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The first of three Women's Elite tournaments for this season was held January 9-11th at the Harvard Club of New York City . These Elite tournaments are selection events for the US Women's Team competing in the Pan Am Federation Games in Mexico this summer and in the Women's World Championships in Amsterdam this fall.
Although there were only 5 players at the tournament this weekend, the galleries were packed with excited fans. Ivy Pochoda and Carlin Wing have been living in Amsterdam and made the trek back to their hometown for the event. They both look extremely fit and their disciplined training schedules really showed on the court. Both were setting up the points well and hitting the ball crisply with a lot of power. Ivy and Carlin are excited to be trying out for the World Championships, especially because they are being held in the town where they live.
Michelle Quibell and Louisa Hall made the trips from Yale and Harvard, respectively, while Meredeth Quick had the shortest trip from Brooklyn where she is the assistant squash pro at the Heights Casino.
The hightlight of the weekend was not the 5-game final between Louisa and Meredeth, but rather the 5-game semi-final between Meredeth and Michelle. Both Michelle and Meredeth played with an attacking style, hunting the volley and playing fast-paced squash. Both were fighting fatigue while running down every single ball. They also showed good touch and used the entire court. The winner of the weekend, Louisa Hall, looks very strong and determined on court. She didn't lose a game until the finals.
The next major tournament for the Elite group is the Nationals and then the other two Elite tournaments are April 16-18 in Philadelphia and April 30-May 2nd either in Greenwich or Boston . The trials are in late May at Greenwich Academy .
Scores of the matches:
Friday:
Meredeth beat Carlin 9-3,9-1,9-5
Saturday:
Michelle beat Carlin 9-5,9-7,(6-9),9-1
Meredeth beat Michelle (8-10),10-9,(7-9),9-7,-5
Louisa beat Ivy 9-2,9-4,9-3
Sunday:
Michelle beat Ivy for 3rd place 10-8,9-7,(9-10),(8-10),9-2
Louisa beat Meredeth for 1st place 10-9,9-3,(2-9),(7-9),9-3
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