Team USA began its World Junior Men’s Team Championship campaign with wins against Argentina and Botswana in Group A Saturday at the Wanderers Sports Club in Windhoek, Namibia. Seeded twelfth based on the individual competitions earlier this week, Team USA drew top-seeded Egypt, [13/15] seeded Argentina, and [22/23]-seeded Botswana in Group A. Derek Hsue, Mason Ripka, and Timmy Brownell comprised the first U.S. side against Argentina in the first match of the Team competition. Despite Hsue losing in five games, Ripka and Brownell managed to win sealing the match 2-1 in favor of the U.S. With Max Reed in the team in place of Brownell, Team USA comfortably eased to a 3-0 win against Botswana with the longest match lasting just twenty-one minutes. The two victories ensure a top two finish in the group for the United States and a place in the knock-out round of sixteen on Monday. Sunday’s match against the tournament favorites Egypt will determine the winner of Group A. Group A: United States vs. Argentina Federico Cioffi (ARG) bt Derek Hsue (USA) 11-2, 11-6, 8-11, 3-11, 11-8 (61m) Mason Ripka (USA) bt Franco Andres Romiglio (ARG) 11-7, 6-11, 11-4, 13-11 (52m) Timmy Brownell (USA) bt Juan Segundo Barreyro 11-2, 11-5, 11-3 (28m) Group A: United States vs. Botswana Derek Hsue (USA) bt Theo Pelonomi (BOT) 11-4, 11-0, 11-3 (18m) Mason Ripka (USA) bt Elliot Msindisi Sibanda (BOT) 11-2, 11-2, 11-6 (16m) Max Reed (USA) bt 11-0, 11-0, 14-12 (21m) Follow all results and draws on www.wjsc2014.com. [jbutton color=”blue” size=”large” link=”http://www.wjsc2014.com/live/” ]World Junior Championships Live Stream[/jbutton] [jbutton color=”blue” size=”large” link=”https://www.ussquash.com/teamusa/2014-world-junior-championships/” ]Team USA World Junior Championships Page[/jbutton]
