Best good for second in US Junior Open

After slugging her way through the ranks of the Under-19 competition, Barbados number-one Meagan Best had to settle for second best on Tuesday when she lost in the final of the 2019 US Junior Open Squash Championships. Coming into the tournament seeded at six, the 17-year old put in a solid showing before going down in straight sets in the final to USA’s Marina Stefanoni.

Playing at Harvard University in Massachusetts, Best worked her way up the ladder and secured a spot in the semifinals by beating out third-seeded Olivia Robinson in the quarterfinal round. Robinson won the first two sets at 8 and 6, forcing Best to come from behind and win the next three. She did so and displaced Robinson with 11-9, 11-5 and 11-7 scorelines to advance.

In the semifinal, she faced the number-two seed in Nouran Yousef of Egypt and that match went to four sets after Best won the first two at 7 and 6. Yousef fought back in the third and took that one 12-10 but Best shut things down in the fourth, taking it a 11-3.

Stefanoni, who is also 17 and seeded at number one, blazed a trail through the ranks before claiming her sixth US Junior Open title. She beat her fellow countrywoman Katherine Glaser 9-11, 11-0, 13-11, 11-8 in the quarterfinal before making short work of Margot Prow in the semi (11-7, 11-6, 11-5). The final saw Best deteriorating as Stefanoni outclassed her at every turn to see the match finish 11-7, 11-8, 11-3.