The University of Toronto women’s squash team opened up their 2008-09 regular season with a pair of wins, defeating the host Western Mustangs 4-2 and the McMaster Marauders 5-1 on Saturday, November 15 in London, Ont.
Oakville, Ont. native Ruchi Chawla played in the number six position in her first OUA game and was unnerved, blanking her opponent 3-0 without dropping a point. Blues number five Cami Marmoush (Cairo, EGY) also won 3-0, while veteran Soojin Yi (Oakville, Ont.) found herself down 8-4 in her opening number four game but battled back to win 10-8 and take the game 3-0.
The best game of the match was a 3-2 victory for number three Edith Chow (Thornhill, Ont.). Chow played a range of volleys and drops and raced out to an early 2-0 lead. Western’s Laura Savage (Calgary, Alta.) quickly tied things up by in the fifth and deciding game, Chow returned to fine form and haulted Savage’s comeback attempt taking the game 9-4.
Western displayed their strength in the top of their order as Blues number one Karlene Headley-Cooper (Mississauga, Ont.) and number two Megan Northey (Victoria, B.C.) were both beaten 3-0. However, the overall strength of the Toronto team prevailed and the Blues came away with the 4-2 victory.
In the second match of the day, Rebecca Tristan Aldave (San Luis Porosi, MEX) took no time at the number six position, winning 3-0 and only gave up four points. Number five Daniah Shamim (Oshawa, Ont.) quickly followed, dropping only three points in another decisive 3-0 victory.
Chawla moved up to the Blues number four spot and won her second match of the day 3-0, while Chow only gave up one point in her second win of the day at the number three position.
Megan Northey fell 3-1 to McMaster’s former number one Kristina Taylor (Ile Perrot, Que.), but managed to take one game from the seasoned veteran. Northey struggled early but remained very upbeat, despite losing the first two games, and won the third game 9-4, before Taylor closed out the match.
Headley-Cooper played her best squash of the season so far, defeating the McMaster number one and former Ontario Junior standout Sunaya Gupta (Toronto). Headley-Cooper totally controlled the opening two games with a combination of hard drives and deceptive flicks. Gupta fought back in the third game but could not match Headley-Cooper’s all round talent as she closed out her match 3-0, helping the Blues earn their second win of the day.
The two victories put the Blues at the top of the OUA standings with nine points.
The Varsity Blues host the OUA crossover versus the McGill Martletts and Queen’s Gaels January 17-18 at the University of Toronto’s Athletic Centre.
Individual Results
Toronto 4 - Western 2
#1 Karlene Headley-Cooper vs Heather Lamb 7-9, 4-9, 2-9 Western 3-0
#2 Megan Northey vs Rachel Forgeron 4-9, 6-9, 0-9 Western 3-0
#3 Edith Chow vs Laura Savage 9-3, 9-6, 6-9, 0-9, 9-4 Toronto 3-2
#4 Soojin Yi vs Kathleen Horman 10-8, 9-4, 9-6 Toronto 3-0
#5 Cami Marmoush vs Giselle 9-4, 9-3, 9-1 Toronto 3-0
#6 Ruchi Chawla vs Jenny 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 Toronto 3-0
Toronto 5 - McMaster 1
#1 Karlene Headley-Cooper vs Sunaya Gupta 9-6, 9-5, 9-3 Toronto 3-0
#2 Megan Northey vs Kristina Taylor 7-9, 3-9, 9-4, 2-9 McMatster 3-1
#3 Edith Chow vs Catherine Raffoul 9-0, 9-1, 9-0 Toronto 3-0
#4 Ruchi Chawla vs Tord Kejeks 9-0, 9-2, 9-3 Toronto 3-0
#5 Daniah Shamim vs Shannon Galea 9-0, 9-1, 9-2 Toronto 3-0
#6 Rebeca Tristan Aldave vs Ali Mac Gregor 9-2, 9-1, 9-1 Toronto 3-0
