Tim Landeryou and Jennifer Saunders were the winners of the men's and women's divisions at the Racquetball Canada's National Team Selection Event in Kelowna, B.C. at the Globe Fitness Centre on the weekend. Landeryou, the 2nd seed, defeated Eric Desrochers in the final, 15-13, 11-15, 11-7, for his first Selection Event win.
But Landeryou almost didn't get out of his first match, as Coby Iwaasa - current World Junior Boys U16 Champion - won the first game of their match 15-7. In game two, it seemed Landeryou had righted the ship as he took an 8-2 lead.
But Iwaasa came back and won the next 12 of 13 points to lead 13-9, and then went one better with a 14-10 lead. But despite having three match point opportunities, Iwaasa couldn't finish Landeryou off. The veteran Landeryou took advantage and won game two 16-14 and then took the tie-breaker 11-4.
In the semi-finals, Landeryou beat one of his training partners in Nathaniel Husulak, 9-15, 15-9, 11-5, while Desrochers, the 4th seed, won the other semi-final by upsetting the top seed Kris Odegard, 15-11, 12-15, 11-8.
Saunders won the women's division going undefeated through a five player round robin, including a win over Christine Richardson, 16-14, 15-12, in what was a see-saw match that saw Richardson take leads of 12-5 and 14-7 in game one before Saunders used all of her veteran savvy to come back and win the game.
In game two, it was Saunders who took the big early lead, as she went up 11-0. But once again the other player came back, as Richardson closed the gap to 14-12, but couldn't quite force the tie-breaker.
Nonetheless, it's Richardson's best finish at a Racquetball Canada National Team event. For her part, Saunders - the 2012 Canadian Racquetball Champion - remains unbeaten in Canada this calendar year.
Results from this weekend will be combined with results from the National Team Selection Event in February 2013 in Brossard, Que. and the 2012 Canadian National Championships last May in Brossard, Que. to select the players who will represent Canada at the 2013 Pan American Championships next Easter.
Racquetball Canada National Team Selection Event
Kelowna, B.C.
Men's Open
Final
Tim Landeryou d. Eric Desrochers, 15-13, 11-15, 11-7
Semi-finals
Eric Desrochers d. Kris Odegard, 15-11, 12-15, 11-8
Tim Landeryou d. Nathaniel Husulak, 9-15, 15-9, 11-5
3rd: Nathaniel Husulak d. Kris Odegard - Default
5th: Coby Iwaasa d. Kurtis Cullen, 7-15, 17-15, 11-3
7th: Pedro Castro d. Lee Connell, 12-15, 15-11, 11-8
9th: Mitch Brayley d. Troy Brooks, 15-3, 15-12
11th: Anthony Schonberger d. Eric Urteaga, 16-14, 15-13
Women's Open
Final: Jennifer Saunders d. Christine Richardson, 16-14, 15-12
Women's Placings
1st: Jennifer Saunders
2nd: Christine Richardson
3rd: Nadia Verilli
4th: Michèle Morissette
5th: Valerie Fallu
Follow the bouncing ball….
Monday, November 26, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
LPRT Rankings - November 19, 2012
It's part way through the 2012-13 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) season, and some of the results been a little weird.
There's nothing weird with Paola Longoria's results, as the LPRT #1 continues to win tournament after tournament, keeping her winning streak intact since May 2011. But everyone else has been somewhat inconsistent.
Even Rhonda Rajsich, the LPRT's #2 player, who has been generally good, lost a match in the quarter finals last weekend in Seattle. And earlier this month she was taken to five games in the semi-finals in Toluca, Mexico.
Krystal Csuk moved up to 3rd after reaching the Texas Open semis and US Open quarters, which put her ahead of Kerri Wachtel, who lost in the 32 of the US Open. But since Minneapolis, both Csuk and Wachtel have lost in the 16s and quarters in the last two tournaments.
Adrienne Fisher has moved up to 5th with her first career final appearance in Seattle, but that result was all the more strange because prior to Seattle, Fisher hadn't won a match this season.
We've got a Racquetball Blog staff member tracking player performances this season (LPRT rankings are calculated over 12 months so their rankings include some of last season's results), and awarding points to players based on what round they lose in. If a player loses in the 16s, then the player is given 16 points. Here's what that system produces for this season.
