Third time a charm for Trinidadian champion

No doubt you’re familiar with the old saying “the third time’s a charm.” That was the case Saturday evening when Trinidadian Colin Ramasra won the Men’s Open Draw at the 19th edition of the St Lucia Squash Open, which took place at the St Lucia Yacht Club on picturesque Reduit Beach.
Ramsara who is ranked number one in Trinidad & Tobago and seeded number one in the tournament, defeated Matthew Schonfrucht of the UK in the finals Saturday evening winning 11/2, 11/4, 11/6.
The Trinidadian was runner-up in 2011 and finished third the previous year. What was the difference in winning this time around?
“I think I was better prepared this year,” said Ramasra. “When I came here last year I was not as fit as I should have been. It has been a natural progression to winning this year.”
Ramasra felt the standard of play improved this year, but express concern with the low turnout of juniors which he feels is important for the development of the game.
In an all St Vincent affair, James Bentick placed third in the Men’s Open Draw with a victory over a younger Kevin Bailey who settled for fourth place.
St Lucia’s Charlie Sonson finished in fifth place after defeating Jules Snagg (St Vincent) in straight sets, while Oliver Gobat got past Ben Gilmore for seventh place.
Mark Accosta (Antigua) won the Plate Division with Richard Johnson second and Callum Samuel (St Lucia) finishing third.
In the Bowl Division final which was an all St Lucian affair, Lilly Bergasse defeated Wissam Chreiki in three games while in the third place playoff Derek Mogal got past teammate Chris Defreitas.
The matches were followed by the prize giving ceremony. In attendance was Program Development Officer in the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports, Jim Xavier.
Xavier addressed the players and assisted with prize giving. He congratulated the Squash Association on their achievement of running the open for 19 consecutive years and made a commitment to assist with the 20th anniversary next June.
President of the St Lucia Squash Association, Cheryl Renwick, thanked those players who visited from other countries including Trinidad, Antigua, St Vincent and UK. She indicated that the goal for the number of players next year is a minimum of twenty to reflect the number of years the tournament has been running. She thanked the players for a week of a high standard of squash with many exciting games played throughout the week.
She also made special mention of Schonfrucht who despite being a player, took time out to coach junior and senior players.
In other news, at the recent annual OECS Squash championships held in BVI in May, Tournament Director, David Piper of the St Lucia Squash Association, was elected President of the OECS Squash Association with Monique Lovell elected Vice President.
Piper addressed the players and thanked the many sponsors who continue to support the Association. He urged them to continue supporting the association through next year as St Lucia hosts the senior OECS Squash championships in May and the 20th anniversary of the St Lucia Squash Open in June.
Sponsors of this year’s St Lucia Squash Open were: Cap Maison, Rex Resorts, The Blu Hotel, Harmony Marina Suites, St Lucia Electricity Services Limited and IGY Rodney Bay Marina.