Experience isn’t everything, as members of the Sterling Insurance team will attest.
Thursday’s division-two squash league wrapped up at Better Bodies last week, with Uniglobe Specialty Travel taking the top spot with a 20-11 win over Sterling.
On the team were two juniors, Kai Knorr, 13, and Kelly Panchyshyn, 16, playing their first year in the adult league.
“I’m not sure who, but some of us are going into division one (next season),” said Knorr. “This has been a pretty good season in the adult league.
“I repaired the damage from the first game and Kelly brought us ahead, so I’m feeling pretty confident.”
The finals began with Uniglobe’s Tracy Pittman losing the opening match to Sterling’s Mark Beese, 15-13, 13-15, 15-5, 15-5.
“Mark was on his game,” said Pittman. “Mark and I play back and forth all the time. Next time it’s my turn.”
Playing Darrin Sinclair, who’s more than twice his senior, Knorr evened the score with a win in four games the following match.
“I get beaten by 13-year-old girls too,” joked Sinclair. “We’re a lunch-bucket team. Every week we showed up and gave it our all. (Uniglobe has) country club players—they coast because they know they’re going to get in the playoffs and they’re well rested.
“For us, we had a 16-game schedule, gave it our all ... and they’re fresh—that’s what happened. And he’s 13!”
Uniglobe’s Kelly Panchyshyn secured the first-place finish with a straight-set win over Amy Leach, 15-6, 15-11, 15-12.
“I went in there and just played solid basics,” said Panchyshyn. “I knew I had to win the first game.”
Sterling was unable to overcome the points deficit in the final match because of a substitution, which cost them a free point that potentially could have allowed a tie. Uniglobe’s Leonard Linklater defeated sub Will Parker 15-7, 15-13, 10-15, 13-15, 15-8 in the final match.
Sterling finished the regular season in first, followed by Northern Lights Optometry andUniglobe in third.
Northern Lights took fourth with a 19-12 loss to Emco. Underhill finished the post season in fifth with a 14-8 win over Electrical Shop on April 16.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com