Rank - Player - Mean Points - Events
1 Paola Longoria - 1 point from 4 events
2 Rhonda Rajsich - 3.5 points from 4 events
3 Jackie Paraiso - 6 - 2
4 Samantha Salas - 8 - 4
5 Cheryl Gudinas - 9 - 4
5 Krystal Csuk - 9 - 4
7 Susy Acosta - 12 - 4 -
8 Jennifer Saunders - 13.33 - 3
9 Kerri Wachtel - 15 - 4
10 Cristina Amaya - 16 - 4
10 Jessica Parrilla - 16 - 2
10 Linda Scales - 16 - 3
13 Adrienne Fisher - 16.5 - 4
14 Grace Hughes - 17 - 4
15 Da'monique Davis - 18 - 4
15 Kristen Bellows - 18 - 2
15 T.J. Baumbaugh - 18 - 4
Fisher is 13th here despite her final appearance (giving her 2 points in this system), because her other losses happened in the 16s (twice) and the 32s (US Open).
The other rankings aren't that different from the LPRT rankings aside from Jackie Paraiso, who has only played two tournaments in the past 12 months, so despite doing well in them (a quarter final and a semi-final), she's only 15th.
Of course, the weird or inconsistent results make for an even more interesting LPRT season, because there's less certainty about what's going to happen next (who saw Grace Hughes's semi-final result coming? not us).
The LPRT's next chance to get weird will be the Christmas Classic, December 7-9, in Arlington, Virgina. We're looking forward to it.
LPRT Rankings - November 19, 2012
Rank - Name - Country - Points
1 Paola Longoria (Mexico) 1884.00
2 Rhonda Rajsich (USA) 1269.40
3 Krystal Csuk (USA) 517.20
4 Kerri Wachtel (USA) 510.15
5 Adrienne Fisher (USA) 469.75
6 Susy Acosta (Mexico) 422.50
7 Cheryl Gudinas (USA) 410.50
8 Jennifer Saunders (Canada) 340.50
9 Cristina Amaya (Colombia) 312.75
10 Samantha Salas (Mexico) 302.50
11 T.J. Baumbaugh (USA) 257.75
12 Da'monique Davis (USA) 252.35
13 Kristen Bellows (USA) 232.75
14 Grace Hughes (USA) 223.90
15 Jackie Paraiso (USA) 210.00
16 Linda Scales (USA) 127.50
17 Laura Brandt (USA) 126.75
18 Keely Franks (USA) 124.75
19 Veronica Sotomayor (Ecuador) 112.50
20 Jessica Parrilla (Mexico) 83.50
Follow the bouncing ball....
There's nothing weird with Paola Longoria's results, as the LPRT #1 continues to win tournament after tournament, keeping her winning streak intact since May 2011. But everyone else has been somewhat inconsistent.
Even Rhonda Rajsich, the LPRT's #2 player, who has been generally good, lost a match in the quarter finals last weekend in Seattle. And earlier this month she was taken to five games in the semi-finals in Toluca, Mexico.
Krystal Csuk moved up to 3rd after reaching the Texas Open semis and US Open quarters, which put her ahead of Kerri Wachtel, who lost in the 32 of the US Open. But since Minneapolis, both Csuk and Wachtel have lost in the 16s and quarters in the last two tournaments.
Adrienne Fisher has moved up to 5th with her first career final appearance in Seattle, but that result was all the more strange because prior to Seattle, Fisher hadn't won a match this season.
We've got a Racquetball Blog staff member tracking player performances this season (LPRT rankings are calculated over 12 months so their rankings include some of last season's results), and awarding points to players based on what round they lose in. If a player loses in the 16s, then the player is given 16 points. Here's what that system produces for this season.
