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Guillermo's 26th annual tournament is Feb. 20-23

1/5/2020

 
    Guillermo's Squash Club in Colorado Springs is hosting its 26th annual Invitational/Open February 20-23, 2020. 
    It'll be a fun weekend of squash and social activities.  
    For more information and the entry form, visit GuillermosSquashClub.com.

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Santa Fe's annual Kiva Classic was a big success

12/9/2019

 

Santa Fe's Kiva Classic tournament concluded Sunday afternoon (Dec. 8) with cheers for its many champions and finalists.

About 170 players and their significant others participated in the tournament and its associated social events.

Play began at 8 a.m. Thursday morning, and Lisa and David Barker held a party at their home that evening for all entrants, sponsors and their significant others.

On Friday, matches started just before sunrise at 7 a.m. and continued until about midnight. Cocktails and a buffet dinner were provided at the club.

Saturday saw a full slate of matches — 7 a.m. to midnight again — with cocktails and a sit-down dinner at the Peters Projects Gallery.

Sunday was for finals, starting at 7 a.m. and continuing until about 2:30 p.m.
The tournament was made possible by many sponsors, including Dan and Ashlyn Perry’s Trout Stalker Ranch in Chama, the Gerald Peters Gallery, the Museum of New Mexico Foundation and Walter Burke Catering.

At the Saturday dinner, Bill Palmer was honored with the Charlie Perkins Sportsmanship Award. The Kiva’s past president Stuart Kirk presented the award, which is named for a Kiva member who  helped start the Kiva Classic in 1981 and who died in 2017. Charlie Perkins was famous for his sportsmanship and fair play. He was as humble in victory as he was gracious in defeat.

Bill Palmer is a longtime friend of the Kiva Club. He has played in many Kiva Classics. His love of the game is immense. He started Guillermo’s Squash Club in Colorado Springs, and he embodies squash’s highest values.

Palmer joins Charlie Amm, Michael McBean, Clark Amos, Graham Sharman, Ross Brown and John Amos as winners of the Perkins trophy.

This year’s tournament also was notable for the record number of women who entered and played: Eight.

Here are the weekend’s other winners:

SINGLES

OPEN: Champion: Drewe Williams (Kiva). Finalist: Porter Drake (San Francisco).

40+: Champion: Willie Gaynor (Washington, DC). Finalist: Chris Fontes (Los Alamos).

50+: Champion: Chris Fontes (Los Alamos). Finalist: Scott Ciener (Kiva).

60+: Champion: Doug MacDougall (West Vancouver, B.C.). Finalist: Bruce Macfarlane (North Vancouver, B.C.).

70+: Champion: Tefft Smith (Washington, DC). Finalist: Rick Taft (Pepper Pike, OH).

DOUBLES

OPEN: Champions: Willie Gaynor (Washington, DC) and Porter Drake (San Francisco). Finalists: Will Moore (Denver, CO) and Chris Ivsin (Wheat Ridge, CO).

40+: Champions: Eric Eiteljorg (Denver) and T.J. Johnson (Denver). Finalists: Phoebe Trubowitz (Portland, OR) and Drewe Williams (Kiva).

50+: Champions: Charlie Groves (Denver) and Peter McGlynn (Denver). Finalists: Grant Robinson (Kiva) and Jim Nelson (Louisville, CO).

60+: Champions: Alan Dille (Golden, CO) and David Barker (Kiva). Finalists: Bob Bush (Greenwood Village, CO) and Charles Soderstrom (Winter Park, FL).

65+: Champions: Walter Burke (Kiva) and Doug MacDougall (West Vancouver, BC). Finalists: Dennis Cusack (Portland, OR) and Mark Todorovich (St. Louis, MO).

70+: Champions: Clark Amos ( Scottsdale, AZ) and Jim Gibbons (San Francisco). Finalists: Bob Brown (Denver) and Rob Piggott (Denver).

75+: Champions: Bart McGuire (Frisco, CO) and Dick Rice (Rochester, NY). Finalists: Martin Kaffka (West Vancouver, BC) and George Meyer (Fair Oaks, CA).

80+: Champions: Dave Matthews (Kiva) and David Puchkoff (New York, NY). Finalists: Graham Sharman (Kiva) and Dick Silbar (Santa Fe).

HARDBALL

OPEN: Champion: Willie Gaynor (Washington, DC). Finalist: Will Moore (Denver).

60+: Champion: Peter Logan (Missoula, MT). Finalist: Tefft Smith (Washington, DC).

70+: Champion: Tefft Smith (Washington, DC). Finalist: George Meyer (Fair Oaks, CA).


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This 24-page booklet tells the story of the 2019 Kiva Classic. Bob Mosier took most of the photos, wrote the text and designed the pages. Click on the cover image above to see an electronic version of the booklet. You can purchase a printed edition for about $10 after you click on the link.

Kiva Club Open and Taco Tournament: Great squash, great fun

9/22/2019

 
   Santa Fe's Kiva Club was home to an exhibition of superior squash over the past few days (Sept. 19-22) -- both professional and amateur.
   The Kiva Open featured 16 young professionals vying for a Professional Squash Association title and $6,000 in prize money.
   The concurrent Taco Tournament saw a couple dozen amateurs from New Mexico and beyond, playing for fun and glory.
   Michael McCue, a 26-year-old Canadian, won the Kiva Open on Sunday, beating 32-year-old Babatunde Ajagbe, a Nigerian.
   The tournaments were sponsored by Dan and Ashlyn Perry's Trout Stalker Ranch in Chama, Walter Burke Catering, and Grant Davis's Mile High Sports.
   Here are Taco Tournament winners and finalists:

5.0 SINGLES

Champion: Jess Giron (Chandler, AZ). Finalist: Elliott Adland (Albuquerque)
Consolation champion: Scott Ciener (Kiva). Finalist: Jehanzeb Chaudhry (Albuquerque)

4.0 SINGLES

Champion: Cameron Cannady (Albuquerque). Finalist: Jeff Pollock (Kiva)

HARDBALL SINGLES

Champion: Grant Robinson (Kiva)

A DOUBLES

Champions: Josh Brown and Drewe Williams (Kiva). Finalists: Alex Kalangis and Grant Robinson (Kiva)
Third place: Bruce McKenna and Stephen Velie (Kiva)

B DOUBLES

Champions: Courtney Carswell and Stephen Velie (Kiva). Finalists: Jeff Pollock and Matt Wilson (Kiva)

Results from the Kiva Classic in Santa Fe

12/3/2018

 
   The 28th annual Kiva Classic tournament concluded Sunday (Dec. 3) with final matches in singles, hardball singles and doubles.
   About 90 players from around the country -- and from Canada and Mexico -- participated in the tournament which was held at the Kiva Club in Santa Fe.
   Here are the champions and finalists in all divisions:


SINGLES
Open --  Champion: William Moore (Delray Beach, FL). Finalist: Busani Xaba (San Francisco).
40s -- Champion: Chris Fontes (Los Alamos). Finalist: Jeff Mayorga (Englewood, CO).
50s -- Champion: Charlie Amm (Estes Park, CO). Finalist: Chris Fontes (Los Alamos).
60s -- Champion: Peter Logan (Milford, MI). Finalist: Charlie Amm (Estes Park, CO).
70s -- Champion: Tefft Smith (Washington, DC). Finalist: Rick Taft (Pepper Pike, OH).

HARDBALL SINGLES
Open -- Champion: Busani Xaba (San Francisco). Finalist: Phoebe Trubowitz (Portland, OR).
50s -- Champion: Grant Robinson (Kiva Club). Finalist: Phoebe Trubowitz (Portland, OR)
60s -- Champion: Peter Logan (Milford, MI). Finalist: Ted Inbusch (Columbus, OH).
70s -- Champion: Tefft Smith (Washington DC). Finalist: Terry Eagle (Carpinteria, CA).

DOUBLES
Open -- Champions: Eric Eiteljorg (Denver) and Sean Gallagher (Kiva Club). Finalists: Todd Lopez (Kiva Club) and Drewe Williams (Kiva Club).
40s -- Champions: Eric Eiteljorg (Denver) and T.J. Johnson (Denver). Finalists: Charlie Groves (Denver) and Jeff Mayorga (Englewood, CO).
50s -- Champions: Jim Nelson (Louisville, CO) and Grant Robinson (Kiva Club). Finalists: David Barker (Kiva Club) and Scott Ciener (Kiva Club).
60s -- Champions: Alan Dille (Golden, CO) and Bill Sather (Lone Tree, CO). Finalists: David Barker (Kiva Club) and Walter Burke (Kiva Club).
65s -- Champions: Lynn Broman (West Vancouver, CAN) and Bob Burton (Holland, MI). Finalists: Tony Ross (North York, CAN) and Kit Tatum (New London, NH).
70s -- Champions: Clark Amos (St. Louis, MO) and Bart McGuire (Frisco, CO). Finalists: Bob Brown (Denver) and Rob Piggott (Denver).
75s -- Champions: Mike Tramutt (Arvada, CO) and Randy Waesche (Denver). Finalists: Bart McGuire (Frisco, CO) and Graham Sharman (Kiva Club).
80s -- Champions: Don Mills (Terrace Park, OH) and Graham Sharman (Kiva Club). Finalists: Hank Palmer (Fresno, CA) and Dick Silbar (Santa Fe, NM).

