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Seattle
Juniors Making Waves Locally and Nationally
(Author: Phil Nyberg; posted:
11-May-2009)
 For
those of you in Men’s Division A, this year marked the beginning
of what we hope will be a wave of young talent moving into prime
time squash. Chris Jung, still 5 years away from being able to
legally join his opponents for beers, quietly had a pretty
amazing season. Chris won the Seattle Open, was nearly perfect
in League (17 for 17 in matches, losing only a single game)
playing at the #1 slot, leading his team to their first
championship, and less than a month ago, won the US Junior title
in the boy’s under 17 tournament. After the recent SAC in house
tournament, it is official; Chris has now beaten all of the top
players in the Greater Seattle region and is, unofficially,
ranked number one.
I’ve had the
pleasure of watching Chris’s skill and competence progress from
the time he was 11 years old. He’s always been quiet and humble
and this year his mental game has grown to match his physical
skills. Chris admitted that the mental game has been the most
challenging aspect of the game to master. During a recent
interview, he spoke of the fear he felt at the Nationals when he
was up 2-0 in games and 5-0 in the third; he needed four more
points for victory; four difficult points. Whether his opponent
sensed this weakness or Chris tightened up, the result was the
same. He found himself deadlocked at 9 in the fifth game. “It
was important for me to win. The college recruiters put a lot of
stock in your results at this level and a championship looks so
much better on your resume. I’d really like to get my education
at Dartmouth and this helps”. Chris is also a talented tennis
and table tennis player and remarked that squash is the only
sport he’s played that is addictive (none of you would know
anything about that would you?).
As can be expected,
anyone reaching Chris’s level has received a lot of support.
Carol, mother of Chris and Andrew (who is, according to Chris,
possibly more skilled than him), is as familiar around the
courts as her boys are. She and husband Charlie have willingly
invested time, energy and financial support. They believe
“squash represents an opportunity through which the boys can
have a unique ‘set of experiences’ through which they can grow
as people” and they pull rather than push the boys. Carol
reminds me a little of the best hockey moms in Canada (except
she doesn’t have to turn out at 5 am and wear RBLT’s to stay
warm).
Without the
expertise and dedication of coaches, Chris would not enjoy the
success he has. The Khan family continues the success of their
famous relatives through playing (Latasha) and coaching (Yusuf,
Azam, Ayub, Latasha and Shabana) at the highest level. Although
the Khans willingly coach and teach adults, where they really
shine is with the kids. Drop in to the SAC any Saturday morning
and you’ll find the courts overrun with eager kids and at least
two of the Khan family working their magic.
Seattle is rich
with talented, dedicated kids who are proving themselves locally
and nationally. Over at the Pro Club in Bellevue, Azam Khan
coached Helen Teegan to her first US Junior title in the Girls
under 11 bracket, Reeham Sedky to a 2nd place in
Girls U13, and Yarden Odinak to 4th in the Girls U19.
Yarden, besides having a great year in Men’s League, A division,
was selected as a member of the elite National Junior Girls
team. I’ve heard a rumor that Azam’s boys are a pretty talented
pair as well. His younger son, Salim, placed 6th in
the Boys U11 bracket, a nice start to his junior career.
We are going to try
to do a better job of providing timely reporting on our local
juniors. They are exciting to watch, they have great
personalities, and they are worth getting to know; after all
they may be an opponent (or teammate) sooner than later.
US Players at Canadian Junior Open
(submitted by: Maruo
Regio; posted:
12-Dec-2006)
The trip to
Vancouver, BC for the Canadian Junior Open Championships would
have been worthwhile just to see the Salazar brothers in action,
and still for free!
As our friend
Jayanth Rajan said while admiring Arturo "painting" a soft
along-the-wall lob from the front to the back corner, "it's like
watching an artist at work". I couldn’t agree more.
Then, if you
add the nice settings, the great Canadian hospitality, and the
entertaining “Ola” and “Vamonos" of the Mexican supporters, you
wonder why only seven US players entered the tournament. Sure,
Vancouver is not so close to most elite American squash players
but, is that a good excuse?
Nevertheless,
how did these seven players do?
Let's start
with the guys: Andrew and Chris Jung from Washington, and Eric
Cameron from Oregon.
Boy... did
they have their hands full in their two deep and strong draws.
In the Boys
U13, after leading 2-0, Andrew Jung couldn't manage to beat a
tough opponent and ended up losing in the fifth in the round of
16. Hard to tell whether Andrew did anything wrong in particular
or just met a player whose game improved during the match. It
was a very surprising outcome.
Eric Cameron
had a good start as well in the first round, but he
unfortunately lost to the #1 seed, Joshua Sekhar, in the second
round. However, Eric showed great technique and character
managing to win another two matches in the feed-in draw.
The Boys U15
division - a 64 player draw- was arguably the toughest one with
a lot of good players and tough long fought rallies. While
watching them playing, it was hard to believe these kids are not
even 15 yet.
