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Xede
presents
2007
MCC Schedule
Saturday
10/06/07
10am –12 pm: Deroy Foundation junior squash clinic, all
courts. Followed by brunch.
10 am – 4:00pm: Smith Barney Doubles Pro-Am main draw
and consolation matches.
2 -3.30 pm: Ladies Clinic, three courts.
4:00
– 7:00pm: Suburban Infiniti Professional main draw semi-finals.
Court 3.
7:00pm: BAC/MCC Seventies Party (please make your reservations
today. Guests welcome)
Sunday
10/07/07
11 am – 1pm: Smith Barney Doubles Pro-Am - consolation
final (11 am) followed by Pro-Am final.
1:30
pm: “Lightning Round,” winner-take-all, best of one rally
challenge played by pros not competing in final.
2 pm:
Suburban Infiniti Professional Main Draw Final. Awards presentation
will immediately follow the completion of the final (Reception
in Racquet Room follows ceremony).
Deroy
Juniors photos on the Web
MCC
official photgrapher Gani Ricarte will be posting his photos of
the DeRoy junior players on his website for purchase. Find your
child - or any of Gani's photos of your favorite pro player -
at ganiricarte.com.
Smith
Barney presents
Quote
of the Day
“The (Motor City tournament) should be the blueprint for how club
tournaments are run because of the involvement of the members
and the staff. And because of the respectful way the players are
treated. ”
-
Mark Chaloner, veteran player and former PSA president, on the
MCO.
(continued
from middle column)
In
the night's other matches, Egypt's very fit Wael El-Hindi - world
#12 and second seed - performed with calm and poise in easily
disposing of seven-seed Stefan Castelyn of Belgium in three games:
11-8, 11-3, 11-5.
Third-seed Stuart Boswell of Australia also impressed in his debut
appearance in Detroit, beating out perennial MCC competitor, Graham
Ryding of Canada, 11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4.
White and Tuominen will open Saturday's semi-final play at 4 pm,
followed by El Hindi v. Boswell at 5:30. Tickets are still avaialble.
Call Tim Gardella at (248) 646-5050.
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MCC First Round: Top Seeds Advance
Five-seed Ong Beng Hee exhibits perfect backhand
form in his match agaisnt #4 Olli Tuominen of Finland. Tuominene,
however, was better overall, defeating the Maylasian, 3-1.
(Photo copyright Birmingham Athletic Club)
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White
rolls; Two-seed El Hindi impresses; Tuominen/Beng Hee put on a
show
By A.J. Hakim
Birmingham,
Mich. – There were no surprises Friday in the first round
of the 2007 Motor City Challenge, presented by Suburban Infiniti.
Defending champion John White rolled over veteran Mark Chaloner,
leading a parade of top seeds into Saturday’s semifinal at the
Birminghan Athletic Club outside Detroit.
Four-seed
Olli Tuominen of Finland and fifth-seeded Malaysian Ong Beng Hee,
numbers 17 and 18 in the world respectively, promised the evening’s
most interesting duel and they did not disappoint. Tuominen prevented
a minor mental relapse from cascading into a major meltdown in
the night’s opener.
After two
games of exploiting opponent Ong Beng Hee’s failure to impose
his style of play, Tuominen let slip three straight match points
rallies and granted Beng Hee a third game reprieve.
“I had three
game balls prepared,” said Olli, a Motor City semifinalist in
2004. “I just sort of lost concentration for a bit. After that
it became a different game, a real struggle. He played really
well and started putting the ball close to the wall, and I wanted
to go up and volley but I was too tired. It ended up being a bit
of a battle at the end.”
Unfortunately for
Beng Hee, his rhythm arrived too late. He fell in four games (11-3,
11-9, 10-12, 11-8) in an exhausting match filled with intense
rallies that often lasted several minutes.
How low can you go? Tuominen concentrates
agaisnt Beng Hee. (Photo copyright Birmingham Athletic Club)
“Today wasn’t my best match,” said Beng Hee. “I got started very
slowly. I didn’t get going until maybe the second half of the
second game, and in squash you can’t afford to have a bad start.”
Beng Hee
blamed the playing surface – a permanent club court - as an obstacle,
requiring him to change his technique for a better part of the
match.
“I didn’t
feel I was moving as well as I’d like to,” said Beng Hee. “And
because of that, I had to change my game. Early on I was very
frustrated because the court was so bouncy that I couldn’t do
very much with the ball, and I was getting very frustrated. When
I finally got into my rhythm, it was too late and Olli took full
advantage of it, so credit to him, he played extremely well today.”
Tuominen’s
second round opponent will be #1-seed White, who opened opened
with a bang, beating recently retired PSA President, Mark Chaloner
of England, in three games: 11-6, 11-8, 11-8.
White, currently
ranked world #8, put on his typical display of sonic booms, blasting
the ball around the court at outrageous speeds, while also exhibiting
a youthful agility for a 34-year old, 6’4” big man.
His matchup with Tuominen should be intriguing. Tuominen boasts
a 3-1 record against the Big Scot, having beaten him beat in Liverpool
(2006), Qatar (2004) and Hong Kong (2001).
(continued in first
column)
In 2004, Finn Ollie Tuominen (left)
upset curretn world #1 Amr Shabana (right) on his way to the Motor
City final. Tuominen, seeded four, is gunning for the final again
this year.. (Photo copyright Birmingham Athletic Club)
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Greenstone's Jewelers presents
Player
Profile
Stewart Boswell
Australia
A rising young
squash star who had reached #4 in the world, Aussie Stewart Boswell
hit tragedy in Qatar in May 2003. Bogged down by a mysterious
back ailment, he was forced into a two-year layoff in which he
spent most of his time seeking medical advice - anyone who might
restore the function to his dysfunctional back.
Following the treatment of physio Steve Saunders in Adelaide,
Boswell, now 29, returned to the professional ranks in April 2005.
Rhythm hadn’t forsaken him as he quickly re-established himself
among the world’s elite. He won seven straight PSA Tour titles,
rocketing through the rankings from #299 to #20.
Boswell, now world #13, was born in Canberra, Australia. As a
junior, he won titles each year from 1993 to 1997. Turning pro
in 1997, Boswell continued his climb to the top, showing remarkable
promise before being stymied by the mystery ailment.
His
most recent championship was at the Clare Valley Australian Open
2007 in which he avenged a first-round loss in Qatar by beating
Cameron Pilley, world #21. Two weeks later, he was in the finals
again at the CIMB Malaysian Open – but he was defeated in the
final by world #16 Mohd Azlan Iskandar.
This week marks his Motor City tourney debut. -AJH
MCC
Notes
Chaloner
returns. After 15 years on the PSA tour, 34-year old
Englishman Mark Chaloner announced his retirement at the Motor City
last year.
But you can't keep a good man down. . . or at least, you can't keep
him away from a tournament he loves.
Last year, Chaloner said he chose the occasion because the Motor
City event was his favorite tourney.
The feeling is mutual, and the MCC is extending him an invite to
take another bow . . . .
Deroy
Juniors photos on the Web
MCC official
photgrapher Gani Ricarte will be posting his photos of the DeRoy
junior players on his website for purchase. Find your child - or
any of Gani's photos of your favorite pro player - at ganiricarte.com.
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