Anderson hoping experience will lead to top-three finish

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

National junior team head coach, Karen Anderson, says Jamaica will be gunning for at least a top-three finish at this year's Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Junior Championship.

The championship, which will be held in Georgetown, Guyana, between July 8-14, will see Jamaica aiming to better their fourth-place finish last year.

"This year's team is one of the strongest we have had in years and we are looking forward to improving on our fourth-place finish last year," said Anderson.

"We have a lot of experienced players, with 14 of the 16 members of the team having competed in the championship before, and right now it's just a just a matter of getting to the semi-finals and taking it from there," she disclosed.

According to Anderson, this goal is based on the make-up of the team, which, unlike previous years, includes a number of experienced players, including former national age-group champions Alyssa Mullings, Mary and Jake Mahfood, and Ashante Smith.

The team, which will be managed by Michael 'Bedi' Walker, will see Bishop Gibson High's Alyssa Mullings and Campion's Mary Mahfood, leading the charge in the female section of the championship.

Wolmer's Ashante Smith, Ardenne's Stephan Morrison and Campion's Jake Mahfood headline the male group.

Mullings, last year's CASA Under-13 champion, will seek to defend her crown, while Mary, the reigning national Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 champion, will seek to translate her good form to the regional level, while competing in the Under-15 section.

The boys segment, in the meanwhile, will see Smith, the national Under-17 and Under-19 champion, gunning for the Under-17 title; Morrison, the reigning national Under-13 champion, hunting for the Under-13 crown; while Jake, the former Under-13 CASA champion and current national Under-15 title holder, will seek to make the Caribbean's Under-15 title his own.

The team will depart the island today.