Quick/Pierrepont Beat Defending Champions Betts/Hewitt to Take NYC Open Title from WSDA Media
photos WSDA
December 7, 2016 - The WSDA tour stopped in New York this weekend for the second annual NYC Open, hosted by the University Club.
The round of 16 featured five first-time pairings and three new faces
in the draw. Julie Cerullo, Brooke Cooper and Ashley West all made
their NYC Open debuts in the main draw.
Local pair Emily Lungstrum and Julie Cerullo won through qualifying to
face eventual winners Quick/Pierrepont. Cerullo, a former top US junior
player and Princeton Tiger, showed great potential on the left wall
with impressive court coverage and shot selection.
In the top half of the draw, Victoria Simmonds and Amy Milanek came
back from two games down to push #4 seeds Latasha Khan and Tehani
Guruge to a seesaw fifth game. Khan/Guruge eventually prevailed, 15-11.
Two tough semi finals played out on Sunday afternoon with top seeds
Betts/Hewitt coming back from 2-0 against Khan/Guruge. Steady, smart
play from Khan and impressive shot making from Guruge saw the underdogs
take the first two games before Betts/Hewitt were able to establish
themselves, using their experience to apply pressure to a tiring
Guruge, eventually closing the match out 15-2 in the 5th. This was the
third time in three events that Khan/Guruge have lost to the #1 seeded
team in a five game semi final.
The second semi final featured #2 seeds, sister partnership Narelle
Krizek and Natarsha McElhinny, and #3 seeds, Meredeth Quick and Suzie
Pierrepont. Krizek/McElhinny took a close first game 15/14. Despite an
array of incredible shot making from Krizek, the lower ranked team was
able to work their way back into the match with some strong and steady
play from Quick and consistent volleying from Pierrepont, that
eventually saw the lower ranked team take the match 3/1.
Monday night’s final was preceded by the pro-am final in which Narelle
Krizek and Chris Oberbeck overcame Stephanie Hewitt and Mark Walsh in
three games.
The WSDA final between defending champions and #1 seeds, Dana Betts and
Stephanie Hewitt and #3 seeds Meredeth Quick and Suzie Pierrepont was a
great display of tactics and shot making from both teams. Played out
mostly down the left wall, Betts/Hewitt struggled to make an impact on
a rock solid Quick, whose combination of excellent shot selection and
patience proved too consistent for the current #1 ranked team, with
Quick/Pierrepont winning, 10, 4 and 11.
Thank you to everyone who supported the event. Tournament organizers
include Tournament Chair, Phil Hofmann, Squash Chairman, Scott Fuller,
Scott Wilson and Rob Coakley.
