Quarter-final crunch on the cards 
By SEAN REUTHE – Squash Mad Correspondent

The draws for September’s Oracle NetSuite Open, PSA World Tour Gold tournament have been released today, with United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy and World Championship runner-up Nour El Tayeb predicted to reignite their burgeoning rivalry at San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza.

Held on the glass Squash Engine Court in the shadow of San Francisco’s iconic Ferry Building, the Oracle NetSuite Open will be staged between September 24-30, and 2015 champion Sobhy will be the highest ranked US player in action throughout the week.

The 26-year-old from Boston is fresh off the back of a triple gold medal winning campaign at the Pan American Games in Lima and receives a bye in round one, meaning she opens up her tournament against either Egypt’s Mariam Metwally or Milou van der Heijden of the Netherlands in the second round.

A win there could see her face World No.5 Nour El Tayeb in the quarter-finals in what would be their first meeting of the 2019-20 campaign. They played out a trio of enthralling five-game battles last season – with Sobhy winning two of them – and they are seeded to square off in an enthralling last eight encounter.

The winner of that match is seeded to play World Champion Nour El Sherbini – who makes her Oracle NetSuite Open debut – in the semi-finals, while World No.1 Raneem El Welily is predicted to play defending champion Sarah-Jane Perry in the quarter-finals on the opposite side of the draw.

Meanwhile, wildcard Haley Mendez of the USA takes on Belgium’s Nele Gilis in round one, with the victor set to play El Sherbini.

In the men’s draw, 2017 winner Mohamed ElShorbagy is seeded to play Germany’s Simon Rösner in the semi-finals, with World Championship runner-up Tarek Momen and World No.9 Miguel Angel Rodriguez seeded to play in the semi-final fixture on the bottom side of the draw.

Men’s United States No.1 Todd Harrity begins his tournament against Egyptian up-and-comer Mostafa Asal and will look to keep up the form that saw him win two gold medals in Lima.

Stamford, CT-based World No.121 Faraz Khan is the men’s wildcard and he will play Mexico’s Cesar Salazar in round one, with a last 16 berth against Momen up for grabs for the winner.

This year’s Oracle NetSuite Open boasts record prize money, with $242,000 split equally between the men’s and women’s events, while a best-of-three games scoring format will be used up to and including the semi-finals. The final will revert to the traditional best of five scoring used elsewhere on the PSA Tour.

All round one and two matches will be split between the Bay Club San Francisco, SquashZone, the Olympic Club and The University Club. All matches from the quarter-finals onwards will be held on the Squash Engine Court at Embarcadero Plaza.

Tickets start from $25 and are available through the tournament’s official website. Stay up-to-date with news from the Oracle NetSuite Open by following the tournament on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Fixtures from the Squash Engine Court at the Embarcadero Plaza will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour. 

2019 Oracle NetSuite Open, San Francisco, USA.
Men’s Draw:
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) [bye]
Ramit Tandon (IND) v [9/16] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
[9/16] Cameron Pilley (AUS) v Campbell Grayson (NZL)
[8] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) [bye]
[5] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) [bye]
Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) v [9/16] Tom Richards (ENG)
[9/16] Raphael Kandra (GER) v Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP)
[3] Simon Rösner (GER) [bye]
[4] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) [bye]
Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) v [9/16] Arturo Salazar (MEX)
[9/16] George Parker (ENG) v Alan Clyne (SCO)
[7] Declan James (ENG) [bye]
[6] Joel Makin (WAL) [bye]
Todd Harrity (USA) v [9/16] Mostafa Asal (EGY)
[9/16] Cesar Salazar (MEX) v [WC] Faraz Khan (USA)
[2] Tarek Momen (EGY) [bye]

Women’s Draw:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) [bye]
Lisa Aitken (SCO) v [9/16] Olivia Blatchford Clyne (USA)
[9/16] Emily Whitlock (ENG) v Danielle Letourneau (CAN)
[6] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) [bye]
[5] Joelle King (NZL) [bye]
Tinne Gilis (BEL) v [9/16] Millie Tomlinson (ENG)
[9/16] Joshna Chinappa (IND) v Olivia Fiechter (USA)
[3] Camille Serme (FRA) [bye]
[4] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) [bye]
Hollie Naughton (CAN) v [9/16] Rachael Grinham (AUS)
[9/16] Mariam Metwally (EGY) v Milou van der Heijden (NED)
[7] Amanda Sobhy (USA) [bye]
[8] Tesni Evans (WAL) [bye]
Coline Aumard (FRA) v [9/16] Salma Hany (EGY)
[9/16] Nele Gilis (BEL) v [WC] Haley Mendez (USA)
[2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) [bye]
 

Article by SEAN REUTHE (PSA). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.

