DaytonDailyNews.com

MIAMISBURG — It's not exactly a quick jaunt from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Dayton, but for world-class squash player Alana Miller, it's closer than her recent trips.

Miller, a 28-year-old Canadian ranked 36th in the world, arrived in town Tuesday, Nov. 11, ready to compete in the 2008 Ohio Open WISPA Professional Squash Championships.

After a rigorous summer playing throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the sixth seed in the 16-woman draw is excited to return to Dayton.

"I've been here before and I know what to expect," Miller said. "It's so nice to have a tournament relatively close to home."

The Ohio Open, a second-tier event with $15,000 in total prize money, has attracted a deep international field to the Dayton Squash Center. Among the athletes competing: Dominique Lloyd-Walter of England (25th in the world); Louise Crome of New Zealand (26th); Manuela Manetta of Italy (30th); Aisling Blake of Ireland (31st); and England's Lauren Siddall (38th).

Qualifying matches for four spots in the final 16 began Tuesday. Among the field of qualifiers is 15-year-old Olivia Blatchford of Brooklyn, N.Y., the current U.S. girls U19 champion and winner of last year's prestigious British Open U15 title.

"There's a lot of depth in this draw," Miller said. "Even the qualifiers, they're quite strong players. They're young players, up-and-comers who maybe haven't established their ranking where it should be."

Tournament director Charlie Johnson believes that the depth in the field could have an impact on the world rankings.

"They are really tight-knit, so the competition will be good," Johnson said. "They get points based on their performance, so whoever wins might break the top 20."

Johnson, who runs the pro shop at the Dayton Squash Center and owns his own online squash store, said the sport has enjoyed moderate growth in the area. He has been involved with pro events in town for the past seven years. Three years ago, a women's tournament was added to an annual event in January.

But last year, the women's pro calendar was altered and they weren't able to join the pro men in Ohio.

"So the women went away last year," Johnson said. "We missed them.

"We wanted to figure out a way to get a women's event back. We always have an amateur tournament this weekend in November so we thought, 'Why don't we add the women?' "

The Ohio Open raises funds for the Dayton Challenge Jr. Squash Program.

"We've been doing it for eight years and probably introduced over 600 kids to squash," Johnson said.

If you go

What: 2008 Ohio Open WISPA Professional Squash Championships

Where: Dayton Squash Center, 3200 West Tech Rd., Miamisburg

When: Main draw matches begin tonight. Professional semifinals Saturday at 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. with final scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

Rules: Matches played under recently adopted Point-a-rally rules. Matches to 11 with points being scored on either player's serve.

Admission: Free