2018 DAC Squash Classic - Feb 8-11
I’ve
been living in Detroit since late 2004 and never have I seen a snow
storm the likes of what we received this past weekend. The DAC Classic has been
fortunate over the years that while, yes, we have had snow and difficult
weather during the tournament weekend, it was in no way anything close to what
Mother Nature slammed us with this year. She whipped out her sledgehammer and
attempted to pound us into submission. She was relentless, she was cruel, she
was clearly holding a grudge. But she failed. Apparently, nothing can stop a
squash player from getting on a squash court.
Not
only do I take my hat off to all the local players in and around Detroit for
braving the highways, side streets and snow-hidden pot-holes, I have to strip
down to my skivvies for all the lionhearted souls that strapped the snow-shoes
to their cars and trekked all the way from as far away as London, Chicago and
Toronto. My Friday morning anxiety attacks were warranted but end the end
unnecessary as - although some players were understandably a little late
turning up - we only (believe it or not) had 2 cancellations come through. You
are all truly warriors. And I bow to your commitment. Screw Mother Nature, the
show must go on…
Singles 2.5: Dark horses are always a
fun story line. Obviously when I put all the draws together and I see the list
of players in each event, I can picture in my head who may win, who may
struggle, and who in Hades is this guy / gal? I have to admit Paul Gormley
wasn’t on my list of dark horses - invisible horses maybe - but boy did
he step up. And I was very happy for him to do so. Maximum effort always, Paul
pulled out a 3-2 win against London opponent John Merucci, a victory if
memory serves me correctly (at my age an unlikely possibility!) that he came
back from a 2 games to 0 deficit to do so. He then took on Steve Murphy
late Saturday evening in which was probably one of the best matches in the
whole event but unfortunately had very few witnesses, and Paul won an epic
battle 12-10 in the 5th to reach the semi final. His run ended there when he
went down 3-0 to Jack Bernard, but I would notch this up as a successful
performance for Paul and a good confidence booster for the upcoming club champs
in April.
On
the other side of the draw, a big unknown London player - Adam Arbus -
was breezing through the first couple of rounds and he quickly turned into the
favorite for the title. However, even though Jordan Dean was hearing all
the chatter, he was having none of it. Jordan was displaying the DAC
super-hospitality in his first couple of rounds as he played 2 women, and he
did give up a game to each of them. What a gentleman! The Miss Congeniality act
then disappeared against Adam. And thankfully as well, Jordan does not look
good in a formal gown and high heels. He did not allow Adam to get into any
type of comfort zone, he had him digging out of the back corners and stretching
his 6 foot 3 (or 4?) body into the front shortly thereafter. It was 3-0, and
Jordan was in the final against Jack.
With
a DAC title guaranteed, Jordan decided that he should be the one to lead the
charge and took the match 3-1. A deserved result, Jordan has been improving and
is now eyeing the 3.0. Jack shouldn’t be too disappointed either. He’s a quiet
achiever, the only games he lost in the tournament were to Jordan. He too will
be eyeing the next category up… the young guys are pushing ahead.
One
more mention in this category - Gus Ploss’s 3-2 victory in the
consolation final over Julie VandeVusse. It’s the third time in a week
that these two have played each other. Julie won the first two, and after the
second, we were wondering if Gus was going to hang up is racquet for good. I’m
very pleased that Gus will now stick with for a while longer!
Singles 3.0: Speaking of Dark Horses,
Han Peng had a wonderful run this weekend. Not too many people work
harder on a squash court - or sweats more - than Han. Hustling power brings
results. And Han, clearly, doesn’t like to win in 3 straight games. If it
doesn’t go 4 or 5, then it’s apparently not worth it. Five matches for the
weekend… Starts with a 3-2 win over Chuck Doyle, then a 3-1 over Mike
Rock, another 3-2 over Mike Parker, followed up with a third 3-2 win
this time over Anil Kathuria. By this stage, Han had gone through 17
towels, 14 gallons of replenishing water, 26 t-shirts, 18 pairs of socks and 6
pairs of squash shoes. And he had the final to go.
