A young Bermuda men?s squash team begin a tough assignment at the Pan American Championships in Tepic, Mexico on Friday, with coach Ross Triffitt hoping for a top eight finish in a team event overflowing with international quality.

The four-man squad, which includes Nick Kyme, James Stout, Tommy Sheratt and reserve Michael Shrubb will find the going tough according to Triffitt against the likes of Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Canada.

But the Australian stressed that he did not envisage his players being the whipping boys of the championships with two world ranked players in Kyme and Stout at the top of the order.

The team will, however, be without the invaluable services of the South African playing professional and current Caribbean Champion Gary Plumstead, who has expressed a desire to return to his homeland at the end of the year to fight for a place on the national team.

?In aiming for a top eight finish I think we are being realistic,? Triffitt said.

?There are some very strong teams taking part and without Gary Plumstead, there is no doubt we have been somewhat weakened. But we will be competitive with Nick and James at one and two.?

Triffitt did concede that an awful lot of pressure would again be placed on Kyme to deliver the goods ? particularly with both Stout?s and Sherratt?s patchy fitness record in physically demanding tournaments.

However, the Australian coach was quick to point to the Bermuda number one?s impressive record under tough conditions, highlighted no better than when he carried the weight of national expectation into the first round of the Bermuda Open this past March.

?There is no doubt that we will look to Nick to lead from the front,? he said.

?James and particularly Tommy have in the past suffered injuries in big tournaments where you are forced to play hard matches every day, if not twice a day sometimes. But Nick is becoming used to performing on the big stage and I am confident that he will cope with what is thrown at him.?

Triffitt said also that he had been buoyed in recent weeks by the ?marked improvement? he had seen in Stout?s game, the latter having returned from another extended stint at his training base in Belgium.

?James? game is coming on nicely and I look forward to him stepping up to the plate next week,? he said.

Kyme meanwhile, yesterday expressed his concern at the lack of time the squad would have to acclimatise to the high altitude in Tepic, with the team arriving a mere two days before matches get underway.

The world number 83 struggled in such conditions last year at the Evolution Open in Mexico City and was under no illusions as to the immensity of the physical challenge.

?We will be at a big disadvantage coming directly from sea level,? he said.

?The Mexicans for example are totally used to playing on courts where the air is so thin and often have that extra gear when the going gets tough. Playing so many matches back to back will also be hard, but despite all this, we are all looking forward to getting on and playing.?

Unusually for Bermudian squash, their will also be a women?s team taking part in Mexico ? the first time ever that the Island has been represented by females at a major international squash event.

Jenny Chamberlain, Liz Martin and Denise Kyme make up the Bermuda trio.

?We are very happy to at last have a women?s team coming with us,? Triffitt said.

?Jenny has been a very useful addition to our ladies team and with both Denise and Liz going down, it is a team with plenty of experience of Caribbean squash. But it remains to be seen how they will fare at the Pan Ams.?