Santa Fe Open concludes at El Gancho

4/29/2018

 
   The Santa Fe Open tournament wrapped up play on Saturday (April 28) at El Gancho with winners in four divisions.
    "We had 23 participants," said tournament director Jeff Pollock, "and everybody had a blast."
    Here's a list of champions and finalists:

   5.0 Singles
    Champion: Chris Fontes (Los Alamos)
    Finalist: Jay Salomon (Midtown, Albuquerque)

   4.0 Singles
    Champion: Cameron Canandy (Midtown, Albuquerque)
    Finalist: Josiah Child (Kiva Club, Santa Fe)

  3.0 Singles
   Champion: Adam Wilson (Midtown, Albuquerque)
   Finalist: Jake Prishkulik (Santa Fe)
   Third: Michael Hare (Kiva Club, Santa Fe)
   Fourth: Christian Platt (Kiva Club, Santa Fe)

   70+ Singles
   Champion: Alan Wicks (Las Vegas, NM)
   Finalist:  Jim Patterson (El Gancho, Santa Fe)

The 27th annual Kiva Classic wrapped up on Sunday

12/4/2017

 
     The 27th annual Kiva Classic tournament wrapped on Sunday (Dec. 3, 2017) in Santa Fe with finals matches in most divisions. 
     About 100 players entered singles, hardball singles and doubles divisions. (The winners and finalists in each division are listed below.) 
     The Saturday night party at Peters Projects gallery honored the late Doug Campbell and Charlie Perkins. 
   Kiva Club president Stuart Kirk introduced Don's son, Doug, who attended the party with his mother, Shirley. Doug spoke about how much his father loved squash, the Kiva Club and the Classic. Don was the tournament's official greeter for many years, and Doug took his father's place at the tournament this year. 
     Dave Matthews also talked about what a great friend Don was, and how much Don is missed around the club. 
    Kirk next introduced Ted Perkins, who attended the party with his sister Julie. Ted talked about how squash led his father to Santa Fe, and how it made him many, many friends. Charlie was one of the founders of the Kiva Classic tournament.
     Ross Brown added a few thoughts about his decades-long friendship with Charlie. 
     Kirk and tournament chairman Walter Burke then surprised Brown with the 2017 Charlie Perkins Sportsmanship Award for Brown's longtime support of the tournament. Past winners of the award include Clark Amos, Michael McBean, Charlie Amm and Graham Sharman. 


OPEN DOUBLES 
Champions: Rob Hill (Greenwood Village, CO) and Bart Sambrook (Westmount, CAN) 
Finalists: Todd Lopez and Drewe Williams (Kiva) 

40+ DOUBLES 
Champions: Rob Hill (Greenwood Village, CO) and Bart Sambrook (Westmount, CAN) 
Finalists: Alex Dumas (Colorado Springs, CO) and Phil Lane (Colorado Springs, CO) 

50+ DOUBLES 
Champions: Jim Nelson (Louisville, CO) and Joe Tustin (Denver) 
Finalists: Bob Bolling (Wilmington, DE) and Sean Butler (Denver) 

60+ DOUBLES 
Champions: Gary Johnson (Denver) and Habib Rahman (Portland, OR) 
Finalists: David Barker and Walter Burke (Kiva) 

65+ DOUBLES 
Champions: Clark Amos (St. Louis, MO) and Jim Gibbons (San Francisco) 
Finalists: Bart McGuire (Frisco, CO) and Michael Manley (Toronto) 

70+ DOUBLES 
Champions: Michael Manley (Toronto) and Bart McGuire (Frisco, CO) 
Finalists: Bob Dubeau (Montreal) and Mike Tramutt (Arvada, CO) 

75+ DOUBLES 
Champions: Don Mills (Terrace Park, OH) and Graham Sharman (Kiva) 
Finalists: Alan Fox (Long Beach, CA) and Dick Silbar (Los Alamos) 

80+ DOUBLES 
Champions: Bill Jones and Dave Matthews (Kiva)   
Finalists: George Abrams (Kiva) and Dick Silbar (Los Alamos)

OPEN SINGLES 
Champion: Drewe Williams (Kiva) 
Finalist: Chris Ivsin (Denver) 

40+ SINGLES 
Champion: Chris Fontes (Los Alamos) 
Finalist: T.J. Johnston (Denver) 

50+ SINGLES
Champion:
Andy Macdonald (Colorado Spring, CO)
Finalist: Peter Logan (Missoula, MT)

60+ SINGLES 
Champion: Walter Burke (Kiva) 
Finalist: Habib Rahman (Portland, OR) 

70+ SINGLES 
Champion: Bart McGuire (Frisco, CO) 
Finalist: Courtney Carswell (Kiva)   

OPEN HARDBALL 
Champion: Chris Ivsin (Denver) 
Finalist: John Ehlinger (Denver) 

60+ HARDBALL 
Champion: Habib Rahman (Portland, OR) 
Finalist: Walter Burke (Kiva) 

70+ HARDBALL 
Champion: Rick Taft (Pepper Pike, OH) 
Finalist: Neil Ross (Carbondale, CO) 

Eric Galvez takes the Kiva Club Open with an upset

9/17/2017

 
      It took Eric Galvez 75 minutes, 50 points and five games to win the final match at the Kiva Club Open Professional Squash Association tournament Sunday in Santa Fe.
     He beat No. 1 seed Juan Camilo Vargas; Galvez was the No. 5 seed.
     Galvez, a 33-year-old Mexican, was the tournament's oldest and most experienced player. This was his 176th PSA tournament and his 15th PSA title.
     The Colombian Vargas is a decade younger than Galvez at age 25, and this was his 15th tournament. He holds one PSA title.
     This was the third annual Kiva Club Open. The tournament included both professional and amateur play.
     The professional tournament had a main draw of 16 players and a purse of $5,000. It was sponsored by Gemini Rosemont Commercial Real Estate and the Kiva Club.
     Previous professional winners of the Kiva Club Open are England’s Jaymie Haycocks (2016) and American Chris Hanson (2015). Haycocks is currently ranked No. 76 in the world; Hanson is No. 84.
     In the marathon final, Vargas took the first game, 11-6, but the game seemed closer than the score, with rallies that lasted several minutes and required 20 to 30 shots by each player.
     Galvez came back to take the second game, 11-9, with equally long rallies.
     In the third game, Galvez jumped out to a 5-0 lead and seemed to have taken control of the match. But Vargas counterpunched his way back to the lead and an eventual 13-11 win.
      By this point, both players were tiring and gasping for air.
      But Galvez retook the momentum, winning the fourth game, 11-4, and then the fifth, 11-6.
    
    Here are results from the tournament's amateur play:

A doubles
Champions: Todd Lopez and Grant Robinson (Kiva). Finalists: Don Kirby and Drewe Williams (Kiva)

B doubles
Champions:  Josiah Child (Kiva) and Ben Gillock (Montezuma, NM). Finalists: Chris Fontes and Dick Silbar (Los Alamos).

5.5 singles
Champion: Chris Fontes (Los Alamos). Finalist: Tom Abrams (Kiva)

​4.5 singles
Champion: Neil Solomon (San Francisco). Finalist: Ben Gillock (Montezuma, NM)

3.5 singles
Champion: Jon Bender (Dallas). Finalist: Derek Bohannan (Albuquerque)

​4.5 hardball singles
Champion: Grant Robinson (Kiva). Finalist: Walter Burke (Kiva)  ​

Kiva Club Open had a few upsets on Thursday

9/14/2017

 
     The Kiva Club Open tournament started today (Thursday) with the first round of professional play at the Kiva Club in Santa Fe.
     The pros will play again Friday, starting at noon with the last quarterfinal match starting about 3 p.m.
Amateur play will start earlier in the morning -- singles, hardball singles and doubles -- and continue into the evening.
     In professional play there were a few upsets on Thursday:
     No. 3 seed Victor Crouin (France) was knocked out by Sam Fenwick (Wales) and Cameron Seth (Canada) defeated No. 8 seed Andres Herrera (Colombia).
     On Friday, No. 1 seed Juan Camilo Vargas (Colombia) will face Seth, and Fenwick will take on No. 7 seed Miled Zarazua (Mexico).
     Other matches will pit No. 4 seed Sebastien Bonmalais (France) against No 5 seed Eric Galvez (Mexico), and No. 2 seed Reuben Phillips (England) against No. 7 seed David Cromwell (USA).

2017 Kiva Club Open tournament now accepting entries

6/9/2017

 
     The third-annual Kiva Club Open will be held at the Kiva Club in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from Sept. 14 through 17, 2017.     
     The tournament is a combination professional singles tournament and an amateur doubles and singles tournament.     
     The amateur tournament, which is sanctioned by US Squash, is open to singles and doubles players by skill level.      
     Amateur play will begin on Friday, Sept. 15, and conclude on Sunday, Sept. 17.      
     The professional draw is open to all Professional Squash Association members, and is sanctioned by the PSA.      
     Professional play will begin on Thursday, Sept. 15, and conclude on Sunday, Sept. 17.    
     For more information -- or to enter the tournament -- click here.     
     
You can read about last year's tournament by clicking here and here.

Santa Fe Open tournament at El Gancho is April 28-29

4/3/2017

 
   The 5th annual Santa Fe Open tournament will be held at El Gancho on April 28 and 29, 2017.
   The tournament includes singles squash as well as tennis. Entry deadline is Friday, April 21.
   Entrants will get a free shirt, drinks and snacks at the tournament.
   The entry fee is $50 and players are guaranteed three matches.
   For more information, visit www.thesantafeopen.com.

