September - October
1999 -- Vol. 10, No. 5

Pan American Games
Racquetball Heats up Winnipeg

Local Talent Although many of the matches in preliminary round-robin play (for seeding) proved to be anxiety-ridden, Puerto Rico’s Rob DeJesus did the most damage to Team Canada’s medal plans right out of the box when he upset its national champion, Kane Waselenchuk on opening day. The single loss in the round resulted in Waselenchuk being bumped into the lower half of the playoff bracket, where he would be forced to meet teammate Greenfeld in the quarterfinals. Immediately, the Canadian fans loyalties were split.

In that later match-up, Greenfeld had the hometown advantage with a standing-room-only crowd at the Winnipeg Winter Club — the majority of which were obviously on hand to cheer their “prince” in a rematch of the Canadian National Championship final. Greenfeld, who had hinted all week that the Pan Am Games would be his final tournament before retiring, had no intention of being knocked out of such a major event in his own backyard so quickly. After losing the first game to his Edmonton rival, he rallied back to down seventeen-year-old Waselenchuk in the tiebreaker, drawing support from the boisterous crowd chanting his name in unison, and motivation from local media surrounding the court.

Grudge Matches Greenfeld’s semifinal against the USA’s Michael Bronfeld didn’t get any easier for the veteran. Bronfeld was eager to meet the nemesis who had beaten him repeatedly in previous international tests. After learning he would meet Greenfeld in the semifinals, Bronfeld remarked, “I’m glad Sherman beat Kane. I want to beat him, and I want to beat him in his hometown. It’s my turn now.”

With his father Ed on the sidelines, Bronfeld lived up to those fighting words. He was also backed by a small, but loud, group of USA athletes — including team staffers Marc Auerbach and Kelley Beane — who did a respectable job of being heard over the hometown crowd. Bronfeld easily took the first game, 15-6, before Greenfeld put up a fight and rallied to take the second game, 15-12. Bronfeld put his words back into action in the tiebreaker with an 11-5 victory, which knocked Winnipeg’s charmer into the bronze medal match.

ReMatch In a high-flying battle between the USA’s ‘Flying Fish’ Adam Karp and the U.S. Air Force’s Rob DeJesus, Karp advanced to the gold-medal round with a 15-4, 15-12 win, to set up a rematch of the U.S. National Singles Championship final. After taking the silver medal at the 1995 Pan Am Games and both the ‘98 and ‘99 U.S. National Singles Championships, Bronfeld was confident prior to the gold-medal match,

“I’m tired of silver. I’m ready for gold.” But, the 1999 Pan Am Games would not prove to be golden for the Pacific Grove, Calif. resident, as he fell to Karp, 15-9, 15-12. “I played good all week, but I didn’t play very well today,” said Bronfeld. “I had opportunity after opportunity, but I didn’t produce. I was really disappointed by that. I would like a gold, but I’ll take a silver.”

On the medal stand (l-r): Michael Bronfeld, Adam Karp, Rob DeJesus. Photo: Christie Hyde

In the bronze-medal match, Greenfeld met DeJesus in the world champion’s final grasp at a medal in front of friends and neighbors. Despite pushing it to a tiebreaker, Greenfeld could not match DeJesus, and the Arizona resident, who plays for Puerto Rico, captured the bronze. Following the match, Greenfeld took the referee’s microphone to make a speech confirming his retirement to the mass of fans in the stands. “Nothing beats what I had here this week,” he commented. “I wish I could have won the gold for you all today, but just having you all here to watch me play after twenty years in this sport is something I’ll never forget.”

Marathoner The women’s competition was not without its own surprises. Chile’s Angela Grisar proved to be the hardest working player of the Games, by advancing the furthest, not only in singles, but also in doubles. Grisar heated up the women’s singles competition with her upset over Canada’s Josée Grand’Maitre, 8-15, 15- 3, 11-8, in the quarterfinals, erasing any hope of an all-Canada final. But in the semifinals, Grisar’s string of luck ended when she met the USA team in both singles and doubles. At 11:30 a.m., Grisar and partner Loreto Barriga took the court against U.S. twins Jackie Paraiso and Joy MacKenzie. After that 15-3, 15-12 loss, Grisar had only a few hours to rest before her 4:30 p.m. match against the USA’s top singles player, Cheryl Gudinas. A tired Grisar fell once again to a powerful USA opponent, 15-6,15-11, moving her into both the women’s singles and doubles bronze-medal matches.

The USA’s Laura Fenton met Canada’s world champion, Christie Van Hees, hoping to advance to the gold-medal round, where she could avenge her loss to Gudinas in the finals at the U.S. National Singles Championship. However, the power of the young Van Hees was too much for the 37-year-old Fenton, who had problems adjusting to the extreme Winnipeg heat and humidity. Despite her 10-year-old daughter Jennifer waving an American flag and cheering her on from the stands, Fenton fell to Van Hees, 15-9, 15-6.

An openly disappointed Fenton dropped into the bronze-medal round, but tried to be upbeat despite her disappointment. “The biggest thing is that I feel I am the luckiest person here considering my age, stage of life and where I came from,” Fenton remarked. “Most meaningful to me was having my daughter here to see her mom playing.”

