THE 2003 STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
At the Lakeshore
Athletic Club from April 4 through 6th 2003
Some players look
on at one of the 5.5 level semi-finals.
Tournament Results and Highlights
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Division
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State
Champion
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Finalist
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Semifinalists
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Mens
6.0
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Imran
Nasir*
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Aidan
Harrison
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Mens
5.5
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Shiraz
Butt
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Nazeer
Gujar
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Larry
Davis, James Dyer
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Mens
5.0
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Julio
Blanco
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Ijaz
Ahmed
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Graham
Fernandes, Tim Sweeney
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Mens
4.5
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Babu
Rajalingam
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Ron
Dim
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Chris
Aquino, Peter Weimer-Hastings
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Mens
4.0
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Mitch
Joseph
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Andy
Slater
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Ian
Harris, Will Pritchard
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Mens
3.5
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Ashish
Jagmohan
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Carlos
Iglesias
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Jeff
Kaplan, Robert Katz
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Mens
3.0
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Ming
Hao Liao
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Mauricio
Izurieta
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Sean
Curran, David Nesser
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Mens
2.5
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David
Fain
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Tom
Lefebzre
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Laurie
Hill, Bob Holstein, Eric Bertram
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Womens
4.5
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Jeanne
O’Brien**
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Natalie
Lovett
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Jacqueline
Chen
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Womens
2.5
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Danielle
Peterson
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Zeina
Nazer
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Julia
Roberts, Rayna Joseph, Becky Poppenga
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* Mens state open champion
** Womens state open champion
SEE PICTURES AND WRITE UP BELOW
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5.5 Finalists: Nazeer Gujar and winner Shiraz Butt
4.5 Finalists: Jeanne O’Brien (winner) and Natalie
Lovett (runner-up)
5.0 Finalists: Julio Blanco (winner) and Ijaz Ahmed
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Congratulations to our 10
new state champions for 2003! This
year’s tournament drew a record 90 players from all over Illinois plus a
few players from Indiana and Wisconsin.
Many thanks to Imran Nasir, squash professional at the
Lakeshore Athletic Club for hosting this year’s event and serving as
Tournament Director. We would also
like to thank our generous sponsors Mark MacCormack of Pointfore, Bruce
Trent of Red Bull and Nazeer Gujar.
The ISRA welcomes our 30 new
members and hope that you can continue to take advantage of the many
tournaments and “challenge court” events sponsored by the ISRA. At the tournament, we unveiled our new
player rating system that allows our members to record match results
online. The system then
dynamically updates both players’ ratings using the official USSRA
algorithm. To view your current rating
simply click into the ISRA website (www.illinoissquash.org) and then
click Ratings in the left margin.
We are also nearing completion of an online database and match
scheduling system that will allow members to search our player database
(approximately 750 players) by city, club or skill rating. The system then allows the member to
send a blind email to the desired player(s). You will be hearing from us shortly about this exciting new
system.
Tournament Highlights:
- In
the Mens 6.0, Imran Nasir was clicking on all cylinders when Aidan
Harrison (squash pro at the Onwentsia Club) suffered an injury
and was forced to withdraw.
Now he has to listen to Imran brag for a whole year!
The Womens overall 2003 state champion is Jeanne
O’Brien who blitzed through the Womens 4.5 round robin with nary a
scratch. One of the highest
priorities of the ISRA is to encourage more women players. Any
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4.5 Finalists: Ron Dim and Babu Rajalingam (winner)
4.0 Finalists: Mitch Joseph (winner) and Andy Slater
3.5 Finalists: Ashish Jagmohan (winner) and Carlos
Iglesias
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- and
all suggestions on how to best achieve this goal are welcome.
- Shiraz
Butt had to rally from a 2 – 0 deficit in the Mens 5.5 semifinals
to eliminate Naperville’s James Dyer. He was on his game for the finals
however, and came out ahead against an under-the-weather Nazeer
Gujar. Many thanks to
Nazeer for donating many of the beverages enjoyed at this year’s
tournament.
- In
the 5.0 finals, Julio Blanco, also of Naperville, beat Ijaz
Ahmed in a hard fought final match.
- A
third Naperville player, Babu Rajalingam, bested Northbrook
Five Seasons squash professional Ron Dim in a battle. Babu rallied from 8 – 1 in the
second game of the match to take a 2 – 0 lead but Ron battled back to
win the third game and narrowly lost in the fourth.
- The
Mens 4.0 final was a battle of squash pros as Mitch Joseph of
the East Bank Club bested Andy Slater of the Winter Club. Welcome to the 4.5 division guys!
- The
Mens 3.5 division produced the only 3 – 2 match as Ashish Jagmohan
edged Carlos Iglesias who came all the way from Purdue
University to play. Great
match guys!
The match of the tournament however, was played
in the quarterfinals of the Mens 3.0 division. Perennial favorite Don Veverka nearly upset a very
young and fit David Neeser.
Then again, compared to Don, everyone in the tournament was young
and fit. David got to see all of
Don’s stall tactics from tying his shoes 12 times, to bouncing the ball
endlessly before serving to five minute breaks between games. David you get this year’s Sportsman
Award for putting up with
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3.0 Finalists: Mauricio Izurieta and Ming Hao Liao
Mens 2.5 Players: Laurie Hill, David Fain (winner) and Tom
Lefebzre (runner-up)
Womens 2.5 Players: Julia Roberts and Danielle Peterson
(winner)
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- Don. David unfortunately lost his next
match to Mauricio Izurieta who lost in a tough final to Ming
Hao Liao.
- The
Mens 2.5 featured a round robin format with David Fain
rebounding from a 2 –1 deficit to beat Laurie Hill and claim
the championship. Laurie got
her money’s worth going 5 games in all of her matches. By the way, the next time you see
Laurie or ISRA Treasurer Graham Fernandes, be sure to wish them
well with their impending nuptials (May 18th, 2003).
- Last,
but certainly not least, Danielle Peterson made it a clean
sweep for the Rajalingham-Peterson household. Danielle bested Zeina Nazer
in a tough final match.
The ISRA wishes to thank all
of the players, volunteers (Chris Curran, Chris Aquino, Larry
Davis and Ian Harris), past–president Kim Tunney and the
Lakeshore Athletic Club for a fantastic state championship tournament. We would be very interested in your
feedback regarding the tournament, good and bad, and hope to make the 2004
championships even better. If any
of you would like to get involved with the ISRA we are always looking for
good volunteer help. Thanks for
participating.
Womens 2.5 Players:
Zeina Nazer (runner-up), Rayna Joseph and Julia Roberts
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