Rank - Player - Mean Points - Events
1 Paola Longoria - 1 point from 4 events
2 Rhonda Rajsich - 3.5 points from 4 events
3 Jackie Paraiso - 6 - 2
4 Samantha Salas - 8 - 4
5 Cheryl Gudinas - 9 - 4
5 Krystal Csuk - 9 - 4
7 Susy Acosta - 12 - 4 -
8 Jennifer Saunders - 13.33 - 3
9 Kerri Wachtel - 15 - 4
10 Cristina Amaya - 16 - 4
10 Jessica Parrilla - 16 - 2
10 Linda Scales - 16 - 3
13 Adrienne Fisher - 16.5 - 4
14 Grace Hughes - 17 - 4
15 Da'monique Davis - 18 - 4
15 Kristen Bellows - 18 - 2
15 T.J. Baumbaugh - 18 - 4
Fisher is 13th here despite her final appearance (giving her 2 points in this system), because her other losses happened in the 16s (twice) and the 32s (US Open).
The other rankings aren't that different from the LPRT rankings aside from Jackie Paraiso, who has only played two tournaments in the past 12 months, so despite doing well in them (a quarter final and a semi-final), she's only 15th.
Of course, the weird or inconsistent results make for an even more interesting LPRT season, because there's less certainty about what's going to happen next (who saw Grace Hughes's semi-final result coming? not us).
The LPRT's next chance to get weird will be the Christmas Classic, December 7-9, in Arlington, Virgina. We're looking forward to it.
LPRT Rankings - November 19, 2012
Rank - Name - Country - Points
1 Paola Longoria (Mexico) 1884.00
2 Rhonda Rajsich (USA) 1269.40
3 Krystal Csuk (USA) 517.20
4 Kerri Wachtel (USA) 510.15
5 Adrienne Fisher (USA) 469.75
6 Susy Acosta (Mexico) 422.50
7 Cheryl Gudinas (USA) 410.50
8 Jennifer Saunders (Canada) 340.50
9 Cristina Amaya (Colombia) 312.75
10 Samantha Salas (Mexico) 302.50
11 T.J. Baumbaugh (USA) 257.75
12 Da'monique Davis (USA) 252.35
13 Kristen Bellows (USA) 232.75
14 Grace Hughes (USA) 223.90
15 Jackie Paraiso (USA) 210.00
16 Linda Scales (USA) 127.50
17 Laura Brandt (USA) 126.75
18 Keely Franks (USA) 124.75
19 Veronica Sotomayor (Ecuador) 112.50
20 Jessica Parrilla (Mexico) 83.50
Follow the bouncing ball....
Monday, November 19, 2012
IRF - World Junior Championship - Competition Summary
Below is the medal summary from the 24th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships that happened last week in Canoga Park, California. Bolivia came out on top of the team points competition, although they were not the country with the most medals. Bolivia had 10 medals - four gold, four silver and two bronze. Both the USA and Mexico had 11 medals.
Mexico medalled in all but one of the World Cup divisions (Girl's U18 was the exception), but they had only two gold medals. The USA medalled in all by two World Cup divisions but they only got one silver medal on the girl's side and two of their three gold medals were from Boy's U18 (Marco Rojas and Jose Diaz).
Guatemala and Costa Rica had break-through years, as they picked up gold medals for the first time ever (Guatemala in Girl's U16 doubles and Costa Rica in Girl's U14 doubles) and Costa Rica had maybe its best ever medal count, as medals went to Costa Rica in six divisions. Three Costa Ricans were double medalists: Andres Acuña (Boy's U16), Jose Ubilla (Boy's U14) and Melania Sauma (Girl's U14).
If one country is getting more medals, then other countries must be getting fewer. The countries with fewer medals this year than past years are the USA and Ecuador. The USA had 11 medals this year, which was up one from last year, but they had 15 in 2010, 15 in 2009 and 16 in 2008, so they are off from their totals of a few years ago.
Ecuador has been shut out of the medals this year and last after having two medals in 2010, three in 2009 and two in 2008.
Bolivia's, Mexico's and Canada's medal totals have fluctuated slightly over the last few years but have generally been about the same. Bolivia's averaged 9.4 medals in the last five years, Mexico 11.6, and Canada 5.2.
We're a bit confused by the awarding of two bronze medals in the doubles divisions that were round robin competitions, as it should be clear who's 3rd and who's 4th in a round robin (there are rules for breaking ties when a teams' wins and losses are the same). But nevertheless, according to the IRF website, there were two bronze medalists in all doubles divisions.
