Get to Know… The 2017 NASH Cup Rookies
There are eleven (11) first time NASH Cup participants (rookies) in the main draws for 2017. This is up from six (6) in 2016 and says a lot about the tournaments reputation. Our clubs hospitality, and the member support for this tournament are critical components of its success.
Nada Abbas – rank 37; Egypt.
Nada marks a new era for the NASH cup as she is the first professional entry with a birthday after Y2K. She one of the youngest on tour, but launched her carrier in the PSA in 2015 and has risen in the ranks quickly. Her current ranking of 37th was reached in July 2017 and is the best she’s held.
Nada has captured two PSA titles and been a finalist twice – the most recent this past April in Egypt. In the opening round of the NASH Cup Nada will face Nikki Todd. The two have faced one before in PSA competition with Nada winning 3-0 at the Slaight Music Granite Open in 2016.
Nada has a busy schedule this fall with another four tournament on the schedule. She’ll get nearly a month off following the NASH Cup before competing in the Carol Weymuller Open in Brooklyn October 17th.
Sarah Cardwell – rank 42; Australia
Sarah has shown up on the NASH Cup entry list for a number of years before withdrawing at the last minute, so we’re very pleased to have her making the trip in 2017. She joined the PSA tour in 2008 and broke into the world’s top 50 in 2016. She has held her rank between 41st and 47th for all of 2017. Sarah won her first title in 2012 and has picked up two more since. She’s been a finalist 3 times in 2017.
Sarah will face Amanda Landers-Murphy of New Zealand in the opening. The two have faced each other 5 times in PSA competition. While Sarah is the higher seed, she has lost all 5 of these meetings. The most recent was in the semi-finals of the Victoria Open in July.
From London Sarah will remain in North America for a few more weeks as she competes in the Oracle Netsuite Open (San Fran.) and the U.S. Open (Philly).
Twitter – @cardwell_sarah
Todd Harrity – rank 50; USA
Todd started his squash carrier in Philadelphia and is reported to have never lost a match as a junior. He made his PSA World Debut at 2011’s US Open. Often referred to as simply “The Todd” he has been climbing the world PSA rankings since the start of 2013 reaching a high of 45th in the world during 2016. Todd has 2 PSA titles, the more recent in 2014 when he took down 2015/16 NASH Cup Champion Declan James 3-0 at the Madison Open. Todd arrives in London ranked 50th in the world and has drawn a qualifier for his opening round match.
After London Todd is scheduled to play in the 2017 US Open in Philadelphia on October 5th.
Amanda Landers-Murphy – rank 44; New Zealand
This won’t be the first time the NASH Cup has had players come all the way from Australia and New Zealand only to face each other in the opening round. The last time was Zac Alexander and Martin Knight (2011).
Amanda joined the PSA tour in 2008 and claimed her first of 12 titles in 2011 – she’s won two in 2017! She reached her top ranking of 35th in the world in 2013 and has been back to the high 30’s/low 40’s each year since. Her opening match will be against Sarah Cardwell of Australia.
After the NASH Cup Amanda will remain in London until the end of October to play in the Oracle Netsuite Open; the US Open; and the Slaight Music Granite Open. With luck she’ll add on the Carol Weymuller Open as well where she is currently 4th reserve.
Twitter – @amandalanders_m
Joel Makin – rank 47; Wales
Joel arrives in London at his carrier best ranking of 47th looking to build on the momentum of his 2nd tour title, and first at the $10K level, this past summer in England. Joel joined the PSA in 2013 and is the 2017 NASH Cup’s #2 seed. In the opening round he’ll face our 2012 Champion Shawn Delierre. The two have faced off once before in the finals of the 2016 Montreal Open where Shawn managed a 3-1 victory. Over 2/3rd of the matches Joel wins are 3-0 victories, so look for very different approaches from these competitors.
Following the NASH Cup Joel will be returning to Europe for the DPD Open in Amsterdam starting September 26th.
Twitter – @joelmakin
Haley Mendez – rank 51; USA
Haley is from Brooklyn N.Y. where she trained at the Casino Club. Having attended Harvard she’s taking a year off to focus on the tour before starting med school. Haley joined the PSA in 2009, played in tournaments in 2011 and 2014, but only really got going as a pro in late 2016 (competing in 6 events). She arrives at the 2017 NASH Cup, her 8th tournament of the year, at her carrier best world ranking of 51st.
Haley will face 2016 NASH Cup finalist Misaki Kobayashi (JAP;wr39) in the opening round. This will be the pairs first meeting in PSA competition.
From London Haley will continue to the US Open in October for her first of five tournament before year end.
Website – http://www.haleymendezsquash.com
Twitter – @haleylmendez
Fiona Moverly – rank 24; England
Fiona arrives in London having reached a new best ranking of 24th on September 1st. She originally joined the tour in 2005 but had a break from 2012 to 2014. It took only 16 months to regain a 50 ranking. Fiona enters as our #2 seed and has drawn a qualifier for her opening round. Unlike many other players the NASH Cup is not her first event in the 2017/18 season. She arrives having just won her 5th carrier title – a $15K purse in Nantes France.
From London Fiona will continue to the US Open; Carol Weymuller; and Granite Open before leaving North America for tournaments in November and December.
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/fimoverley/
Twitter – @fmoverley
Tom Richards – rank 39; England
While Tom may be a tournament rookie, he’s a PSA veteran. He joined the PSA in 2004, has been ranked as high as 12th in the world (2012/13), and is the second oldest player in the men’s draw. Tom has been in 10 title matches and won 4 of them, including an M35 title at the 2012 National Bank event in Montreal. Tom is the NASH Cup’s top seed for the men’s draw and will have a qualifier in the opening round.
After London Tom has a very busy fall ahead of him with 7 more tournament before the year is out.
Twitter – @tomrichards86
Youssef Soliman – rank 48; Egypt
Like a number of other rookies Youssef will arrive in London at the best world ranking he’s ever been. He joined the PSA tour in 2014 and has climbed quickly. In his 28 PSA tournaments he’s made 6 finals and won 5 titles.
His PSA experience crosses many past NASH Cup participants. His first title was a 3-0 victory over Christopher Binnie in 2016. In 2015 he lost the world Junior Championships to Diego Elias.
Following the tournament he’ll be flying to the Netherlands for the DPD Open in Amsterdam and then returning to Philadelphia for the US Open.
Eain Yow Ng – rank 81; Malaysia
Eain squeezed into the main draw of what has proven to be a very tight NASH Cup field. He has been climbing steadily and cracked the top 100 for the first time this year. Since joining the PSA in 2014 he’s played in 33 tournaments; been in 5 finals; and won 2 titles. The NASH Cup will be Eain’s second event of the season as he started September at a PSA event in Hong Kong. From the NASH Cup Eain will go to the Texas open the next week before returning to Malaysia for the Ohana Malaysian Open.
Farhan Zaman – rank 61; USA
Farhan will be arriving at the NASH Cup for his second tournament of the 2017/18 season after competing in Hong Kong where he starts as the 11th seed. In his opening NASH Cup match he’ll be facing Andrew Schnell. The two have not faced each other in PSA competition before.
Farhan is entered in another 6 tournaments before the end of October. From London he will be going to the Texas Open where he is the 2nd seed.