Iwaasa & Lambert win Racquetball Canada National Team Selection Event

Coby Iwaasa and Frédérique Lambert won the Men's and Women's divisions, respectively, at the Racquetball Canada National Team Selection Event in Brossard, Que. It's the first Selection Event win for Iwaasa, who was the Men's 3rd seed, and fourth for Lambert, who was the #1 Women's seed.

Iwaasa needed a tie-breaker to get the win against Pedro Castro, as they split the first two games of a best of three match with Iwaasa winning game one and Castro game two. The tie-breaking third game was also close, but Iwaasa came out on top, 15-9, 6-15, 11-8.

Iwaasa and Castro were surprise finalists, as both scored big upsets in the semi-finals, and both were in their first ever final at a Racquetball Canada National Team Selection Event.

Castro, the 5th seed, upset the Men's top seed and current National Champion, Vincent Gagnon, 15-12, 15-13, in one semi, and Iwaasa, the 3rd seed defeated 2nd seed Tim Landeryou, 12-15, 15-4, 11-7, in the other semi.

Landeryou was ahead 5-2 in the tie-breaker against Iwaasa, but Iwaasa outscored him 9-2 the rest of the way. But it took six match points for Iwaasa to finish the match with the winner coming off a skipped shot by Landeryou, as he tried to return a jam serve from Iwaasa.

Castro almost wasn't in the semi-finals, as he had a close match in the quarterfinals with 4th seed Samuel Murray that he won in a tie-breaker, 15-13, 11-15, 12-10.

Lambert defeated 2nd seed Jennifer Saunders in the Women's final in two straight games, 15-9, 15-11. They were close throughout the match. Saunders led late in game two at 11-9, and looked like she would force a third game, but Lambert held her at 11, while scoring six unanswered points to end the match.

In the Women's semi-finals, Lambert had a forfeit win over Michèle Morissette, and Saunders defeated Valerie Fallu, 15-6, 15-7.

In the third place matches, Gagnon defeated Landeryou, 15-12, 15-13, on the Men's side, and Morissette beat Fallu, 15-7, 15-12, on the Women's side.

The results of this tournament will be used - in part - to select Team Canada for the 2015 Pan American Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in March. Players are also working towards being selected to represent Canada at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto in July.

Racquetball Canada National Team Selection Event
Brossard, Quebec

Men's Final

Coby Iwaasa d. Pedro Castro, 15-9, 6-15, 11-8

3rd Place

Vincent Gagnon d. Tim Landeryou, 15-12, 15-13

5th Place

Samuel Murray d. Nathaniel Husulak, 15-5, 15-10

7th Place

Kurtis Cullen d. Nicolas Bousquet, forfeit

9th Place

James Landeryou d. Tanner Mattson, 15-5, 14-16, 11-8

11th Place

Lee Connell d. Tommy Murray, 10-15, 15-12, 11-2

Semi-finals

Pedro Castro d. Vincent Gagnon, 15-12, 15-13
Coby Iwaasa d. Tim Landeryou, 12-15, 15-4, 11-7

Quarterfinals

Vincent Gagnon d. Nicolas Bousquet, 15-13, 15-9
Pedro Castro d. Samuel Murray, 15-13, 11-15, 12-10
Coby Iwaasa d. Nathaniel Husulak, 15-3, 15-13
Tim Landeryou d. Kurtis Cullen, 15-6, 15-8

Women's Final

Frédérique Lambert d. Jennifer Saunders, 15-9, 15-11

3rd Place

Michèle Morissette d. Valerie Fallu, 15-7, 15-12

5th Place

Alison Schlichemeyer d. Disney Linares, 15-7, 14-16, 11-0

7th Place

Danielle Drury d. Josée Grand'Maître, forfeit

Semi-finals

Frédérique Lambert d. Michèle Morissette, forfeit
Jennifer Saunders d. Valerie Fallu, 15-6, 15-7

Quarterfinals

Frédérique Lambert d. Danielle Drury, 15-4, 15-3
Michèle Morissette d. Alison Schlichemeyer, 15-6, 15-7
Valerie Fallu d. Josée Grand'Maître, forfeit
Jennifer Saunders d. Disney Linares, 15-1, 15-6

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