Chris Jung
looked promising in the U15 division by winning dominantly in
the first two rounds. Truth to be told, if you ever
wondered how "mental" this game is, you should have seen Chris'
opening match. He was very frustrated after losing the first
game and yet, got back in there and managed to turn the match
around. Ball by ball, point by point, he came from behind to win
3-1. I'm not sure what Carol (Chris' mom) told him in between
games but it was certainly effective!
Unfortunately, Chris temporarily lost his mojo in the quarter
final match against Canadian Engel Adam (seed #4). Lucky for
him, Chris found it back in the feed-in draw, winning 3-2 in a
tight final against Koh Bryan from Malaysia. And, that was it
for the boys.
The girls
(all from Washington State) came to the rescue, although
initially things did not look very promising for them either.
In fact, in the Girls U17, Daphne Rein-Weston couldn't find
consistency in her game and lost in the second round.
At the same
time, in the Girls U13, Katie Toyoshima struggled against very
tough and seasoned opponents that did not allow her to win a
match in a tournament of that level. I'm sure we will hear again
about her in the future though.
Also playing
in Girls U13, Claudia Regio steamrolled to the final, winning
against the young Mexican player Ana Maria Gonzalez, while
beating Canada's Jillian Baker and Heather Yong (respectively
ranked #3 and #2 in Canada) along the way.
On the other
side of the draw, Mexican Lorena Pena upset the #1 seed,
Canadian Michelle Gemmell, in five games. She was, in a way,
getting revenge after she lost to Michelle in the final last
year. However, this year was not Lorena's year either, as
Claudia seceded just one game, finishing the match with a sharp
9-2 in the fourth, and putting an end to some of the loudest yet
most genuine cheering you've ever heard on a squash court.
Meanwhile, in
the Girls U15, Vidya Rajan not only managed to win the title
without losing a game, but she also showed her signature
magnificent play and elegant style. We have all known Vidya for
some time now, and we have seen her game progressively improving
over time. So, it's not surprising, but still a somewhat
unexpected feeling to see how all the shots can come together
all at once and form a great picture. That was the case of
the wonderful third game in the semifinal where Vidya won
against the Malaysian Mao Shihui. A Picasso or a Van Gogh? Your
pick!
In a
nutshell, two Gold medals and a Silver for only seven
entrants...
I wonder what
could have happened if more American players were there!
Seattle Academy's 3rd Year (posted:
11-Dec-2006)
Seattle Athletic
Club Downtown
is coaching the Seattle Academy for the third year in a row -
there are 58 kids participating and on a waiting list!
Thanks to Yusuf Khan and Jim Kraft for supporting and organizing
this program - hopefully this will be the pilot for other
schools.
Phil Smart Mercedes 2006 US Junior Open
(posted:
11-Dec-2006)
The
biggest squash event of the year is here! The Phil Smart
Mercedes 2006 US Junior Open kicks off on 16-Dec at the PRO Club
in Bellevue (U19, U17) and at the Seattle Athletic Club (SAC-DT)
(U15, U13). Finals are on 19-Dec at the PRO Club. Many of our
local juniors have been training all year for this event and are
hoping for good results on their home courts. I think Yarden
says it best -
Well, I'm really excited about the US Open! This will be a great
opportunity to show the East coasters our facilities and
players! We've had some interesting questions asked and now
hopefully some of those questions will be answered. One time I
was at the East coast and a mom of one of the girls asked "What
kind of squash do you play on the West coast?" Other questions
follow the lines of "Do you fly all the way from Seattle?" and
"Is Washington in Oregon?" Now hopefully they will realize that
we play the same kind of squash! We also have a lot of
international players coming in and there will be about 300
juniors in both facilities. It will be nice to play on my own
courts instead of on the East coast courts. It will also be nice
not to travel and to go home after my games instead of to the
hotel. We really hope everybody enjoys their visit in Seattle
and I'm sure it will be a great tournament.
If
you would like more information please contact Azam Khan
akhan@proclub.com or phone the PRO Club at (425) 885-5566.
Here is a link to the official
US Junior Open website.
Dutch Junior Open Tournament (posted:
19-Jul-2006)
Thank you to Vidya's Dad for
submitting this news and congrats to Vidya!
The Dutch
Junior Open this year attracted nearly 400 players from all over
the world. USA fielded nearly 80 players with representation in
all divisions. Vidya Rajan's performance (3rd in the Girls
Under 15) was the best performance by a North American (Canada,
USA, and Mexico) in the tournament. She had to qualify to play
in the main draw and lost only her semi-final match to a very
seasoned Dipika Palikal from India. Dipika is India #1 and has
won the Dutch, Scottish, German, French, Malaysian, and the
Asian Junior Opens. She proved to be too strong for the GU15
field.
The tournament was an unexpected
bonus because the Malaysians and Egyptians were not expected to
play the tournament. We got a chance to see the best juniors
players in the world with the exception of some U19 boys who
were away for the World Juniors in the New Zealand. Vidya made
several new friends from England, Holland, France, and Egypt.
