2013 NASH Cup – Set to Impress
The NASH Cup has come a long way in 11 years. From a basic 55 player amateur draw in 2003; to a fledgling $5K PSA purse in 2008; to a $15K PSA and $5K WSA spectacle today. A dedicated team of volunteers have nurtured this event all the way through, and the 2013 instalment is set to bring a level of competition never before seen in the Forest City (Canada’s London).
The Men’s PSA draw includes a huge range of players, with 12 ranked within the worlds top 100. Young rising starts like England’s Ben Colman (WR 86); Canada’s Andrew Schnell (WR 96); and Egypt’s Mohamed Abouelghar (WR 70) will face off against experience verteran’s like Jan Koukal of the Czech Republic (WR 71) and Canada’s Shahier Razik (WR 54).
The local and wildcard entries can’t be ignored. Nick Sachvie and Bruce Burrows joined the PSA on July 1st, 2013. Bruce finished second in Jamaica last month, and Nick made the main draw of this week’s $5K NSA Open in Toronto. James Van Staveren and Albert Shoihit of Canada’s top university squash program at Western University have also been working on their games this week at the NSA with James making through to the quarter finals. Rounding out the locals is London Squash & Fitness Club Champion Brad Hanebury who has made more than a few professionals work to advance past him in qualifying rounds.
The qualification draw includes seven players ranked between 99 and 134. Spectators may expect a couple of upsets in the opening night…but can clearly count on some fierce battles in the second qualification round.
The main draw is set, and there are two matches that stand out. Jan Koukal (WR 71) will face Mahd Asyraf Azan of Malaysia (WR 60), and France’s Lucas Serme (WR 77) will face Ben Coleman (WR 86). Both matches could go either way, and the winners will face each other in the quarter finals.
After 5 years not only has the NASH Cup never had a repeate champion….but it’s never had two champions from the same country. 2013 will feature two return champions – Jan Koukal, Champion in 2010; and Shawn Delierre of Canada (WR 39) Champion in 2012.
WSA
This is the first year that the NASH Cup has featured a women’s draw and with 6 players in the top 100 it’s going to be quite a show.
Local talent runs deep and dominates the quailfication round with players that include many of Canada’s top juniors. Alyssa and Sophie Mehta are currently ranked 2nd and 4th among Canadian Girls. The top ranked Canadian girl is Hollie Naughton (WR 90) who is the NASH Cup’s 5th ranked player.
Wild Card entry Giselle Delgado (WR 220) of Chili, who competed on the Western University women’s squash team, is looking to make some waves. However, she will have to overcome Canada’s second ranked WSA player Alexandra Norman (WR 77) in the opening round.
The top seed in the draw – Milou Ven Der Heijden of the Nethrlands (WR 51) and Maria Toorpakai Wazir of Pakistan (WR 53) – will face qualifiers. The match that looks to be the most hotly contested in the main draw would be Cecelia Cortes (WR 101) of the United States facing Menna Nasser (WR 113) of Egypt.
The 2013 NASH Cup will begin on Monday September 16th at 11am EST. Updates will be posted throughout the event.