Murray & Morissette win at Racquetball Canada National Team Selection Event

Samuel Murray and Michèle Morissette won the Men's and Women's divisions, respectively, at the second Racquetball Canada National Team Selection Event of the season on the weekend in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which was held in conjunction with the 46th Annual Keystone Classic. In their respective finals, Murray had to come back from a game down to defeat Coby Iwaasa, 8-15, 15-7, 11-1, and Morissette beat Christine Richardson, 15-6, 15-11. Their victories will help Murray and Morissette qualify for the 2020 World Championships to be held next year in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

Murray, the #1 ranked men’s player in Canada and currently 8th on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), got off to a slow start in game one, as Iwaasa went out to a 12-0 lead. Murray came back to 13-8, so Iwaasa called a timeout, and was able to close out the game after that.

They were even early in game two with a tie at 5-5. From there, Murray went out to a 10-5 lead, and closed it out at 15-7. He carried that momentum into the tie-breaker, as Murray won it going away, 11-1.

Morissette played well against Richardson in the women’s final. She did have a bit of trouble closing out game two, as Richardson scored several points with Morissette on 14. But when Richardson got to 11, Morissette called a timeout. When play resumed, Richardson, who had been hitting drive Z serves to Morissette’s backhand, hit a serve to Morissette’s forehand, and it was returned for a winner. Morissette won the game and match on the next rally, as Richardson skipped a backhand return.

This is the second event in the qualification process for the 2020 International Racquetball Federation (