Guyana has already secured one of the eight individual titles at the Caribbean Area Squash Association’s (CASA) Junior Caribbean Squash Championships and were to vie for three more in the finals of the tournament Sunday (22) evening at the hot non-air conditioned courts at Liguanea Club Kingston, Jamaica.

Teams competing are from Barbados, Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, the OECS and hosts Jamaica. The tournament began on July 20^th and will run until July 26th. The Championships begins with the individual events for boys and girls in four age groups (U-13, U-15, U-17, U-19). The team competition will begin tomorrow (Monday) morning and will be completed on July 26^th – the day before the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games.

Larissa Wiltshire, Ashley DeGroot, Nyron Joseph, Victoria Arjoon and Mary Fung-A-Fat will all be competing in their respective age category finals of the 2012 Junior CASA championships.  By virtue of having two finalists in the girls Under 19 category, DeGroot and Fung-A-Fat, Guyana has already clinched that individual title.
Girls U19 number one seed Fung-A-Fat was clinical in her semi-final match against Cayman Islands’ Kristina Myren as she raced to victory without

dropping a game (11/3, 11/1, 11/6). Playing for her fourth Junior CASA title year, Fung-A-Fat has been in impeccable form; winning all her matches in the tournament in straight-game fashion.

Fung-A-Fat will have battle against her much-improved teammate DeGroot in the all-Guyanese girls U19 final.  DeGroot, who has been playing superb squash in recent months, disposed of Eilidh Bridgeman of the Cayman Islands in four games 11/8, 6/11, 12 /10, 11/ 3. Playing in her final year at the junior level, DeGroot, who is also a national hockey player, is willed by the drive to capture her first Caribbean squash title.

Meanwhile, Arjoon, who already has four Junior CASA titles, will be competing for her fifth against arch nemesis Charlotte Knaggs of Trinidad and Tobago in a rematch of last year’s Girls U17 final. Knaggs upset Arjoon in last year’s tournament and snapped her streak of four straight titles. Knaggs was also responsible for preventing an all Guyanese U17 final after defeating 2011 CASA U15 champion Akeila Wiltshire in her semi-final match 11/13, 8/11, 8 /11.

Meanwhile, National U17 champion Nyron Joseph produced a miraculous come-from-behind win to stun arch rival Nku Patrick and advance to the Boys U17 final. Joseph and Patrick have been going at it almost religiously every year at Junior CASA and as recently as last year Joseph defeated Patrick to win his first Caribbean title in the Boys U15 final.

This year Joseph found himself peering down the eyes of defeat after losing the first two games 9/11, 8/11 in the three-best-of-five encounter. But that must have been the motivation that the 15-year-old fourth form Christ Church student needed as won he the next two games 11/8, 11/2 to even the match and force a fifth game. Joseph gave his coach and teammates a scare of cardiac arrest proportions once again as Patrick pulled away late in the fifth and got game ball at 10/7. Once again Joseph stared adversity in the face, held his composure and won five consecutive points (12/10) to progress to the finals.

Last year’s girls U15 runner up Larissa Wiltshire returned to the final in that category once again this year after overpowering Trinidad and Tobago Faith Gillezeau 11/ 4, 11/8, 11/4. The Queen’s College student is the number one seed in the category which was won by her older sister Akeila last year. Larissa Wiltshire will have to defeat two-time junior CASA champion Alyssa Mullings of Jamaica to claim her maiden title. Mullings, the Jamaican national U15 champion defeated Guyanese under 15 champion Taylor Fernandes 11/8, 11/2, 11/9 in the semi-final.
Under 15 campaigners Benjamin Mekdeci and Patrick Fraser both lost their semi-final encounters and will play each other for third place. After some inspiring play in the first two rounds, Rebecca Low was eliminated from the Girls U13 semi-final. National U19 champion Jason Ray-Khalil was also eliminated in the U19 semi-final by Noah Browne, who had defeated Steven Xavier in the quarter finals.

JUNIOR CASA DAY 2 RESULTS
Girls Under 13
Rebecca Low Lost To Amanda Haywood 2 – 11, 2 – 11, 3 – 11
Girls Under 15
Larissa Wiltshire Beat Faith Gillezeau 11 – 4, 11 – 8, 11 – 4
Taylor Fernandes Lost To Alyssa Mullings8 – 11, 2 – 11, 9 – 11
Boys Under 15
Patrick Fraser Lost To Julian Jervis 11 – 13, 3 – 11, 1 – 11
Benjamin Mekdeci Lost To Jason Doyle 12 14, 5 – 11, 3 – 11
Girls Under 17
Victoria Arjoon Beat Mary Mahfood 8 – 11, 11 – 8, 11 – 4, 11 – 3
Akeila Wiltshire Lost To Charlotte Knaggs 11 – 13, 8 – 11, 8 – 11
Boys Under 17
Nyron Joseph Beat Nku Patrick 9 – 11, 8 – 11, 11 – 8, 11 – 2, 12 – 10
Jean Claude Jeffrey Lost To D’vario Thompson 11 – 8, 8 – 11, 5 – 11, 8 – 11
Boys Under 19
Jason Ray Khalil Lost To Noah Browne 2 – 11, 10 – 12, 8 – 11
Girls Under 19
Mary Fung A Fat Beat Kristina Myren 11 – 3, 11 – 1, 11 – 6
Ashley DeGroot Beat Eilidh Bridgeman 11 – 8, 6 – 11, 12 – 10, 11 – 3
Boys Under 13 Plate
Shomari Wiltshire Lost To Shemane Griffith 11 – 9, 4 – 11, 11 – 4, 8 – 11, 9 – 11
Boys Under 19 Plate
Steven Xavier Beat Josh Mahfood 9 – 11, 11 – 2, 11 – 9, 13 – 15, 11 – 7
Girls Under 17 Plate
Gabrielle Fraser Won By Default Against Gylla McKenzie

For more on this story go to:

http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2012/07/23/five-guyanese-advance-to-finals-at-junior-casa/

and: http://squash365.com/?p=10504