Pictures courtesy of  PSA

Polish stringer turns her stencils into works of art
By ROSANNA RADLINSKA-TYMA – Squash Mad Correspondent

There are not many female stringers in squash, and we are delighted to discover a relative newcomer to the ranks in the shape of Małgorzata Cerlich from Poland. Squash Mad’s Rosanna Radlinska-Tyma ramps up the tension, fires some questions for Malgorzata and ties up the loose ends.

SM: Hi Małgorzata.
MC: Hi Rosanna.

SM: How long have you been stringing?
MC: I’ve been stringing rackets since 2017.

SM: Which club are you based at?
MC: At the best one, Squashfit in Katowice ?

SM: Was it a natural transition to stringing or were you always interested?
MC: Not everyone who plays squash takes up a stringing services… ? From the very beginning of my squash adventure (as a receptionist of Squash4You in Cracow) I have been interested in squash equipment. My, then, boss (Maciej Maciantowicz) has been organising all sort of workshops and I have been asking coaches what it is all about. I had not started stringing then as it appeared “cosmically complicated” to me!

SM: Why stringing? What is so fascinating about it?
MC: Stringing requires some great deal of focusing (it’s easy to make mistakes), but despite that, it makes me feel relaxed. It was also a challenge for me because I didn’t know any woman stringer.

SM: Have you taken any course? Do you have a mentor and what is his/her name?
MC: My first stringing guru was Michal Szostek, who knew exactly how to string the rackets for squash players and each of them was happy with his work! It’s easy to guess that only he was stringing my first racket!

My first knowledge, though, I gained from Darek Kwosek and Maciek Stolecki in the Squashfit club. Darek showed me how to do it, Maciek advised me on many occasions, also disclosed a few solutions and after 18 months we challenged each other who was the first to string the racket! I need to boast a bit that it was me who was faster by a few seconds ? Marcin Kozik is also a good stringer and I also ask him for a piece of advice if needed. I haven’t taken any courses. I simply learned from others.

SM:  Do you know that you can gain an official stringing qualification called Master Professional Stringer?
MC: Yes, I do and I know it from you Rosanna!

SM:  If you could go to such a course, would you do it?
MC: Yes, of course !!!

SM:  If there is a problem with stringing, do you solve it yourself or do you seek help and support?
MC: First of all I try to solve myself because if I do it myself, then I won’t forget it, ha ha! If that doesn’t work, I look up in the internet (usually “uncle Google”), then I ask Maciek Stolecki or Marcin Kozik ?

SM: Do you have your little stringing secrets and do you share them with others?
MC: I don’t have any secrets, but I share with others my little tricks which I learned from different sources. One of my friends bought a stringing machine and I taught him what I knew. I am happy that I could influence his development! I am also supported by the “old” specialists after all ?

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SM: You have produced some beautiful designs of your own. Where did you take the idea of different stencils on the rackets you string from?
MC: I started with my own racket when I found a marker in the club! I wanted to have an original and unique racket where I could put a symbol which means a lot to me. Then, there were different stencils and finally the players started asking where these beauties come from and who does them. I was adding different stencils as bonuses after restringing for regular clients. Then somebody advised to create a fan page on Facebook ?

SM: What is the model of the stringing machine you use?
MC: GAMMA 5800 ELS

SM: Have you used others?
MC: No, I haven’t.

SM: Do you have favourite rackets and strings?
MC: My favourite strings are Ashaway Ultranick 17 and favourite rackets are HEAD rackets.

SM:  Which racket, in your opinion, is the most complex/difficult to string and why?
MC: All fan stringing pattern rackets eg. Dunlop Blackstorm Titanium – more focus is required ? but generally, the worst rackets to string are TENNIS rackets! I really dislike stringing them. Their strings are very stiff and they hurt my fingers (having female fingers is not a bonus in this case).

SM:  Which strings are the best in your view and why?
MC: I have two favourite and well-tested strings: Ashaway and Tecnifibre.

