Over the weekend of September 17-18, Dave Renninger and Boston Sports Clubs Allston hosted the twice-yearly Allston Open. The tournament featured four open draws, including 2.0-2.5, 3.0-3.5, 4.0-4.5, and 5.0+. Between high school students Peter Maheras from Fessenden and Josh Fleishman, Charles Tipton, Matteo Sanchez-Dahl, David Rubin, and Joey Lantos from Brookline High, the tournament had a pleasant mix of junior and adult players. Fleishman challenged himself by playing in the 4.5 draw while Lantos and Rubin both made impressive showings in the top draw. Ten players were first-time tournament competitors, and almost half had never competed in a BSC Open before. The players present represented Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, and Washington D.C. Within the Boston area, there were players from the Harvard Club, Brookline High, BSC Waltham, BSC Allston, Berklee, Harvard’s Murr Center, Boston University, the University Club, Dover Squash, Boston Racquet Club, and MIT.
The 2.0-2.5 draw featured seven out of eight players new to tournament play, but the competition was impressive. Vinay Akkaya of BSC Allston barely topped Brookline High’s Charles Tipton in the finals by scores of 11-8, 0-11, 11-8, 13-11, while fellow Allston representative Avinash Gurijala finished in third place over Heidi Fisher in three games. The 3.0-3.5 also saw a new face emerge as the winner, with Max Jones of Maine defeating repeat finalist Cushing Anderson, who represents BSC Waltham. The championship match was heated and very, very tight, but Jones prevailed 11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9. Third place went to Dover Squash’s Santanu Roymoulik, who defeated Ellie Foster in three games. In the 4.0-4.5 draw, returning finalist Zach Nussbaum of Boston University finally broke through and won the bracket without dropping a game. In an all-B.U. final, Zach defeated Anant Chopra 11-5, 11-5, 11-3, in dominant fashion. Roberto Sanchez-Dahl, representing Boston Racquet Club, came in third place in the draw.
The top draw was played as a round robin instead of a double elimination draw. Host Dave Renninger faced David Rubin and Joey Lantos from Brookline High, and Dave Stelter from B.U. For the second tournament in a row, David Rubin came out on top, dropping only one game on his way to a 3-0 afternoon. Renninger followed Rubin, going 2-1, and Stelter finished with a 1-2 mark in third place.
It was a fast, fun, and entertaining tournament, and friendly competition was the order of the day. The next Allston Open will be held in April, and signups will be available in the winter.
Pictures of champions and finalists appear below.