Kiva Classic tournament was a lot of fun -- with many winners

12/5/2016

 
    The 26th annual Kiva Classic tournament concluded Sunday, with more than a dozen championship matches. The four-day tournament, which was held at the Kiva Club in downtown Santa Fe, attracted more than 100 participants, and everyone had a lot of fun on the courts and off.
      Here is a list of champions and finalists in each division:

Open Doubles
Champions: Eric Eiteljorg (Denver) and Sean Gallagher (Kiva)
Finalists: Alex Dumas (Colorado Springs) and Alicia McConnell (Colorado Springs)
 
40+ Doubles
Champions: Eric Eiteljorg (Denver) and TJ Johnson (Denver)
Finalists: Alex Dumas (Colorado Springs) and Alicia McConnell (Colorado Springs)
 
50+ Doubles
Champions: Jim Nelson (Louisville, CO) and Grant Robinson (Kiva)
Finalists: Sean Ryan (Portland, OR) and Derrick Cameron (Ridgefield, PA)
 
55+ Doubles
Champions: Martin Casdagli (Kiva) and David Barker (Kiva)
Finalists: Keith Thompson (Denver) and Alan Dille (Golden, CO)
 
60+ Doubles
Champions: David Barker (Kiva) and Walter Burke (Kiva)
Finalists: Rugs Wilson (Denver) and Alan Dille (Golden, CO)
 
65+ Doubles
Champions: James Gibbons (San Francisco) and Clark Amos (Scottsdale, AZ)
Finalists: Sue Kaffka and Martin Kaffka (Vancouver, BC)
 
70+ Doubles
Champions: Neil Ross (Carbondale, CO) and Curt Castleman (Evergreen, CO)
Finalists: Mike Tramutt (Aravada, CO) and Randy Waesche (Denver)
 
75+ Doubles
Champions: Michael Wilson (Westmount, QC) and John Osborn (Vancouver, BC)
Finalists: Graham Sharman (Kiva) and David O’Loughlin (Pittsburgh, PA)
 
80+ Doubles
Champions: Dave Matthews (Kiva) and Bill Jones (Kiva)
Finalists: Michael McBean (Westmount, QC) and Purdy Jordan (Mexico City)
 
40+ Softball Singles
Champion: Sean Ryan (Portland, OR)
Finalist: T.J. Johnson (Denver)
 
50+ Softball Singles
Champion: Tom Abrams (Kiva)
Finalist: Derrick Cameron (Ridgefield, PA)
 
60+ Softball Singles
Champion: Tra Pippin (Oklahoma City, OK)
Finalist: Walter Burke (Kiva)
 
70+ Softball Singles
Champion: Warren Young (Dallas)
Finalist: George Meyer (Fair Oaks, CA)

50+ Hardball Singles
Champion: Grant Robinson (Kiva)
Finalist: Sean Ryan (Portland, OR)
 
60+ Hardball Singles
Champion: Walter Burke (Kiva)
Finalist: Jim Gibbons (San Francisco, CA)
 
70+ Hardball Singles
Champion: Rick Taft (Pepperpike, OH)
Finalist: George Meyer (Fair Oaks, CA)
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Graham Sharman
2016 Kiva Classic sportsmanship winner
     Graham Sharman of Santa Fe won the 2016 Charlie Perkins Sportsmanship Award. 
     The award is named for -- you guesed it -- Charlie Perkins. 
Perkins is a longtime Kiva Club member who helped start the Kiva Classic in 1991. 
     Previous winners are Clark Amos (St. Louis, MO; 2015), Michael McBean (Montreal; 2014) and Charles Amm (Estes Park, CO; 2013).

"Many thanks for another stunning weekend
at the
Kiva Classic. It just
​gets better every year."

     Dennis Driscoll            Denver 


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Scenes from the Kiva Classic in Santa Fe

12/2/2016

 

26th annual Kiva Classic tournament starts in Santa Fe

12/1/2016

 
PictureLos Alamos's Dick Silbar
     Thursday, Dec. 1, is the first day of the annual Kiva Classic tournament at the Kiva Club in Santa Fe. The first matches begin about noon, and the tournament runs through Sunday afternoon.
     This is the 26th annual Kiva Classic.
     Only one player has perfect attendance through the first 25 years: Dick Silbar of Los Alamos.
     The Kiva Club’s Dave Matthews missed just one year (2000), and has played in
24 of the first 25 Classic tournaments.

     Here’s a list of players who have played in most tournaments:
25 YEARS: Dick Silbar (Los Alamos)
24 YEARS: Dave Matthews (Santa Fe)
23 YEARS: Mike Tramutt (Arvada, CO)
22 YEARS: David Barker (Santa Fe), JD Morrow(Santa Fe), Bill Palmer (Colorado Springs, CO), Charlie Perkins (Santa Fe)
21 YEARS: Jerry Peters (Santa Fe), Steve Yost (St. Helena, CA), Warren Young (Dallas)
20 YEARS: Curt Castleman (Evergreen, CO), Bill Jones (Santa Fe)
19 YEARS: CT Herman (Santa Fe), Bud Kelly (Santa Fe), Dick Rice (Rochester, NY), John Wentworth (Santa Fe)
18 YEARS: Walter Burke (Santa Fe), Bob Bush (Greenwood Village, CO), Courtney Carswell(Santa Fe), David Dodge (Santa Fe),  Dennis Driscoll (Littleton, CO), Ed Helfeld (San Francisco), Bob Weight (Denver)
17 YEARS: Alan Dille (Denver), Ed Lockhart (Santa Fe), Taylor Quick (Lakewood, CO), Doug Schwartz (Santa Fe)
15 YEARS: John Amos (Santa Fe), Ed Biggs (Colorado Springs, CO), Paul Fisher (Austin, TX), Hank Palmer (Fresno, CA), Grant Robinson (Santa Fe), Graham Sharman (Santa Fe)

KIVA CLUB OPEN | Santa Fe

9/18/2016

 

A tournament with a lot of winners!

      The Kiva Club Open tournament concluded Sunday with a professional champion and many amateur champions in a variety of divisions.
     The winner of the Professional Squash Association tournament was England's Jaymie Haycocks. The 32-year-old defeated 22-year-old American Dylan Cunningham in three games to take the championship. You can read more about the professional matches here: Kiva Club Open news.
     More than 40 players competed in the amateur divisions. Here is a list of winners:

5.5 SINGLES
Champion: Nick Platt (Washington, DC)
Finalist: Chris Fontes (Los Alamos)
Third: Jehanzeb Chaudhry (Albuquerque)
Fourth: Charles Amm (Colorado)

4.5 SINGLES
Champion: Nick Platt (Washington, DC)
Finalist: Thomas Bunn (St. Louis)

2.5 SINGLES
Champion: Sloan Swanson (Kiva Club)
Finalist: Dick Silbar (Los Alamos)
Third: Michael Hare (Kiva Club)
Fourth (tie):  Jim Fowler (Encinitas), Alexander Timofeev (Los Alamos)

A DOUBLES
Champion: Todd Lopez and Grant Robinson (Kiva Club)
Finalist: Tom Abrams and Sean Gallagher (Kiva Club)

B DOUBLES
Champion: Thomas Bunn (St. Louis) and Nick Platt (Washington D.C.)
Finalist: Charles Amm (Colorado) and Walter Burke (Kiva Club)
Third: Tim Farrell and Don Kirby (Kiva Club)
Fourth: Courtney Carswell and Michael Munson (Kiva Club)

C DOUBLES
Champion: Graham Sharman and Matt Wilson (Kiva Club)
Finalist: Josh Brown and Josiah Child (Kiva Club)
Third: Chris Fontes and Dick Silbar (Los Alamos)
Fourth: Jon Bender (Dallas) and David Foley (Phoenix)
Fifth: Michael Hare and Sloan Swanson (Kiva Club)

No. 1 seed Jaymie Haycocks wins the Kiva Club Open in Santa Fe

9/18/2016

 