SM: Do you have devoted clients who can’t live without your stringing service?
MC: There are a few … ?

SM:  The biggest dream related to stringing?
MC: To develop the best stringing service in Silesia and, thanks to you, to obtain a Master Professional Stringer qualification.

SM:  The biggest dream related to squash?
MC: Once, I would have said ‘to meet Ramy Ashour’, hahah! But really, right now, to run my own squash club! Who knows, perhaps soon I’ll be on my way to the latter… ? Stay tuned!

SM: Thank you Malgorzata and all the best with your future plans.

Pictures courtesy of  Malgorzata Cerlich

Scotland need to "lay down a marker" for the Rugby World Cup in their rematch with France on Saturday, says Rory Lawson.

Gregor Townsend's side were humbled 32-3 in Nice last week in their opening warm-up match.

Ahead of the return at Murrayfield, former national team scrum-half Lawson says Scotland need to reassert themselves.

"The focus has to now shift to win at Murrayfield," he told BBC Scotland.

"Lay down a marker on Saturday to say 'this is what Scotland are going to be about heading in to the World Cup'."

Townsend has made 14 changes to his starting side for the match, with only Stuart Hogg retaining his place.

The defeat in France was the latest inflicted on Scotland away from home, their last victory on the road coming against Argentina in 2018. In their past three away games Scotland have conceded a total of 86 points.

"The travel sickness thing is something that needs to be addressed by Gregor, his coaches and the players," Lawson said.

"The players have to take accountability for that. Why is it that at Murrayfield the players can get themselves to the level they need to be at, yet away from home they've shown that they drop off?"

As well as France on Saturday, Scotland play Georgia home and away before opening their Rugby World Cup campaign against Ireland on 22 September.

Townsend's team will also face Samoa, Russia and hosts Japan in their pool, and Lawson, who represented Scotland at two World Cups, believes there is still plenty of time for Scotland to hit the ground running in Japan.

"No need for panic buttons just yet. The World Cup preparation games are very unique. You go through a pre-season at an intensity that you've not experienced at your club, then you go into games," he added.

"The key is not for Scotland to peak now, the key is to peak in round one of the Rugby World Cup in almost exactly a month's time, and that is where Scotland will be truly measured."

Ben Te'o's England career is over after he signed a short-term deal with French Top 14 side Toulon.

The centre, who has 18 caps, was left out of Eddie Jones' World Cup squad last week, but will now be ineligible for a call-up if there was an injury.

The Rugby Football Union has reiterated its selection policy with regards to foreign-based players.

It is understood he was involved in an off-field altercation during England's summer training camp in Italy.

Te'o, 32, has signed a contract with the French side until November to provide cover for World Cup absentees.

He left Premiership side Worcester at the end of last season after just 33 games for the Sixways outfit over three years following his arrival from Leinster.

The Rugby World Cup starts next month in Japan.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR announced the dates for the 2020 Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash events on Wednesday afternoon, as well as confirmed an additional procedural change.

Next year’s Dash 4 Cash qualifier event will be held on March 21 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where the four highest-finishing series regulars in the field will become eligible to win bonus money from Comcast during the March 28 event at Texas Motor Speedway.

The winner of that race, plus the next three highest-finishing series regulars, will move on to compete for another bonus check on April 4 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

The qualification process will repeat itself over the course of the final two races in the four-week bonus program, at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on April 25 and May 2 at Dover (Del.) Int’l Speedway.

Bristol, Talladega and Dover each return to the Dash 4 Cash for the third-straight year, while Texas appears in the set for the first time since the second year of the program in 2010.

Texas replaces Richmond (Va.) Raceway in the Triple Truck Challenge, as the three-quarter-mile oval moves its spring date from an Xfinity Series race to a Gander Trucks event.

“The 2020 schedule is a little different, so that definitely had us going back and looking,” said Meghan Miley, NASCAR senior director of Racing Operations. “The goal of it when looking at what events we’re going to do, we want them to be consecutive because that just keeps the momentum going for the program. Additionally, three of the four markets are key for Comcast, with the program wrapping up in their back yard.”

This year’s Dash 4 Cash bonus payouts were $100,000 each. The 2020 payouts for the program will be announced at a later date.

In addition, NASCAR will trim the Xfinity Series field size from 38 to 36 starting next year, further reducing that division’s grid from the 40-car field it was just two years ago.

