DEFENDING champions the UTech Knights squeezed into the quarter-finals of the 2015 KPMG Squash League after finishing the group rounds of the tournament with 10 points which left them in a three-way tie with the Mande Villains and Ice Ice Baby.

Tournament directors then had to review the breakdown of match scores for the entire first round to determine which teams from the group would go forward to the quarter-finals.

The Mande Villains, boosted by reigning All Jamaica Ladies champion Alyssa Mullings, topped the group with 20 games for and nine games against, while the Knights, with 18 games for and 11 against, just edged out Ice Ice Baby, who had 19 games for and 13 against.

In a similar vein, the star-packed Unsquashables also ran into difficulties and had to settle for second place in their group behind Di Drivaz. With the likes of 13-time All Jamaica Men’s champion Wayne Burrowes and former national players Bruce and Joey Levy, a group win for the Unsquashables seemed like a sure thing. However, victory went to the Di Drivaz who amassed 13 points to relegate their decorated opponents, who scored 11 to the runner-up slot.

On the other hand, 2013 champions, the Milex Eagles, left nothing to chance by topping their group with 13 points. Eagles frontman, All Jamaica Under-17 champion Tahjia Lumley remains undefeated in the tournament, setting the pace for the team who comfortably claimed their place in the quarter-finals. The UTech Saints finished second behind the Eagles to earn their spot in the round of eight.

The Screaming Eagles also racked up 13 points to sail into the quarter-finals ahead of Three Plus One, who finished the first round with nine points to take second place in the group.

Assistant tournament director Nathlee Boreland said the field is wide open as the quarter-finals kick off this week.

“There is no clear favourite at this point as we have eight strong teams heading into the next round of the tournament,” she said.

“When you take into consideration the handicaps, which will practically level the playing field across the board, the standard of the play will only get better now that we are in the elimination rounds and I can predict that we will have some very exciting quarter-final matches,” she added.

The quarter-finals started on Tuesday and were due to continue yesterday at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston. At the same time, the eight teams that have been eliminated will contest a consolation round.