Binnie retains Under-17 crown in T&T

Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

JAMAICA AND Caribbean Under-17 number one seed, Chris Binnie, successfully defended his title when he swept past Guyana's Kristian Jeffrey 3-1 in the final of the Caribbean Squash Championships at the Cascadia Squash Club in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on Monday.

Binnie earned himself a berth in the finals when he defeated hometown favourite Josh Pinard 9-6, 5-9, 9-0, 9-5 in an entertaining semi-final match up on Sunday night.

The finals saw Binnie in menacing form as he never gave the number two seeded Jeffrey any opportunity to get into the game.

Grabbing an early 9-3, 9-1 lead by moving his opponent around the court, Binnie dropped the third game 7-9 but brought his killer instincts to the fore when he finished off the challenger 9-0 in the final game to retain his title.

The other members of the Jamaican contingent that made their way into the finals, Under-19 representative David Patterson and Under-17 girls' player Kristine Bell were not as successful.

Patterson had a hard fought 9-7 , 5-9 , 9-6, 8-10, 10-8 semi-final win over Bermuda's Andrew Stout, in which he came back from a 5-8 deficit in the last game. However he lost out 9-4, 9-6 , 9-4 to Bermuda's Michael Shrubb in the final.

Bell, who had brushed aside a challenge from Amber Glasgow of the OECS, beating her 3-0 (9-2, 9-3, 9-5) in the semis, was also swept in straight games as she lost 9-3, 9-3, 9-7 to another Bermudan, Laura Robinson, in the girls' final.

Starting today, the Jamaicans now focus their attention on the team competition. Coach Noel McKreith, while still concerned about the inexperience of some members of the team, expects a good showing.

"The mood is very good, but we have three new players in the junior categories, we might struggle there because of a lack at experience but we will be counting on our top players to do well and take us through," McKreith said.