World Doubles: From MetroSquash to Onwentsia, and Streamed to the World
By Chris McClintick
The 2015 J.P. Morgan & Trunk Club World Squash Doubles Championships commenced with the fanfare of the MetroSquash Academic & Squash Center’s grand opening in Chicago, Wednesday, May 6. Following the ceremonial, shoeless seminal match on the first doubles court in an urban squash facility, professionals took to the court for exhibition and practice with many opening matches slated for the newly-christened court in Woodlawn.
Team Canada’s women’s 35+ champions, Cairn Meek & Emma Parke, atop the podium, flanked by Team USA’s Jacqueline Moss & Erika LaCerda.
The first of seventeen editions of the World Doubles involving nineteen countries to take place in the Windy City, the 2015 iteration employed a revitalized format of age division draws alongside the professional men’s, women’s, and mixed draws for the first time since 2007.
The men’s 35+ winners podium: England’s bronze medalists, (left) Paul Johnson (left) & Aidan Harrison, Canada’s silver medalists (right), James Hewitt & Bart Sambrook, and Canada’s gold medalists (center), David Rosen (right) & Eric Baldwin
As expected, hosts Aidan Harrison, Danny Dolan, Pete Dunn, and Preston Quick orchestrated a seamless, social tournament opening beginning at MetroSquash, Racquet Club of Chicago, University Club of Chicago, and the Winter Club of Lake Forest, culminating in a dramatic finals day at tournament headquarters—the Onwenstia Club. To the delight of the spectators and hundreds glued to screens with the first world doubles live stream, the unexpected manifested on court.
In a repeat of their 2013 World Doubles loss against Team USA’s Natalie Grainger (far right) & Preston Quick (left), Canada’s Viktor Berg (center) and Stephanie Hewitt avenged their loss to reach the final. The Canadian veterans then dispatched another U.S. side, Amanda Sobhy & Chris Callis, in the final to win their first mixed open gold together.England’s John Russell (far right) & Clive Leach (center, left) shocked Australian two-time defending champions Damien Mudge (center, right) & Ben Gould (far left) in a two hour and thirty-seven-minute final to conclude the tournament. Mudge & Gould had lost only three matches over the past two SDA seasons, twice against a side including Leach, and one of which came in November against Russell & Leach.England’s first-time women’s world champions Pierrepont (front, right) & Hastings (front, left) and fellow Englishwomen Georgina Stoker (back, right) & Victoria Simmonds (back, left) embrace after the open final. For Pierrepont & Hastings, the world title was the first for two WDSA veterans. For Hastings, the final carried extra weight as it was her last before moving back to England.Nothing says World Doubles Champions like deep-dish Chicago pizza. England’s women’s champions Carrie Hastings (left) and Suzie Pierrepont are caught with an untimely, yet mouthwatering backdrop as a J.P. Morgan commercial cycles on the live stream projected at Onwenstia.SquashBusters and RacquetUp Detroit Executive Directors Greg Zaff (left) and Derek Aquirre jump on the MetroSquash doubles court for some quality assurance.Mixed partnership Amanda Sobhy (far right) & Chris Callis (center, right) recorded Team USA’s only open division silver medal.
