U of T played host to the exciting and sweat drenched 2005 Black Knight University and College Squash Championships this past weekend. The top collegiate squash players from across the country congregated at the Athletic Centre to battle it out for national titles and prizes donated by Black Knight, the main sponsor of the event.
Each player had the option of entering one of three categories, C/D, B, or Open,depending on their skill level. Open is the most challenging, followed by B and C/D.
Players did not have to be members of a provincial championship team in order to attend these Nationals, unlike other university sports, because squash is still a growing sport in Canadian university and college athletics.
Participants registered for this tournament through Squash Canada. The only stipulation was that entrants be full-time students. As far as this university is concerned, U of T was well represented in both the male and female events.
In the women’s open final, U of T’s Julia Hamilton needed just 25 minutes to win her first national title, beating Vicky Marrack from Queen’s. Hamilton downed Marrack in straight sets en route to a gold-medal finish. A third-year medical school student, Hamilton, who also won the OUA title this year, dominated the championships. She beat every opponent in straight sets.
The modest young woman has lost only one game in the past three years. Interestingly enough, Hamilton says she has not been playing squash for very long: “I used to play badminton, but then I started playing squash in my second year of undergrad.”
Hamilton will be entering her last year of med school next year and has plans to continue playing for U of T.
“I’ll definitely keep playing after I’ve finished school, though,” she confidently continues.
The men’s open final was a little more evenly matched. Western’s Rob Nigro was looking to complete a sweep of the championships in his final year as an undergraduate.
Nigro has dominated this event since he started competing in it in his first year. He has been crowned national champion three times and showed no signs of giving up his title this year.
But Josh Struthers from Manitoba had other ideas and gave Nigro a run for his money. Ranked first in university and college squash this year, Struthers put the pressure on Nigro early in the game, prompting heated outbursts from both players.
Struthers took the first set, but in the end, Nigro prevailed. The final score was 5-9, 9-1, 9-3, 9-4. After accepting his medal, Nigro thanked all those involved in his sport and declared that he would miss competing.
U of T swept the medals in the women’s B competition. Emily Robson, Edith Chow, and Brooke Biggs played superbly and won gold, silver, and bronze, respectively.
Meanwhile, the men’s B final saw Emir Mohammed from York University defeat Western’s Mike Connolly. Kellie Guzzo from McMaster and Keith Buckland from the University College of Cape Breton defeated their opponents to take the C/D championships.
This has been the fifth year a national championship has been held for university and college squash. The event has grown in attendance and now boasts athletes from 16 different schools across the country. Next year the nationals will serve as a selection competition for the World University Games in Austria.