This led to Aisling Hickey being the first ever double medalist from Ireland, as she got bronze in singles and doubles (with Katie Kenny). Ireland has medalled in each of the last four World Junior competitions.
24th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Canoga Park, California
MEDAL SUMMARY - Singles
Boy's U18
GOLD Marco Rojas (USA)
SILVER Jose Diaz (USA)
BRONZE Salvador Ortiz (Mexico)
BRONZE Sebastian Franco (Colombia)
Boy's U16
GOLD Coby Iwaasa (Canada)
SILVER Andreas Acuña (Costa Rica)
BRONZE Adam Manilla (USA)
BRONZE Erik Garcia (Mexico)
Boy's U14
GOLD Gonzalo Paco (Bolivia)
SILVER Cristhian Mina (Bolivia)
BRONZE Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica)
BRONZE Alejandro Almada Felix (Mexico)
Girl's U18
GOLD Maria Jose Vargas (Bolivia)
SILVER Adriana Riveros (Bolivia)
BRONZE Aisling Hickey (Ireland)
BRONZE Kelani Bailey (USA)
Girl's U16
GOLD Natalia Mendez (Bolivia)
SILVER Ximena Gonzalez (Mexico)
BRONZE Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala)
BRONZE Michèle Morissette (Canada)
Girl's U14
GOLD Diana Aguilar (Mexico)
SILVER Natalia Mendez (Bolivia)
BRONZE Erika Manilla (USA)
BRONZE Melania Sauma (Costa Rica)
MEDAL SUMMARY - Doubles
Boy's U18
GOLD Jose Diaz & Marco Rojas (USA)
SILVER Danilo Torrico & Vladimir Sona (Bolivia)
BRONZE Salvador Ortiz & Missael Leija (Mexico)
BRONZE Ashton Duda & Samuel Murray (Canada)
Boy's U16
GOLD Rodrigo Montoya & Francisco Javier Mar Garcia (Mexico)
SILVER Coby Iwaasa & Sami Harb (Canada)
BRONZE Andres Acuña & Pablo Sauma (Costa Rica)
BRONZE Adam Manilla & Sawyer Lloyd (USA)
Boy's U14
GOLD Jordan Barth & Justus Benson (USA)
SILVER Jose Ubilla & Alexander Pirie (Costa Rica)
BRONZE Victor Camacho & Jordy Alonso (Mexico)
BRONZE Rodrigo Mendoza & Gonzalo Paco (Bolivia)
Girl's U18
GOLD Adriana Riveros & Maria Jose Vargas (Bolivia)
SILVER Alexandra Herrera & Natalia Villagomez (Mexico)
BRONZE Kelani Bailey & Samantha Simmons (USA)
BRONZE Aisling Hickey & Katie Kenny (Ireland)
Girl's U16
GOLD Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala)
SILVER Ximena Gonzalez & Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico)
BRONZE Kaitlin Simmons & Lexi York (USA)
BRONZE Veronica Dotty & Mariana Lopez (Bolivia)
Girl's U14
GOLD Melania Sauma & Sofia Soley (Costa Rica)
SILVER Diana Aguilar & Mariel Morales (Mexico)
BRONZE Jordan Cooperrider & Erika Manilla (USA)
BRONZE Callie Drury & Alexis Iwaasa (Canada)
MEDAL SUMMARY
Boy's
USA - 6 = 3 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze
Mexico - 6 = 1, 0, 5
Bolivia - 4 = 1, 2, 1
Costa Rica - 4 = 0, 2, 2
Canada - 3 = 1, 1, 1
Colombia - 1 = 0, 0, 1
Girl's
Bolivia - 6 = 3 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze
Mexico - 5 = 1, 3, 1
USA - 5 = 0, 1, 4
Guatemala - 2 = 1, 0, 1
Costa Rica - 2 = 1, 0, 1
Canada - 2 = 0, 0, 2
Ireland - 2 = 0, 0, 2
Combined
USA - 11 = 3 gold, 2 silver, 6 bronze
