This past weekend, the The 4th Seoul Kyung Jae Korea Open Championships were held in Seoul, South Korea. Representing the IRT, was E-Force player Chris "the crippler" Crowther. From the photos and some commentary from people who attended, it sounded like a kick-ass event. The court was 5-wall glass (sound familiar) positioned in the middle of a big shopping mall. The player intros featured a full light show AND pyrotechnics!! A good summary was given by Mark Salinas on the MNP forums. Some pics (from the Korea Racquetball Federation):
The tournament in Seuol is one of the largest racquetball events in Korea. In the past, the event has attracted several top players from Mexico , Japan and all over Asia. This year the event will become an IRT satellite and feature top IRT professional , Chris Crowther. This year is even more exciting since the event will feature a brand new glass court that will be set up in an outdoor high traffic area where the sport will be showcased to many people who have never heard or seen the racquetball. Racquetball is growing very quickly in Korea and this event is sure to bring more people to the sport in Korea.
The tournament is sponsored by Kyung Jae Newspaper, BMS Korea, Hym Chan Entertainment Corporation, Sport- Up and E-Force
The WPRO has posted their 2008-2009 season on the Tour Events page of the WPRO Website. As was discussed on MNP, it’s a bit of a bummer that there is not a single stop next season on the entire West Coast of the U.S.!!
The USA Racquetball Junior Nationals just concluded and I just wanted to send along congratulations to everyone that played this weekend out in Concord, CA. Based on results, the Junior National Team for 2008 will be:
Girls 10s Erika Manilla – Colorado – Singles and Doubles Mary Zeng – Michigan – Singles Jordan Cooperrider – Florida – Doubles
Girls 8s Kaitlyn Boyle – Oregon – Singles Victoria Leon – California – Singles
Boys 18s Jose Rojas – California – Singles and Doubles Danny Lavely – Ohio – Singles Jansen Allen – Texas – Doubles
Boys 16s Taylor Knoth – Oregon – Singles Brad Kirch – New York – Singles and Doubles Nick Montalbano – New York – Doubles
Boys 14s Marco Rojas – California – Singles and Doubles Jose Diaz – California – Singles and Doubles
Boys 12s Adam Manilla – Colorado – Singles Sawyer Lloyd – California – Singles and Doubles Bobby Sehrgosha – California – Doubles
Boys 10s Jake Birnel – Washington – Singles and Doubles Jordan Barth – Minnesota – Singles Ryan Francis – New Hampshire – Doubles
Boys 8s Sean Henry – Indiana – Singles Christian Ulliman – Ohio – Singles
Look for this team to be out at the Student Recreation Complex on the campus of Arizona State University in December at the 20th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships.
Congrats to all new National Champions!! Jose Rojas won for the second straight year in Boys 18 and under, and Sharon Jackson won in the Girls 18 under. The complete event results can be found on the R2Sports event results page.
By looking at the various media reports, I may have stumbled on the final state team standings. When running a player report by state, it tells you how many points each player was awarded, and then how many for each state. Congrats are in order for California, who has won the event for the third straight year. Oregon and Ohio round out the top three. Here is the complete list:
World outdoor racquetball is pleased to present the 2008 WOR-Ektelon Championships
date: Thursday July 10 through Sunday July 13
location: marina park, 15871 graham street, Huntington beach, California.
This will be outdoor racquetball’s grandest event in history, this year’s championship’s will feature exciting new divisions, divisional formats, great hospitality, recently resurface courts, and much, much more. So don’t miss out. Sign-up’s start immediately.
Just as I logged in to www.racquetballonline.tv to catch some of the action for the 2008 USA Racquetball Junior Nationals, I noticed that Pablo and Angela have also been hard at work publishing some new content to the Video on Demand section of the site. If you’ve got some free time, I’d HIGHLY recommend checking out some of the action from the the 2008 USA Racquetball National Singles Championships. So far, they’ve got the Men’s Finals (Rocky Carson def. Jack Huczek), Men’s Semifinal 1 (Jack Huczek def. Mitch Williams), and Men’s Semifinal 2 (Rocky Carson def. Shane Vanderson).
If you’d like a little background information on some of the "top contenders" for this weekend’s 2008 USA Racquetball Junior Olympic Championships, Racquetball Warehouse has some really good interviews / play clips for some of the local players. Featured in the videos are Jose Rojas, Jose Diaz, and Aubrey O’Brien.