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Jaymie Haycocks and Dylan Cunningham.
Jaymie Haycocks
Dylan Cunnigham
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Kiva Open champ Jaymie Haycocks
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     The 32-year-old Jaymie Haycocks is the Kiva Club Open PSA champion. He defeated 22-year-old Dylan Cunningham in three games at the Kiva Club Open final Sunday in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
     The match lasted 35 minutes.
     Haycocks, who is English, was the tournament’s No. 1 seed and is ranked No. 88 in world. He did not lose a game in his four matches in the tournament.
Cunningham, an American, was the No. 5 seed and is ranked No. 179 in the world. It was his first trip to a PSA tournament final.
     The first game took 14 minutes. Haycocks took the first point, then Cunningham took three straight. Haycocks countered with five of his own. Haycocks was more patient than Cunningham in the early going, varying his pace, hitting deep rails and cross-courts until he spotted an opening. Eight minutes into the game, the score was tied at 6-6 and a minute later at 7-7. With 13 minutes gone, it was tied 10-10. Then Haycocks ended a rally with a shot of perfect length that died in Cunningham’s forehand corner, and Cunningham tinned the final shot to end the game.
     The second game mirrored the first at the start. Eight minutes in, the game was tied 7-7, but Haycocks rattled off four straight in the next three minutes to take it, 11-7. Again, it was Haycocks' experience and patience that won the game. When it mattered most, he always made the right shot and never rushed or tried to force a winner.
     Haycocks dominated the third game, which lasted just six minutes. Cunningham won the first point, but Haycocks ran off the next eight. He seemed to have Cunningham off balance throughout. Haycocks even won two service points when Cunningham mishit the ball. As he fell further behind, Cunningham seemed to tire, while Haycocks appeared fresh, as if the match had just started. Cunningham managed just two more points, losing 11-3.
     Both players were gracious on the court, displaying fine sportsmanship. In the final game, Cunningham declined a let when Haycocks hit a cross-court that died in the back forehand corner. The players collided near mid-court and the referee called a let, but Cunningham said, “no let.”
     Haycocks had cruised through his first three matches in the tournament.
     In his opening round match, he beat Mexico’s Heralio Salaiz Estrada in three quick games, giving up only 12 points in the match.
     In his quarterfinals match, Haycocks had to work a little harder to defeat Nigeria’s Babatunde Ajagbe in three games. He gave up up 23 points in that match.
     In his semifinal match, Haycocks beat fellow Englishman Reuben Phillips in three games, giving up 23 points.
     Haycocks was the oldest player in the tournament to reach the quarterfinals.
      To win his way to the final match, Cunningham beat Scotland’s Jon Geekie in three games, giving up 18 points. He next beat No. 2 seed Adam Murrills of England in four games, giving up 30 points. Cunningham got a bye in the semifinals because No. 4 seed Edgar Zayas of Mexico injured his knee and was unable to play.
      In getting to the finals, Haycocks had not lost a game and had given up just 58 points while scoring 106 of his own.
     By contrast, Cunningham had lost one game and given up 54 points to his own total of 75.
     This was the second annual Kiva Club Open, which was played at a private squash club in Santa Fe. The 16 players competed for ranking points and for $5,000 in prize money.
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Jaymie Haycocks and Dylan Cunningham are in the Kiva Open final

9/17/2016

 
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Reuben Phillips and Jaymie Haycocks.
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The players buying time for a brief rest.
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The match ended with a handshake.
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Dylan Cunningham made the finals without playing after his semi-final opponent dropped out with an injury. Cunningham refereed the Haycocks-Phillips match.
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The match was played before an appreciative overflow audience at the Kiva Club in Santa Fe.
     Jaymie Haycocks defeated fellow Englishman Reuben Phillips in straight games in the Kiva Club Open semifinals on Saturday. He'll play American Dylan Cunningham in Sunday's final match.
     Haycocks's match lasted 37 minutes.
     The 32-year-old Haycocks is the tournament’s No. 1 seed and is ranked No. 88 in world.
     The 24-yearold Phillips was the No. 3 seed and is ranked No. 147 in the world.
     The first game was over in a quick 8 minutes. Haycocks won it 11-3.  He won the first three points, then lost two, then ran off a string of five.
     Phillips tinned a number of shots.  After hitting the tin to make it 2-8, he said angrily to himself, “You can’t do this.”
     The second game was longer – 14 minutes. Haycocks won it, 12-10. He jumped to a 4-1 lead, with Phillips hitting the tin twice, put then Phillips won five of the next six points to take a 6-5 lead. In the second half of the game, Haycocks seemed to tire, and tinned himself three times. But with the scored tied 10-10, it was Phillips who missed the final two shots, hitting tin both times.
     The third game went 9 minutes, with Haycocks again prevailing 12-10. Phillips had raced to a 7-3 lead, with Haycocks hitting the tin twice early on. But then Haycocks hit his stride, winning five of the next six points. He won one point on service ace, and seemed to frustrated Phillips by varying his pace and shot selection – including on the serve. Phillips nonetheless tied the game 10-10 but then Phillips hit a perfect drop volley to get to match point. “I needed you to miss that,” said Phillips as much to himself as to anyone. The next point, Phillips hit the tin to end the match.
     Haycocks had cruised in his opening round match, beating Mexico’s Heralio Salaiz Estrada in three quick games, giving up only 12 points in the match.
     In his quarter-finals match, Haycocks had to work a little harder to defeat Nigeria’s Babatunde Ajagbe in three games. He gave up up 23 points in that match.
​     To win his way to the semi-finals, Phillips beat England’s Charlie Lee in a 1-hour, 12-minute, five-game match. The 18-year-old Lee was the tournament’s No. 8 seed (he is World No. 187), and he stretched Phillips with many long rallies.
Phillips was pushed in his opening round match by Adrian Leanza in a three-game match that took 45 minutes to play. While Phillips won the match handily by game score, he had to stay on the court for many long rallies.
     In getting to the semis, Haycocks had not lost a game and had given up just 35 points while scoring 66 of his own.
    By contrast, Phillips had lost two games and given up 56 points to his own total of 66.

     The second semi-final day was cancelled because of injury.
     Edgar Zayas, the 21-year-old, Mexican, dropped out because of a sore knee. He was the tournament’s No 4 seed, and World #157.
     American Dylan Cunningham, 22, thus goes right to Sunday’s final against Jaymie Haycocks. It will be Cunningham’s first-ever appearance in a PSA tournament final.
     The 6-foot-four Cunningham is the tournament’s No. 5 seed. He is ranked No. 179 in the world.
     The final is scheduled to start at noon.
     This is the second annual Kiva Club Open, which is being played at a private squash club in Santa Fe.
The 16 players are competing for ranking points and for $5,000 in prize money.
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Kiva Club Open's PSA quarter-final results

9/16/2016

 
​    The Kiva Club Open's second day of professional play was Friday. (Amateur singles and doubles play also began Friday; it is round-robin, and we'll post results when those matches conclude on Sunday.)
       The 16 professional players are competing for ranking points and $5,000 in prize money.   Here's what happened in the PSA quarterfinals on Friday:

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Jaymie Haycocks and Babatunde Ajagbe.
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Charlie Lee and Reuben Phillips.
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Edgar Zayas and Alex Ingham.
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Adam Murrills and Dylan Cunningham.
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Noon: Jaymie Haycocks easily defeated Babtunde Ajagbe, 3-0.
     Haycocks, an Englishman, is the tournament’s No. 1 seed and is ranked No. 88 in the world.
     He won 11-8, 11-7 and 11-8.
     The first game was the longest at 12 minutes. The players traded points early on, then Haycocks ran off two strings of three points in a row to take a 10-5 lead. Ajagbe ran off three straight to close the margin, but it was too late. Game to Haycocks.
     In the second game, which lasted 9 minutes, Haycocks jumped to a 4-0 start, and built a 6-1 lead before Ajagbe won five straight to make it a game. But Haycocks won five of the next six points to close it out. Haycocks won two points on service aces, both lobs to Ajagbe’s backhand.
     The third game, which lasted 10 minutes, was back-and-forth and was tied 8-8. But then Haycocks won three straight points to win it. On the final point, Ajagbe returned a serve into his forehand corner and managed to trap himself there. Haycocks went to hit the ball, but the ball hit Ajagbe first. End of match.
     The audience chuckled, the two players smiled and briefly hugged each other before leaving the court.
     Haycocks had cruised in his opening round match, beating Mexico’s Heralio Salaiz Estrada in three quick games and giving up only 12 points in the match.
     Ajagbe had to work hard in his opening round win over 16-year-old Mexican Leonel Cardenas. That match took an hour and went to five games.
     Ajagbe, a 29-year-old Nigerian, was seeded No. 7. Ajagbe is ranked World No. 184. This is his second time playing in the Kiva Open.
     The 32-year-old Haycocks is the oldest player in the tournament to reach the quarterfinals.

1 PM: Reuben Phillips prevailed in a long, hard-fought, five-game match against Charlie Lee.
     The match went the full distance, with Phillips winning, 12-10, 7-11, 9-11, 11-3, 11-5. It took 1 hour and 12 minutes.
     Lee stretched Phillips with many long rallies, retrieving shot after shot and often winning the rally, but Phillips was the more physical player. At 5-foot-9 and 181 pounds, he outweighed the 5-foot-10 Lee by 50 pounds. Phillips often used his mass to his advantage, making it difficult for Lee to get cleanly to the ball.
     Phillips, a 24-year-old Englishman, is the tournament’s No. 3 seed and ranked World No. 147.
     Lee, an 18-year-old also from England, is ranked World No. 187, and was the tournament’s No. 8 seed.
     Both Phillips and Lee won their opening round matches in three games. Phillips took unseeded American Andrian Leanza in a 45-minute match, while Lee cruised past Bermuda’s Noah Browne. 

3 PM: Edgar Zayas defeated Alex Ingham in a seesaw five-game match.
     Game scores were 11-9, 8-11, 5-11, 11-3 and 11-4.
     Ingram, a left-hander, seemed in control of the match after the third game, but found himself quickly behind 6-1 in the fourth game and never regained his equilibrium. He began missing shots that he had made earlier in the match, and seemed to go for the knockout punch rather than playing with the patience and consistency that had won him games two and three.
     Zayas, a 21-year-old Mexican, is ranked World No. 147. He dispatched American Nick Talbott in the tournament’s opening round, 11-9, 11-5 and 11-5.
     In his opening round match, Ingham upset No. 6 seed Diego Gobbi of Brazil, winning easily in three straight games, 11-7, 11-3 and 11-4. That match lasted just 30 minutes.
     Ingham, a 26-year-old Englishman, was the only unseeded player to reach the quarterfinals.

