It looks like local squash pro Mike McCue didn’t get to do a whole lot of sight-seeing during his sojourn to the Cayman Islands.
One of eight members named to the Canadian entry at the XXVIII Pan American Squash Championships (Aug. 26 to Sept. 1), McCue was nothing if not busy, taking part in an individual men's draw, teamed with Calgary native Danielle Letourneau for mixed doubles play, and suiting up, as well, for the aggregate team event to close things off.
Joining McCue and Letourneau on Team Canada were the men's trio of Andrew Schnell, Shawn De Lierre and Nicholas Sachvie, as well as women's team members Hollie Naughton, Sam Cornett and Nikki Todd.
Seeded just above the middle of the pack in the men's event, McCue opened play with a 11-2, 11-3, 11-8 win over Rhett Cumberbatch (Barbados), before promptly eliminating Leandro Romiglio of Argentina (12-10, 11-5, 11-5), ranked 186th in the world.
The local graduate of Lockerby Composite School would proceed to defeat Diego Gobbi of Brazil, 11-9, 11-4, 11-7, bounced out in the quarter-finals by American Chris Hanson (2-11, 3-11, 7-11), ranked 61st.
Partnered with Letourneau beginning on Aug. 28, the Canadian tandem defeated Camila Gallegos/Maximiliano Camiruga of Chile (11-7, 11-3) and Karla Urrutia/Jorge Dominguez of Mexico (7-11, 11-9, 11-10), advancing through to the semi-finals.
Unfortunately, an 11-10, 11-4 setback at the hands of the host country pairing of Marlene West and Cameron Stafford spelled the end of the line, with McCue and Letourneau settling for bronze medals.
On Aug. 30, McCue was doing his part to help the second seeded men's Canadian team entry move their way along, sweeping past Esteban Casarino and completing the 2-0 Canada win over Paraguay. Andrew Schnell opened the best of three match with a 11-4, 4-11, 11-5, 11-8 win over Francesco Marcantonio.
McCue was on the sidelines Aug. 31 morning as Canada trimmed Peru 2-1. Ranked 11th in the world, Diego Elias opened with an 11-3, 11-8, 11-7 triumph over Andrew Schnell, before Shawn De Liere evened the match with a 12-10, 11-8, 11-5 win over Alonso Escudero and Nicholas Sachvie clinched it for the Canadians, downing Andres Duany 11-5, 11-1, 11-4.
Canada was set to face Colombia on Friday afternoon, with the winner advancing to face the winner of the USA/Mexico encounter, and McCue slated to play in the third and deciding match, if needed. The Team Canada women are also through to the semis, battling Mexico while the USA faces Colombia in the remaining final four match-up.
Sudbury.com will update this story with the latest info once we get it.
