Tournament Results

SMH & BCD Music Houston Squash Championship

Amateur Results

Ladies

1. Clare Imrie
2. Rachel Candelet
3. Stacy McLean

5.5

Winner:             Brooks Lyons
Runner Up:             Chris Spies
Consolation:             Andy Hubbard

4.5

Winner:             Ed Montayne
Runner Up:             Uday
Consolation:             Clive Walker

3.5

Winner:             Mauricio Recinos
Runner Up:             Preetham Mokhatira
Consolation:             F. Solomon

2.5

Winner:             Fawad Raja
Runner Up:             Al Brohi
Consolation:             Peter Weidler

BCD & SMH Houston Squash Championship 2007,

The Downtown Club at the Met was once again the host for BDC
& SMH Houston Squash Championship which will saw some of the top men
pros compete for an $11,000 purse.

ALL EGYPTIAN FINAL – No. 1 seed wins 11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4

In an exciting 54 minutes final match between the top two seeds, the more experienced top seed Omar Elborolossy beat fellow Egyptian Mohammad Ali Anwar Reda three games to one. Reda came back from 1-6 down to win the second game 11-8, the same score that he lost the first game. After splitting the first two games, Elborolossy hung on to win the crucial and closely matched third game for which both players fought particularly hard. Losing the third was like letting the air out of Reda’s balloon who seemed deflated in the fourth, and it was clear that he didn’t have the same fight left in him anymore. Throughout the match both players played clean squash, making “every effort to get to and play the ball”. After the match, Elborolossy thanked the tournament sponsors, volunteers and organizers before dedicating the win to his wife and two children in Egypt.

SEMI FINAL

All Egyptian Final Guaranteed Elborolossy wins 13-11, 11-5, 11-4

Laurent Elriani fell to the number one seed Omar Elborolossy in three straight games, which guarantees an all Egyptian final on Sunday. Elriani was put on the defensive from the start of the match but despite some superb retrieving, was not able to take a game of the talented Elborolossy.


In the more evenly matched and exciting semi final between two Egyptians, qualifier Ahmad Hamza thrilled the spectators with his shot making, putting the number two seed Mohammad Ali Anwar Reda under pressure that he hadn't anticipated. After losing the first game, Hamza came out strong wining the next two by playing an array of low percentage shots which found the nick more often than not. A shell shocked Reda changed his game strategy after the third game and played tight rails, giving Hamza no opportunity to make shots. The strategy worked, giving Reda the game to take the match to the fifth game. It was during this game that fatigue finally set in for Hamza, who was playing in his fifth match of the week. Reda smelled blood early in the last game and took advantage of his opponent's fatigue. Despite a valiant effort, Hamza's dream week came to an end 52 minutes after the start of the match.

11-3, 2-11, 7-11, 11-2, 11-7

2007 BCD & SMH Houston Open Squash Tournament

Friday, July 20

Quarter-final

[1] Omar Elborolossy (EGY) beat [5] Bradley Hindle (AUS) 3-0
11-4, 11-7, 11-6

[6] Laurent Elriani (FRA) beat [4] Tony James (AUS) 3-0
11-7, 11-7, 11-3

[Q] Ahmed Maged Hamza (EGY) v [Q] Gilly Lane (USA) 3-0
11-7, 11-8, 11-5

[2] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) v Ryan Donegan (USA)
11-7, 11-9, 11-10 (3-1)

Day two of the tournament was anticlimactic compared to the previous day, if one was expecting five game matches and contested calls. All four matches were decided in three games. There were fewer referee decisions in all four matches than there were in the first game of one of the matches yesterday. The day was a dream for referees; every effort was made to get to and play the ball. All eight players played excellent squash and the spectators were hard pressed to choose which player to support in the matches. In the final match of the evening, local favourite Ryan Donegan looked like he was going to extend the match but alas, an unlucky bounce at the end of the third game put an end to his, and the crowd€™s hopes.

Thursday, July 19, 2007 - Day 1 of the main draw of the BCD & SMH Houston Open saw some incredibly close matches and some unexpected results.

Omar Elborolossy (Egy) beat qualifier Andrew McDougall (Can) – 11-2, 11-2, 11-9

No surprise here; well contested third game. Clean match.

Bradley Hindle (Aus) beat local pro and tournament director Muhammad Sadiq (USA) – 14-12, 20-18, 11-4

The first two games could easily have gone the other way which would have changed the complexion of the match. Local favorite Sadiq had way too much on his plate to really remain focused.

