Final : Weaver defends the Chestnut Hill title
American #1 Olivia Weaver defended her title at the Chestnut Hill Classic 2024 after defeating US Squash teammate Marina Stefanoni in the final of the PSA Bronze-level event. World #4 Weaver, who grew up playing at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, completed a faultless week of squash with an 11-5, 11-7, 11-2 victory over World #44 Stefanoni.
Eighteen months on from her prior success at the 2023 Chestnut Hill Classic, a title victory which at the time was the biggest of Weaver’s career, the Philadelphia-born player replicated this feat in dominant style, not dropping a single game all week long.
Top seed Weaver and seventh seed Stefanoni, who will be teammates at next month’s WSF World Team Championships, were meeting for the first time on the PSA Tour, but it took no time for Weaver to assert her dominance as she raced into a 5-0 lead in the first and later converted it by an 11-5 scoreline.
Stefanoni began to find her feet in the second game, attempting to push Weaver into the back two corners whenever possible, but it was Weaver’s relentless lines and lengths which never allowed Stefanoni the opportunity to pull together a sustained period of pressure. Despite the 21-year-old American saving three game balls, it was Weaver who doubled her advantage in the match.
Cheered on by the home crowd Weaver only moved from strength to strength in the third game, closing out the match with an inch-perfect cross-court nick and taking home the title after just 26 minutes of action.
“It means everything to me,” Weaver said after the match. “This is the club where I learned to play squash. I would not be the person or the player that I am without this amazing club and community. To defend my title, to come through and to perform despite the pressure of being the top seed, I’m so happy.
“I think a big thing I have been focusing on is my consistency. Obviously, being at World #4, I want to scalp a win off one of those top three players, but another part of that is about constantly raising my level and elevating my game. Coming to a week like this and not dropping a game only adds to my confidence heading to Hong Kong, which I hope I can perform really well in.”
Semis : Weaver and Stefanoni set up all-American final
Marina Stefanoni and Olivia Weaver have set up an all-American final at the Chestnut Hill Classic 2024 after claiming semi-final wins over Nour Aboulmakarim and Marie Stephan at Philadelphia Cricket Club.
Stefanoni, 21, put in another terrific display to overcome fourth seed Aboulmakarim by a 7-11, 15-13, 11-7, 8-11, 11-3 scoreline, while top seed Weaver continued her faultless title defence at the PSA Bronze event with a comfortable three-game victory over fifth seed Stephan.
Quarters : Stefanoni downs second seed Beecroft
Round TWO : Xin Ying & Craig Reach Maiden World Event Quarter-Finals
Unseeded duo Xin Ying Yee and Hannah Craig advanced to their maiden World Event quarter-finals after coming through five-game encounters against sixth seed Enora Villard and third seed Menna Hamed at the Chestnut Hill Classic.
World No.103 Xin Ying, a current Cornell University player, rallied from a game behind to take the second-round match by a 15-17, 11-6, 11-3, 9-11, 11-4 scoreline to advance to a quarter-final against fourth sees Nour Aboulmakarim.
Craig, meanwhile, delivered one of the performances of her career to come from 2-1 down to stun third seed Hamed 9-11, 11-7, 2-11, 12-10, 11-1 in just over an hour. Top seed and current World #4 Olivia Weaver kickstarted her title defence with a comfortable straight games victory over Australia’s Alex Haydon.
Round ONE :
The Chestnut Hill Classic 2024 got underway from the Philadelphia Cricket Club with eight players booking their spots in the second round of the PSA Squash Tour Bronze-level event.
In the final match of the day, Australia’s Alex Haydon delivered a gutsy performance in front of a partisan home crowd to defeat club professional and tournament wildcard Menna Nasser in straight games. Haydon’s reward is a second-round tie against World No.4 and defending champion Olivia Weaver.
All but two of the opening day’s matches were concluded in straight games, with the pair of four-game victories coming from England’s Saran Nghiem and Switzerland’s Nadia Pfister, who overcame Kiera Marshall and Margot Prow.
World No.85 Pfister, who was only named in the draw yesterday after the withdrawal of Caroline Fouts, held off a comeback from former Drexel University star Margot Prow, while Nghiem overcame compatriot Marshall by an 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5 scoreline.