“This year, we looked at what we did going into the 2019 season, seeing how it worked and then decided that we could probably go a little further,” Miley told NASCAR.com. “The goal is that we take the prize money for those positions and put it back into the teams. All of it goes back into the teams, and you’re really taking care of the teams that are reinvesting in the sport and racing full time.

“It’s wanting to have the most competitive teams racing in those series to make them the best series they can be, and I think this is a good opportunity to strengthen the field and support those teams that are reinvesting back in the sport.”

Thirty-one positions in the Xfinity Series field will be set on qualifying speed, with four owner point provisionals and one past champion’s provisional also reserved as well.

The prize money from the 37th- and 38th- place positions will be redistributed throughout the rest of the starting field.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR officials have adjusted the participation guidelines for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers in the Xfinity and Gander Outdoors Truck Series in advance of the 2020 season.

Under the 2020 guidelines, any driver earning Cup Series points with more than three years of premier series experience will be limited to five Xfinity Series starts during the season.

They will also be prohibited from racing in any of the Dash 4 Cash events, the regular season finale and the seven Xfinity Series playoff races.

Previously, drivers with more than five years of Cup Series experience were limited to seven starts during the year, making the 2020 modification a two-start decrease.

Cup Series drivers with more than three years of experience will continue to be limited to five Gander Trucks starts during the year, as well as barred from the three Triple Truck Challenge races, the regular season finale and the seven playoff events.

Those earning Xfinity Series points will also be ineligible to compete in the Gander Trucks’ Triple Truck Challenge as well, continuing on from the program’s debut this summer.

“With the driver participation guidelines, what a chance to highlight these young talents,’’ said Meghan Miley, NASCAR senior director of racing operations. “We’ve gotten feedback from all our stakeholders and from the fans, who say, ‘we want to see more of the regulars’ and then we talk to some of the drivers who say, ‘we want the opportunity to drive against these [Cup] guys because they’re the best and they make us better.’

“So it’s more about finding that middle ground, what works for everybody but is great for us to highlight those series regulars.’’

Miley was quick to point out that while many have called the participation limits “The Kyle Busch Rule,” due to his Xfinity Series dominance in the mid- to late-2000s, the guidelines are not intended to single out a specific driver or drivers.

“That’s always something people bring up,” Miley told NASCAR.com. “While what Kyle is doing is no less impressive and he’s an extremely important owner in our Truck Series, we take into account what’s been the trend here for all of our teams in the garage, all of our stakeholders and really what is best for everybody, not just one person.”

ST. HELENA, Calif. – Rico Abreu and California-based Golden State Restaurant Group have joined forces as part of a 22-race sponsorship deal on Abreu’s No. 24 sprint car.

The pairing will make their season debut Wednesday night at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif.

Family-owned and operated since 1966, Golden State Restaurant Group owns a network of 43 McDonald’s franchises located throughout much of northern and central California, stretching from Modesto in Stanislaus County to the state capital in Sacramento County.

With the intent to shine light to their company’s mission of providing excellent service, guest satisfaction and community involvement, GSRG will rally behind Rico Abreu/Curb-Agajanian Racing throughout the next four months, kicking off with King of the West-NARC Series competition in Placerville.

All 22 nights of action with Golden State Restaurant Group on the wing panel, ranging from World of Outlaws action to Sprint Car Challenge Tour 360c.i. competition, will be contested within the heart of California’s open-wheel scene.

“On behalf of the Golden State Restaurant Group, we are excited to be in the position to be able to support and partner with Rico Abreu and Rico Abreu Racing,” said restaurant owner Dylan Schrader of GSRG. “We look forward to not only supporting Rico and his team throughout the racing season, but we are also excited to involve the community in order to expose this new relationship we have formed. We wish the best of luck to Rico and team on the remainder of the season.”

“We are very excited to have Golden State Restaurant Group join our team for the next few months. I’m confident we’ll do a great job in representing their organization at the highest level,” added Abreu. “They not only provide a great service, but they also do wonderful things for the surrounding communities within their restaurants’ markets. We want to do our part in sharing their mission with the race fans. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

COSTA MESA, Calif. – The MotoAmerica Series is headed into its final three races of the season, with much to play for as Pittsburgh Int’l Race Complex hosts the tour Aug. 23-25.