Mexico - 11 = 2, 3, 6
Bolivia - 10 = 4, 4, 2
Costa Rica - 6 = 1, 2, 3
Canada - 5 = 1, 1, 3
Guatemala - 2 = 1, 0, 1
Ireland - 2 = 0, 0, 2
Colombia - 1 = 0, 0, 1
TEAM COMPETITION - Boy's
GOLD USA
SILVER Mexico
BRONZE Bolivia
4. Canada
5. Costa Rica
6. Colombia
7. Guatemala
8. Ecuador
9. Dominican Republic
10. Nicaragua
11. Venezuela
12. Chile
12. Ireland
14. South Korea
15. Argentina
16. Puerto Rico
TEAM COMPETITION - Girl's
GOLD Bolivia
SILVER Mexico
BRONZE USA
4. Canada
5. Guatemala
6. Costa Rica
7. Ireland
8. Ecuador
9. Nicaragua
10. Dominican Republic
10. Venezuela
12. Honduras
13. South Korea
13. Argentina
TEAM COMPETITION - Overall
GOLD Bolivia
SILVER USA
BRONZE Mexico
4. Canada
5. Costa Rica
6. Guatemala
7. Ecuador
8. Ireland
9. Dominican Republic
10. Colombia
11. Nicaragua
12. Venezuela
13. Chile
14. South Korea
15. Honduras
16. Argentina
17. Puerto Rico
Follow the bouncing ball….
Mexico medalled in all but one of the World Cup divisions (Girl's U18 was the exception), but they had only two gold medals. The USA medalled in all by two World Cup divisions but they only got one silver medal on the girl's side and two of their three gold medals were from Boy's U18 (Marco Rojas and Jose Diaz).
Guatemala and Costa Rica had break-through years, as they picked up gold medals for the first time ever (Guatemala in Girl's U16 doubles and Costa Rica in Girl's U14 doubles) and Costa Rica had maybe its best ever medal count, as medals went to Costa Rica in six divisions. Three Costa Ricans were double medalists: Andres Acuña (Boy's U16), Jose Ubilla (Boy's U14) and Melania Sauma (Girl's U14).
If one country is getting more medals, then other countries must be getting fewer. The countries with fewer medals this year than past years are the USA and Ecuador. The USA had 11 medals this year, which was up one from last year, but they had 15 in 2010, 15 in 2009 and 16 in 2008, so they are off from their totals of a few years ago.
Ecuador has been shut out of the medals this year and last after having two medals in 2010, three in 2009 and two in 2008.
Bolivia's, Mexico's and Canada's medal totals have fluctuated slightly over the last few years but have generally been about the same. Bolivia's averaged 9.4 medals in the last five years, Mexico 11.6, and Canada 5.2.
We're a bit confused by the awarding of two bronze medals in the doubles divisions that were round robin competitions, as it should be clear who's 3rd and who's 4th in a round robin (there are rules for breaking ties when a teams' wins and losses are the same). But nevertheless, according to the IRF website, there were two bronze medalists in all doubles divisions.
This led to Aisling Hickey being the first ever double medalist from Ireland, as she got bronze in singles and doubles (with Katie Kenny). Ireland has medalled in each of the last four World Junior competitions.
