The 2023 Pan American Squash Championships in Cartagena, Colombia have come to a close and Team Canada has walked away with some serious hardware, securing Canada’s spot at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. With a total of three medals amassed during the June 4 to 10 event, the athletes demonstrated their athleticism, expertise, and tenacity on court.
In the Individual event, Hollie Naughton demonstrated why she is Canada’s #1 by securing the Gold medal after defeating USA’s Marina Stefanoni. Naughton surpassed Luz Sarahi Lopez Dominguez (Mexico; 11-8, 11-6, 11-8), Laura Silva (Brazil; 11-5, 11-3, 11-5), and Laura Tovar (Colombia; 9-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 12-10) on her way to Gold (15-13, 11-7, 12-10). This is the first time in 18 years that a Canadian has won Gold in the Women’s Individual event.
With their first appearance for Team Canada at the Pan American Squash Championships, Liam Marrison and Sydney Maxwell teamed up in Mixed Doubles and took the category by storm. The pair surpassed Ecuador (11-9, 7-11, 11-5) and Argentina (11-4, 6-11, 11-10), punching their ticket to the Gold medal match. In a turn of events, top seeds Colombia conceded a walkover due to a pre-existing squash commitment. Marrison and Maxwell secured Canada’s second Gold medal of the Championships.
After receiving a bye in the first round, the Women’s Team (Nicole Bunyan, Sydney Maxwell, Hollie Naughton, Nikole Todd) faced Ecuador (2-0) and second-seed Colombia (3-0) on their way to the Gold medal match against the USA. A hard-fought battle on court, while off court conditions of rain and heat impacted all of those involved, saw the Canadian Women achieve Silver.
Lastly, both the Women’s Doubles (Hollie Naughton and Nikole Todd) and Men’s Doubles (Brett Schille and Graeme Schnell) exited the competition in quarterfinal matches against Colombia and Mexico, respectively. Meanwhile the Men’s Team (David Baillargeon, Liam Marrison, Brett Schille, and Graeme Schnell) placed 5th/6th and secured their ticket to the Pan American Games.
Squash Canada is exceptionally proud of Team Canada’s performance, and is looking forward to the highlight of the pan-American squash calendar, the Pan Am Games, this fall.
