Seeds safely through on first night of squash championships
The Bermuda Squash Racquets Association’s 2024 Club Championships started with 27 matches on Monday night.
Matches were held across multiple categories, from juniors to over-60s, as players aiming for the finals later this week began their campaigns.
In the men’s open division, fourth seed Neil Pohlman launched his challenge with an 11-2, 11-5, 11-9 win over Brendon Fourie. Pohlman will next face Jordache Rawson, who defeated Elijah Simmons 11-4, 11-6, 11-8. Andrew Cox advanced after overcoming Josai Williams 11-7, 11-3, 12-10, while Dylan Pratt also progressed with a straightforward 11-7, 11-5, 11-5 victory over Ethan Rosorea.
The division’s closest contest featured Benjamin Bramlett edging Daniel Ringer in a five-set thriller, winning 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 4-11, 11-7.
In the women’s open, Joann Bielby triumphed over McKenna Kyme 11-4, 11-5, 11-8. Bielby will now meet second seed Susie Howells in the next round.
The men’s B tournament saw No 2 seed Jonah Every defeat Warren von Weise 11-7, 11-6, 11-6, while third seed Jeffrey Ingelman beat Gary Furtado in four sets. Fourth seed Otto Beyer secured a straight-sets victory over Harry Munro. Rocco Adderley, Hudson Ferris, and Michael Schrah advanced with straight-set wins, but Manjit Varwandkar needed five sets to overcome David Soutter.
In the men’s over-40 division, the top-four seeds, John Fletcher, Anthony Fellowes, Hadleigh Farrer, and Piers Carr, advanced comfortably. The trend continued in the over-50s, with Nick Leach, Spencer Moss, Jan Brewer, and Shane McDonell easing into the next round.
In the over-60s, No 2 seed Tony Riker defeated third seed Colin Alexander 11-3, 11-7, 11-8.
In the Junior Girls Under-13 event, the top three seeds, Taylor Kyme, Sophie Farrer, and Hyla Hunter, all secured straight-set victories. Shane Reardon and Soren Schrum also won their opening matches in the junior competition.