Team USA retains Battle of the Border Title

OTTAWA, ON (August 6, 2019) — Battle of the Border 2019 held August 2-4 at The Club at White Oaks in beautiful Niagara on-the-Lake, Ontario has come to an end with Team USA retaining the title in convincing fashion.  The annual event has become a staple in the summer calendar for top junior athletes across both countries to come together for a weekend of competition and comradery.

Coming off a week of training at the National Junior Development Camp, Team Canada was eager to meet a talented and energetic Team USA as they arrived on Friday, August 2^nd. The event started with the teams playing various squash activities such as offense/defense and doubles, followed by some mixed team training in the evening.  The purpose of the activities was not to gain points but to establish a bond between the competing countries’ players.

On Saturday August 3^rd, the teams played “reverse test matches” (positions 1v2, 2v1, 3v4, 4v3), earning .25 of a point for each win accumulated. There were many highly contested matches, including five different five-setters, all won by Canadians (BU13 Carl-Edmund Roux, GU15 Iman Shaheen, GU15 Amal Izhar, BU17 Amin Khan, BU17 Antonio Mendes). Mendes and Khan also contributed to the Boys U17 going undefeated in their matches on Saturday. In the end, Team USA came out on top with 3.5 points over Team Canada’s 2.5 points going into Sunday.

The main competition took place on Sunday, where the “regular match play” took place (positions 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4). Both teams fought hard, and there were some fantastic matches across the categories, including four five-set matches (GU15 Shirin Batra, GU17 Taylor Mackay, BU17 Amin Khan, BU17 Nikhil Ismail). Despite a valiant effort from the Canadian players, the US team stormed off to an early lead and never looked back, taking 20 of the 24 matches.  With their dominating performance, Team USA won the 2019 Battle of the Border with a total of 23.5 points over Team Canada’s 6.5 points.

“What a week it has been in Niagara, working with some of Canada’s brightest squash athletes.  The week started with an intensive squad training camp led by Chris Sachvie.  Athletes were challenged in areas pertaining to the physical, tactical, technical and mental side of the game.  After a couple days of adequate tapering and rest/recovery, our kids were given the chance to test themselves against Team USA at the 2019 Battle of the Border, which took place at White Oaks Conference Resort.  They played their hearts out given the rigorous week they had been put through and put on an impressive display of skill, discipline and most importantly, sportsmanship.  I am proud to say that I have coached these amazing athletes and am very pleased with their progress.  I hope to be a continued part of their development going forward.” – Dane Sharp

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time working with all the players at the Athlete Development Camp and Battle of the Border 2019.  It was a great week of concentrated training and tough competition!  It’s not often that Canadian players are given the opportunity to work with such a large group of like-minded individuals. I especially enjoyed watching the players test new ideas, develop their confidence and build friendships (potentially lifelong friendships). I hope to be back supporting this great event again next year!” – Tara Mullins

“It was definitely a tough result on the Sunday, but we are extremely proud of how hard everyone fought. All players showed a lot of heart, and they did an excellent job demonstrating the skills they developed over the week of training. This week has been invaluable for the players, and we feel confident that we have given them the tools they need to be successful this upcoming squash season. They have also gained important experience as members of Team Canada that will prepare them for international competition as they continue to grow as squash players, and we look forward to working with these athletes in the future!” – Kyle Ogilvy

SATURDAY – REVERSE TEST MATCHES

SUNDAY – BATTLE OF THE BORDER