By Shammi Kowlessar From Trinidad Express Newspapers

Players from seven countries battle in Port of Spain

SEVEN countries will be represented in the CASA (Caribbean Area Squash Association) Junior Championships from today at Cascadia Squash Club, St Clair, and QPCC (Queen’s Park Cricket Club) Squash Club, Queen’s Park Oval, St Clair.

It will be the first time that the tournament is being staged in Trinidad since 2006, but the senior version was hosted here at the same two venues last year.

Players from Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Guyana, Jamaica, OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States) and Trinidad and Tobago will be doing battle in the Under-13, 15, 17 and 19 divisions on a daily basis until Saturday.

The individual events will take place from 9.30 a.m. today until Wednesday evening and the team events will be contested from Thursday until Saturday.

Guyana are the defending girls’ and overall champions, while Bermuda captured the boys’ title last year in Jamaica.

T&T placed third overall last year after their girls finished second and their boys ended up fourth.

Leading the local challenge is last year’s national champion Charlotte Knaggs, who is playing in the under-19 category for the first time after being crowned Caribbean Under-17 champ in the last two years.

The other players selected for the spotlight division are Jacob Gillezeau, Talia Abdool, who finished sixth last year, and Mandela Patrick, who was seeded in the top four but was upset early and ended up fifth by winning the consolation title.

Patrick turned in the performance of his career last month when he made it all the way to the final of the National Championships and impressed overwhelming favourite Colin Ramasra in the title match.

His brother Nku Patrick, a former Caribbean Under-13 champ, will be attempting to improve after placing fourth in the Under-17 category last year. The other T&T players in this age group are Chad Salandy, who stunned Nku in the final of the Caribbean Junior Championships last month, Jamie Leigh Edghill and Gillezeau’s sister Faith.

Salandy and Edghill both finished fifth in the under-15 division last year, while Faith ended up with the bronze medal.

After placing fifth, seventh and eighth, respectively, last year, Marie Claire Barcant, Alexandria Yearwood and Jonathan Blanc will be competing in the Under-15 division again. The newcomer to this list is Jonathan Caddle.

The Under-13 players selected are national age-group champs Aimee De Verteuil and Kobie Khan, son of 18-time national champ Rhea.

Nine local players not included on the team – Angelique Jackson, Christian Edghill – Under-19; Luke Asui, Darnell Gittins – U-17; Carl Miller, Jeremy Nieves, Gabriela Scott – U-15; Rondell Campbell, Lily Lanser – U-13 – will also be taking their chances in the individual events.

PHOTO: T&T junior squash team: Seen here are members of the national team that will be taking part in the Caribbean Area Squash Associaton (CASA) Junior Championships to be held at Cascadia Squash Club and QPCC (Queen’s Park Cricket Club) Squash Club, starting Sunday 21st.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/sports/Junior-CASA-serves-off–216384791.html