4 PM: American Dylan Cunningham upset No. 2 seed Adam Murrills of England, 3-1.
     Cunningham won the first game, 11-9. The game was tight throughout, with both players hitting rails and cross-courts with power.
     The second game went to Murrills. The game was close until near the end, when Murrills hit a crosscourt winner into the nick off of Cunningham’s serve, then got a stroke call from a loose rail hit by Cunningham. The second game went to Murrills, 11-8.
     The third game was neck-and-neck. Murrills tinned two shots midway through the game to keep Cunningham close, then Cunningham took a 10-9 lead, only to have Murrills tie at 10-10. Cunningham won the next two points, and the game, 12-10.
     Cunningham took the fourth and final game decisively, 11-6.
     Ultimately, it was Cunningham’s size – he is 6-foot-4  – along with his reach and power that won the match. It was a mystery Murrills couldn’t solve.
     Murrills was the tournament’s No. 2 seed and is ranked World No. 113.
     In his opening round match, the 26-year-old Murrills defeated his former coach and mentor, Drewe Williams. Williams is the Kiva Club’s resident squash pro, and he taught Murrills when Murrills was a junior player in England.
     The 22-year-old Cunningham is seeded No. 5 in the tournament and his world rank is No. 179. In his first match at this year's Kiva Open, he beat Scotland’s Jon Geekie in straight games.​

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First round action at the Kiva Club Open in Santa Fe

9/15/2016

 
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Salaiz Estrada flipped a ball off the back wall to return it to Jaymie Haycocks.
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Jaymie Haycocks (left) and Heraclio Salaiz Estrada.
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Babatunde Ajagbe (right) and Leonel Cardenas.
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After Cardenas was hit by the ball, Ajagbe was asked if he wanted to play a let. "No, no," he said, "it was a stroke."
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Charlie Lee and Noah Browne.
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Noah Browne hitting a backhand rail.
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Charlie Lee attacking the ball.
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Reuben Phillips and Adrian Leanza.
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Leanza stretched to extend rallies against Phillips.
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Diego Gobbi and Alex Ingham.
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Ingham worked around Gobbi to get to nearly every shot Gobbi hit.
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Dylan Cunningham and Jon Geekie.
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Cunningham hitting a backhand rail against Geekie.
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Adam Murrills and Drewe Williams.
         The second annual Kiva Club Open tournament began today in Santa Fe with eight professional singles matches. The tournament is a combination professional and amateur tournament. The Professional Squash Association portion has 16 players competing for ranking points and for $5,000 in prize money.
     The amateur draw, which starts playing on Friday, includes singles and doubles in various skill levels.
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    Here’s a report on today’s professional action:
 
Noon:  Jaymie Haycocks easily defeated Heraclio Salaiz Estrada, three games to none, in the opening round of play at the Kiva Club Open.
     Haycocks, an Englishman, is the tournament’s No. 1 seed and is ranked No. 88 in the world. He controlled the T from the beginning, forcing Salaiz Estrada to hit risky drop shots and lobs. The match lasted just 30 minutes, and the game scores were 11-4, 11-3 and 11-5.
     Salaiz Estrada, who is from Mexico, is World No. 303. He currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona. This is his second run at Kiva Open. He played valiantly, chasing balls all over the court, but he couldn’t overcome Haycocks’s consistency and experience.
    The 32-year-old Haycocks is the one of the oldest players entered in the tournament. Salaiz Estrada is 30 years old.
 
1 PM Babatunde Ajagbe, a 29-year-old Nigerian, narrowly beat 16-year-old Leonel Cardenas of Mexico in a five-game, hour-long match.
     The game scores were 8-11, 11-7, 3-11, 12-10 and 11-9.
     Early on, both players worked the other’s backhand, but in the fourth game, they started hitting more cross-courts and the match became increasing contentious with the players bumping, jostling, and asking for lets. The fourth game lasted nearly 20 minutes.
      Midway through the fifth game, with the score tied, 6-6, Ajagbe hit Cardenas with a backhand from the back of the court. Cardenas argued for a let, with Ajagbe apologizing for hitting him.
       “Sorry,” said Ajagbe, gesturing that the strike was unintentional.
       “Do you want to play a let,” asked the referee, David Foley.
     “No, no,” said Ajagbe, “it was a stroke.”
     The players traded points through the rest of the game, but Ajagbe got the last two and reached 11 first.
     The stocky Cardenas looks older than his 16 years. He was not seeded in the tournament and is ranked World No. 403.
     Ajagbe is ranked World No. 184. This is his second time playing in the Kiva Open.
 
2 PM:  Charlie Lee, an 18-year-old Englishman, took Noah Browne of Bermuda in three quick games in a first-round match at the Kiva Open in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
     The game scores were 11-9, 11-7 and 11-6.
     Lee, ranked World No. 187, is the tournament’s No. 8 seed.
     Browne is a towering 6-feet, 4-inches tall, while Lee is 5-foot, 10-inches tall. Browne is 198 pounds, Lee 132. The two players found themselves in several tangles, but the fleet-footed Lee usually extricated himself for a winning shot.
     The 23-year-old Browne is ranked World No. 287.
 
3 PM It took Reuben Phillips three long games to beat Adrian Leanza. With the exception of the second game, the game scores seem lopsided – 11-3, 12-10, 11-3 – but the match was full of long rallies with Leanza stretching Phillips at every opportunity. The match lasted about 45 minutes.
     After the first game, which Phillips dominated, Leanza seemed to find himself, playing more confidently and aggressively, running the court, fetching balls and extending every point.
    Phillips, a 24-year-old Englishman, is the tournament’s No. 3 seed and ranked World No. 147. Leanza is an American who lives in Denver, Colorado. The 27-year-old is ranked World No. 444.
 
4 PM Edgar Zayas handled Nick Talbott in three quick and decisive games. The game scores were 11-9, 11-5 and 11-5.
     Talbott seemed to tire half way through the second game, and Zayas won points in bunches – four in a row, then three in a row. His winning pace accelerated in the third game, when he won six in a row, followed by three in a row to close the match.
     Zayas, a 21-year-old Mexican, is the tournament’s No. 4 seed and ranked World No. 147.
     Talbott, who is 23, lives in Palo Alto, California. (If the name Talbott sounds familiar, it is because Talbott’s father, Mark Talbott was the No. 1 hardball singles squash player from 1983 to 1995.)
 
5 PM Alex Ingham upset No. 6 seed Diego Gobbi. Ingham, a 26-year-old Englishman, won in three straight games, 11-7, 11-3 and 11-4. The match took just 30 minutes.
     Gobbi, a 21-year-old Brazilian, is ranked No. 183 in the world. Ingham is ranked No. 388.
     Ingham is a lefthander, and Gobbi kept the ball on his forehand side, playing against Ingham’s backhand. The strategy didn’t work. Ingham chased down almost everything Gobbi hit.
 
6 PM American Dylan Cunningham beat Scotland’s Jon Geekie, 3-0. Game scores were 11-3, 11-7 and 11-8.
     Cunningham jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the first game, and never looked back. In the second game, he had runs of four and five points in a row.
     In the final game, Geekie held even at 6-6 and then pulled ahead 8-6. But then Cunningham ran off the next five points to win the game and the match.
     Cunningham covers a lot of the court merely by being on it. The lanky American is 6-foot-4 and weighs 181 pounds. The 22-year-old Cunningham is seeded No. 5 in the tournament and his world rank is No. 179.
     Geekie, from Scotland, also is a sizable fellow, standing 6-foot-1. The 26-year-old lefthander is ranked No. 200 in the world.
     This is both players’ second time at the Kiva Open.
 
7 PM: In a battle of master and pupil, the pupil prevailed. Adam Murrills beat Drewe Williams, 3-0.
     The match was a crowd favorite, because the 38-year-old Williams is the Kiva Club’s resident squash pro. He was granted a slot in the draw when another player dropped out at the last minute.
     The match also had an added dimension:  Williams, who grew up in Chester, England, coached Murrills when the 26-year-old Murrills was a junior player in England.
      “I guess I taught him too well,” said Williams after the match. The games scores were 11-4, 11-7 and 11-7.
     Murrills is the tournament’s No. 2 seed and is ranked World No. 113.

     Professional play resumes at noon on Friday. The finals match is noon Sunday.
 


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Williams (center) leaving the court and getting high-fives after losing to Murrills (left). The match was a crowd favorite, as Williams is the Kiva Club's resident pro.

Kiva Club Open had a lot of winners!

9/21/2015

 
     The first-ever Kiva Club Open concluded Sunday, and produced many winners.
    Chris Hanson, who is ranked No. 85 in the world, won the professional draw. He beat 17-year-old Jesus Camacho, 3 games to 1, in an hour-long match Sunday afternoon. (Click here for more details.)
     Hanson is a 24-year-old left-hander who lives in Greenwich, CT. Camacho, who is world No. 202, is from Mexico.
     The Kiva Club Open also had an amateur draw for doubles and singles. The draws were organized by skill level rather than by age (December's Kiva Classic tournament uses age
levels).
    Here are the winners in the different categories.