Windsor
player Carlyle D’Souza was no dark horse here - he was the favorite. And
he proved that position. Two 3-0 wins to reach the semi final he then met up
with Haytham Hermiz. Haytham was coming off an extended vacation to
Australia where he didn’t play any squash but kept his training up wrestling
crocodiles, tackling sharks, chucking shrimps on the barbie, slamming VB’s,
spreading his Vegemite, downing a few meat pies, and slapping away the mozzies.
Unusual methods to be sure, but it paid off with 3-2 win over Michael Craig
in the first round and a 3-0 win in the second. Alas, the Down-Under Power wore
off against Carlyle but not before snagging a game. Carlyle would be Han’s
problem now.
And
problematic it was. Carlyle hits it hard and low. You just cannot give him a
time and space to smack it. Running out of squash gear and depleting the
pro-shops supply as well, Han put up a great fight however, and pushed Carlyle
to 4 games. But energy levels were running low for Han and the 4th was a little
of a runaway. 3-1 for the Windsorite!
Singles 3.5: I had my eye on a DAC
victory in this bracket. Basically, numbers were on our side. 22 players in
total, 17 of them were members. Strangely, the 3.5 used to be the biggest draw
in the tournament, but now it’s the 3rd or 4th. More players are entering the
higher categories. I’m staying on the dark horse theme here as well - Scott
Beals wasn’t my first choice to take the winner’s trophy, but my spidey-senses
told me it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Of course, my spidey-senses
also tell me not to complain to my wife about her cooking, and I continually
fail that task. Scott had to win 4 matches to reach the final, and he won three
of these matches 3-1. The one match he won 3-0 was the one match I thought may
be his downfall but he rolled over Keith Baldwin like a bulldozer.
Meeting
Scott in the final was none other than the red-headed brazenness of Rich
Stimson. Rich is no stranger to muscling through matches, a never-say-die
attitude that is impossible to learn if it isn’t a built in character. His 3-2
win in the quarter finals only set up the come-back 3-2 win in the semis
against Paul Van Tol. I’m positive Rich isn’t sure how he managed the 11-8
in the 5th victory, and I’m also not positive if he didn’t regret it either. At
this stage of the event - Sunday afternoon - the stiffness was hitting him like
a 2-by-4. And Scott wasn’t about to let him off the hook. He kept pushing Rich
to run through the final knowing at some point he couldn’t possibly continue to
do so. For the most part, Rich stuck with it, he didn’t let up a whole lot, but
the pressure became too much. Scott took the match 3-1!
Singles 4.0: The biggest of all the draws - 30
players, half of which were non DAC members. An excellent group, made all the
more pleasing because we could manage to give each DAC member a non member
first round. That is also a doubled edge sword. It could potentially push every
single member into the consolation bracket after the first round too!
Thankfully that didn’t happen as 7 of us got through to the second round. But
that’s where the good news ends. Six of those 7 failed to advance any further
and we were left with just one flag bearer - Chris Van Tol - to carry
the weight of representation solely on his shoulders. The lone ranger in the
quarter finals, he would have to navigate the mine field of 7 London players
the rest of the way.
It
was a fine performance too. An 11-9 in the 5th quarter final win over Jay
Nash laid the path to his 3-0 drubbing of Betsy Carson in the semi
final. Not to take any shine of Chris’ victory here, but Betsy wasn’t at her
best at 9.20am on the Sunday morning. Let’s just say she hadn’t “warmed up”
enough to get match-ready.
The
other half of the quarter finals looked like a 50+ event - ‘experienced’
players all down the line. Happy to say some of them had grey-er hair than I.
Also happy to say, they don’t play like they are 50+, and Chris can attest to
that. Getting through the mayhem to reach the final was Rob Cunningham -
first time at the DAC Classic, but hopefully not the last. It wasn’t easy for
the old (young) man, none of his victories to get to the final were 3-0, and he
just kept on grinding.
Chris
had his opportunities. You always do when the match goes to 5. But was it Rob’s
experience that saw him through? You can bet your bottom dollar that it played
a huge part. Steadier? More patient? Wait for the younger one to make a
mistake? Rob pulled out the 3-2 final - taking one for veterans! I do though
have to congratulate Chris - I didn’t have him on the radar to reach the final
here, but he proved this weekend the level to which he can play. Awesome
effort.
