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Naughton leaves Pan Ams with squash silver, valuable experience by Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver Staff 13 | Thursday, July 23, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Coming out to chants of `Hollie, Hollie' to open Friday's women's team squash final, Hollie Naughton needed little reminder that competing at home is different. And as much as she and teammates Samantha Cornett and Nikole Todd would have liked to reward the Canadian fans with a Pan Am Games gold medal, the top-seeded Americans proved to be too much. Naughton dropped an 11-4, 12-10, 11-8 decision to singles silver-medallist Olivia Blatchford and the U.S. put it away when Amanda Sohby, the Pan Am singles gold medallist, beat Canada's top-ranked player, Samantha Cornett, 11-4, 11-2, 11-8. With the outcome already decided, Todd beat Natalie Grainger in an abbreviated one-game match. So the Canadians found themselves in that tough spot of trying to celebrate a medal after closing their tournament with a loss. "I've got to look at the positives," Naughton said. "Right now, I'm not seeing them all that clearly, but I'm sure tomorrow or the next day I'll take the positives and realize what I've got to work on." There are plenty of positives to take from the Games. The 20-yearold, in just her second year in the senior ranks, went undefeated in team play leading up to the final. She won four matches, including a must-win against Colombia that helped Canada rally from a match down to win 2-1. Even as Naughton spoke about the match and the Games, it became clear that maybe she wouldn't have to wait a day or two to see the positives. "We were seeded second, so it's good that we managed to stay with our seeding," she said. "We would have been more upset if we didn't make it to the final. But we all did our best, I did my best. It's been unbelievable being in this atmosphere and it was great to take the whole thing in." After playing in the second and third spot throughout the team competition, Naughton got her first taste of leading off the match for Friday's final. "I probably prefer being second on. Definitely, I felt a little more pressure when I first came out," she said. "Especially in the final and you're the opening one and everyone wants to Hollie Naughton stretches to return a shot during the Pan Am Games women's team squash final Friday in Toronto. | photo by Riziero Vertolli -- Oakville Beaver -- @Halton_Photog see you win. But you have to be comfortable in every spot, and for the future, it's a good way to learn. "I probably didn't deal with (nerves) as well as I'd like to, but it's all a learning experience," she added. "We all did well, it just wasn't quite there for us today. But next time, for sure." Naughton, who has seen her own world ranking climb almost 20 spot in the past year to No. 57, hopes to see that trend continue following the Pan Am Games. "Every experience is going to help. Being in situations more and more with big crowds and what you're going to have to get used to if you want to be the best." -- For more local coverage of the Pan Ams, see p. 10, 17 and 22 Monday, August 10, 2015 Glen Abbey Golf Club SPACE IS LIMITED! Purchase your foursome today otmhgolf.com Proudly Sponsored By Sponsorship opportunites starting at $500 otmhgolf.com