麻豆社区

Top seed Mustafa Syed beat third seed Stephen Grundmanis in the A division final to win Squash Yukon's Early Bird Tournament held Saturday at Better Bodies Whitehorse.

It took the full five matches for the 15-year-old Syed to finally oust Grundmanis, 17 in the final.

"It was a close game,鈥� said Squash Yukon head coach and tournament organizer Khoon Chua.

Syed 鈥� known locally for his multi-sport skills in squash, table tennis and badminton 鈥� beat eight seed Michel Gelinas 3-0 and fourth seed Chris Toleman 3-1 en route to the championship final.

Grundmanis followed a similar path, downing seventh-seed Richard Malvasio 3-0 and second seed Tyler Nesgaard 3-1.

Participants battled in five divisions 鈥� A, B, C, D and Junior.

"It was a good draw,鈥� Chua said Monday. "Sometimes we get bigger numbers, but this is not bad for our first tournament.鈥�

Mustafa's father, the top-seeded Shadid Syed, beat second seed Stephen Buckler in three straight sets to win the B division title.

The elder Syed beat Jean Beckerton in straight sets and downed four seed Tyler Quock 3-1 to earn a place in the final.

Buckler shut out five seed Gord Kurzynski and Rob Luxemburger before falling to Syed.

Eight seed Taylor Love took home the C division crown, beating seven seed Kealan Campbell in a four-set final.

Love ousted top-seeded Adam Humphrey 3-1, then shut out Meagan Wilson 3-0 before squaring off with Campbell.

Campbell, on the other hand, squeezed out a win in five sets over No. 2 seed Lara-Rae Grant, before settling in and beating third seed Shari Thompson in three straight.

In the D division, sixth-seeded Megan Klassen beat five seed Cathy MacDonald 3-0 in the final.

Klassen breezed through her tournament, beating both No. 2 seed Mona Syed and No. 3 seed Marie Maratos in three straight.

MacDonald won her first set over No. 4 seed Sana Syed in straight sets, but it took her all five to take down top-seeded Gaylene Shoemaker in her second match.

Nathan Abel won the three-player junior round-robin, beating Cole Wykes 3-1 and Jake Wykes 3-0.

The Early Bird Tournament was organized for players interested in joining the Squash Yukon league. Player rankings will be gauged from tournament results.

The next tournament will be held in late November.

Squash Yukon is the official sports governing body for the game in the territory. The organization promotes participation in the sport through its tournaments, aiming to provide players an opportunity to square off with both local and visiting players in a friendly, competitive environment.

Tournaments also aid development evaluation and work to introduce players to new opponents.