Singles 4.5: We now get into the
categories that the DAC members struggle to make an impact. Tough
representation from London, Chicago, Toronto makes winning this division for us
rather tricky. That being said, Colin Bayer gave it a pretty decent
shot. Much like Haytham in the 3.0 division, Colin decided that an extended
vacation to the opposite side of the globe would be the perfect preparation for
this tournament. Not Australia, but South Korea. I have no idea what training
methods he employed (eating sushi? Dodging North Korea missiles? Bowing down to
greet?) but whatever he did it worked fairly well. Colin got to the semi final
where he then tackled Joel Vosburg (Toronto) - my pick to take the title
- and he pushed Joel hard only to lose 3-1. Joel’s final would be one for the
ages.
A
very interesting bottom half of the draw, turning people’s head was Chicago’s Emily
Kraft. Firstly, and not being sexist I hope but just stating a fact, we
don’t get a lot of women at this level so that is a head turner in itself.
Secondly, Emily plays some darn good squash. She won her first match 3-2, then
beat Mike Beauregard (BAC) in the quarters 3-1, won the first game
against Jack Parks (BAC) in the semis and looked like she was cruising
for a 3-0 win before Jack grit his teeth even harder and worked his (and hers)
backside off for a 3-1 win. Not since Laura Savage (London) won the 4.5
division in 2015 have we seen a female compete so well. We hope she comes back
in 2019!
The
Jack v Joel final was unarguably one of the best matches of the weekend. Jack
is an interesting player, he has only been playing for a couple of years (if
that) so to be a solid 4.5 level this quickly is quite remarkable. I am sure he
has been told this a thousand times, but if he learns to implement a
short-court game - i.e drop shots and angles - he won’t be a 4.5 player for
long. His constant retrievals, hard low cross court hitting makes him work
harder than what he needs to right now, and it allows his opponents to stay in
the rallies longer than they deserve. Joel, though, is no push over. One has to
absorb the constant pounding and control can be difficult when the ball is
incessantly coming on to your racquet with pace. This match went down to the
wire, an exciting finish. Joel squeaked out the win in the 5th game 12-10.
Unfortunately in situations like this, I can’t give out 2 winner trophies. They
both warranted one.
Singles 5.0: A big 5.0 draw - 24
players. This would be tough. Toronto and Windsor are well represented here,
the chance of a DAC victory was rather slim. Best option we had was with new
member Brian Rassel, a fine welcome addition to our membership and with
a little time will certainly be one competing strongly for this event. He
almost picked off my choice for this division going down 3-1 to the hard
hitting Kevin Furmanek form Windsor in the quarter final. Kevin was then
‘upset’ by Toronto’s Matt Stirling 11-9 in the 5th in the semi final,
although after Matt’s 3-0 quarter final win over Mitchell Werner,
‘upset’ isn’t quite the right phrase. Meeting Matt in the final was his buddy
and fellow team mate from Toronto Sean Kennedy. Sean had a slightly
easier run to the final than Matt, and I can’t imagine how often these two
players had hot together!
As
the scheduling goes for the Sunday, the 5.0 final is always the last match of
the event. And as that typically works out, that match never goes 3-0. By the
time this final was winding down, most people had already hit the road which is
more than justifiable considering the roads still weren’t in tip top condition.
And of course, Matt and Sean were heading into a 5th game. Another terrific
match witnessed by very few, Matt started the 5th game strongly racing off to a
decent lead. But it appeared the brick wall suddenly appeared and the wheels
were not turning as fast as what they were. Did Kevin make him run just that
little too much? Sean worked himself back into the contest, narrowing the gap,
then sticking his nose fractionally in front and eventually taking the last point
for a 11-9 in the 5th win! Exhausted, the two hopped off court, and filled up
their now (new!) trophy mugs with a beer and enjoyed the couch for a good 30-45
minutes!