24th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Canoga Park, California
MEDAL SUMMARY - Singles
Boy's U18
GOLD Marco Rojas (USA)
SILVER Jose Diaz (USA)
BRONZE Salvador Ortiz (Mexico)
BRONZE Sebastian Franco (Colombia)
Boy's U16
GOLD Coby Iwaasa (Canada)
SILVER Andreas Acuña (Costa Rica)
BRONZE Adam Manilla (USA)
BRONZE Erik Garcia (Mexico)
Boy's U14
GOLD Gonzalo Paco (Bolivia)
SILVER Cristhian Mina (Bolivia)
BRONZE Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica)
BRONZE Alejandro Almada Felix (Mexico)
Girl's U18
GOLD Maria Jose Vargas (Bolivia)
SILVER Adriana Riveros (Bolivia)
BRONZE Aisling Hickey (Ireland)
BRONZE Kelani Bailey (USA)
Girl's U16
GOLD Natalia Mendez (Bolivia)
SILVER Ximena Gonzalez (Mexico)
BRONZE Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala)
BRONZE Michèle Morissette (Canada)
Girl's U14
GOLD Diana Aguilar (Mexico)
SILVER Natalia Mendez (Bolivia)
BRONZE Erika Manilla (USA)
BRONZE Melania Sauma (Costa Rica)
MEDAL SUMMARY - Doubles
Boy's U18
GOLD Jose Diaz & Marco Rojas (USA)
SILVER Danilo Torrico & Vladimir Sona (Bolivia)
BRONZE Salvador Ortiz & Missael Leija (Mexico)
BRONZE Ashton Duda & Samuel Murray (Canada)
Boy's U16
GOLD Rodrigo Montoya & Francisco Javier Mar Garcia (Mexico)
SILVER Coby Iwaasa & Sami Harb (Canada)
BRONZE Andres Acuña & Pablo Sauma (Costa Rica)
BRONZE Adam Manilla & Sawyer Lloyd (USA)
Boy's U14
GOLD Jordan Barth & Justus Benson (USA)
SILVER Jose Ubilla & Alexander Pirie (Costa Rica)
BRONZE Victor Camacho & Jordy Alonso (Mexico)
BRONZE Rodrigo Mendoza & Gonzalo Paco (Bolivia)
Girl's U18
GOLD Adriana Riveros & Maria Jose Vargas (Bolivia)
SILVER Alexandra Herrera & Natalia Villagomez (Mexico)
BRONZE Kelani Bailey & Samantha Simmons (USA)
BRONZE Aisling Hickey & Katie Kenny (Ireland)
Girl's U16
GOLD Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala)
SILVER Ximena Gonzalez & Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico)
BRONZE Kaitlin Simmons & Lexi York (USA)
BRONZE Veronica Dotty & Mariana Lopez (Bolivia)
Girl's U14
GOLD Melania Sauma & Sofia Soley (Costa Rica)
SILVER Diana Aguilar & Mariel Morales (Mexico)
BRONZE Jordan Cooperrider & Erika Manilla (USA)
BRONZE Callie Drury & Alexis Iwaasa (Canada)
MEDAL SUMMARY
Boy's
USA - 6 = 3 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze
Mexico - 6 = 1, 0, 5
Bolivia - 4 = 1, 2, 1
Costa Rica - 4 = 0, 2, 2
Canada - 3 = 1, 1, 1
Colombia - 1 = 0, 0, 1
Girl's
Bolivia - 6 = 3 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze
Mexico - 5 = 1, 3, 1
USA - 5 = 0, 1, 4
Guatemala - 2 = 1, 0, 1
Costa Rica - 2 = 1, 0, 1
Canada - 2 = 0, 0, 2
Ireland - 2 = 0, 0, 2
Combined
USA - 11 = 3 gold, 2 silver, 6 bronze
Mexico - 11 = 2, 3, 6
Bolivia - 10 = 4, 4, 2
Costa Rica - 6 = 1, 2, 3
Canada - 5 = 1, 1, 3
Guatemala - 2 = 1, 0, 1
Ireland - 2 = 0, 0, 2
Colombia - 1 = 0, 0, 1
TEAM COMPETITION - Boy's
GOLD USA
SILVER Mexico
BRONZE Bolivia
4. Canada
5. Costa Rica
6. Colombia
7. Guatemala
8. Ecuador
9. Dominican Republic
10. Nicaragua
11. Venezuela
12. Chile
12. Ireland
14. South Korea
15. Argentina
16. Puerto Rico
TEAM COMPETITION - Girl's
GOLD Bolivia
SILVER Mexico
BRONZE USA
4. Canada
5. Guatemala
6. Costa Rica
7. Ireland
8. Ecuador
9. Nicaragua
10. Dominican Republic
10. Venezuela
12. Honduras
13. South Korea
13. Argentina
TEAM COMPETITION - Overall
GOLD Bolivia
SILVER USA
BRONZE Mexico
4. Canada
5. Costa Rica
6. Guatemala
7. Ecuador
8. Ireland
9. Dominican Republic
10. Colombia
11. Nicaragua
12. Venezuela
13. Chile
14. South Korea
15. Honduras
16. Argentina
17. Puerto Rico
Follow the bouncing ball….
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