Just follow the link to Racquetball Warehouse’s Videos, and scroll to the bottom for the player interviews. While you’re there, you might want to check out some of the other content featuring the top players of the IRT and WPRO, as well as instructional info and equipment reviews. Great stuff!!
Rhonda’s website (www.rhondarocks.com) has been updated again about her recovery status following the latest surgery. It sounds like things are progressing along slowly but surely. If you’d like to leave Rhonda a get well message, just visit her website and click on the square banner on the right that says "Send Rhonda get well messages".
Rhonda has been recovering nicely since her surgery on June 11, 2008. The post-surgery swelling has been decreasing. The surgical stitches in her eyebrow area have been removed. The surgical stitches in her mouth will dissolve.
Although Rhonda was unable to eat solid food the first few days after her surgery, she has been slowly able to eat solid food as the pain in her jaw has decreased. She was even able to eat an In-N-Out Burger (without the bun)a couple of days ago.
Rhonda would like to thank all of her friends and family for the overwhelming support she has received. Updates will continue to be posted here on her website at www.rhondarocks.com.
The first photo slideshow / video of Kane Waselenchuk’s return to the IRT Tour has been posted to YouTube. There sure were ALOT of bells and whistles for only being a Tier 2 IRT Stop I’m really liking the limo that Rocky Carson and Andy Hawthorne stepped out of, and the fog machine for the player intros was a nice touch (I’m a BIG fog machine fan!). Great job to the organizers of the 2008 Steadman Hawkins IRT Greenville Open!
The number of entries received for the 2008 USA Racquetball Junior Olympic Championships (Junior Nationals) has pretty much leveled off, and the final count is 211. Through R2Sports, I went in and did a report for entries by state to see where in the U.S. the players are coming from. With the event in California this year, it’s no surprise they have the highest number of entrants. I believe CA won the "state title" last year over long time champion Oregon, so it should benefit them to have a strong team again. Oregon and Ohio follow California, and surprisingly Washington State comes in ahead of Florida in Forth. Should be a great event!!
Just wanted to send along my “unofficial Junior Nationals Preview” as the tourney begins this coming Wednesday, June 25, in Concord, CA.
The Girl’s 18s got some added intrigue this year when Oregon’s Shannon Inglesby decided to enter in her final year of junior eligibility, after a two year hiatus where she has been focusing on Softball. She and Indiana’s Sharon Jackson look to be the finalists this year, but you can never count out Ohio’s Sheryl Lotts who may pull an upset along the way. Inglesby and Jackson will also team in the doubles in an attempt to double qualify for the Junior National Team that will represent the US at the IRF Junior Worlds in December.
The Girl’s 16s features California’s Aubrey O’Brien, who looks to be the player to beat in this field. Aubrey will be looking to go one step further in December where she has been the beaten finalist in each of the last two Girl’s 14 and Under title matches at Junior Worlds. She’s hungry for another national title (or 3 as she’s playing doubles and mixed). Her doubles partner, Arizona’s Danielle Key, should also provide some strong competition in the singles, and you have to consider Ohio’s Lily Berry a contender here as well.
In the Girl’s 14s, this one is just too close to call as there are 3 young ladies that could very easily bring home the gold. Last year’s beaten finalist, California’s Devon Pimentelli, will certainly be a contender as will this year’s High School Nationals runner up, Courtney Chisholm from Massachusetts. The other player who will certainly be in the mix is last year’s 12 and Under National Champion, Kelani Bailey of Virginia. You can never count Kelani out of any match and her style of play can and will frustrate opponents into submission this coming week in California. Devon and Courtney will team up in the doubles and look to be the favorites in that division.
In the Girl’s 12s, again 3 young ladies should be battling for the title and once again, I can’t say that any one is more favored than the others in this one. California’s Sabrina Viscuso was the runner up last year, which should earn her the top seed this week, but Ohio’s Abbey Lavely and Oregon’s Hollee Hungerford are just as tough and ready to take the title in their last year in the 12s and thus the Espirit divisions. Sabrina and Hollee are the defending champions in the doubles and look to repeat as Abbey will be playing up with Kelani Bailey in the Girl’s 14 doubles.
