Alberta Athletes Make a Strong Home Showing While Ontario Takes the Open at the Lexus of Edmonton 2014 Canadian Squash Championships

    OTTAWA, ON – The Lexus of Edmonton 2014 Canadian Squash Championships concluded Sunday, marking our 102nd anniversary of the national event featuring top squash players from across the country. This year’s Championship hosted over 275 participants at the Royal Glenora Club in Edmonton, Alberta from April 30 through May 4th.

    OTTAWA, ON – The Lexus of Edmonton 2014 Canadian Squash Championships concluded Sunday, marking our 102nd anniversary of the national event featuring top squash players from across the country. This year’s Championship hosted over 275 participants at the Royal Glenora Club in Edmonton, Alberta from April 30 through May 4th.

    Wednesday saw the start of play in our Open and A divisions, followed on Thursday by the first matches in our 16 other Master’s and Companion categories. A strong contingent of local Edmonton players and others from all parts of Alberta were present, along with representation from 8 other provinces and territories.

    Alberta athletes were excited for the opportunity to perform on the national stage in their home province, and they certainly rose to the occasion claiming 6 national titles and winning 5 Companion events. The Schnell and Letourneau families, both of the Glencoe Club in Calgary, led the way for Alberta, with strong showings and impressive results in both the Men’s and Women’s Open draws.

     The upsets began in the quarterfinals on Thursday, where older brother Graeme Schnell ousted the second seed and defending silver medalist Dane Sharp of Toronto in four games. David Letourneau, the tournament number five seed who lost to Andrew Schnell earlier Thursday in their quarter-final matchup was the next to upset Sharp, defeating him 3-0 in the Classic Plate final to secure 5th place.

    Into Friday night’s semi-finals, Graeme Schnell was challenged to a marathon-style match with six-time Canadian Champion Shahier Razik of Ontario. Despite a strong start from Schnell and long rallies throughout the match, Razik came out on top 3-0 in 65 minutes. In the other half, younger brother Andrew faced off against defending champion Shawn Delierre of Montreal, who held the tournament’s top seed. Andrew, seeded fourth, came into the event confident from a successful season on the professional tour and Canadian events, including his first Canadian University Squash Championship. Focused and on point, Andrew stormed past Delierre in 3 games and right into his first Canadian Squash Championship final.

    Unfortunately for the large home crowd cheering them on, both Schnell’s were unable to end their tournament on a winning note – Delierre bested Graeme 3-0 in the 3/4 playoff, and Andrew was forced to retire in the 2nd game of the Men’s Open final against Razik due to illness. With that, Razik claimed his 7th Canadian Squash Championship, and returned to the top of the game after withdrawing himself prior to the start of last year’s event.

    On the Women’s side, Danielle Letourneau was excited to be back competing in Alberta after her junior season in the College Squash Association with the Cornell Big Red. Unseeded Letourneau faced 2nd seed Nikki Todd of Saskatchewan in the quarter-finals, who she defeated in a close, back and forth 5-game match. Letourneau was then up against 3rd seed Hollie Naughton of Ontario in the semis, coming out on top 3-0. This set up Letourneau’s first appearance in the Women’s Open final, on the date of her 21st birthday.

    Letourneau’s opponent in the final was Samantha Cornett – the defending Champion, tournament top seed, and Canada’s rising star on the WSA Tour. Cornett came out strong and capitalized on Letourneau’s nerves, taking the first two games 11-2. Letourneau settled in and was determined to prove she could compete at the top level, taking the third game from 11-5. In the end, Cornett proved to be simply too strong for Letourneau, and defended her title with an 11-8 win in the fourth.

    Cornett, 23, and Letourneau are part of an up-and-coming group that make up the Canadian Women’s squad, and have potential for a bright squash future. “We are very excited to see these young women excelling at such a high level,” said Squash Canada Executive Director, Danny Da Costa. “Especially this season, as we head into final preparations for the upcoming 2014 Women’s World Team Championships, we are really seeing some of our younger athletes step up their game. We will be competing as the host country at World’s in Niagara in December, and it bodes well for the future of our sport to have these young women to look up to.”

    Special thank you to the Royal Glenora and the tournament organizing committee for all of their work and dedication leading up to the event, and to the volunteers and club employees for their time throughout the week. Thank you to the title sponsor, Lexus of Edmonton, and all corporate and local sponsors for your support our event. Squash Canada would also like to thank National sponsors Harrow, Dunlop, and BioSteel for their ongoing support of squash in Canada.

    Other champions from the weekend include:

    Men’s A – Brett Schille (AB)                      Men’s B – Robert Major (AB)
    Women’s A – Holly Delavigne (ON)             Women’s B – Lacey Labby (AB)
    Men’s 35 – Trevor Borland (MB)                  Men’s C – Liam Marrison (ON)
    Men’s 40 – Jonathan Hill (AB)                    Women’s C – Keira Schnell (AB)
    Men’s 45 – John Musto (USA)                    Men’s D – MJ Parton (AB)
    Men’s 50 – Scot Mortimer (USA)                 Women’s D – Gabrielle Morin (AB)
    Women’s 50 – Julie Multimaki (AB)
    Men’s 55 – John Macrury (ON)
    Women’s 55 – Lesley Jewitt (AB)
    Men’s 60 – Thomas Bedore (AB)
    Men’s 65 – Akiyah Clements (AB)
    Men’s 70 – Gerry Poulton (BC)

    For full results, please visit the event on Squash Canada’s Tournament Software page – http://squashcanada.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.aspx?id=53EB5274-603E-41D3-9A1C-B59E391BF8C0