Micah Franklin and Taylor Carrick achieved their highest positions at the Caribbean Area Squash Association Senior Championships when finishing second and third respectively in Guyana on Tuesday.

Franklin, the Bermuda second seed, was beaten 3-1 by the tournament’s No 1 seed, Khamal Cumberbatch, from Barbados, in the final. Carrick, the island’s top player, defeated Daniel Ince, from Guyana, 11-5, 11-6, 11-6, in the third-place play-off.

In the final, Cumberbatch took the first game 11-5 but Franklin fought back to take the second game 11-7. The Barbadian maintained his grip on the encounter by conquering in the next two games, 11-4, 11-4, to claim the gold.

Prior to reaching the final, Franklin, who has been representing Bermuda at senior level since 2012, had third as his best finish.

“I’m really proud of my performance this week because I’ve left it all out there,” Franklin told The Royal Gazette.

“Second place is the highest I’ve finished at CASA. For a 33-year-old, it’s not too bad for what I went through.

“The final was tough, he twisted and turned me really well and I hadn't quite recovered from the earlier matches. “My game plan was to get really tenacious straight from the start, bBut I couldn't quite do that because he was just too crafty and holding my movement.

“All credit to him, he’s a classy player and he’s got a real future ahead of him in squash.”

Carrick, whose previous best finish was ninth, was pleased with how he approached the bronze-medal encounter.

“The match was great and it felt like I was able to play how I like to and wanted to,” he said.

“I’m happy to get off the court in three games and pretty proud to medal in this event for the first time.”

To book a spot in the final, Franklin defeated Carrick 3-0 in the semi-finals. He recorded scores of 11-9, 11-3, 11-1.

“It’s always difficult playing your own team-mate in an international competition,” Franklin said.

“Both of us just went out there and tried to play as good as we could. I think the battles we had on Monday really took a lot out of our legs.

“It went down to who had the faster recovery and more tenacity to get through the line.

“I’m always relieved and happy to play after a match like I did last night, to then back it up and play again in the morning.

“For me to get a win against Taylor, who beat me at our national championships early this year, feels great. It goes down as one of my best performances, for sure.”

While disheartened that things did not go his way in the semi-finals, Carrick took solace in having his compatriot playing for the top prize.

“I’m pretty disappointed,” the 24-year-old said.

“I didn’t play the way I wanted to and my body gave up on me. Micah played well, took advantage of that and I’m happy we have a Bermudian in the finals.”

The Bermudians were engaged in gruelling encounters in the quarter-finals on Monday. Franklin needed 72 minutes to get past Darien Benn, of Barbados, 11-9, 9-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-13, while Carrick took 52 minutes to triumph 4-11, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9, 11-3, against No 2 seed Julian Jervis, from Cayman Islands.

Franklin and Carrick’s brilliant exploits in the men’s individual competition have boosted Bermuda’s standing heading into the team event, which started on Wednesday. An opportunity to qualify for the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games is on offer for the island men’s team. The women have already booked their ticket to Dominican Republic.