Nicolette through to finals, again

Guyana’s most successful squash player in recent years Nicolette Fernandes qualified for the women’s final of the 2008 Cellink Plus Southern Caribbean Squash Championships with an easy semi-final win over Cherie-Ann Parris last night at the Georgetown Club squash courts.
She will face Karen Meakins tonight in a rematch of the St Lucia Open final last month.
Fernandes, the reigning St. Lucia Open and champion in this event showed her prowess when she brushed aside Parris 9/1, 9/1 and 9/3.

In the other semifinal match-up, Meakins eased past compatriot Lilianna White, 9/0, 9/0 and 9/0, without exhausting herself before her eagerly awaited clash with Fernandes.
Earlier this week Fernandes predicted that she would meet Meakins in the final  but had said that she was not too worried.

“I’ve been training real hard lately because I am preparing for the South American Championships early next month so this is just going to be like preparation for that,” Fernandes told Stabroek Sport confidently.

Meanwhile, the 6’ 5 Barbadian Shawn Simpson who took Kristian Jeffrey out of contention earlier in the day, disposed of James Bentick in straight games 9/7, 9/1, 9/3.

Simpson controlled the tempo of the match and, with his superior reach, there were not many shots that he could not retrieve.

Bentick will play Trinidad’s Colin Ramasra in tonight’s final for the coveted Men’s title.
Ramasra defeated 19 year-old Bar-badian Bryant Cumberbatch in the other semifinal.
Defending champion Gavin Cumberbatch sent Jeffrey packing in the men’s consolation round (Plate) while Nadia McCathy defeated Kayla Jeffrey.

Reagan Pollard though, is still alive in the men’s plate after defeating Juan Pablo Rothie and so too is Keisha Jeffrey who got past Alysa Xavier in straight sets.