The 2007 Merritt Properties Open drew a number of top-ranked international professionals and countless squash enthusiasts. On October 9, 2007 the Merritt Properties Open Qualifier athletes began wandering to the courts at Merritt Athletic Club at Bare Hills, a club that within the last year has made a dramatic entrance onto the squash radar. As most of the qualifying athletes fell short, in the opening days, a handful found their way into their main draw and the hearts of many spectators. It is always exciting to root for the underdog, but eventually skill and level of training takes over. Once the tournament advanced to the quarterfinals, the draw had shaken out the way it was intended, with all the top seeded players holding a spot, with the exception of one. Bernardo Samper, a feisty Colombian, and former Trinity College standout, upset the fourth seed player, Renan Lavigne, in an intense, crowd-pleasing, four-game stunner. Samper remained victorious through the quarterfinals but eventually fell to one of the finalists, the Canadian Shahier Razik in the semifinals. Razik, and his fellow finalist Laurens Jan Anjema, of the Netherlands, seemed to have their sights set on the final from the moment they walked onto the courts at Bare Hills. They both faced a number of tough battles, but neither lost focus and determination.
On October 14th, as the final approached, you could feel the intensity in the building. Anjema had faced Alister Walker the day before in a highly dramatic knock down, drag out fight to the end, and the spectators were expecting more of the same in this final match against Razik. The fans at Bare Hills got the match that they were anticipating, and then some. Although Razik was able to sneak in a few points during game one, the play was entirely dictated by Anjema, who took the first game with relative ease. That same ease reversed roles in the following game when Razik blanked Anjema 11-0. Razik took his momentum into the third and jumped out to a 10-2 lead. Most people would have assumed that the game was over right then and there, but Anjema is not most people. Although he eventually lost the game, he flipped a switch in his level of play that allowed him to power himself to a much closer 11-8 loss in the third, but more importantly, a fourth and fifth game win to take the title.
The Merritt Properties Open, is Anjema’s sixth PSA title in 16 appearances and one he was surely happy to take after all of the hard work that he expended on the courts of Merritt Athletic Club at Bare Hills. The level of play that was highlighted at this tournament is guaranteed to be a mere preview of tournaments to come at this impressive up and coming squash club. We would like to thank the generous sponsors, without the following contributors, this event would certainly not be possible:
Merritt Properties (www.merrittproperties.com), Capital Funding Group. Inc., IXIA Restuaurant Lounge and Bar (www.ixia-online.com), Franklin Financial Group, LLC (www.franklin-group.com), PNC Bank, Harrow Sports (www.harrowsports.com), Red Rose Photography (www.redrose-photography.com), (www.isquash.net)
