Ontario wins Double Gold at the 2020 Canadian Teams Championships

OTTAWA, ON, February 18, 2020 – The Ontario’s Women’s team, made up of three young and fierce players, proved to be a powerhouse squad this past weekend, winning the title over Team BC at the 2020 Canadian Women’s Team Championships hosted by Squash Outaouais in Gatineau, Quebec. Meanwhile, the Ontario’s Men’s team won the title for the second consecutive year over Team Quebec, at the 2020 Canadian Men’s Team Championship held at the Winnipeg Squash Racquet Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Team Ontario

Men

Women

Mike McCue

Hollie Naughton

Nick Sachvie

Molly Chadwick

Cameron Seth

Iman Shaheen

Team Ontario was seeded first going into the women’s event and demonstrated why by going undefeated in their respective Pool A round robin.  In Pool B, third seeded Team BC took out the number two seeded Team Alberta in their final round robin encounter 2-1, when BC’s Lindsay Seginson and Grace Thomas both upset their Alberta opponents Sarah Hall and Jana Dweek. The results from the pool play amounted to a Gold Medal match up between Team Ontario and Team BC.

As the Championship Final began, the first match went to BC’s Grace Thomas, as she defeated Ontario’s Molly Chadwick 11-8, 14-12, 11-5.  But not to be outdone, Ontario evened the match up as their top player, and Canada’s highest ranked PSA player, Hollie Naughton, defeated BC’s Nicole Bunyan by scores of 11-2, 11-3, 11-3. It then came time for a tiebreaking showdown between Team Ontario’s youngest player at only 14 years old, Iman Shaheen, and BC’s experienced squad member, Lindsay Seginson. The first game was close, with the players going back and forth in points, and Iman eventually winning 11-8. After the first game, Iman’s relentless energy proved to be a deciding factor in her success, as she went on to win the next two games 11-7, and 11-1, making Team Ontario the winners of the 2020 Canadian Women’s Team Championships. Congratulations to Team Ontario’s Hollie Naughton, Molly Chadwick, and Iman Shaheen.  Team BC took home Silver; meanwhile, Team Alberta won Bronze.

Team Ontario squad member, Molly Chadwick stated, “Playing alongside the top women in Canada was a unique opportunity and I was able to learn a lot. It was cool to be able to win with such a young team as it shows the strength of junior squash in Canada right now.”

“Extremely happy to bring the trophy back to Ontario. Going into the event I thought we were in tough being the youngest team by far,” said Team Ontario Captain Hollie Naughton.  “I knew we would all have to step up to the challenge. I was extremely impressed by Molly and Iman’s maturism on court at such an event. Hopefully see more and more from them in years to come.”

The 2020 edition of the Men’s event played out in a similar fashion to the year previous, with Team Quebec seeded number one, and Team Ontario number two, and the pair meeting for an exhilarating final. Team Quebec took a tough loss last year and were seeking vengeance this time around.  Both teams breezed through the first two rounds to make it to the semi-finals, where their matches became closer in competition. Team Quebec faced Team BC, during which Quebec’s veteran icon Shawn Delierre won a five-setter against BC’s Ryan Picken that lasted nearly an hour and a half, leading Quebec to a 2-1 victory. On the other side of the draw, Team Ontario defeated Team Alberta 2-1, with Ontario’s Nick Sachvie winning an exciting five-set match against Alberta’s Graeme Schnell, 9-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8. As predicted, this led to a Championship Final between Team Quebec and Team Ontario.

As the Championship Final began, Quebec’s David Baillargeon made his team proud by defeating the most recent National Champion, Nick Sachvie of Ontario, by scores of 13-11, 11-6, 11-5. Heading into the next match, Ontario’s Mike McCue evened the scoreboard by taking out Quebec favourite, Shawn Delierre 11-7, 11-9, 11-6. With the score tied at 1-1, it came time for the deciding match between Quebec’s Jason Delierre, and Ontario’s Cameron Seth. Cameron proved dominant throughout the match, winning the title for Team Ontario by scores of 11-1, 11-6 and 11-1. Team Ontario repeated history, capturing the 2020 Canadian Men’s Team Championship, and winning the event for the second year in a row.

Team Ontario’s Captain Michael McCue stated after the winning weekend, “Very satisfying to defend the title with Team Ontario this year. Quebec and Alberta are perennial contenders, and we relied on clutch performances from each team member at different stages throughout the weekend. WSRC were fantastic hosts as always, and the Team Champs once again provided a unique opportunity for players from every corner of the country to compete in a team format.”

Fellow Team Ontario squad member, Cameron Seth stated, “It was an amazing experience being a part of Team Ontario this year. It certainly wasn’t an easy path to the gold medal. Nick had a nail-biting win in the semifinals against Graeme Schnell (Alberta) to win the encounter 2-1. In the finals against Quebec Mike had a big win against Shawn to set up the deciding match. It was really exciting to play the decider in the finals and I’m proud that I was able to get the win for Team O. Big thanks to Squash Ontario for the support and setting us up for success at this tournament!”

Squash Canada would like to recognize the efforts of Tournament Director Maxym Leclair for hosting the women at Squash Outaouais and Tournament Director Dave Glass for hosting the men at the Winnipeg Squash Racquet Club.  Your dedication to hosting a first-class event for the players is appreciated.

Canadian Women’s Teams Championships – Final Results / Photo Album
Canadian Men’s Teams Championships – Final Results / Photo Album