Singles 5.5: The 5.5 consisted of 7
very evenly competitive players - and Ned Mylod. I am going to give Ned
a new nick-name: “Mr Vegas.” He’s a human slot machine. Slots a winner or nick
at will. He’s also rather quick which combined with his racquet skill, makes
him a formidable opponent. Ned marched through to the final with two 3-0 wins,
wasting little time.
Trying
to figure Ned out in the final was our good friend and long time supporter Brad
Hanebury from London. Brad reached the final dropping one game to Chicago’s
Anshuman Beri, but was not bothered too much otherwise. This was Brad’s
6th DAC final - he had won 3 so far.
But
on this occasion, it was all Ned. Brad didn’t play too bad and put up decent
resistance, but never did I feel that Ned was in any danger of losing a game.
Plenty of great rallies, Ned was simply too strong and completed the 3-0 win in
pretty dominating fashion. He’s only 18 and heads off to college next year so I
doubt we’ll see him back to defend his title, we all wish Ned the best!
Doubles C: As it always happens,
the doubles quotient for the tournament filled up in record time. The DAC has
been more successful in winning the C draw lately helped by the fact that we
simply have the most players. Plus, we are getting better. We were guaranteed
another victory since all 4 teams in the semi finals were DAC. I am including Ken
MacDonald in that group that technically is no longer a member but we still
consider him one of our own. Ken paired up with David Pontes and had a
semi final monster match against John Rogers and Peter Shumaker.
An unlikely duo, how Rogers and Shumaker came to be was by a subbing fest that
took a life of its own. John was subbing for a sub who subbed for player one
and Peter ended up subbing for the other player who pulled out last minute with
an injury. It turned out well for them. Rogers / Shumaker somehow won
their semi 15-14 in the 5th, and then put it all together again for the final
beating Patrick Petz and Scott Beals also in 5 long games.
Nothing is more pleasing to an organizer than tour competitive, close results.
Doubles B: As the DAC dominate the
C’s, Canada dominate the B’s. All 4 teams in the semi final were from the other
side of the border. As it turned out, the team to beat were the women: Laura
Savage (London) and Betsy Carson (originally from London, now
Toronto). Betsy had shaken off her semi final loss to Chris Van Tol in
the 4.0 division enough to regroup and be sharper for her doubles match. Her
and Laura got through with a sturdy 3-0 win and would meet up in the final
against Londoners Jay Nash and his partner James Hayes. Jay and
James can count themselves a tad fortunate to be there considering they
squeaked out a 15-14 in the 5th triumph in their semi final against Canadians Joel
Vosburg and David Coate.
The
final was not as close and luck was not required - at least for Laura and
Betsy. Women power on full display, it was 3 games of man-handling. Very
pleased to announce that we had our first female winners for the tournament,
always wonderful to see that. The decision now comes to see if Laura and Betsy
have to play the A’s next year. My guess is no, it’s quite a significant step
up to that level.
Doubles A: Who can stop the Uffelman
/ Eugeni domination? They have won this event 4 times together and on paper
this year were certainly in as the favorites. The only possible hurdle they
would face as far as I could predict would be in the final. They reached that
point easily winning 3-0 in their 2 matches, not having to reveal their full
weaponry of what they are capable of.
One
major upset to mention in this draw - Jed Elley and Ryan Covell probably
played the best game of doubles they have played together ever to take down the
veterans Peter Logan and John Seidel (Toledo). It was 3-1, I’m
sure no one was more stunned at the result than Jed and Ryan (other than Peter
and John of course!)
Another
solid team would be Brad Hanebury and Graeme Williams (Windsor).
Brad and Graeme reached the final unscathed, beating the Chicago pairing of Zach
Archer and David Adams in what was actually an excellent quality
match only marred by the fact that it didn’t go past 3 games. For the final,
Jon and Mark proved to everyone why they are number 1 seeds. Great display of
power and angles, the ammunition came out and they cleaned house taking the
match 3-0.
From
my side of the glass, the “thank you” list is plentiful. To the sponsors first
and foremost, this event would not happen without your endearing support. To
the DAC staff, from the locker rooms, to catering to housekeeping, to kitchen,
the feedback from the tournament patrons only reinforce what we already know:
you are the best at what your do. And to all the players - you make the event
what it is. The hard work is so much more palatable with this crowd.
