Toronto (ON) – Off to the finals! Last night, the Canadian Men’s and Women’s Teams earned a birth to their respective Finals with huge victories in a packed Direct Energy Centre. Canada, who had already solidified a medal in every squash event, will go up against strong competition in the last day of squash at the Pan Am Games.
Toronto (ON) – Off to the finals! Last night, the Canadian Men’s and Women’s Teams earned a birth to their respective Finals with huge victories in a packed Direct Energy Centre. Canada, who had already solidified a medal in every squash event, will go up against strong competition in the last day of squash at the Pan Am Games.
The Canadian men and women have been very impressive since the first day of the squash competition. Fueled by the hometown crowd, the six Canucks have showcased their talent across these past six days, as seen in their four medals earned in Singles and Doubles events. Canada had also already solidified medals in the Team event based off their Pool standings, but with victories in yesterday’s Semifinals, Canada will now battle for gold today!
The Women’s Semifinal took place at 5:30pm yesterday, with Canada playing Mexico. The Canadians were familiar with this Mexican team, as these two squads met in the Doubles Semifinals. The first match of the Semis saw Nikki Todd match up against Karla Urrutia. Todd dominated the game, winning 3-0 (11-6,11-7,11-4) opening a door for Sam Cornett to send the Canadians to the Finals. The Deep River native matched up against Singles co-bronze medalist, Samantha Teran. Cornett took the first two games 11-5,11-7, with only one more win needed to send Canada to the Finals. Teran fought back however, winning the next game 11-9. In an intense fourth game, Cornett pulled ahead and won 11-9, giving the Canadians the berth to the Finals.
The women will take on the USA in the gold medal game, a team who defeated Canada in the Women’s Doubles Finals. The Americans have yet to lose a game in the Team event and feature a potent lineup, including world #10 Amanda Sobhy. Hold on to your hats folks, this will be a competitive and exciting Final.
The Men’s Semifinal followed the Women’s, with Canada going up against Argentina. In the first game, Graeme Schnell and Rodrigo Pezzota were locked in a duel that lasted 1 hr, 16 minutes. The men split the first two games, before Pezzota took at 2-1 lead with a thrilling 11-9 game. The fourth game was arguably the most intense, with players trading points before Pezzota won 14-12. The Canadians needed to win the next two matches…and they did just that. Shawn Delierre played Roberto Pezzota in a 49 minute game, winning 3-0 (11-4,11-8,12-10), setting up Andrew Schnell to be the hero.
Andrew fit that role perfectly, getting through Leandro Romiglio 3-0 (11-7,11-6,11-2), sending the Canadians to the gold medal match!
The final of the Men’s Team event will feature Canada versus Mexico, a country whom the Schnells played in the Men’s Doubles Quarterfinals. Mexico finished atop Pool A and will be a tough challenge for the Canadians. The match is expected to start at 7:45pm.
Women’s Teams – Canada 3 Mexico 0
Nikki Todd def Karla Urrutia 11-6, 11-7, 11-4 in 33mins
Samantha Cornett def Samantha Teran 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9 in 40 mins
Hollie Naughton def Diana Garcia 12-10, 11-5 in 16mins
Men’s Teams – Canada 2 Argentina 1
Rodrigo Pezzota def Graeme Schnell 11-4, 9-11, 11-9, 14-12 in 76mins
Shawn Delierre def Roberto Pezzota 11-4, 11-8, 12-10 in 49mins
Andrew Schnell def Leandro Romiglio 11-7, 11-6, 11-2 in 33 mins
For full event results, schedules and more, go to: http://results.toronto2015.org/IRS/en/squash/schedule-and-results.htm
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Go Canada Go!