Fenton’s daughter did get to see her mom on the podium stand. Although it wasn’t accepting the gold, as she had hoped, Fenton defeated Grisar, 15-5, 15-8, to take the bronze medal. Grisar didn’t walk away from the Pan Am Games empty handed either. Only an hour before meeting Fenton in the women’s singles bronze-medal match, Grisar and Barriga captured Chile’s first racquetball medal by knocking off the pair from Bolivia, 15-4, 13-15, 11- 2, to grab the women’s doubles bronze.

An obviously tired Grisar was happy with her bronze-medal performance in the women’s doubles competition, but admits that playing both singles and doubles had an impact on her play. “I think more than being physically tired, I was mentally exhausted.” she said after losing to Fenton. “I was really nervous for the doubles match. After I got the medal, I relaxed. I couldn’t focus on what I needed to do in the singles match.”

L-R: Jackie Paraiso, Coach Jim Winterton, Joy MacKenzie.

One Last Time After the women’s singles and doubles bronze medals were decided, play moved into the gold-medal rounds, where the matches heated up even more. In women’s doubles, twin-sisters Paraiso and MacKenzie meet Canada’s Lori-Jane Powell and Deborah Ward in the twins final match as doubles partners. Prior to the start of the Pan Am Games, MacKenzie announced that she would be retiring from the sport following the Games to spend more time with her family. The undefeated duo took the court determined to end their career together with another gold medal and handed Powell and Ward a 15-6, 15-2 loss and the silver.

Ward conceded the skills of their victors. “They just attacked consistently and kept the pressure on. They are an awesome team. They know each other inside and out. You can’t find two players who play like them.”

The sisters were pleased with their gold medals, but admit it comes with a bit of sadness. “It’s rewarding to win with Joy again and be able to have her last match be a successful, victorious one. It’s sad at the same time, because I have to find a new partner,” commented Paraiso, who will pair up with Pan Am-teammate Fenton for the upcoming doubles season. “No one will fill the shoes that she filled. No one will match up with me like her.”

MacKenzie took time to reflect on her career after winning her final gold medal. “This gold medal is something I’ll remember for a long time. It will hold a lot of memories of good people and good friends that I’ve made along the way,” she commented. “I’m glad I had the opportunity to play with Jackie as long as I have. It’s been a good ride.”

L-R: Doug Ganim, U.S. Olympic Committee Executive Director Dick Schultz, Drew Kachtik.

Crowded House The men’s doubles final was yet another match up between the USA and host-country Canada. The USA doubles team of Doug Ganim and Drew Kachtik met Canada’s Roger Harripersad and Kelly Kerr for the gold medal. Prior to the match, many questioned how Ganim would perform after injuring his elbow earlier in the week and undergoing aggressive therapy to enable him to play at all. But there was no more questioning after the pair took the court. The duo from the USA played their best game of the week, literally knocking off Harripersad and Kerr for the gold, 15-6, 15-5.

“We complemented each other excellent, we covered each other well, and we were both making our shots,” an enthused Kachtik remarked following the match. “We were just an excellent combination today. That’s really the best feeling — playing that good together.”

The Canadian duo was devastated. “I feel horrible. Second is second. I came here to win gold. I have enough silver medals,” a disappointed Harripersad commented. “Our game plan hinged on them playing the way they played all week. We didn’t expect them to be able to kill so successfully. Their reflexes were great.”

Cheryl Gudinas needed a lot of ice to recover from her exhausting final. Photo: Rick Cardella.

Close Call While women’s doubles had the most sentimental final, women’s singles had the most exciting one. Gudinas met world champion Van Hees in the gold-medal match, which proved to be a true nail-biter. After taking the first game, 15-13, Gudinas let the second game slip away, losing it 9-15. In the surprising tiebreaker, the 1995 Pan Am Games silver medalist took a 7-3 lead before Van Hees rallied back with her dominating drive serve to turn the tide. Van Hees battled back to a 10-8 advantage, and was serving for the gold, but faulted with a short serve to give Gudinas a brief, but unrealized, chance to come back. Another side out put Van Hees back on serve for the gold, where she made a second costly error and neglected to check her receiver, who had held her racquet above her head to signal “not ready” as the drive to the left side was launched. Since Van Hees had already received a referee’s warning for the infraction, the result was another side-out. This time Gudinas capitalized by tying the score at 10-10 with two consecutive backhands down the line. She then drove a forehand cross-court pass just out of the frustrated Van Hees’ reach for the win.

An obviously distraught Van Hees receded into the confines of the Winnipeg Winter Club locker room to collect her thoughts before facing the waiting media and fans following the match. “It is hard losing 11-10, but I have no regrets,” she admitted. “My whole heart was in the match. My only consolation is the World Championships, and no one can take that away from me.”

U.S. Team (l-r) top row: Joy MacKenzie, Michael Bronfeld, Adam Karp, Jackie Paraiso. Bottom: Drew Kachtik, Laura Fenton, Doug Ganim. Not pictured: Cheryl Gudinas. Photo: Christie Hyde

At the award ceremonies, the stars and stripes were hoisted again and again, as the USA accepted four gold, one silver and one bronze medal. Canada earned the second highest tally, with three silver, while Mexico, Puerto Rico and Chile each earned a bronze.

Although the USA dominated the medal platform once again at the Pan Am Games, thanks to the decade-long efforts of now-retired U.S. Team Coach Jim Winterton, everyone admits the level of international competition is on the rise. In his new role as Head Coach, Tom Travers and future U.S. squads will have their hands full in coming years from their Pan American competitors.