Cricket Club 10k Preview: College Matches Helping Douglas

The last of those four tournaments beginning on Monday 20 is the Cricket Club 10k, which will take place at Toronto Cricket Club in Canada over the next four days.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Challenger 10 level men’s tournament is being run with regional restrictions, allowing only those currently residing in North, Central and South America to participate.

The top four seeds, along with the majority of the field, hail from host nation Canada, with David Baillargeon, Shawn DeLierre, Michael McCue and Nick Sachvie, the quartet that competed for their country at the WSF Men’s World Team Championships in Washington, D.C. in 2019, all in action.

USA’s Andrew Douglas and Egypt’s Abdul Rahman Elnady are the only two non-Canadians in the draw for the tournament, and we spoke to the American prior to the event.

This will be his first tournament since before the Tour was suspended back in March 2020 due to COVID-19, but he has been able to continue playing, thanks to the college programme at the University of Pennsylvania.

“I have been able to train for the majority of the past year. As I am sure is true for many, COVID forced me to re-evaluate my life and how I was spending my time,” the American explained.

“During this time I have been working towards my master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania and working remotely, while also enjoying my time playing squash.

“I do not have many expectations going into this event. I have been enjoying my squash more than I ever have, so I hope I will play a few enjoyable matches!”

The American was as high as World No.109 last year, but due to not featuring on Tour since, he has dropped outside the top 500 in the World Rankings. However, he feels that he has the game to get back to his best and even further thanks to constantly playing such a high calibre of player in college.

“I feel that squash wise I am right where I need to be to compete with the best in the world. Regardless of how much I compete on the PSA Tour, I am constantly playing top 100 players in college, so that is a real blessing,” Douglas said.

“My main goal is to stay healthy, continue enjoying and improve as much as possible while playing as many events as I possibly can. With the current news, I think all of our goals are aligned in hoping that squash can continue unabated during the new year.”

The event takes place from Monday 20 to Thursday 23 December at Toronto Cricket Club, and you can follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the event.

First Round Draw: Cricket Club 10k
[1] David Baillargeon (CAN) – [Bye]
[9/16] Liam Marrison (CAN) – [Bye]
[9/16] George Crowne (CAN) – [Bye]
[7] Connor Turk (CAN) – [Bye]
[6] Cameron Seth (CAN) – [Bye]
[9/16] Salah Eltorgman (CAN) – [Bye]
[9/16] Cory McCartney (CAN) – [Bye]
[3] Michael McCue (CAN) – [Bye]
[4] Nick Sachvie (CAN) – [Bye]
Ali Shalaby (CAN) v Abdul Rahman Elnady (EGY)
[9/16] Jayden Shortt (CAN) – [Bye]
[5] Andrew Douglas (USA) – [Bye]
[8] Darosham Khan (CAN) – [Bye]
Ravi Seth (CAN) v [9/16] James Flynn (CAN)
[9/16] Charles De La Riva (CAN) v Matthew Henderson (CAN)
[2] Shawn DeLierre (CAN) – [Bye]