Cullen & Lambert U18 Canadian Junior National Champions

Kurtis Cullen and Frédérique T. Lambert won the Boy's and Girl's 18 & under divisions, respectively, at the 2011 Canadian Junior National Racquetball Championships on Saturday in Burnaby, British Columbia. Lambert won her third consecutive U18 championships in her final year of juniors. Cullen was also in his last year of eligibility, as he turned 19 on Saturday, giving himself a unique birthday present.

Cullen also won 18 & under doubles with Kevin Caouette, becoming the first player to win both U18 singles and doubles since 2007 when Tommy Murray did so. The win was Caouette's second consecutive as he won U18 doubles last year with Jamie Slamko.

In the singles final, Cullen went tie-breaker with Coby Iwaasa before winning 15-11, 8-15, 11-5. Iwaasa was playing up not one but two ages groups, as he was in Boy's 14 singles as well, winning that final comfortably over Matthew Swaine, 15-4, 15-3.

Lambert's final victory against Valeri Fallu was also a comfortable win, 15-0, 15-2, which wasn't a surprise as Lambert has been a member of the senior Canadian team on four occasions including the recent Pan American Championships while Fallu's appearance in the final means she's made the Canadian junior team for the first time.

The finalists in the U18, U16, U14 Boy's and Girl's divisions qualified for the Canadian Junior National Team which will compete at the 2011 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) Junior World Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic July 24-30.

2011 Canadian Junior National Racquetball Championships
Burnaby, British Columbia
Final Results

Boy's Singles

U18 - Kurtis Cullen d. Coby Iwaasa, 15-11, 8-15, 11-5
U16 - Ashton Duda d. Sami Harb, 15-5, 15-13
U14 - Coby Iwaasa d. Matthew Swaine, 15-4, 15-3

Boy's Doubles

U18 - Kurtis Cullen & Kevin Caouette d. Samuel Murray & Sébastien Juteau, 15-11, 15-6
U16 - Ashton Duda & Sami Harb d. Michael Leduc & Nicholas Bousquet, 15-9, 15-3
U14 - Connor Culhane & Nicholas Leung d. Chandon Yu & Matthew Swaine, 15-5, 15-11

Girl's Singles

U18 - Frédérique T. Lambert d. Valerie Fallu, 15-0, 15-2
U16 - Danielle Drury d. Zoe Hanson, 17-15, 15-12
U14 - Michèle Morissette d. Danielle Drury, 15-6, 15-4

Girl's Doubles

U18 - Valeri Fallu & Michelle Morissette d. Alexa Kuczynski & Brittany Nelson, 15-4, 15-8
U14 - Annie Fisher & Kira Brererton d. Callie Hunter & Celine Cook, 15-13, 15-11

Follow the bouncing ball....

WPRO - In Shape Sports Final - Rajsich beats Longoria, should become #1

The #1 ranking on the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) tour should change hands this week, as Rhonda Rajsich defeated Paola Longoria Sunday in the final of the In-Shape WPRO Championships presented by Ektelon in Stockton, California. Rajsich came from two games down to pull out the victory, 4-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-5, 13-11.

Rajsich has now defeated Longoria in four of the seven times they have met in the finals of WPRO events this season.

2011 In-Shape WPRO Championships presented by Ektelon
Stockton, California

Final

Rhonda Rajsich d. Paola Longoria, 4-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-5, 13-11

Follow the bouncing ball....

WPRO - In Shape Sports Final - Longoria & Rajsich for 7th time this season

The #1 ranking for the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) will be on the line Sunday when Paola Longoria and Rhonda Rajsich meet in the final of the In-Shape WPRO Championships presented by Ektelon. The two have meet in 6 of the 8 WPRO tournaments this season with Rajsich winning the first three meetings and Longoria winning the last three.

However, last week Rajsich defeated Longoria in Nicaragua en route to winning the Pan American Championships, so who wins Sunday is anyone's guess.

In Saturday's semi-finals, Longoria beat Adrienne Fisher, 11-3, 11-1, 11-1, while Rajsich defeated Samantha Salas, 11-9, 11-3, 11-0.

The IRT Network is webcasting the final from Stockton at noon PDT.

2011 In-Shape WPRO Championships presented by Ektelon

Semi-final

Paola Longoria d. Adrienne Fisher, 11-3, 11-1, 11-1
Rhonda Rajsich d. Samantha Salas, 11-9, 11-3, 11-0

Final

Paola Longoria vs. Rhonda Rajsich

Quarter finals

Paola Longoria d. Angela Grisar, 11-1, 11-2, 11-1
Adrienne Fisher d. Aimee Ruiz, 11-3, 12-10, 8-11, 11-3

Samantha Salas d. Susy Acosta, 6-11, 11-3, 11-3, 11-6
Rhonda Rajsich d. Cristina Amaya, 11-6, 4-11, 11-1, 11-6

Follow the bouncing ball....