Tony James (Aus) beat Khayal Muhammad Khan (Pak) – 11-6, 13-15, 12-10, 9-11, 11-7

This match was arguably the most physical game of squash witnessed by most players and spectators alike. Suffice it to say that it resembled a hockey match rather than a squash match. Even the referee, who was the loser from the previous match, seemed a little shell shocked with the display. After the first game the three referee system was used. That didn’t stop the players from pushing and shoving each other. Although this wasn’t squash at its finest, fortunately it was the exception rather than the rule on this first day.

Laurent Elriani (Fra) beat Patrick Chifunda (Zam) – 11-8, 11-4, 10-12, 11-1

Mostly an uneventful match with both players showing sportsmanship.

Qualifier Gilly Lane (Usa) beat Fabian Kalaitzis (Gre) – 11-4, 12-10, 11-1

Excellent squash by qualifier Gilly Lane who was playing in only his second PSA event. Ironically his first PSA tournament was in Greece earlier this year, although this is the first time he has played Greek opponent Kalaitzis. Lane is a sportsman and one gets the feeling we’ll be seeing him rise rapidly in the world rankings.

Ahmed Hamza (Egy) beat Wade Johnstone (Aus) – 10-12, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9

Good match; good squash all around and definitely an upset. Could have gone either way right up to the last point. Well contested match, non controversial.

Ryan Donegan (Usa) beat Jose Bacerril (Mex) 11-4, 6-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9

Another five setter, but this one could have been played without a referee. There were less than five let calls in the entire match. Both players cleared well and showed each other the appropriate respect. Again, could have gone either way right up to the last point. Donegan was the local favorite, having trained with Muhammad Sadiq at this very venue for a year before moving to St. Louis. His training in Houston resulted in his getting a spot on the US team at the Medellin Pan American Squash Championship.

Muhammad Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) beat Regardt Schonborn (Rsa) – 13-11, 4-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9

More of the same in that it could have gone either way, but there were plenty of decisions made by the referee. This match had the makings of the upset of the day but the qualifier Schonborn got two very unlucky bounces at the end of the fifth game.

Gilly Lane beat the higher ranked Patrick Bedore in an exciting five game match to secure a spot in the main draw of the BCD & SMH Houston Open Squash Championship. After jumping to an early lead in the fifth game, Lane made a series of unforced errors which evened the match at 7 all. However, Bedore lost his focus after questioning what appeared to be two routine let calls by the referee and lost the next three points in quick succession from which he was unable to recover. In a battle of two Canadians, Andrew Mcdougall emerged victorious in a well contested five setter. The players clearly knew each other’s game and kept the match interesting right until the last point. The other two qualifiers made short work of their opponents to advance into the main draw.

WISPA Texas Open 2007

World ranked number six, Natalie Grainger, displayed such dominate court sense and power shots that overwhelmed her final opponent Rebecca Chiu from Hong Kong, ranked 15th in the world.  Grainger, who is the current WISPA president, disposed of Chiu (3-0) in a final that barely lasted thirty minutes and comfortably captured her first Texas WISPA title.

Grand Masters Atlanta 2006

Peter Morse wins the 60+ at the Grand Masters held on December 8-10th at Windy hill in Atlanta, read more about the event plus some news from the SESRA.

Linda Lorelle Squash challenge 2006

Thank you to those who participated in the The Linda Lorelle Scholarship fund held October 13-14 at the Downtown Club at the Met. The purpose of this event was to continue to raise awareness for the Linda Lorelle Scholarship Fund. Which helps provided college scholarships, support and guidance for Houston area high school students in need of financial assistance whose academic and personal potential may be unfulfilled due to circumstances beyond their control.

The HSRA and the entire Houston squash community thank Andy Forster for sponsoring this final ICS top 32 at the University Club. This tournament has been a perennial favorite for the participants and spectators alike.

Shahier Razik of Canada beat Alex Gough and Mark Chaloner to win the North American Open title. Razik, last year's runner up, played error free squash to overcome Raj Nanda, Gough and Chaloner, the former two extending him to five games each. Number one seed Bradley Ball suffered an injury during his quarter final match leaving the door open for the other three top four seeds.

Muhammad Sadiq is once again the winner of the 9th annual ICS Top 32 tournament, beating newcomer Abdul Razzaq 3 - 0 in an exciting final. Only Guy Cowan has won this tournament more times (including the years before ICS became the title sponsor), although with a win next year Sadiq will match Cowan's record.

Click here for List of participants and the final standings

Click here photos   1  2  3  4

Builder's Management Group wins final over Continental Airlines for top honors Hiddleston's absence hurts Enron in 3rd place playoff versus EOG Resources Click here for pictures

England's top seed Bradley Ball scores a straight-games victory over Mexico's Eric Galvez to win the PSA Open title! Click here for full Pro results. Amateur and pictures to follow!

David G. Matthes is regarded as the "father of Houston squash". We thought it would be interesting to pick Dave's brain for his squash memories. Click here for full interview...