Dear NorCal Squash players,
After discussion with the league commissioners and pro’s, and following the guidance of USSquash and the CDC we are indefinitely suspending all league play and postponing the playoffs and annual NorCal dinner.
We will continue to evaluate the situation, and if possible reschedule both the remaining league matches and playoffs. We thank you for your understanding, and hope everyone stays healthy.
Emilie van der Hoorn
Chairman, NorCal Squash
Players and parents flocked to the Bay Area last weekend for the second year in a row to participate in the Squash Zone Gold hosted by Squash Zone in partnership with Bay Club Redwood Shores and Norcal Squash. From young to older students of the battles were fought, tears were shed and victors celebrated from early Saturday morning to end of play Sunday 1st March. One hundred and thirty eight competitors gave their all over the course of the weekend.
Squash Zone – Richard Elliott, Aisling Blake and Elaine Friedland – hosted the younger age groups this time out with U11, U13 and Girls U15 events being played out at the newest independent squash venue on the West coast. Local interest prevailed in the Gu11 with Minnie Kim of Orinda taking 1st place against Prisha Natarajan of Fremont in a close 4 games while younger sister Lara Kim swept up in the Consolation Play off coming in 7th.
Top seed Shirya Viswanathan flew in from Plano in the Gu13 and faced tough local competition in the form of Richa Patnam who won in a nail-biting 11-9 in the 5th. Meanwhile consolation winner Elinor Feldman provided success for the University Club placing 5th place.
Another top local seed in the Gu15 was Kristen Daniel. After overcoming Migyu Kim in a thrilling 5 game tie break win in the semis, Kristen fell in the final to Fatima Abdelrahman of Santa Clara in 3 games.
In the Bu11, #1 seed Arjya Saha of Los Gatos looked comfortable all the way through the early rounds, losing just one game in the final on his way to the title against Miles Goulding of Greenwich.
The Bu13 certainly provided some drama; in what would be considered a major upset Nathaniel Nam of New York beat out several seeds, including the top seed in the semi-finals on his way to the final against home favourite Vivaan Mehta in the Bu13. Mehta won out in 4 games to take his first Gold u13 title.
The Bay Club Redwood Shores, under the direction of Charlie Johnson, played host to the seasoned veterans of US Junior Squash; Gu 17 and Gu 19 and B u 15, 17 and 19. The matches overall were of high quality and lengthy in duration as players battled for their final placings on Sunday. In the Bu 15 category and after a slight blip in the quarters Rustin Wiser of New York constructed a great game plan to take the age group title against second seed Joshua Thomas of Cupertino.
Again, some surprises in the Bu 17 with Saechow Yap from Ohio taking out second seed inthe quarters. Yap backed up his win by going all the way to the finals before succumbing to the top seed Rana Thakker of Dallas in straight games. Local interest in the Bu 17 was provided by Ahmed Haq (coming in 4th place) and Felix Feldman (winning the Consolation finals in 5 games).
In the top age group, Bu 19 Alec Spiro of Portland outdid his seeding by beating the #1 seed Winston Park to take his Gold title. Again, local talent did well in the form of Roshan Gampala of Cupertino coming in 3rd place and Zane Patel of Santa Clara finishing 5th.
In the Gu 17 event, Madison Ho, fresh from a great JCT performance her opponents in straight games on the way to the title while Claudia Adam and Mehma Jolly kept home hopes alive by contesting the Consolation Finals in which Adam came out the victor in straight games and Roshni Pal with a Plate final win.
The Gu 19 event was the only age category with a Round Robin event with 2 groups eventually placing the winners against each other. The winners of Group A, won by Riddhi Joshi of Fremont and Group B, won by Riya Navani of Milpitas faced off in this local final. Navani won in straight games thus adding yet another trophy to the cabinet of this youngster.
Matches were entertaining and hotly contested, players fought long and hard for their crucial points and all matches were played in a sportsmanlike manner throughtout the weekend. Many thanks to the various helpers and match referees at both Squash Zone and Bay Club Redwood Shores and congrats to all of those who competed so well on the day.
Thank you to local pro Bailey Bondy for an excellent article, we look forward to more in the future!
Dear Players,
We are 14 days away from hosting the 3rd annual “Anything But A’s Singles Classic” presented by “Martin Sign Company” at the University Club of San Francisco. The goal of this tournament is to bring players together and enjoy the game we all love. This is a way to meet other players from the community while having a great time. To enter the tournament please us this Sign-Up Here – Anything But A’s Classic!.
Date: January 24 – 25, 2020
Host Club: University Club of San Francisco
Organizer: Busani Xaba, busani@uclubsf.org
Register by: Wednesday, January 15 @ noon (Deadline is fixed)
Entry Fee: $60 per person
Early bird: $50 (Early bird ends January 10, 2020)
Late Entry: $100(After January 15, 2020, at noon)
Eligibility: B Players = 4.9 – 4.0 | C Players = 3.9 – 3.0 | D Players = 2.9 and below.
Includes: Hospitality will include beer and wine on Friday night. Guest are invited to join members in the club bar after matches are over. On Saturday lunch will be provided with an afterparty at a bar (TBD) serving pizza with an open bar for the first hour.
Start Time: Matches will be scheduled for Friday, January 24 from 4 pm – 9 pm. Busani will send your start times by Monday, January 20th at noon.
