2010 Junior World Championships - Americans win all four U18 titles

Americans swept the 18 and under divisions Saturday at the 22nd International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Los Angeles, California. Aubrey O'brien and Taylor Knoth won the respective Girls U18 and Boys U18 singles finals with O'brien and Danielle Key winning the Girls doubles title and Bradley Kirch and Nick Montalbano taking the Boys doubles title.

In the Girls U18 singles final, O'brien defeated Canadian Frédérique Lambert, 15-6, 15-4. Lambert never seemed comfortable in the match as O'brien drove serve effectively, especially to the right side. O'brien and Key beat Bolivians Adriana Riveros and Carolina Oña (Bolivia) in the doubles final, 15-3, 15-11.

The wins on the Boys side were also by comfortable margins as Knoth won two straight against Pedro Castro of Canada, 15-5, 15-8, and Kirch and Montalbano went two straight against Carlos Keller Vargas and Jorge Luis Michel of Bolivia, 15-7, 15-4.

Knoth used a variety of serves, but mostly drive serves including a couple of jams that hit Castro as he tried to take position to return them. Castro may simply have been out of gas after playing 9 games on Friday in winning his singles quarter finals and semi-finals in tie-breakers and playing another tie-breaker in doubles.

The Americans also swept the Boys U16 divisions with Marco Rojas winning singles and also taking doubles with Jose Diaz, who was the runner up in singles, but in Girls U16 it was Bolivia's Maria Paz Munoz who was a double winner taking the singles title and doubles with partner Masiel Rivera.

Mexico took three of the four gold medals in the U14 divisions, as they swept the boys singles and doubles as well as the girls doubles title. It could have been a Mexican sweep in the girls divisions also, but in singles Bolivian Natalia Mendez defeated Mexican Ximena Gonzalez in a tie-breaker, 8-15, 15-12, 11-9.

2010 IRF Junior World Racquetball Championships
Los Angeles, California

Boy's 14 and Under
Singles Final - Javier Mar (Mexico) d. Roman Ramos (Mexico), 10-15, 15-9, 11-10
Doubles Final - Eduardo Garay & Javier Estrada (Mexico) d. Adam Manilla & Sawyer Lloyd (USA), 12-15, 15-7, 11-1

Boy's 16 and Under
Singles Final - Marco Rojas (USA) d. Jose Diaz (USA), 15-8, 15-6
Doubles Final - Marco Rojas d. Jose Diaz (USA) d. Alejandro Romo & Salvador Ortiz (Mexico), 15-14, 15-5

Boy's 18 and Under
Singles Final - Taylor Knoth (USA) d. Pedro Castro (Canada), 15-5, 15-8
Doubles Final - Bradley Kirch & Nick Montalbano (USA) d. Carlos Keller Vargas & Jorge Luis Michel (Bolivia), 15-7, 15-4

Girl's 14 and Under
Singles Final - Natalia Mendez (Bolivia) d. Ximena Gonzalez (Mexico), 8-15, 15-12, 11-9
Doubles Final - Monserrat Perez & Regina Franco (Mexico) d. Abbey Lavely & Kaitlyn Simmons (USA), 15-7, 15-10

Girl's 16 and Under
Singles Final - Maria Jose Vargas (Bolivia) d. Kelani Bailey (USA), 15-11, 12-15, 11-6
Doubles Final - Masiel Rivera & Maria Jose Vargas (Bolivia) d. Courtney Chisholm & Devon Pimentelli (USA), 15-9, 15-9

Girl's 18 and Under
Singles Final - Aubrey O'brien (USA) d. Frédérique Lambert (Canada), 15-6, 15-4
Doubles Final - Danielle Key & Aubrey O'brien (USA) d. Adriana Riveros & Carolina Oña (Bolivia), 15-3, 15-11

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