In the Girl’s 10s, the favorite has to be Colorado’s Erika Manilla who was the runner up last year and will be looking to sweep the division in singles, doubles, and mixed. Judging from the beating she gave me a couple of weeks ago, I wouldn’t bet against her. Her doubles partner, Florida’s Jordan Cooperrider should provide stiff competition in the singles. These two battled for the 8 and Under title last year, with Erika getting the hard fought win.
As for the Girl’s 8s, I’m afraid I am not familiar with any of the players, so I won’t hazard a guess as to what might happen.
On the Boy’s side, the 18s features another potential match up of close friends, Jose Rojas and Ishmael Aldana both from California. Jose managed the 16s and 18s double last summer as he focused on singles, but Ishmael is in his last year of junior eligibility and is always a threat for the title. There are plenty of solid competitors among the 39 players currently listed in this division, but Jose and Ishmael always seem to be able to get to the finals at this tourney and I can’t say this year will be any different.
In the Boy’s 16s, Current High School National Champion, Oregon’s Taylor Knoth, looks to add the title that eluded him last year as the runner up to Jose Rojas in this division. Again, there are plenty of tough competitors fighting for this prize, so look for partner Jake Bredenbeck of Minnesota, Joseph Lee of Louisiana, and Dylan Reid of Oregon to have a say in the final outcome of this division. Joseph and Dylan will also team in the doubles and could very well face Taylor and Jake for the gold in that event.
In the Boy’s 14s, Current World Champion Marko Rojas of California has got to be a strong favorite to repeat, but you can never count out his doubles partner, Jose Diaz also from California. Other players who should be in the hunt include Louisiana’s Zach Wertz, Oregon’s Sam Reid and John Lindsay. Zach and Sam will also team in the doubles and could be a tough match for Marko and Jose if they should meet for the gold.
In the Boy’s 12s, Colorado’s Adam Manilla should emerge as the top seed based on last year’s results (the only returning semifinalist), but there are several players that have really stepped up their games this year and have to be given serious consideration. Among them are (in no particular order) Oregon’s Josh Lebow, New Hampshire’s Chris Francis, California’s Bobby Sehrgosha, Alabama’s Robert Hemphill, Florida’s Sean Cooperrider, and Colorado’s Zach Pellowski. Adam Manilla teamed with Sean Cooperrider to win the doubles last year and should be favorites again this year.
In the Boy’s 10s and the Boy’s 8s, once again I’m afraid that I’m not familiar enough with the players to make an educated guess but there should be plenty of tough competition in both divisions.
The action kicks off Wednesday morning from Concord and you can follow the draws at the following link:
Kane left no fans disappointed this weekend at the 2008 Steadman Hawkins IRT Greenville Open, where he dispatched two top IRT players on his way to a tournament win. In the seminfinals, Kane met Alvaro Beltran (#3 IRT), and was able to make an immediate statement winning in three games – 3, 10, 0. This win would create a showdown in the finals against current IRT #1, Rocky Carson. Although the scores of the games are missing from the official online draws (1, 5, -10, 5 ?) the four game victory for Kane will undoubtably set the tone that he is ready and waiting to reclaim the top spot on the tour. There are going to be some brutal qualifying matches in the coming months as Kane makes his way back into the top 8. I guess the bright side is that some qualifying players who don’t normally make the main draw will get a chance to play against one of the most dominant players in the sport.
I noticed today that DLC Sports has created a line of T-Shirts to contribute funds to aiding Rhonda Rajsich financially recover from her injuries. They feature designs for men and women, and are available in assortment of colors. They are priced at $18.99, and all proceeds go to Rhonda.
Dang, looks like irt-tour.com made some changes which broke 179 links to them from doubledonut.com. Yikes. Looks like I have to delete them. 2009-05-05
This match will set the stage for the entire 2008-2009 season! Kane will be a brutal opponent coming up through the qualifiers! 2008-06-22
Sunday at 12:30PM EST is a HUGE match in S. Carolina featuring #1 Rocky Carson and tour come-back Kane Waselenchuk. Who is more nervous? :-) 2008-06-22
I’m really liking the limo that Rocky Carson and Andy Hawthorne stepped out of, and the fog machine for the player intros was a nice touch (I’m a BIG fog machine fan!). Great job to the organizers of the 2008 Steadman Hawkins IRT Greenville Open!
I noticed today that 