The 4-day PSA Bayside Open 2019 wrapped up on Saturday afternoon at Bay Club Redwoods Shores with Head Pro Charlie Johnson winning a marathon 5-game match over Assistant Pro, Lawrence Kuhn, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 4-11, 11-7. Together, Johnson and Kuhn took home the lion’s share of the $1,000 total prize money for this professional tournament, sponsored by NorCal Squash and the Bay Club.
Both players had had a long road to the finals and confessed to being sore and tired before their match started. To get to the finals, Charlie had first battled past the skilled Mexican player, Cesar Segundo (currently at the University of Rochester), winning 14-12 in the final game, and then past a strong #2 seed, Cole Becker (currently at Princeton University), in a grueling 3-game match that lasted nearly 45 minutes. Lawrence had his own challenges, overcoming the wily #4 seed, veteran PSA player Armando Olguin, in 4 tough games, before taking on Mustafa Nawar of Egypt, pro at Squash Zone and the tournament’s #1 seed. In that match, Lawrence overcame a 0-2 deficit to battle back and win 3-2 (11-8 in the 5 th).
Still, on Saturday, both finalists were fit and keen to play, and prepared to give it their all, before the packed crowd of appreciative members and guests. A few loyal fans had been coming all week long, and some even brought homemade signs to cheer for the BCRS players.
Lawrence was the first out of the gate, winning the first game with his impressive court speed and deft touch. Charlie rebounded in games 2 and 3 by extending the rallies, and then using both volleys and lobs effectively to change pace and move Lawrence from corner to corner. Despite looking fatigued after the 3 rd game, Lawrence emerged focused and determined in the 4 th game to put pressure on Charlie, forcing him into some early errors. Taking advantage of his momentum, Lawrence continued to stay strong, and Charlie was unable to gain enough traction to come back. Both players emerged sharp for game #5, and the score was tied at 4-4 when Charlie dug deep and came out on top of a several very long points. Though Lawrence was able to respond with a few winners of his own, he could not regain his deficit and Charlie went on to emerge victorious in the final game, 11-7.
We look forward to seeing more of these PSA events in the coming months.
The Bay Club Fremont is proud to present the 2019 Winter Challenge December 20-21, and a Junior Bronze event December 21.
Sign up for the Winter Challenge here, and don’t forget to specify which skill level you would like to enter. There are two matches guaranteed for everyone and food and beverages will be provided. Prizes will be awarded to finalists. This draw is open to everyone, and includes:
MEN’S: 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0
WOMEN’S: 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0
Entry deadline on Dec 18th.
All entrants must sign waiver upon entering club.
Please contact Johann Huang at johann.huang@bayclubs.com for any questions about the event.
Are you looking for a good challenge in this event or want to watch a high level match? Long time Fremont Squash member Dillon Huang (second from the left) currently ranked U.S. #1 in BU19, will be back from UPenn to play in this 6.0 event. After the conclusion of the 6.0 finals, Dillon will be doing a short Q & A for the parents and juniors. Hope to see everyone at Fremont Club!
Sign up for the 2019 Bay Club Fremont Bronze Tournament here and don’t forget to specify which age bracket(s) you would like to enter. Players may enter in two brackets and play an age up for practice. Two matches guaranteed for everyone and custom tournament T-shirt and food will be provided. Trophies will be awarded to finalists. Please contact Maha Zein at Maha.zein@bayclubs.com if you have any questions. Regular entry is until Dec. 4th. Parents must sign waiver upon entering club.
Congratulations to the seven founding inductees to the NorCal Squash Hall of Fame, whose contributions to squash in the Bay Area were celebrated at the Oracle Netsuite Open. These squash players distinguished themselves in many aspects of the game – competitively as well as socially. They made extraordinary contributions to the game through their sportsmanship and integrity, and in helping the game flourish and grow on these shores.
NorCal Squash is honored to have the opportunity to recognize these paragons of squash, and we are all indebted to their hard work and passion for the sport.
This year, NorCal Squash is pleased to announce the NorCal Squash Hall of Fame with the induction of seven founding inductees. These squash players distinguished themselves in many aspects of the game – competitively as well as socially. They made extraordinary contributions to the game through their sportsmanship and integrity, and in helping the game flourish and grow on these shores. The inductees will be honored this year at the Oracle Netsuite finals match, and more information about their incredible squash history can be found here on the virtual Hall of Fame.
Every act big and small helps enrich squash in the Bay Area. To celebrate squash on the west coast NorCal is giving away three sets of VIP tickets for matches on Friday Sept. 27 and Sunday Sept 29. Just leave a comment below describing someones act that enhanced your squash journey, from lending a racket to coaching or organizing events. Winners will be chosen at random at 9am on Wednesday, the 25th of September.
It’s that time of year again – the Oracle Netsuite Open welcoming the pro players to town and for the second time, Aisling Blake and Lauren Xaba will be hosting their Women’s Leadership Luncheon.
This year we have writer, clinical and sports psychologist Dr. Joan Steidinger joining us for a ‘Fireside Chat’. Attendees will receive a free copy of Dr. Joan’s book and we will discuss, among other issues; gender inequality in the workplace and the drive towards parity which is fitting as, for the first time in this event’s history, both women and men will earn the same prize money!
All proceeds will benefit female student-athletes in the SquashDrive and Squash on Track programs.
Click here to purchase tickets and support!