'A' DOUBLES
1. Grant Robinson and Todd Lopez (Kiva Club)
2. Sean Gallagher and Walter Burke (Kiva Club)
     
'B' DOUBLES
1. Brian Boyd and Josh Brown (Kiva Club)
2. Alex Kalangis and Bill Wanker (Kiva Club)
     
'C' DOUBLES
1. Bill Wanker and David Oberstein (Kiva Club)
2. Dave Matthews and Courtney Carswell (Kiva Club)
    
'A' SINGLES
1. Chris Fontes (Los Alamos)
2. Jesse Giron (Tempe)
3. through 6. did not play
    
'B' SINGLES
1. Jehanzeb Chaudhry (Albuquerque)
2. Spencer Kirby (Kiva Club)
3. Jon Bender (Dallas)
4. Tim Brown (Denver)
5. Dave Foley (Phoenix)
   
'C' SINGLES
1. Ben Gillock (Montezuma, NM)
2. Milan Sykora (Los Alamos)
3. Courtney Carswell (Kiva Club)
4. Zack Smith (Kiva Club)
5. Julia Sheppard (Los Alamos)
6. Paul Kaufman (Kiva Club)
REVIEWS FROM 
THE PROS

“Can’t thank you enough for a great week in Santa Fe…. An awesome group and a pleasure to hang out with.” 
  -- Chris Hanson, 
      USA, World #85 

“I had a blast and I know the other boys did too.”
   -- Freddie Reid, 
       Canada, World #414

“It was an awesome tournament!”
   -- Italo Bonatti, 
      Guatemala, World #267

“One of the best tournaments on tour, seriously.”
  -- Mauricio Sedano, 
      Guatemala, World #245

Chris Hanson wins the first-ever Kiva Club Open

9/20/2015

 
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Chris Hanson (left) beat Jesus Camacho to win the first-ever Kiva Club Open.
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Camacho (left) is a 17-year-old from Mexico.
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Hanson, 24, is from Greenwich, CT. He is ranked world No. 85.
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The match had an appreciative standing-room-only crowd at the Kiva Club.
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Camacho (left) frustrated Hanson in the second game by retrieving shot after shot.
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Hanson (left) and Camacho (right).
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In the final game, Camacho slipped and sat on the court with a leg cramp. He scored just one point after that.
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The victory was Hanson's first-ever PSA tournament win.
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Camacho was applauded by the crowd as he left the court.
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Hanson leaving the court after his victory.
     No. 1 seed Chris Hanson won his first PSA tournament on Sunday, beating the unseeded Jesus Camacho at the Kiva Club Open in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
    Hanson, who is 24-years-old, beat the 17-year-old Camacho in four games, 11-9, 4-11, 11-7, 11-4.
    Hanson is world No. 85. Camacho is No. 202.
    Throughout the match, both players tended to hit to his opponent's backhand. Because Hanson is a lefty and Camacho is a righty, this meant a lot of cross-courts.
     Hanson jumped to 6-1 lead in the first game, but Camacho battled back to trail by two at 4-6. Hanson reasserted himself to go ahead 8-4, but Camacho battled back again and again to trail by two at 6-8 and 7-9 -- and then tied it up at 9-9.
    Camacho tinned an overhead backhand to make it 9-10, then Hanson hit a drop that Camacho couldn't reach. Game to Hanson, 11-9. It took 18 minutes.
    The second game was all Camacho. He jumped to a 9-2 lead, frustrating Hanson by retrieving every shot. Hanson won two more points with drops that Camacho couldn't reach, but Camacho returned the favor at game point to win it 11-4. It was a 10-minute game.
     Both players changed to clean shirts for the third game, and both players started even, trading points to make it 4-4. Then Camacho tinned four shots in a row to trail 4-8 before hitting a tight, low rail that Hanson couldn't reach. 
    But Hanson kept the pressure on, and got to game point at 10-6. He took the game, 11-7, in 14 minutes.
    Camacho changed his shirt for the fourth game. 
    With Hanson leading 4-3, Camacho slipped, missed a return and sat on the court with a leg cramp. Within a few minutes he was back up, racing about the court, but Hanson rushed ahead with five straight points to make it 9-3.
    Hanson took the game, 11-4, and the match, three games to one.
    The match lasted exactly an hour.
    Hanson had only been tested in the tournament in his semi-final match against qualifier Ahmad Alzabidi, which went to five games. Hanson's other matches were quick, three-game affairs against unseeded players.
    Camacho's route to the finals went through three seeded players -- No.2 Fred Reid, No 8. Auguste Dussourd and No. 4 Faraz Khan.
    Hanson was born in New York, graduated from Dartmouth and now lives in Greenwich, CT.
    Camacho was born in Mexico City and now lives in Cuautitlan Izcali, Mexico.
    The Kiva Club Open was the first PSA tournament in New Mexico in about 15 years. The tournament had $5,000 in prize money. The winner received $902.50, the runner up $617.50 and the rest was divided up among the other players.



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Kiva Club squash pro Drewe Williams damp-mopped the court before the final match to make sure the floor wasn't slippery.

Chris Hanson and Jesus Camacho are the Kiva Open finalists

9/19/2015

 
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Chris Hanson (left) with Ahmad Alzabidi
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Chris Hanson (left) hitting a forehand against Ahmad Alzabidi.
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Ahmad Alzabidi (left) stretched Chris Hanson more than any other player in the tournament so far.
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Ahmad Alzabidi (left) argued a let/no let call as Chris Hanson watched.
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A standing-room-only crowd watched the two semi-final matches at the Kiva Club.
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Jesus Camacho (left) with Faraz Kahn
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Jesus Camacho (left) was inconsistent in the first game, but quickly settled down and made fewer errors.
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Faraz Khan (left) and Jesus Camacho often traded drop shots to the front corners.
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Both players were lightening-quick on the court, racing from corner to corner to return shots.
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Faraz Khan (standing at the court door) argued a point with the referee. Jesus Camacho, who changed his shirt several times during the match, is to his left.
     No.1 seed Chris Hanson will face unseeded Jesus Camacho in the finals of the Kiva Club Open in Santa Fe on Sunday. Hanson is a 24-year-old left-hander who is ranked No. 85 in the world. Camacho is a 17-year-old right-hander who is ranked No. 202 in the world.
     Hanson was severely tested by unseeded Ahmad Alzabidi Saturday in his semi-final match, but he squeaked out a five-game win.
     Hanson had been cool and surgical on the court during this Kiva Club Open, but Alzabidi quickly ruffled him by asking the referee for lets. Before the match's first point, there were two lets. And the first point was a stroke.
     Between the complaining, there were many long rallies and wonderfully athletic points from both players.
     Alzabidi, a lefty who is world No. 304, varied his speed, mixing soft shots with smashes, but Hanson was the more consistent and patient.
     Alzabidi eventually worked his way to a 9-7 lead, but Hanson battled back, got a "no-let" call to make it 9-9, and won the next two points and the game, 11-9.
     The second game picked up where the first left off, as both players argued their cases. 
     With the game tied 5-5, Alzabidi hit a winning shot, then turned to the referee and yelled, "No let! No way!"
     "I didn't even ask for one," Hanson yelled back.
     Alzabidi took the next two points, and never lost the lead, winning the game, 11-7.
     In the third game, both players slowed the pace, using more lobs and off-speed shots. And they even agreed on a let call.
     Alzabidi took the first three points, and Hanson the next three.
     The game tied at 3-3, 4-4, 5-5 and 7-7. Then Hanson got a stroke call and Alzabidi hit the tin with a smash to give Hanson a 9-7 lead.
    Alzabidi then played patiently, hitting rails until he had a chance for a winner. He won the next three points to get to game point, and Hanson tinned a possible winner to give Alzabidi the game, 11-9.
     Hanson changed his shirt before the start of the fourth game and jumped to 4-1 lead. Alzabidi interrupted Hanson's serving rhythm by  adjusting his shoes and circling the court. He won two points before Hanson hit a perfect forehand drop to make it 5-3.
     Hanson stretched the lead to 10-4 with the help of three unforced errors by Alazibidi. Alzabidi tinned at game point to give Hanson the game, 11-4, and tie the match at two games apiece.  
     Alzabidi tried to speed the pace at the beginning of the fifth, but Hanson blunted the tactic with his quickness. 
     Both players renewed their "let/no let" arguments.
     After the game was tied at 5-5, the arguments became more heated, but Hanson edged ahead, finally taking the game, 11-7, to win the match.
     Alazbidi's out-sized personality matches his physique: He is 6-feet, 2-inches tall and weighs 203 pounds. He lives in Washington DC and plays for Jordan
     Hanson, 24, lives in Greenwich, CT. He is 5-feet, 11-inches tall and weighs 165 pounds.
    Alzabidi played more matches and games to reach the semis than any of the other semifinalists. 
     No. 6 seed Diego Gobbi took him to five games and qualifier Juan Gomez Dominguez took him to four games, both in the main draw. 
     Alzabidi also had to get past Kiva Club pro Drewe Williams in the qualifying round. That took three games. 
     So Alzabidi played 12 games before meeting Hanson.
     By contrast, Hanson played just six games before meeting Alzabidi. Hanson beat each of his two main-draw opponents in straight games, giving up a total of only 18 points.
     Alazabidi won more games and points against Hanson than Hanson's first two opponents combined.



