Dynamic performance by Bentick, Slater

08.June.07

VINCENTIAN squash players Shane Slater and James Bentick recently returned from a successful outing at the Trinidad Open (May 31-June 3), which featured top players from across the Southern Caribbean.{{more}}

Competing in the Men’s Open division, the duo only lost a single match each over the course of the event. As the Number 3 seed, Bentick recieved a bye in the first round, while Slater (who was surprisingly shut out of the top 8 seedings) cruised past local player Paul Deverteuil 9/2, 9/1, 9/2. Slater then fell victim to the unfair draw, going down 8/10, 1/9, 0/9 to the 4th seeded Kristian Jeffrey (GUY), while Bentick made quick work of Jim Dunn (TRI) 9/0, 9/6, 9/3.

Following his loss, Slater was relegated to the “2nd Round Plate” where he crushed Trinidadians Adam Alkins and Luc Davis 9/2, 9/6, 9/5 and 9/3, 9/3, 9/2 respectively, before recovering from a 3rd-game lapse in the final against the 7th-seeded Marc

Pontifex (TRI) to win 9/0, 9/1, 5/9, 9/6.

Meanwhile in the main draw, made his way into the semi-finals with a 9/1, 9/2, 9/0 win over Roger Salandy (TRI), before finally falling 2/9, 9/2, 6/9, 9/3, 7/9 to the 18-year old

hotshot Josh Pinard (TRI) in an intense 5-game battle.

In the play-off for 3rd place, triumphed over Ryan Abraham

(TRI) 9/5, 9/10, 9/5, 0/9, 9/0 in the longest match of the

tournament (105 minutes). For his efforts, Bentick also

recieved US$200 in prize money.