Weekend wrap-up of Hope and Canadian Singles

Racquetball Canada Singles Selection Event

Michael Burgess may have earned his first Canadian national team appearance by finishing 2nd at Racquetball Canada's National Team Singles Selection event in Brossard, Quebec. Burgess defeated top seed Vincent Gagnon and fourth seed Ryan Smith, who chose to default their match rather than face the player who broke his nose the last time they met.

Burgess lost to second seed Kris Odegard, who won the tournament by defeating all three final round players with Smith finishing third and Gagnon fourth.

Thus, The Racquetball Blog speculates that the men's team for the Pan American Championships in April will be Burgess, Odegard, Gagnon and Mike Green, who was not in Brossard due to injury. An official announcement from Racquetball Canada should be made soon.

Top seed Jennifer Saunders won the women's side with a gusty victory over Josée Grand'Maître, 15-12, 10-15, 11-6. In the second game, it looked like it would go the other way, as Grand'Maître served the lights out with several drive serve aces or winners.

Véronique Guillemette finished second despite losing to Frédérique T. Lambert on Sunday, 15-10, 14-16, 11-4. Lambert was third and Grand'Maître fourth.

Those four players - Saunders, Guillemette, Lambert and Grand'Maître - should be Canada's Pan American Championship women's team.

Racquetball Canada's National Team Singles Selection Event
Final standings - Men
1. Kris Odegard
2. Michael Burgess
3. Ryan Smith
4. Vincent Gagnon
5. Eric Desrochers
6. Lee Connell
7. Francis Guillemette
8. Jamie Landeryou
9. Tim Landeryou
10. François Viens
11. Sean Barclay
12. Alain Lavigne

Final standings - Women
1. Jennifer Saunders
2. Véronique Guillemette
3. Frédérique T. Lambert
4. Josée Grand'Maître
5. Brandi Jacobson Prentice
6. Geneviève Brodeur
7. Denise Haynes
8. Alison Schlichemeyer
9. Christine Richardson
10. Brigitte Richard

Wilson Tour of Hope

Kerri Wachtel, the 4th ranked player on the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO), upset 2nd ranked Cheryl Gudinas Holmes in the final of the Wilson Tour of Hope tournament in Cincinnati, winning the WPRO satellite event 11-6, 11-8, 3-11, 11-6. It's Wachtel's first victory over a higher ranked opponent this season and her second match against Gudinas Holmes, who defeated Wachtel in the first event of the season, the Outback Blast It! tournament in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

There was no upset on the men's side, as top seed Andy Hawthorne beat second seed Juan Herrera, 11-7, 11-5, 5-11, 11-8, in the final of the Tier 4 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) event. Hawthorne and Herrera teamed up to win doubles by defeating Allan Crockett and Jonathon Doyle in the final, 15-6, 12-15, 11-6.

In women's doubles, Wachtel again got the better of Gudinas Holmes, as she and her partner Elaine Albrecht defeated Gudinas Holmes and Krystal Csuk, 15-11, 11-15, 11-0. Gudinas Holmes and Csuk are playing the USA Racquetball National Doubles Championship together, so this loss is not a positive sign going into that event.

Follow the bouncing ball....