Despite missing some of its top players the national squash team still put in a creditable showing to finish second overall at the recently concluded Senior Caribbean Squash Association Championships at the Barbados Squash Club in Barbados.
The T&T men finished second, the women third and the veteran's team also won silver. Guyana won both the men's and women's titles, while home team Barbados grabbed the veterans crown.
T&T had many junior players in its squad as top players Charlotte Knaggs, Kerrie Sample and Mandela Patrick did not make the trip. Knaggs and Patrick had school committents, while Sample had work responsibilities. Coach Roger Salandy was happy with the overall effort of the team saying all the players performed exceptionally well.
The T&T women's team included three junior players in Faith Gillezeau, Alexandria Yearwood and Marie Claire Barcant and Salandy said the trio stood tall.
"I think it was a fantastic effort, you will have the element of inexperience but they stood up well showing physical and mental ability." The other female players included Nakita Poon King and Joanna Augustus.
Salandy also stated that Mandela Patrick could have given the men's team an extra push to claim the title.
"If he (Mandela) was there we would have won the title." The men's team comprised Chayse McQuan, Don Lee, Colin Ramasra, Kale Wilson, Paul De Verteuil and Mandela Patrick's younger brother Nku. De Verteuil was forced to pull out during the tournament, but was ably replaced by McQuan who won all his matches in the team competition. The team displayed some top performances in the tournament such as a 5-0 win over Barbados in the best-of-five semifinals.
The head coach spoke highly of the Guyana squash team saying the country's talent pool is rich. "One of the reasons why Guyana is good is because they have a large pool of players to choose from." Salandy added Guyana has a lot of natural talent in the rural areas with great young players.
Next on the agenda for T&T squash is the Pan American qualifiers in Mexico in two weeks. Only a T&T men's team will be competing in the qualifiers.
T&T SQUAD: Colin Ramasra, Kale Wilson, Paul De Verteuil, Don Lee, Nku Patrick, Chayse Mc Quan, John Holley, Peter Pirtheesingh, Glen Massy, Nakita Poon King, Faith Gillezeau, Alexandria Yearwood, Marie Claire Barcant, Joanna Augustus, Cathy Martin, Dianne Julien, Ryan Jagessar (manager), Roger Salandy (coach).