Calgary Women’s Squash Week 2023

Calgary Women's Squash Week 2023 : FINAL

[1] Lucy Turmel (Eng) 3-2 [5] Lucy Beecroft (Eng) 11-5, 3-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7 (60m)

Turmel wins five game all-English final

It was an exciting final here at Women’s Squash Week! The match was very close and it could have gone either way. Both players are very evenly matched and have similarities in their style of play. They were in each other’s space often, which unfortunately led to many disputed calls throughout.

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Lucy Turmel kept the pressure on in the first game, and gave Lucy Beecroft a bit of a runaround. Beecroft then put her energy to good use and increased her focus and precision in games two and three.

Turmel played it a bit safer in the final two games, and with Beecroft making just a few more errors, it was enough to swing the match in Turmel’s favour. Turmel took the victory 3-2.

Thanks so much to all of the sponsors, billets, volunteers and refs. Your time, commitment and support year after year is truly appreciated. Thanks to all of the professional and amateur players who came out for this event! We always love having you here! Hope to see you all back for our 10th annual Women’s Squash Week in 2024!

 

Semis : Turmel & Beecroft set up all-English all-Lucy final

It was an intense Semi final round, with all four players giving their best.

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Lucy Turmel finally felt the pressure this week, in her match against Tomato Ho. It was a very close 5 game match, right down to the final two points. Both played with extreme intensity. Many calls were questioned and argued throughout. Lucy pulled it off in the end by maintaining her focus and delivering clean and consistent shots. She won the 5th game 12-10.

Second match of the evening was also intense but a little more subdued.

Lucy Beecroft was up in the first 2 games, but Jessica Turnbull had great drives, tight to the wall, and made good use of the court with her beautiful lobs. She was able to steal the 3rd game. Not too phased by it, Lucy kept up her endurance and continued to deliver her exceptional drops and low boasts, taking the match in 4.

The two Lucy’s of England will meet each other in the final match at 2pm MST for an epic showdown. Can’t wait!

Live Streaming

 

Quarters :

Our ladies’ amateur team’s tournament kicked off on Friday, offering additional excitement down at the courts. It is great to have the amateur ladies back to Women’s Squash Week this year, after having to cancel that side of the event in 2022 due to ongoing Covid restrictions.

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There were some epic rallies in the first pro match of the evening. Tomato Ho came out strong in the quarter final round against Katie Malliff. She kept her shots hard and low and cut everything off. Katie still managed to hold her own in the rallies, and was able to retrieve a lot of winners despite Tomato’s pressure and pace on the ball. The games were fairly close, but Tomato still managed to pull off a 3-0 win, and a stroke on match point.

It was a quick 3-0 win for Lucy Turmel against opponent Karina Tyma. Demonstrating a very high calibre of play, Lucy moved throughout the court with such ease and did not give her opponent many openings to work with. We’re looking forward to seeing whether that flow continues in the semi final, or whether she’ll finally start feeling some pressure.

The third match of the evening was a fast pace one with minimal shots above the service line. There were crisp drives from both sides, and all-in-all clean shots that were tight to the wall and low to the tin. Menna Hamed took the lead in the first game, but Lucy Beecroft dominated the rest of the match. Her short game was on point, winning most of her rallies with impeccable drop shots. She took the win 3-1.

The final match of the night was an exciting win for Jessica Turnbull against second seed Danielle Letourneau. Although Danielle is still recovering from an injury, she isn’t one to back down easily. Using precision to compensate for her mobility, Danielle made sure to be quick off the T, hit her shots early to keep up the pressure, and focused on delivering perfect drives and immaculate drops.

It was no easy win for Jessica – she still had to fight hard for it – but she managed to play effectively to Danielle’s weaknesses whenever possible, and won the match 3-1.

Advancing to Saturday’s Semi Final Round are Tomato Ho (HKG) v Lucy Turmel (ENG) and Jessica Turnbull (AUS) v Lucy Beecroft (ENG) .

Round TWO :

The competition heated up significantly in Thursday’s Round Two, delivering some exciting matches, with three players beating out their seeded opponents.

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Karina Tyma took a solid 3-0 win against 8th seed Sarah Cardwell; Jessica Turnbull won 3-1 against 6th seed Millie Tomlinson; and Menna Hamed just barely squeezed by against fourth seed Tong Tsz-Wing , winning 11-9 in the 5th game!

Top seed Lucy Turmel took an easy win against Tessa ter Sluis in the second last match of the evening. Tessa took a spill at the back of the court early in the second game and was unable to put up much of a challenge after that; losing 6-11, 2-11, 2-11.

Local player and second seed Danielle Letourneau put on a good show for her Calgary fans in her first round of the tournament. Although she gave up the first game against Alex Haydon, she found her groove in the rest of the match, winning 3-1. She has spent months recovering from an injury and has just recently returned to the tour. We look forward to seeing how far she can go in this event. The pressure is on, but the support is strong!

Next up in Friday’s Quarter Finals we have Tomato Ho (HKG) v Katie Maliff (ENG), Karina Tyma (POL) v Lucy Turmel (ENG), Lucy Beecroft (ENG) v Menna Hamed (EGY), and Danielle Letourneau v Jessica Turnbull (AUS)

Round ONE

What a great start to Women’s Squash Week here in Calgary!

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Round One kicked off on International Women’s Day. What better way to celebrate the day than to watch world class female athletes demonstrate impeccable skills in this amazing sport we all know and love!

There were no upsets today, with all higher ranked players breezing through their first matches, all 3-0.

Our 18-year-old Wild Card Maddison Laine had the opportunity to compete against Karina Tyma of Polland. Although Karina showed no mercy in the third game, Maddison was able to steal a few rallies in the first two games. Kudos to the young, promising, up-and-coming athlete!

Erin Roberts, Jackie Moss and Jaime Laird, all Calgary locals, filled in this round for last minute pro player cancellations. All three players put up a good fight and had some solid rallies against their professional opponents. Jackie almost took a game off Menna Hamed of Egypt.

Advancing from this round are Cheng Nga Ching (HKG), Jessica Turnbull (AUS), Alex Haydon (AUS), Menna Hamed (EGY) and Ching Hei Fung (HKG), Laura Tovar (COL), Karina Tyma (POL) and Tessa Ter Sluis (NED).

We’re looking forward to another action-packed day, and competition rising, as these ladies meet their next opponents in Thursday’s Round Two !

Preview

Welcome back to the 9th annual Calgary CFO Consulting Services Women’s Squash Week, taking place March 8-12, 2023 at the Calgary Winter Club.

Top seeds in the PSA Challenger event are Lucy Turmel of England (WR31), Calgary’s own Danielle Letourneau (WR37), as well as our last year’s champion Tomato Ho (WR38) and fellow player Tong Tsz-Wing (W45) both returning from Hong Kong.

Last year, we were at the tail end of our provincial and federal Covid restrictions, and were only able to host the PSA Challenger event. This year, our tournament is back full throttle! We will be hosting both the pro event and the ladies’ amateur event; guaranteeing a lively time down at the courts and yet another exciting week of women’s squash!