Team USA completed the 2018 Pan American Championships with the women’s team defeating Canada to capture a third gold medal of the tournament, while the men’s team earned bronze Saturday at the South Sound Squash Club in the Cayman Islands.
The U.S. women entered Saturday’s final following decisive victories over 5/8 seeds Brazil and 3/4 seeds Colombia with all four members of the team contributing victories along the way. Amanda Sobhy, Haley Mendez and Marina Stefanoni all won against Brazil without dropping a game, while the Sobhy sisters provided the two wins that sent Team USA through to the finals against Colombia.
In the final, Sabrina Sobhy gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead by upsetting Canada’s world No. 35 Hollie Naughton 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 in twenty-five minutes. Amanda Sobhy then sealed a third gold medal of the week with an 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 win over Samantha Cornett in twenty-six minutes.
The U.S. men began their team campaign with a win over Chile on Thursday courtesy of wins from Chris Hanson, Timmy Brownell and Andrew Douglas. The U.S. men remained on track Friday morning with a 2-0 win over Brazil as Todd Harrity and Douglas provided the wins.
The U.S. men’s team run came to an end in the semifinals, where eventual gold medalists Mexico came out on top as Cesar Salazar defeated Harrity in four, and Alfredo Avila took out Chris Hanson in three, consigning the U.S. men to a team bronze medal.
The team results ensure that both the U.S. men and women qualify for the quadrennial Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, next summer. The results have determined the team and doubles seeding for next summer, ensuring the U.S. women will enter the competition as top seeds and the U.S. men as 3/4 seeds, and women’s doubles as top seeds and men’s doubles as 3/4 seeds.
Team USA’s final medal count stands at eight with the addition of the two team medals. Three years after becoming the first player to win three gold medals in the same year at the 2015 Pan American Games, Amanda Sobhy pulled off another treble with the team gold adding to her doubles and individual gold medals earlier in the week. Sobhy’s younger sister, Sabrina, adds to the medal count with her individual silver and having won the doubles gold alongside her older sister.
The U.S. men accounted for four bronze medals with Todd Harrity and Chris Hanson both earning individual bronze and doubles bronze, and Douglas and Brownell contributing to the team bronze.
View all individual and doubles results here.
View team draws and results here.
For more tournament coverage, visit panamsquash2018.com.
