Hannaway dominates Caribbean Junior Squash Championship

The 2008 Caribbean Junior Squash Championships came to a close on July 19th after nine days of thrilling competition. The event saw the future stars from seven countries (Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the O.E.C.S) fighting for glory in their respective individual and team events.{{more}}

In the individual event, 14-year-old Vincentian Kevin Hannaway seemed to be a level above the rest of the Boys’ Under-15 field, as he cruised to the title without dropping a single game. The top-seeded Hannaway marched to his expected showdown with rival Noah Browne (BER) with wins over Bermuda’s Laird Simmons (9-2, 9-0, 9-0) and Guyana’s Abishek Singh (9-1, 9-0, 9-5). In a rematch of their Under-13 final in 2006 (which Browne won in a thrilling 5-game battle), Hannaway showed his tremendous improvement since that first Caribbean Tournament, emerging a 9-4, 9-4, 9-2 victor, much to the disappointment of the local fans.

The other Vincentians found reasonable success, with Kalina Browne finishing 8th in the Girls’ Under-15, while Jules Snagg finished in the top 12 in the highly competitive Boys’ Under-17 division.

For the team event, the Vincentian trio joined their BVI counterparts to compete for the Boys and Girls team titles as the O.E.C.S team. The 3-member girls’ team (short by two players) found the going tough, as they entered each match 0-2 down. BVI’s Erika Sorrentino proved to be up to the challenge, however, as she won three of her four matches in the Girls’ Under-13. Erika’s team-mates (Browne and sister Zoe) were less fortunate, however, as they were unable to capture the two extra wins needed and hence finished in 7th place.

Like the girls’ team, the boys were expected to be heavy underdogs, as evidenced by their No.7 seeding. However, led by a pair of finalists in Hannaway and BVI’s Joe Chapman (Under-19 Runner-up) and strong support from Snagg and BVI’s Stefan Joseph and Rory Thornton, the O.E.C.S Boys team posed a serious threat to claim the Boys Team title. In the Pool Stage, they were placed with No.2 Guyana, No.3 Cayman Islands and No.6 Jamaica. In their first match against eventual champions Guyana , Hannaway and Chapman claimed 3-0 victories in the Under-15 and Under-19 No.1 positions, but their wins were not enough, as Snagg (Under-19 No.2), Joseph (Under-17) and Thornton (Under-13) all fell in straight games. Later that day, the team picked up their first upset with a 3-2 triumph over Cayman Islands, as 15-year-old Snagg triumphed in five games over 18-year-old Ryan McConvey (who finished 6th in the Boys’ Under-19 event) to join Hannaway and Thornton in winners’ row. The team followed up their Cayman win with a dominating 4-1 victory over Jamaica, due to wins from Hannaway, Joseph, Chapman and Snagg.

In the semi-final stage, team O.E.C.S was pitted against hosts Bermuda, which saw the repeat of two individual finals. Hannaway once again reigned supreme over Browne, while Chapman avenged his 0-3 loss in the Under-19 final to claim his own 3-0 victory over Robert Maycock. Once again, their wins weren’t enough, as Bermuda eventually triumphed 3-2 to advance to the Final. In the 3rd place play-off, O.E.C.S faced defending champions Trinidad and Tobago and once again Hannaway and Chapman wasted no time in claiming 3-0 victories for the team.

Their teammates were unable to overcome their tough opponents, however, leaving O.E.C.S to settle for 4th place. With their 4th and 7th place finishes in the Boys and Girls team events, respectively, O.E.C.S placed 6th in the Overall Team Standings. In addition, Hannaway was awarded as Most Outstanding Male Player, while Erika Sorrentino was also given an award for Best Sportsmanship.