The top squash players in Canada faced off at the Royal Glenora Club in Edmonton last week, battling their way through the qualifiers and the finals.
Whistler’s Ben Thomas, competing in the Men’s A Division – one bracket down from the pro open category – emerged with the win, after downing five opponents in a row.
Thomas faced another B.C. squash player, Jay Anderson of Nelson in the finals, and beat him in straight sets to win the top amateur title in the country.
"I kind of knew what to expect going in. I knew a lot of the other guys, and there were definitely a couple of pros in there, including three guys who were top-50 in the world," said Thomas.
"Our draw was full of the guys who don’t get to play everyday anymore, but are still pretty good."
Thomas says he used to play every day, but these days he only gets out about three days a week.
Although Thomas beat Anderson 9-0, 9-3, 9-0 in the best three out of five format, he says it was tougher than it looked.
"I came out and attacked right away, and put a lot of pressure on from the beginning. I never let up, which was the idea, but the points were pretty close. It was actually a lot closer than it looked in reality," he said.
This was Thomas’ first appearance at the Squash Nationals, although he did once compete in the Junior National Championships. He is 29 now, and looking forward to competing in the over 30 category.
If you want to come out and watch Thomas play, the Whistler Squash Club is hosting a tournament at Meadow Park on the May 24-25 weekend. The tournament will feature top local players, as well as some of the top amateur players in the Lower Mainland and from around the province.