   In the day's other semi-final, unseeded 17-year-old Jesus Camacho upset 22-year-old No. 4 seed Faraz Khan in a thrilling four-game match.
     The first game lasted 15 minutes, with many long rallies as both players tested the other with a mix of shots. The drop shot was much in evidence with both players following a drop with a drop, often leading to three or four drops in a row.
    The difference in the game was unforced errors: Camacho made several more than Khan, and he lost the game, 11-8.
     In the second game, Camacho's play became more consistent and he took a commanding 8-1 lead. He hunted down and returned every Khan shot and made no errors. 
     He won the second game, 11-3, in 10 minutes.
     Camacho changed his shirt to start the third game, but didn't change his intensity. He took a 3-0 lead, frustrating Khan by retrieving absolutely every shot. Khan fought back, getting even at 4-4.
     Camacho then ran off seven straight points with flawless play to take the game, 11-4, in 12 minutes.
     Camcho changed his shirt again for the fourth game, setting a record for shirt changes in a single Kiva Club Open match.
     The fourth game started with both players hitting to all four corners, making their opponent run. Neither player could pull ahead. The game tied at 3-3, 5-5, 6-6, 8-8, 9-9 and 10-10. At 10-10, there were five let calls in a row. 
     Camacho finally hit a winning drop to get it to match point, 11-10.
     This was followed by another let, then Camacho hit a winning backhand crosscourt to perfect length, winning the game, 12-10, and the match, three games to one.
     The match lasted an hour and eight minutes.
     Camacho and Khan, both right handers, share similar physiques. Each is under 6-feet tall and weighs less than 140 pounds. Both are lightning quick on the court.
     Khan, who is world No. 170, was born in Trenton, NJ, and now lives in Old Greenwich, CT.
     Camacho was born in Mexico City and now lives in Cuautitlan Izcali.

     

Kiva Open: Hanson, Khan, Camacho and Alzabidi make semi-finals

9/18/2015

 
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Chris Hanson (left) with Italo Bonatti
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Hanson (left) dominated the T vs. Bonatti
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Hanson needed just 27 minutes to sweep Bonatti.
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Ahmad Alzabidi with Juan Gomez Dominguez
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Alzabidi (left) hitting a forehand against Gomez Dominguez.
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Gomez Dominguez (left) vs. Alzabidi.
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Faraz Khan (left) with Anthony Graham
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Graham (left) hitting a backhand
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Khan (left) defends the backhand corner.
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After taking a spill in the third game, Graham (left) won just one more point.
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Jesus Camacho (left) with Andre Dussourd. Camacho is 17 years old; Dussourd is 19.
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The first and second games featured some bumping and grinding. That's Dussourd in the red top.
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Camacho (left) taking the ball out of the back corner.
     No. 1 seed Chris Hanson and No. 4 seed Faraz Khan have made it into the Kiva Club Open semi-finals. They will be joined by unseeded Jesus Camacho and qualifier Ahmad Alzabidi.
     The semi-final matches start at 6 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 19).
 
    Hanson needed just 27 minutes to sweep past unseeded Italo Bonatti in his quarterfinal match on Friday.        
     Hanson, who is ranked No. 85 in the world, won 11-3, 11-4, 11-4. 
     He dominated the T, hitting tight rails deep and cutting off loose balls. He was patient and made very few errors, allowing Bonatti to make the mistakes under unrelenting pressure.
     Hanson, a 5-foot, 11-inch left-hander, lives in Greenwich, CT. He is coached by Australian Rod Martin, a former world No. 3. The 24-year-old Hanson also cruised through his first-round match, beating unseeded Englishman Mark Broekman, 11-3, 11-2, 11-2.
     Bonatti, a Guatemalan who is ranked world No. 267, made the main draw as a randomly chosen "lucky loser" after No. 5 seed Nicolas Cabellero withdrew from the tournament. The 28-year-old Bonatti lost to 19-year-old Mexican Juan Gomez Dominguez in the qualifying round. Bonatti's coach is Sadar Ali Khan.
     
     In a battle of two unseeded players, Ahmad Alzabidi edged Juan Gomez Dominguez in a 51-minute, four-game quarter-final match.
     The players traded the first two games, with Gomez Dominguez taking the first, 11-6, and Alzabidi the second, 11-5. 
     Gomez Dominguez dominated the first, making few errors and out-hustling Alzabidi. Alzabidi returned the favor is the second game, changing the pace, mixing fast and slow serves and hitting good drives to length.
     The third game turned into a on-court debate about lets and strokes, with both players working the referee and playing to the crowd. The debate was interrupted by complaints about the court floor being slippery, and play was delayed for a damp-mopping.
     When play resumed, Alzabidi kept altering his pace, floating lobs to the back of the court along with smashing his rails and crosses.
     Alzabidi eventually took the game, 11-8. It wasn't pretty or fluid squash. 
    The final game was similar, with Alzabidi mixing the pace of his shots and both players appealing lets. Alzabidi won, 11-7.
     The 26-year-old Alzabidi  is 6-feet, 2-inches tall and weighs 203 pounds.
     The 19-year-old Gomez Dominguez is 5-feet, 11-inches tall and weighs 141 pounds.
     Gomez Dominguez gave up 3 inches in height and more than 60 pounds in weight -- and also was lighter in his complaints to the referee.
     Alzabidi will play No. 1 seed Chris Hanson in one of tomorrow's semi-finals.
     The Jordanian Alzabidi was seeded No. 3 in the qualifying draw. He is the current world No. 304, but was ranked 149 in December 2011.
     Gomez Dominguez was the No. 5 seed in the qualifying draw. He is the current world No. 361. He is from Vera Cruz, Mexico.

  No. 4 seed Faraz Khan dispatched No. 7 seed Anthony Graham in three hard-fought games.
     Khan took the first game, 11-5. That game was filled with long rallies, with both players mixing speeds and lengths. The game lasted 13 minutes.
     Khan jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the second game. His ability to out-last Graham in rallies began to show -- and to frustrate Graham.
     Graham slowed play between points, and drew within three points at 9-6 before making two errors to lose the game, 11-6. That put him behind two games to none. The second game lasted 9 minutes.
     The third game was delayed a few minutes when Graham slipped and fell. He had been leading 5-4, but lost a point with his slip to tie the game. As he rested on the court, he joked about a let and then asked that the damp spot he created on the court be mopped. He won just one more point, and Khan took the final game, 11-6, in 11 minutes.
     Khan, a 22-year-old from Old Greenwich, CT, is world No. 170.
     Graham, a 25-year-old from Woodchester in the United Kingdom, is world No. 195. He was world No. 98 in August 2012.

     In match of young talent and wiry frames, unseeded 17-year-old Jesus Camacho defeated No. 8 seed Andre Dussourd. Dussourd is 19 years old.
     Camacho won the 1-hour, 11-minute match three games to one.
     Dussourd took the first game, 11-6. He jumped to a 5-0 lead. Camacho seemed nervous, and missed several early shots. He settled down after winning two points, but never got closer than three points, eventually losing 11-6 after 15 minutes of play. 
     There was some arguing with -- or at least making faces at -- the referee over lets and strokes during the first game, and that accelerated and became more verbal in the second.
     The second game was tied at 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5. After the three ties, the players seemed to find their rhythms and began playing through bumps and touches rather than debating. 
     Camacho switched to a higher gear, running the court and returning everything. He didn't lose another point, and took the 13-minute  game, 11-5. That tied the match at one game a piece.
     In the third game, Camacho jumped to a 3-0 lead, then made two unforced errors to make it 3-2. He then ran off four straight points to make it 7-2. Doussard finally got within two at 10-8. 
     On a ferocious 10-8 game point, Dossuord ran into Camacho trying to reach a drop shot. He hit the back of Camacho's leg with his knee. Play stopped for a few minutes as Camacho's leg was iced.
   Camacho showed no ill effects, winning the next point on a long rally along with the game, 11-8. It was a 29-minute game.
     As the fourth game started, both players clearly were tiring. With Dossourd leading 4-3, he took a spill chasing a drive to his forehand corner. Play was suspended for about three minutes, giving both players  a rest. The players then tied at 6-6, but then Camacho won three in a row with crisp play before Dussourd won a point, making it 9-7.
     The players traded points to make it 10-8, then Camacho hit a winner to take the game, 11-8 -- and the match, three games to one.
     The Frenchman Dussourd, who stands 5-feet, 11-inches tall and weighs 132 pounds, is world No. 248. 
     The Mexican Camacho, who is 5-feet, 8-inches tall and also weighs 132 pounds, is world No. 202.
     Camacho will play Faraz Khan in one of Saturday's semi-finals.





Here's the news from the Kiva Open's main-draw first round

9/17/2015

 
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Chris Hanson (left) easily beat Mark Broekman
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Italo Bonatti (left) took more than an hour to beat Jon Geekie.
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Ahmad Alzabidi (left) beat Diego Gobbi in a hard-fought match.
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Juan Gomez Dominguez (right) upset Babatunde Ajagbe.
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Faraz Khan (right) dispatched Maurico Sedano in three games.
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Anthony Graham (right) defeated Dylan Cunningham in a match that ended without a handshake between players.
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Auguste Dussourd (left) beat Sam Gould in three easy games.
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Jesus Camacho (left) took care of Fred Reid in three games.
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Kiva Club Open matches attracted an appreciative crowd.
    The Kiva Club Open is now into its main draw. The round of 16 was Thursday, and the level of play was remarkable. Here's a report on the eight matches:
   Noon:  Top seed Chris Hanson easily defeated unseeded Mark Broekman, 11-3, 11-2, 11-2.
    The left-handed Hanson, who is currently No. 85 in the world, controlled the middle and forced Broekman into many early errors. Hanson lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. Broekman, who is ranked No. 215 in the world and stands 6-feet, 5-inches tall, is from Cheltenham in the United Kingdom.

