Greetings from New Orleans
April 19th, 2008 by Adam Katz
Greetings from New Orleans, host of the 2008 Chemtech Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) World Championships presented by Ektelon.
The action kicked off this evening with the Pro Sponsor Doubles as 8 of the top Women’s players from around the world teamed with 8 local players for a fun and competitive evening of doubles.
When all was said and done, the final pitted current #4 Kerri Wachtel (Cincinnati, OH) and current 12 and Under National Champion Zach Wertz against current #9 Diane Moore (Griffith, IN) and local legend Dave McComb.
In a very close one game match to 11, Kerri and Zach were able to slip by for the 11-9 victory. I asked Zach how he felt playing with Kerri, and he said, “She’s a great player, I was really happy that they teamed me with her. We seemed to be able to read each other very well.” Zach is also excited about playing in the Men’s A division this weekend in the Regional Qualifier for National Singles next month, although he’s more focused on the upcoming Junior Nationals at the end of June in Concord, CA.
Kudos have to go to Al Schof and his team at the Elmwood Fitness Center as they have gone all out for this one. The club is in fantastic shape and Guy Keller has provided banners of the Top 10 ladies on display by the main courts. If you happen to be in the New Orleans area this weekend, I would highly encourage you to come on out and cheer these ladies on.
The matches start at 10 am Central time on Friday and will be streamed live at the following site:
There will be plenty of action tomorrow as the ladies will play the Round of 32 and Round of 16 matches to be down to the quarterfinals by tomorrow night.
As a reminder, current World #1, Rhonda Rajsich (Phoenix, AZ) is the defending champion. Last year, she defeated Mexican phenom, Paola Longoria (San Luis Poteci, MX). Paola got some revenge last month at the Pan AM Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica, and now Rhonda is looking to finish the season strong and clinch her third season ending #1 title.
Also in her way will be current World #2, Cheryl Gudinas Holmes (Naperville, IL) who is also in the hunt for the coveted year end #1 ranking. It would be her seventh and watching her earlier at the Pro Sponsor doubles, she is definitely focused.
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