Get to Know….The 2016 CANADIANS
For the first time in its nine year history the NASH Cup has attracted the top five Canadian Men and top seven Women – basically making the event a team training session to start the season. Our Canadians come from across the country with birth places from Victoria to Quebec City. All but Samantha Cornett and Nicole Bunyan have competed in the NASH Cup before…
We thought we should take a moment to introduce them properly.
David Baillargeon– rank 133 (new high on Sept. 1)
David hales from Montreal and trains under Yvon Provencal at the MAA. He’s 20 and launched his PSA career late in 2014. Since that time he has been busy competing in 18 events. David’s top finish was the Semi-Finals at last years MAA Invitational where he was beaten by Mike McCue.
David made the final round of qualifying at the 2015 NASH Cup and enters this year seeded 6th in the qualification round. From London he will continue to The BDO Northfield Cup in Waterloo where he is in the main draw.
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Nicole Bunyan – rank 129
Nicole is from Victoria and has just completed her first year in the PSA. Over the last 13 months she competed in 5 events around North America and has seen her ranking jump from 241 to a new high of 129 on September 1st. Her top finish was as a quarter finalist at the Liberty Bell Open where she lost to Diana Garcia of Mexico (another NASH Cup veteran).
Following the NASH Cup Nicole is on the reserve list for the Delaware US Open in early October and confirmed to compete in the Nicola Wealth Open in Vancouver at the end of the month.
Website – squashonsquash.com
Twitter – @squashnic
Samantha Cornett – rank 48 (Pegged Ranking)
Three-time Canadian Nationals title winner Samantha Cornett has historically been the leading Canadian woman on the PSA World Tour. Cornett claimed an impressive medal haul at the 2011 Pan American Games with gold and silver medals in the team event and singles event, respectively. In 2015 she picked up another silver (doubles) and 2 bronze (team & singles)
She retained the Montreal Open title in 2012 & 2013 and claimed he r first 
Canadian Nationals Title in May 2013. She reached her career best ranking of 28th in May 2014.
Cornett would have to wait for two years before picking up another Tour title but she bounced back in emphatic fashion lifting her first two PSA Challenger 10 crowns at the Delaware Open and the Richmond Open in 2015.
This will be Sam’s first NASH Cup, and marks her return to squash after a one year hiatus. She has a busy schedule for the remainder of 2016 with as many as 5 more tournaments planned.
Website – http://samanthacornett.ca
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/samanthacornettsquash
Twitter – @cornettsamantha
Shawn Delierre – rank 70
Shawn is one of the fittest players on the PSA World Tour and has, incredibly, appeared in three of the top five longest squash matches ever recorded.
He won his first title at the Quebec Open Classic in 2004 and grabbed his fifth at the Goodlife Squash Open in 2006. The Canadian won three consecutive PSA World Tour titles in 2010 with his 10th title coming on home-soil at the Nash Cup in September 2011.
After a strong 2012, Delierre began 2013 in the world’s top 40 ranked players and earned his first PSA Challenger 15 title at the National Capital Open in January of that year.
A couple of titles followed in 2014, before his mammoth 170 minute semi-final clash with Leo Au in the Gas City Pro-Am in January 2015 made headlines as it broke the record for being the longest match ever recorded. This will be Shawn’s 5th NASH Cup. He’ll have 3 weeks off after the event before completing next in Cleveland.
Twitter – @ShawnDelierre
Danielle Letourneau– rank 67 
Danielle is from Calgary and has been in the PSA since the summer of 2014. The NASH Cup will be her 10th tournament in 2016 having recently returned from a pair of tournaments in Australia where she was beaten by the same player (Mayar Hany; Egypt; wr 37). Her best ranking of 62 was reached in July of this year. From the NASH Cup Danielle will continue onto the Delaware US Open in Philly; the Granite Open in Toronto; and the Nicole Wealth Open in Vancouver – all before the end of October.
Twitter – @dzlet
Mike McCue – rank 110
This will be Mike’s 4th NASH Cup. He’s coming in as the second seed in the qualifier. Mike’s been climbing the PSA rankings since 2010 and, at the age of 23, is currently at his best ranking of 110. The opportunity to advance into the main draw and beyond could help push his ranking into the top hundred for the first time.
Mike is from Sudbury but lives and trains in the sunny south (Toronto) with Jonathan Power and Jamie Hickox. From London Mike continues to The BDO Northfield Cup in Waterloo (run by Andrew Mount) where’s he’s the #4 seed….then, hopefully, it’s off to Philadelphia for the Delaware US Open where he’s currently on the reserve list.
Twitter – @mccuemike
Hollie Naughton – rank 47
Hollie Naughton is an up-and-coming Canadian who has already found success on the Tour since joining in 2012. Her first title came at the ORC Open in December 2014 where she saw off Maria Toorpakai Wazir in the final.
A strong semi-final finish at the Montreal Open in March 2015 saw the Canadian break into the top 60 in the world for the first time in her career. She reached 45th in August and comes to the NASH Cup for the 4th time as our #2 seed, ranked 47th in the world.
Website – http://www.hollienaughton.com
Facebook
Twitter – @hollienaughton
Andrew Schnell – rank 62
Andrew returns to the NASH Cup for the 5th time after a 2 year hiatus. The last time he was at London Squash & Fitness he was ranked 96th in the world. His top NASH Cup finish was the semi-finals in 2012. Andrew comes from Calgary and lists his brother Graeme as his coach. The two were gold medal finishers in the Pan-Am Games along with Shawn Delierre.
At 62nd in the world Andrew is at the top of his game. He has won 3 titles in 2016 and is registered for at least six more tournaments before the end of the year.
Twitter – @a_schnell91
Nick Sachvie – rank 134
Nick reached a new ranking high of 134 in September. He played in the PSA from 2009 to 2011 and then took two years off before returning in 2013. He has been climbing the ranks ever since. This will be Nick’s 5th NASH Cup appearance. He is starting as the 7th seeded qualifier, but he has always made it to the main draw and hopefully 2016 will be no exception.
Nick is from St. Catharines and trains in Toronto with his brother Chris as his coach. The NASH Cup will be his 6th tournament of 2016 and he has made the semi-finals in 2 of them. Nick will continue on to Waterloo from London and has at least 7 more tournaments booked in 2016.
Twitter – @bignico22
Micaala Seth – rank 198
After graduating from the University of Waterloo in 2013 Micaala started working at Suncor at the Sarnia Refinery in Engineering and joined the squash community in South Western Ontario. Currently she is in pursuit of professional squash while balancing engineering.
“I’m excited to return to London Squash Nash Cup again this year!”
Twitter – @micaalaseth
Nikki Todd – rank 55
Nikki has participated in all 4 NASH Cup women’s draws making the semi-finals twice and the quarter finals once. She joined the tour in 2012 and the semi-final finish in 2013 helped propel her into the world’s top 100 for the first time where she has remained since. She reached a ranking high of 52 in July. To date Nikki has made 9 semi-final appearances but has never been able to advance beyond…perhaps this event will be the first. She comes in as our #5 seed.
Nikki is from Regina and trains in Toronto with coach Jamie Nichols. After London she has 4 more events around North America lined up before mid-November.
Melina Turk – rank 106
Melina joined the PSA in 2014 and climbed into the worlds top 100 before the end of 2015. This will be her 3rd NASH Cup and she is scheduled to face Nikki Todd in the opening round. Melina is from Winnipeg.
After London she will have a few weeks off before competing in the Nicola Wealth Open in Vancouver at the end of October.