Noah Browne Targets Fourth National Title

[Written by Stephen Wright]

Noah Browne is hunting for his fourth national title and believes he is on a collision course to face Taylor Carrick in the semi-finals of the Gnosis National Squash Championships.

Browne, the defending champion, and Carrick are on the same side of the draw and will meet if they both win their quarter-finals matches at the Devonshire courts tonight [March 8].

The 29-year-old believes several players can claim the national crown, including Carrick and Micah Franklin, the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association head coach, who he has labelled as the title favourite.

“I have never played Taylor at one of these tournaments when there are actual stakes on the line,” said Browne, who beat Korin Knights 11-6, 11-1, 11-2 in the opening round on Monday.

“It’s exciting to see some of the youth players coming up, and now they’re in a position to challenge us. It will be interesting to see how much Taylor has improved since being away at school [the University of Western Ontario].

“Micah and I have the same number of championships, so it would be cool to pull ahead and get a fourth one. He’s in pretty good shape. I actually feel like the underdog these days. Winning [this tournament] is important to me. I’ll leave it all out there.”

Browne, who meets Stephen Smith in the quarter-finals tonight, said he still has ambitions to represent Bermuda and hopes the squash team can reach the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, in October and November.

Bermuda must qualify as a team at the Pan Am Squash Championships in Cartagena, Colombia, from May 29 to June 4.

“The Pan Ams are always a big goal for us [Bermudian players],” said Browne, who competed at the previous Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

“I’m not sure whether Micah will be able to attend, but hopefully, Taylor and Anaya [Smith] are keen and motivated.

“We would like to go down there [Cartagena] and make a push for qualification. The team aspect makes it tough to qualify, plus there will be two younger guys without much experience.

“However, it’s important for them to gain that experience. Even if we didn’t qualify this time, they get that visibility, and maybe we can achieve it in the next cycle.”

A former professional ranked 139th in the world before the Covid-19 pandemic, Browne now juggles playing with work commitments as an underwriter at Chubb.

“It can be tough,” he added, “but Chubb has been very supportive. There’s a squash court in the building, and I’m striking the right balance.”

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