Windsor Squash and Fitness Club made their presence know in the
MSRA Skill Tournament last weekend at the
DAC. This year's event was the largest turnout in the past few years with over 50 participants. I would also like to thank
Mick Joint, the Detroit Athletic Club and their courteous staff for allowing us this opportunity to play at their facility.
4.0 DrawWas a very good draw, two excellent five game semi’s. In the first semi Mike Miller from Birmingham was matched against
Rob Roy from Windsor. The match see-sawed back and forth, predictably went to overtime in the fifth. Rob had the first match point but could not capitalize, Mike got to match point, Rob hit a great passing shot into the backhand (left) rear corner, Mike took a desperate swing at it, connected cleanly – with the frame, and hit a boast winner into the nick. Wow!
The other semi was an all Windsor affair with
Hugh “Mr. Metro/Mr. MSRA President” Stalker versus
Barry “The Gentleman Bulldog” Leavitt. Another great five game match with the younger Mr. Stalker holding on to win over the seasoned (like fine wine) Mr.
Leavitt. This set up a Stalker vs Miller final. Mike had both a speed and age (much younger than the ‘past 45’ Mr. President) and was able force a split of the first two games. At this point Hugh was able to take advantage of his experience and went on to a 3- 1 win.
4.5 DrawUp to this point there had not been a…….significant upset in the tournament to talk about. In the top of the draw number one seed and (sorry) many times a bridesmaid,
Greg Deeg again took a tumble, this time at the hands of Windsor’s
Mike “Muscle-Shirt” Wilbur (when Mike plays in Windsor it is typically in a cutoff style – muscle-man shirt, thankfully he dressed appropriately for the
DAC – thanks Mike) three games to one.
In the other semi the 2 and 3 seeds squared off, Lifetime’s Holmes
Ahari vs Windsor’s
Dave “Zippy” Guthrie. The experienced Holmes, not fully back from an injury, did not have quite enough for the younger Guthrie who advanced to set up an all Windsor final. Muscle shirt Mike, probably from having to carry the extra weight of both sleeves and a collar all tournament, just did not have quiet enough game left for the younger Guthrie, who zipped around the court to win in three close games.
5.0 DrawThe 5.0 draw was just awesome! Up until a late withdrawal just hours before the first round of matches, we had a 16 man draw. There were many close matches, and since some were played upstairs at the same time as some downstairs matches, unfortunately I could only catch some of each. However I can tell you that in the round of 16,
Justin Warnock’s match against Jason Heywood was a thriller won by Justin in five games, after Jason had won the first two.
In the quarter finals all four matches were exciting,
Kevin Furmanek in a very close win over Rob Munro from Lansing. Pete
Ruhala, the other half of the Lansing duo, winning a match between two former Racquetball Champions, over the much improved Lifetime’s Ryan
Covell. Justin in another very close match over Lifetimes Ricardo Ramos. Finally,
Brian Porter winning a tight match against the
DAC’s (and number 2 seed) Peter Logan.
On to the semi’s, Windsor’s
Furmanek against the pride of East Lansing’s Pete
Ruhala, back and forth with Kevin winning in five very close games. The other semi, an all Windsor affair with Justin “Mr. Techno Music”
Warnock against Brian “Mr. Cool” (as in nothing fazes me) Porter. Another back and forth match with Mr. Techno prevailing in five close games.
This set up an all Windsor final between number one seed Kevin and number 3 seed Justin. Justin seemed to be peaking at just the right time, he seemed to be gaining confidence in his ability to “put away” the Prince squash ball. Kevin’s game, other than not quite finding the trick to putting the ball away, was awesome. With his quickness, court coverage and retrieving, he play was pro worthy and when needed, his play was patient and deliberate, forcing opponents into mistakes.
The final, first game back and forth, Justin hit’s a couple of late kill shots to squeak it out 11-9. Second game, Kevin covering the court like a pro, forces Justin into hitting some loose balls which Kevin takes advantage of to dominate and win 11-2. Third game Justin tightens his game back up and they stay within a point, sometimes two, up to eight each. Justin again finds a way to hit a couple of winners and squeaks out the third. Into the fourth, Kevin is noticeably the fresher of the two, knows he just needs to be patient and deliberate, no loose balls. Justin, with a game to give, can afford to gamble. Any small opportunity he is going for broke, hitting boasts, reverses, drops, and making some incredible hard drives just above the tin and aiming for the nick when Kevin leaves balls in the front court. Justin the gambler makes many more winners than errors to win the fourth game, and win the match three games to one, another great match to cap of the tournament.
Submitted by: Phil
Blagdurn,
MSRA Tournament Director
To see the tournament draw and result sheets please visit
http://www.michigansquash.org/
