Curly Hair Makes You a Better Squash Player – and other things learned at the ToC

R. Grinham & K. El Defrawy: 1st round @ ToC

Thursday morning I woke up to the news that Trinity lost to Yale. Friday I woke up with a pain in my forehead as if a squash ball had pounded it all night, thanks to overdoing it at Tournament of Champions parties the night before. And Saturday and Sunday, I had to wake up early enough to get to my Grand Open Tournament matches. So I was very happy this past Monday, to wake up, go to work for half a day and then return to the glass court at Grand Central to watch the women play in their first round.

A Semi for the History Books: Big Upset at Briggs Cup!

Mudge and Gould

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t come to Apawamis on a Sunday to watch a men’s match. I drove up to Westchester from NYC to see the women’s doubles finals of the Briggs Cup. I’d seen plenty of guys playing doubles the weekend before. In the Big Apple Open. I watched  Damien Mudge and Ben Gould play Matt Jenson and Clive Leach. Again. And win. Again. Not that it wasn’t interesting mind you. With their crushingly hard drives and deathly accurate nicks, Mudge and Gould are awesomely entertaining to watch; they both exhibit an on court ease that masks murderously fast racquet skills. But when a team has as long a winning streak as Mudge and Gould do, you can’t help cheering for the underdogs. You can’t help wanting to see something unexpected. But on the night of the Big Apple finals, all expectations were met.

On that night, I heard a few observers mention their semi-finals match the day before against two recent Trinity alums Manek Mathur and Yvain Badan. They had won, obviously, but Mathur and Badan had made them fight for it in four tight games.  I was intrigued. So when I heard that they’d be facing each other later that afternoon in the Briggs Cup semi-finals match, after the women’s finals, I decided to hang around. I was very, very glad I did.

Lob. Lob. Lob. Smash. The ISDA Big Apple Open Finals

Mudge and Gould watch Jenson and Leach warm up @ NYAC

I didn’t really start the evening on the right foot. Because as soon as it touched 53rd Street, I realized I was headed to the wrong club. NYAC was hosting the ISDA Big Apple Open Doubles Tournament, not the University Club. I often get these mid-town meccas for men confused. It was already 6:30, match time, so I jogged over to 6th Avenue, and zig-zagged between mid-town tourists clumped on the sidewalks. At 58th Street, I hung a left, jay-walked somewhere in the middle of the block and tried to cool down before the back door entrance. But it was too late;  I was a sweaty mess. Good thing I was headed to the squash courts.

Sunday Squash near Central Park – the ISDA Big Apple Open

Power/Bassett vs. Wyant/Shrubb

The doorman at the 58^th Street entrance of the New York Athletic Club kindly wanted to make sure I knew where I was going. To the squash courts, the doubles court I more specifically say. I see a list of the weekend’s events in front of him and in upside down letters I see “Big Apple Open.” I point at it. I think it’s on the top floor. He nods politely and says he’ll call to make sure. When no one answers, he says I can take the elevators at the end of the hall to the right, but I can only go to the 20^th floor. I must take another elevator or the stairs after that. I walk down the marbled hall toward the main entrance, the doors opening onto Central Park West and catch a glimpse of the still auburn and gold autumn leaves across 59^th Street. A horse and carriage trots by. I love New York City and its leftover old world charm. It may not be my world, but I like that I can still visit.

Amr Shabana is the 2011 U.S. Open Squash Champion!

Amr Shabana and Laura Massaro - 2011 U.S. Squash Champions

Now that the women’s final is a wrap (full report here) , on to the Men’s Final of the Delaware Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships: World #1 Nick Matthew (England) vs. World #5 Amr Shabana (Egypt). Matthew is in his signature blue and white shirt and Shabana is in red. Nuff said.

Right here, right now @ the U.S.Squash Championships – ladies first

National Anthem begins the U.S. Open Squash Finals

In case it’s not clear from the photo, I’m at the Delaware Investments U.S. Squash Championships Finals. Now. At 6:25 p.m. on Thursday evening. I’ve never blogged live before —  but for a change I’ve got my computer in front of me and a sweet seat overlooking the full front of the court.  First up is the women’s finals: England’s Laura Massaro (World #5) vs. Australia’s Kasey Brown (World #6).  

Squashed in Philly – watching the U.S. Open Squash Championships

Glass court at the Delaware Investments U.S. Open

The frustrating thing about the first few days of the 2011 Delaware Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships is that you want to watch every match, and if you want to watch both men’s and women’s matches, you have to choose. So sitting in the bleachers at Drexel University on Saturday,  I watched two Australian countrymen, David Palmer vs. Ryan Cuskelly, in the early afternoon, and then I decided to go looking for the women.