Bourbon Trail #2 : Jagtap takes the title in Chattanooga

Jagtap claims Chattanooga title

Richard Millman reports

In a cut thrust, all-court bout of exemplary squash, Aditya Jagtap (PSA ranked 120)arrowly overcame Andrew Schnell (PSA ranked 122) in the final of the $6K PSA Bourbon Trail Event No 2 at Scenic City Squash in Chattanooga, Tennessee in the USA.

The battle came to a crux, with both players visibly physically reduced as a result of some dramatic and varied rallies in which all four corners were exploited. Unlike some matches where a procession of power hitting and occasional forays to the front corners are the norm, in this match Messrs Jagtap and Schnell conducted a war of nip and tuck, short and long, brief backhand wall battles, with severe intercept volleys and deceptive changes of direction that had the crowd in raptures.

In the end, the difference was, over the course of the last two games, the pressure and fatigue felt by Schnell which turned into four or five unforced errors, usually when Jagtap suddenly wrenched a ball from the backhand across to the forehand and, in his attempts to cut the ball off, the racket turned in the Canadian’s hand and the closed face took the ball into the tin. It was only this that separated the two men, who conducted the match with tremendous spirit and mutual respect.

The sponsors were ecstatic at the return on their investment in our community that these two titans of the game afforded the Scenic City Squash community.

Many thanks to Mike and Taylor Monen of MF Restaurant Group, Clay Watson of Mtn View Autos, our two anonymous sponsors, Tim Piersant of Chattanooga Whiskey, Jay Robinson and the Robinson Team of Keller Williams Real Estate, Ricky Supan and Patton Albertson and Miller, Financial Advisers and Martin Daniel of Elevation Outdoor Advertising.

Our next PSA event on the Bourbon Trail is Event no 3 in Louisville Kentucky on February 13th. Our next PSA event at Scenic City Squash is Event no 4, a $6K PSA Women’s event in April.