SQUASH CANADA ANNOUNCES 2019 PAN AMERICAN JUNIOR TEAM

Boys

Girls

OTTAWA, ON, May 24, 2019 – Squash Canada is excited to announce the eight talented young athletes chosen to represent Canada at the 2019 Pan American Junior Squash Championships to be held June 16-22, 2019 at the Mayfair Lakeshore Racquet Club in Toronto, Ontario.

On the girls’ side, the Pan American Junior Championships is not the only time these four will be playing alongside each other. Brianna, Charlotte, Erica and Molly will also make up the Canadian Junior Women’s Team at the 2019 World Junior Squash Championships to be held July 30 to August 9 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Charlotte Orcutt is a returning member of the Pan Am Junior Team, having competed in the 2018 event in Brazil. She claimed her spot this year through continuous displays of strength, winning the national title for her age category from 2017 through 2019. She is also currently ranked second in the country.

Brianna Jefferson has achieved a lot over the past year, most recently battling it out to gain a silver medal at the 2019 Canadian Junior Squash Championships. She also had success at the 2018 Canadian Junior Open, where she had to defeat international players in order to capture a bronze medal.  “I’m really looking forward to the Pan Am Juniors. I’m excited to be playing in a team atmosphere and for Canada,” said Jefferson.  “I’m also looking forward to meeting new people from different places in the world.”

Erica Mcgillicuddy made her country proud when she finished an impressive second place in Girls U17 at the 2018 U.S. Junior Open Squash Championships. She also recently placed fifth at the 2019 Canadian Junior Squash Championships.

Molly Chadwick is the squad’s youngest member, being only 15 years old. However, she has shown to be just as dominant as her teammates, becoming a two-time Canadian Junior Champion herself, and picking up a bronze medal from the 2018 Canadian Junior Open.

While the members of the girls’ team feature an all-Ontario line-up, the boys’ team features a coast-to-coast lineup.  Emilio Carrillo is one of Canada’s rising stars, training out of British Columbia. He recently captured the silver medal at the 2019 Jesters Pacific Northwest event and finished ninth at the Canadian Junior Closed Championships.

Douglas Kosciukiewicz is a Nova Scotian celeb, ranking first for both men’s and boys overall. Douglas’ greatest achievement thus far has been capturing the bronze medal in the boys’ individual competition at the 2019 Canada Winter Games. 

Nikhil Ismail is based out of Ontario but is no stranger to competing for his country. He played for Team Canada at the Battle of the Border from 2016 to 2018 inclusive. Nikhil is also the reigning national boys U17 champion and is currently ranked number one in Canada for his age group. “I’m really excited to represent Canada internationally on a big stage for the first time in my career,” said Ismail. “I’m looking forward to competing against a bunch of players from different countries, and playing together with our great team. I think we have a very strong group of players and will have a great chance of repeating as gold medalists as a team. I’m also super excited to get the chance to play on our home court in front of our own crowd. It should be a really fun week of squash.”

The boys’ team also includes not one, but two, Ismail’s. Neel will be joining his brother in rounding out the Canadian squad and battling for the podium. He recently brought home a silver medal from the boys’ individual competition of the 2019 Canada Winter Games and is currently ranked 8th in the nation.

Canada looks forward to cheering on our talented juniors!