Dutch Junior Open Results
Seattle Junior Open (Gold) Results (posted:
08-Apr-2006)
The Seattle Junior Open results
are posted. Congrats to the winners! See a
summary of the results and the
actual draws posted on
Rail Station. Thank you
LuLu!
US Junior Closed Nationals (posted:
16-Mar-2006)
(Submitted by Mauro Regio)
Last weekend, seven junior players from the Seattle area participated in the US Junior Closed Nationals, held at Yale University in New Haven, CT. This tournament is a closed tournament in which only the top 32 nationally-ranked players in each division are invited to play.
This group included the following "veteran" players (with national titles or runner up finishes under their belt), Rafik Baloo, Kristen Lange, Chris Jung, Yarden Odinak and Vidya Rajan, as well as a couple of newbies, Andrew Jung and Claudia Regio. Azam Khan, the resident squash pro at the Pro Sport Club in Bellevue, was also there to coach most of the pack. And, of course, a few supporting water-boys/girls (i.e. parents) were also there.
All of the Seattle players were determined to play hard, have fun and... why not... bring home as many titles as possible.
After three long days of intense competition, exhilarating victories, sad defeats,
exemplar sportsmanship, and great camaraderie, they all came home with... a glass half full... Well, perhaps more than that!
GU19:
Ok, let's start with the toughest... Kristen Lange went to Yale to win the GU19 title. That was her goal, and rightfully so.
Unfortunately, champions have bad days too, and if that happens when your opponent is playing arguably the match of her life, returning all the balls and running like the
Energizer bunny... well... you may end up losing a match you were not expected to lose. Believe it or not, in a nutshell, that's what happened to Kristen in the semifinal.
It was a tough night for "Mango" (Kristen's recently given
nickname), and it was tough for the whole group. In a sense, it was almost like losing your flag in a battle.
Kristen came back the next day and... after dropping a tentative
first game followed by a few encouraging words from Azam, she manage to nail the next three games, winning 3-1
to take 3rd place.
Kristen will have another chance at the title next year... and knowing her, it's going to be something you don't want to miss!
BU17:
Rafik Baloo played under a ranking system that rewards participation too much. This placed him
in a very challenging position in the draw. In fact, Rafik lost in the 2nd round to
#1 seeded Alex Dominick. However, he managed to come back very well in the consolation round, losing
only because of severe back pain in the 5th-6th final to take 6th place.
GU15:
It was not a surprise that Yarden Odinak and Vidya Rajan had to face each other in GU15.
Unfortunately, that happened in the quarter finals... definitely too soon in the tournament
and suddenly the Seattle team had to lose one of them. Yarden won the match against Vidya with authority.
Given Vidya's strength, we all thought Yarden had a shot at #1 seed Olivia Blatchford
in the semifinal. However, Yarden couldn't topple Olivia, the
winner of the tournament. Yarden ended up losing in the final
for 3rd and 4th (maybe another bad day?), to another valid opponent of course.
Vidya, ended up placing 8th, unexpectedly losing two matches in the consolation.
BU15:
The seeding was also tough on Chris Jung, who lost in the second round to #2 seeded Hunter Bouchard. That match and particularly the first game - lost 10-9 to Hunter- must have left some "scars" on Chris, who somewhat surprisingly, was unable to bounce back in the consolation rounds.
BU13/GU13:
The two youngsters of the pack, Andrew Jung and Claudia Regio also lost in the second round. Eventually, Claudia ("Coconut" to her closest friends) managed to win a few games in the consolation round, feeling the fatigue of a long 5-set match in the second day, and finishing the tournament in 8th place. Not bad for a 10-year-old
in her first appearance.
All in all, five out of seven players came home with a trophy,
some bigger, some smaller. However, that's not the only reason why the glass is more than just half full. Our Seattle players showed a great spirit for the game and more importantly, a sense of sportsmanship and a behavior that distinguished them both on and off the court.
Azam, along with the other local coaches, and the "water-guys" have more than one reason to be proud of these kids!
Animated by their spirit of competition (in some cases revenge...), even
the day after the Nationals, the mind of the whole group was already set on the next big tournament, namely the
US Open in December in Seattle. Believe it or not... some have already started training for that!
If I were you, I'd come and watch these players...
Results Summary:
GU19:
Kristen Lange - finished 3rd after losing in the semifinal.
BU17:
Rafik Baloo - finished 6th after losing to #2 seed in the main draw.
GU15:
Yarden Odinak - finished 4th after losing in semifinal to the winner Olivia Blatchford.
Vidya Rajan - finished 8th after losing in quarter final to Yarden Odinak.
BU15:
Chris Jung - lost in the second round to #2 seeded Hunter Bouchard.
GU13:
Claudia Regio - finished 8th.
BU13:
Andrew Jung - lost in the second round to #3 seeded Lian McLintock.
Tournament Draws on RailStation:
(click on the logo below and then
click on a draw to view the tournament bracket)
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