Kiwi Pair Claim Apawamis Qualifying Places

New Zealanders Shelley Kitchen and Jaclyn Hawkes secured places in the main draw of the first major women's squash event of the year when they overcame Australian opposition in contrasting styles in the qualifying finals of The Marsh Apawamis Open in Rye, in the state of New York in the USA.

Kitchen cruised to a 9-1, 9-0, 9-5 victory over Amelia Pittock - while Hawkes had to fight back from two games down against the in-form Queenslander Kasey Brown before winning 2-9, 5-9, 10-8, 9-7, 9-5.

Hawkes, 24, from Auckland, now faces England's No7 seed Vicky Botwright, while Kitchen, the world No14 who also hails from Auckland, will do battle with the Irish number one Madeline Perry, the fifth seed.

Vanessa Atkinson will be hoping to put a disappointing 2006 behind her by successfully defending her Apawamis title. The 30-year-old from The Hague is seeded to reach the final for the second successive year - where she is expected to meet Australian favourite Rachael Grinham, the world No2 from Queensland.

Qualifying finals:
Shelley Kitchen (NZL) bt Amelia Pittock (AUS) 9-1, 9-0, 9-5
Dominique Lloyd-Walter (ENG) bt Latasha Khan (USA) 5-9, 9-5, 9-6, 9-2
Sharon Wee (MAS) bt Kirsty McPhee (ENG) 9-1, 9-5, 9-4
Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) bt Kasey Brown (AUS) 2-9, 5-9, 10-8, 9-7, 9-5