose numbers one and three simply had
too much Class for the Canadians. Ruchika Kumar, the Canadian number two
almost lost it after leading 2/0 but before the fifth game Sharon Trenaman,
the Canadian coach from 
Australia reminded her that she had been winning in the back corners. She went out, reverted to Plan A and won it 9-3. Her team mates were unable to follow up, giving New Zealand second place in Pool A.
In the quarter final draw they will meet USA , the winners to meet either England or Germany in the semis. Australia will face the might of Malaysia in the quarters.
In the other pools all teams finished according to seeding: had not the US/ Australia provisional seedings not been reversed, the seeding committee would have got it all right. In Pool D Ireland finished above Hong Kong, another reversal, but they will be battling in the 9-14 division.
FINAL POOL ROUNDS TUESDAY JULY
24 2001
Playing order. 2-1-3
POOL A
NEW ZEALAND 2 CANADA 1
Jaclyn Hawkes lost to Ruchika Kumar 7-9, 6-9, 9-5, 9-2, 3-9 Kylie Lindsay
bt Jacqui Inward 9-3, 9-3, 9-1. Catherine McLeod bt Kyla Grigg 9-2, 9-5,
9-2.
Final Positions: 1. Malaysia. 2. New Zealand. 3. Canada.
POOL B
ENGLAND 3 INDIA 0
Laura Jane Lengthorn bt Vaidehi Reddy 9-5 9-7, 9-2. Jennie Duncalf bt
Joshna Chinappa 9-3, 9-3, 9-2. Alison Waters bt Supriya Balsekar 9-6,
9-2, 9-1. Final Positions: 1.England. 2. India. 3. Netherlands.
Final Positions: 1.England. 2. India. 3. Netherlands.
POOL C
EGYPT 3 SINGAPORE 0
Amena El Tarabolsy bt Ppei-Qi Tan 9-2, 9-2, 9-1. Omneya Abdel Kawy bt
Janice Wong 9-0, 9-2, 9-2. Sara Badr bt Kar Yan-Koh 9-1, 9-3, 9-5
GERMANY 2 SWITZERLAND 1
Jessica Post bt Melanie Scarlato 9-0, 9-1, 9-7. Kathrin Rohrmuller lost
to Manuela Zehnder 6-9, 0-9, 5-9. Sandra Ziemelis bt Rosalinda Santos
9-1, 9-0, 9-2.
Final Positions: 1. Egypt. 2. Germany. 3. Switzerland, 4. Singapore
POOL D
USA 2 AUSTRALIA 1
Amy Gross lost to Amelia Pittock 3-9, 7-9, 7-9. Michelle Quibell bt Lisa
Camilleri 5-9, 9-3, 9-4, 9-4. Ali Pearson bt Kasey Brown 6-9, 9-5, 9-5,
4-9, 9-1
IRELAND 2 HONG KONG 1
Tanya Owens bt Frances Ho 9-3, 8-10, 9-0, 6-9, 9-5. Siobhan Parker lost
to Karen Lau 9-5, 1-9, 5-9, 2-9. Emma Toolan bt Conni Choi 9-4, 1-9, 9-1,
9-7.
Final Positions: 1. USA. 2. Australia. 3. Ireland. 4. Hong Kong.
DRAWS FOR SECOND STAGE:
1-8 Draw
Malaysia v. Australia
Egypt v India.
New Zealand v USA
England v Germany
9-14 DRAW
Canada vs Singapore. Winner to play Ireland
Hong Kong vs Netherlands. Winner to play Switzerland. .
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