Murray & Lambert win at Racquetball Canada National Team Event

The top seeds Samuel Murray and Frédérique Lambert won the Men's and Women's divisions, respectively, at the first Racquetball Canada National Team Selection Event of the season on the weekend in Valleyfield, Québec. Murray and Lambert are the #1 ranked Canadian racquetball players, and their wins will help them qualify for the 2019 Pan American Games racquetball team that will compete in Lima, Peru next year.

Murray had to come back to win in the final, as 2nd seed Coby Iwaasa won the first game of the final only to see Murray win the next two to take the title, 9-15, 15-6, 11-6. Lambert had a comfortable win in the women’s final by defeating 2nd seed Jen Saunders in two straight games, 15-8, 15-3.

Iwaasa got to the final with a win over 3rd seed Tim Landeryou, 15-8, 15-13, in one men’s semi-final, while Murray had a forfeit win against Pedro Castro in the other. In the women’s semis, Lambert beat 5th seed Danielle Drury, 15-8, 15-10, and Saunders defeated 3rd seed Christine Richardson, 15-10, 15-13.

These results will be used to select Team Canada for the 2019 Pan American Championships, as well as the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru in July / August next year. The final qualification event for Worlds will be the 2019 Canadian National Championships in Langley, British Columbia, May 19-25 2019.

2018 Racquetball Canada Selection Event
November 23-25, Valleyfield, Québec

Men's Open

Final

1) Samuel Murray d. 2) Coby Iwaasa, 9-15, 15-6, 11-6

3rd Place

3) Tim Landeryou d. 4) Pedro Castro, forfeit

Semi-finals

1) Samuel Murray d. 4) Pedro Castro, forfeit
2) Coby Iwaasa d. 3) Tim Landeryou, 15-8, 15-13

Quarterfinals

1) Samuel Murray d. 9) Trevor Webb, 15-1, 15-13
4) Pedro Castro d. 6) Nicolas Bousquet, 17-15, 16-14

3) Tim Landeryou d. 6) James Landeryou, 15-8, 15–10
2) Coby Iwaasa d. 7) Lee Connell, 15-9, 15-7

Women's Open

Final

1) Frédérique Lambert d. 2) Jen Saunders, 15-8, 15-3

3rd place

5) Danielle Drury d. 3) Christine Richardson, 16-14, 6-15, 12-10

Semi-finals

1) Frédérique Lambert d. 5) Danielle Drury, 15-8, 15-10
2) Jen Saunders d. 3) Christine Richardson, 15-10, 15-13

Quarterfinals

1) Frédérique Lambert d. 9) Cassie Prentice, 15-1, 15-2
5) Danielle Drury d. 4) Alexis Iwaasa, 15-2, 16-14

3) Christine Richardson d. 6) Michèle Morissette, 15-4, 15-7
2) Jen Saunders d. 7) Erin Geeraert, 15-7, 15-4

Follow the bouncing ball….