By Richard Chin
U.S. Squash further established their growing presence among the world’s best as the Women’s National Team finished 7th at the World Team Championships in Palmerston North, New Zealand. The highest previous finish for a U.S. Women’s team was 6th (1979 with only six teams, and 1983 with nine teams).
Comprised of Natalie Grainger, a former World No. 1; Latasha Khan, a top 30 world ranked player since 1999; Amanda Sobhy, the current World Junior Champion; and Olivia Blatchford, a former National Junior Champion, team USA not only improved on their initial 9th seeding out of 16 teams, but pushed two of squash’s powerhouses the full distance. This performance was all the more remarkable considering three of these players, with Kristen Lange and sans Latasha Khan, overcame the physical and psychological fatigue of traveling two weeks prior to win the Gold medal at the Pan American Federation Games in high altitude Guatemala.
The World Team event format divided the 16 teams into four pools of round robin play with the top two teams in each pool heading into an eight team knock-out draw to determine final spots 1-8, and the bottom two teams into another eight team knock-out draw to determine final spots 9-16. To achieve their top-8 goal, the U.S. needed to defeat 8th seeded Netherlands in their pool, which also included 1st seed England, most likely to advance with three top 10 players, and 16th seed Austria, most likely not to advance with no top ranked players.
Sobhy provided a sampling of the strong forthcoming US performance going 2-0 up on Tania Bailey, the English No. 3 and former World No. 4 player. However, Tania used her experience to nullify Amanda’s shot-making to win 10/12, 7/11, 11/6, 11/4, 11/4. Latasha, at No. 2 and Natalie at No. 1, both lost, to World No. 9, Laura Massaro, 11/7, 11/4, 11/5 and World No. 2, Jenny Duncalf ,11/6, 11/5, 11/1 respectively, but not before sharpening their skills and movement for the next day’s pivotal match against the Dutch.
The players from both teams, other teams, and many following the event sensed the match’s outcome rode mainly on the 1st match-up: No. 2, featuring World No. 25, Latasha Khan, and World No. 39, Annelize Naude. A 7-time US National Champion, the experienced Latasha played her trademark steady game, pressuring the backcourt to squeeze out a 15/13, 11/7, 11/7 win giving the US the lead. With so much on the line, the fact that No. 3 Amanda (World No. 26) was a slight favorite over Orla Noom (World No. 42) was irrelevant. High pressure situations often make a mockery of seedings and expectations. Amanda, however, maintained her composure with solid attacking play befitting a world junior champion, clawing back to hold on 6/11, 11/1, 11/5, 12/10, sealing the US spot in the top-8. Natalie showed all why she’s a great champion, battling five hard games to beat World No. 8, Vanessa Atkinson, 12/10, 11/7, 4/11, 3/11, 12/10 in a dead rubber.
In the top-8 knockout draw, 1st round winners advance to determine final spots 1-4, and 1st round losers playoff to determine final spots 5-8. Squeezing into the top-8 meant playing 2nd seeded and 4-time World Champions Australia. Khan had trouble acclimating to the nuanced all-glass court losing to World No. 7, Kasey Brown, 11/3, 11/5, 11/6. Once again, although the US were not in a position to win, Natalie miraculously recovered from the previous day, fought back from two games down to beat World No. 5, Rachael Grinham, 7/11, 6/11, 11/9, 11/7, 12/10. In the deciding match, No. 3 Olivia Blatchford scurried around the court against the fast paced shots of 7-Time World Champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald, losing 11/4, 11/1, 11/2. This was the first time a US National team played a national team of one of the countries where most of squash’s world champions hail from: Australia, England, Pakistan or Egypt, and the 3rd match was of consequence. It would not be the last time.
With the loss to Australia, The US next faced Egypt, the defending champions who lost to top seed England, in the playoff for 5-8.
For the second consecutive day, the US women nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets. Amanda, not fully recovered from a chest cold, could barely muster much opposition losing to World No. 35, Nour El Tayeb, 11/7, 11/2, 11/5. Once again, 33-year-old Grainger dug deep into reserves her teammates thought had dried up to beat World No. 11, Raneem El Weleily, 11/3, 12/10, 10/12, 11/6 to tie the match. The deciding match came down Khan losing to World No. 15, Engy Kheirallah, 11/6, 11/6, 11/9. Many wondered what if Amanda had been 100%.
In the last match for Team USA against No. 7 seeded Ireland to determine the 7th/8th final spot, Olivia Blatchford started slowly before coming back to defeat Zoe Barr 5/11, 3/11, 11/4, 11/6, 11/8. Natalie then secured the win for the US in yet another hard fought match, her sixth consecutive for the event, against the World No. 22 and Irish No. 1, Aisling Blake, 11/7, 10/12, 11/7, 8/11, 11/6.
Natalie, Latasha, Amanda, Olivia, Paul Assaiante, Director of U.S.Squash National Teams, and Richard Chin, Interim Coach/ Manager, would like to thank all their supporters, financial and otherwise. With all the top world’s female players, all who benefited from her hard work, passion,and leadership, in attendance at the closing ceremony, Natalie Grainger who heads the Women’s Professional Squash Association announced her retirement from playing the women’s circuit. Many hoped Natalie would have inspired us for at least another year.
Her timing was spot on as the memories of six days of inspiring, artful and tenacious play on her part were still fresh and real in the hearts and minds of all her competitors, friends, and hopeful heirs—Amanda and Olivia. Hopefully, she will opt to lead the team again to the gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, and an even higher finish at the 2013 Women’s World Team Championships in Paris, France.