   1 p.m.:  Italo Bonatti took more than an hour to beat Jon Geekie. Bonatti won the first two games, 11-7 and 11-8.
    Bonatti, from Guatemala City, Guatemala, mixed his shots well and caught the left-handed Geekie off-guard several times in the first game. In the second game, Bonatti started hitting deeper, and when Geekie attempted drops, Bonatti turned them into winners.
     In the third game, Bonatti took a 7-3 lead, but, facing elimination, Geekie won the next 8 points and took the game 11-7.
     Geekie, who lives in Lee on Solent in the United Kingdom and plays for Scotland, won the next two games, 11-7 and 11-8. Geekie increased his power and improved his  shot mix. Bonatti seemed to lose concentration and gave up three strokes in the fourth game.

     By this time, both players were arguing lets and strokes with the referee.
     The final game was tense. Geekie made several unforced errors and Gould himself down 4-9.  He then rallied to 8-10 before getting beat on a deep cross off a drop shot.
     Geekie was unseeded in the main draw, while Bonatti was seeded No.2 in the qualifying draw. He lost to Mexican Juan Gomez Dominguez, but drew a slot in the main draw as a "lucky loser" when No. 5 seed Nicholas Cabellero withdrew from the tournament.

  2 p.m.: Unseeded Ahmad Alzabidi won a hard-fought victory over No. 6 seed Diego Gobbi. Alzabidi, who is ranked No. 304 in the world, won the first two games, 11-8 and 11-8, but the 203-pound left-hander seemed to tire toward the end of the second game.
     Gobbi, who is ranked No. 197 in the world, took next two games, 11-8 and 11-8.  Alzabidi slowed the game down by making Gobbi delay his serve, but the 159-pound Gobbi remained fleet of foot and won points by tracking down and returning every shot.
     Alzabidi, who is from Amman, Jordan, and was ranked world No. 149 in December 2011, won the last game, 11-6. 
     The game was tied 4-4 when Alazbidi won three straight points, including a stroke on a Gobbi drop to give him a 7-4 lead. "Yes!" Alzabidi yelled, pumping his fist at the stroke call.
     Gobbi, who is from San Paulo, Brasil, managed just two more points as Alzabidi steamed to the finish line.
    3 p.m.: Unseeded Juan Gomez Dominguez upset No. 3 seed Babatunde Ajagbe. Gomez Dominguez, 19, won the first two games, 13-11 and 11-6, and seemed to have the match in hand. Ajagbe, a 28-year-old Nigerian, seemed exhausted, frequently bending over to gulp oxygen. (Santa Fe is 7,000 feet above sea level.)
    But Ajagbe made it a match, winning the third game 11-1. 
    Gomez Dominguez, who is from Vera Cruz, Mexico, closed out by winning the fourth game, 11-8.
   Gomez Dominguez is ranked No. 361 in the world. Ajagbe is ranked No. 165.  
    4 p.m.: No. 4 seed Faraz Khan easily dispatched unseeded Maurico Sedano. Khan won in three straight games.
     The 22-year-old took the first game 11-6. Both he and the 24-year-old Sedano were hitting hard and deep.
     The second game opened with a brutal first rally that ended when Khan nailed Sedano with an attempted cross-court. The two players exchanged words, and that added an edge to the rest of the match.
     Khan, who is from Old Greenwich, Connecticut, than ran up a 5-1 lead. Sedano, who is from Guatemala City, Guatemala, doggedly retrieved shots, but Kahn extended his lead to 10-3 before Sedano tinned to give Khan the game.
     In the final game, Khan was his most creative, moving the ball around the court and taking advantage of his chances up front. Khan won the game 11-4 and took the match.
     Khan is ranked No. 170 in the world and Sedano is ranked No. 245.
     5 p.m.: No. 7 seed Anthony Graham defeated unseeded Dylan Cunningham in a brutally physical match that ended without the players shaking hands. 
     The 25-year-old Graham won the match three games to one. He beat the 21-year-old Cunningham 11-8 in the first game. 
     Cunningham, who lives in Cleveland, OH, took the second game, 11-9.
     Graham, who is from Woodchester in the United Kingdom, won the final two games, 11-7 and 11-9.
     The games were filled with jostling and complaints about jostling, and the younger Cunningham was the most aggrieved. When the match ended, he declined to shake hands with Graham.
     Graham is currently ranked No. 195 in the world, and was ranked No. 98 in August 2012.
     Cunningham is ranked world No. 326.
    6 p.m.: No. 8 seed Auguste Dussourd easily defeated unseeded Sam Gould. Dussourd, a 19-year-old Frenchman, won the match in three quick games, 11-4, 11-4, 11-6.
     Dussourd is world No. 248. Gould, a 26-year-old from Cambridge, MA, is world No. 310.
     7 p.m:  Unseeded teenage phenom Jesus Camacho swept past No. 2 seed Fred Reid. Camacho, a 17-year-old from Cuautitlan Izcali, Mexico, beat Reid with finesse, speed and the ability to retrieve every shot hit at him. The game scores were 11-4, 11-5 and 11-9.
     Reid, a 25-year-old Canadian, made many unforced errors, which contributed to the lopsided game scores.
     Reid is world No. 414, and was ranked 107 in September 2013. Camacho is world No. 202.

Two locals make it into the Kiva Club Open's second qualifying round

9/15/2015

 
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Sam Gould (right) handled Sean Gallagher, 11-4, 11-3, 11-4.
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Drewe Williams (right) beat Bryan Bonilla in a four-game match, 11-5, 11-6, 5-11, 13-11.
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Tom Abrams (left) defeated Walter Burke in straight games, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9.
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Drewe Williams (second from the left in the white T-shirt) refereed the Abrams-Burke qualifying match at the Kiva Club.
     The Kiva Club Open featured three qualifying matches Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 15).  
     The Kiva Club Open is a Professional Squash Association (PSA) tournament with $5,000 in prize money. The tournament also includes amateur doubles and singles; those matches start Friday.
     In the Tuesday's first match, Sam Gould easily handled Sean Gallagher, winning in straight games, 11-4, 11-3, 11-4.
     Gould, a 26-year-old from Cambridge, MA, is currently ranked 310 in the world and is the qualifying draw's No. 6 seed.
     Gallagher, 49, is a wealth manager in Santa Fe, NM. He was unseeded and is unranked.
     In the second match, Kiva Club squash pro Drewe Williams defeated No. 7 seed Bryan Bonilla in four games, 11-5, 11-6, 5-11, 13-11. The 45-minute match had many long rallies, and the final game ended with several dramatic lead changes. 
     Williams jumped to a 6-1 lead in that fourth game, but Bonilla came back to move ahead 7-6. After several ties and more lead changes, Bonilla found himself with a 10-8 lead and a game point that would have tied the match at two games apiece. 

     But Williams hit a winning cross-court drop to make it 10-9, then Bonilla missed a drop to tie it up at 10-10. Williams and Bonilla traded points to make it 11-11, then Bonilla missed a drop shot to make it 12-11 and caught the tin at match point, giving Williams the win.
     Bonilla, 23, is currently ranked 339 in the world. He lives in Guatemala City.
     Williams, 37, is originally from Chester in England. He now lives in Santa Fe with his wife and two young sons.
     In the day's final qualifying match, Tom Abrams defeated Walter Burke in straight games, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9.
     Abrams, 53, is a Santa Fe realtor. Burke, 62, runs a catering business and is the Kiva Club Open tournament chairman. 
     The tournament continues Wednesday with the four final qualifying matches starting at 1 p.m.. The main draw of 16 players starts Thursday at noon with the final on Sunday.
     The Kiva Club Open is a first-time PSA tournament. It is being played at a private squash club in Santa Fe. 

     Santa Fe's elevation is 7,000 feet, so players are using a high-altitude ball.

Results from the Santa Fe Open

5/18/2015

 
By Jeff Pollock
El Gancho squash pro
     
     What a great two days of squash we had at the Santa Fe Open tournament at El Gancho! And we didn't have to worry about the weather, like the tennis group.
     Everyone had a great time visiting and eating and playing lots of squash. Just ask the 3.0 guys and gal.
     We had a good group of newbies this year and they played really well. Congrats to Max and Julia, who played great during the two days.
     The winners and diehard players in the 3.0 division had to play four matches on Saturday, and it came down to the last match.
     With Ted, Joe and Dick all within a game of each other, Dick needed to win his final and fourth match of the day. Joe didn't give up easily and it went the distance with Dick outlasting Joe and taking first place. Ted played well after his first match and finished a strong second after we went to the third tie breaker to determine first and second place. Congrats!!!!
     Our main 5.0 event came down to Chris and Richard playing for first and second place. As always, this was a great match to watch and they didn't disappoint with their stellar play. Chris ended up the winner and Richard took second place.
     In the 4.0 bracket, John Bunch played his second straight year in the finals and lost to Jeff Pollock. I think John would agree, it wasn't his best game of the tournament and he has vowed to work harder and get into better shape for next year's finals! Look out field.
     Most of all, thanks to all who participated, to the sponsors and to El Gancho for hosting the tournament!
    Hope to see you all next time!
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