With rounds six and seven held in California, the series heads east this week for three straight races on the East Coast – PittRace, New Jersey Motorsports Park on Sept. 7-9 and the season finale at Barber Motorsports Park, Sept. 20-23.

This weekend’s race will mark the third time MotoAmerica has visited Pittsburgh Int’l Race Complex, which is located some 45 miles from downtown Pittsburgh, and it’s already become a series favorite for riders, teams and fans.

This year the premier EBC Brakes Superbike Championship arrives at PittRace with the top three championship contenders separated by just 40 points, with 150 points still up for grabs.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias leads the standings with 266 points, 34 more than Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Cameron Beaubier and 40 more than Beaubier’s teammate Garrett Gerloff.

Based on past history at PittRace, this one is wide open, as a Superbike rider has yet to win twice on the twisty and undulating 2.78-mile racetrack in the green hills of Wampum.

Beaubier won the first-ever MotoAmerica Superbike race at PittRace in 2017 but suffered a separated shoulder in race two, with that race going to the now-retired Roger Hayden.

In 2018, Josh Herrin won race one in iffy conditions, with Elias winning race two.

The margin of victory has also been close in those previous four races – 1.4 seconds, .263 of a second, 2.3 seconds and .046 of a second.

Looking at the season thus far, things become much clearer, and it really all comes down to just how fast and dominant Elias has been. The Spaniard has won six races so far, but his tally is blemished by two race crashes that have allowed the others to stay in the chase.

Those crashes came in race two at Road America in June and two weeks ago in race two at Sonoma Raceway.

Going into Sunday’s second race at Sonoma, Elias looked to have both hands on the number-one plate as he lined up with a 59-point lead over Beaubier, who had crashed out of race one. Then race two happened.

Elias crashed out, Beaubier won and now the title chase is on again.

Beaubier went into Sonoma as a four-time winner at the Northern California race track near his home, but he was fortunate that Elias followed his lead with a crash on Sunday – with Beaubier pulling away to his third race win of the season.

On Saturday, it was Gerloff who scored the victory, his second of the year and his second in a row. Gerloff followed that win with a second-place finish behind Beaubier on Sunday and his solid weekend at Sonoma – combined with the other two both having DNFs – puts the Texan in the title chase. He trails Elias by 40 points and Beaubier by just six.

Attack Performance Estenson Racing’s JD Beach was fourth and fifth in the two races at Sonoma and he’s fourth in the title chase, but well out of title contention with 107 points.

Beach now has his hands full defending his position with Yoshimura Suzuki’s Josh Herrin fifth and just 11 points behind. Herrin crashed out of race one at Sonoma and rebounded to finish third in race two.

Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz put his Yamaha on the ground a few times during the Sonoma weekend, but not during the two races. For that he was rewarded with third in race one and fourth in race two. He’s just nine points behind Herrin and 18 ahead of M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis, with Lewis crashing in both races at Sonoma.

Omega Moto’s Cameron Petersen heads to Pittsburgh eighth in the title chase, just six points clear of ninth-placed David Anthony on the FLY Racing ADR Motorsports Kawasaki and seven points ahead of the ever-improving Scheibe Racing BMW of Jake Gagne.

M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong didn’t win a race at Sonoma, but he still came out of the event smelling like a rose, with two second-place finishes in the Supersport class.

Fong leads the title chase by 20 over Ricdiculous Racing’s Hayden Gillim, the Kentuckian having won five races (the most of anyone in the class), including race one at Sonoma.

Rocco Landers’ rivals would basically have to steal his Ninja400R.com/Norton Motorsports/Dr Farr for him not to earn the Liqui Moly Junior Cup Championship.

The 14-year-old Oregonian is 76 points ahead of his nearest rival in the title chase and on the verge of capturing his first MotoAmerica title.

Franklin Armory/Graves Kawasaki’s Andrew Lee has won four of the seven Stock 1000 races this season and he will arrive in Pittsburgh with a 23-point lead over Mesa37’s Stefano Mesa. North Carolina’s Mesa has one win to his credit in 2019.

The closest championship points battle can be found in the Twins Cup class, where the top three are separated by just two points.

AP MotoArts’ Draik Beauchamp heads the list with 108 points, one better than Roadracing World Young Guns’ Alex Dumas and two better than Quarterley Racing’s Michael Barnes.