March - April 2002
Vol. 13, No. 2 | Contents

Changes at the Top
By Tom Rall
The number one seed at the U.S. OPEN, former champion of too many professional tournaments to mention, and racquetball’s top player, Sudsy Monchik broke a bone in his foot in November. When I spoke with him then he seemed to have accepted his injury and was dealing with it in a positive way, despite how very disappointing his accident was. I must admit it was hard for me to see him sitting immobile in a leg cast in a wheel chair. It would be eight weeks. For the average competitive racquetball player that’s a long time. For a racquetball player of Sudsy’s pro caliber it’s an eternity!

He’s missed several tournaments to date, lost thousands in prize money and must deal emotionally with watching his fellow competitors play while he sits idle. Once the cast is removed he’ll have to deal with the strength loss and atrophy in his leg. And if this isn’t enough he’ll have to work very hard, probably harder than ever before to get back into tournament shape again. It will certainly be an uphill battle. And for a player who is accustomed to moving at the speed of sound and pounding a ball into oblivion, being inactive may eventually drive him nuts! Unfortunately he’ll just have to learn to do something he’s most likely never had to do before — be patient and slow down. Fellow player and mentor, Ruben Gonzalez, overcame an achilles tendon tear that most humans, athlete or not, seldom conquer. I’m certain Ruben has words of encouragement for Sudsy.

Something else to consider is that, with Sudsy out for a bit, there is room at the top for other premier players to show their stuff. Rankings will no doubt be affected. Time will tell just which players will emerge and how much the rankings will change. Cliff Swain’s US Open win, for example, has secured him a World #1 ranking – again! And the incredible thirty-five year old shows no signs of age, and it goes without saying that he isn’t going anywhere, any time soon. No place but #1 that is!

It’s clear we can all count on outstanding, high level performance from the men’s pros! And there is new talent in the wings. Kane Waselenchuk, the young, new and simply amazing player from Canada, beat’ em all in Chicago making him an immediate stand out. Jack Huczek, who has simply won everything in the juniors, and holds the national singles title as well, has made it to the finals of the two most recent pro stops in his rookie season, even taking his first tour win over Cliff in Boston.

By the way, am I the only one whose noticed the ‘youth’ in the Men’s Pro Division? I mean Kane is nineteen and Jack is eighteen and still in high school! That’s a young age to be going up against the best players in the world! If we do the numbers — just to put things in perspective —Kane and Jack’s combined age (37) is only two years more than Cliff Swain at 35, and twelve years younger than Ruben Gonzalez at 49. This makes the IRT age span thirty-one years, from eighteen to forty-nine! Go figure.

ladies shake-up On the women’s side there are changes at the top, but like the IRT, it appears that injuries abound. Jackie Paraiso-Rice, a unique champion and winner of an incredible number of pro tournaments, broke her ankle at the end of last season and has been nursing it while trying to remain tournament tough. Signs of caution remain and her ankle is wrapped securely before stepping on to the court. Even injured she is a notch above the rest, and despite her injury, she managed to make it all the way to the final at the U.S. Open!

Unquestionably the fastest-rising woman on tour today has to be Kerri Wachtel. The tour has witnessed an intense rivalry between Jackie Paraiso-Rice and Cheryl Gudinas for nearly two years now. In recent times it’s been one or the other of them in the winners circle at the end of any tournament. But Kerri made it to finals in Chicago before losing to Gudinas, and in Colorado Springs lost to Gudinas in a tight semi-final. But the crowd saw how close Kerri was to winning each time, and only a few crucial points decided how each match played out. At the U.S. Open Kerri seemed to have figured out how to play key points better, how to control her shots, and how to play more effectively during those ‘crucial points.’ The result? She beat Gudinas in the semi’s and then went on to beat Paraiso-Rice in the final. This new women’s U.S. Open Champion is now a force to be reckoned with.

Two others worth watching are Lori Jane Powell and Kristen Walsh, who both create challenges for the top-ranked pros. Lori won the open division and reached the pro quarters at the U.S. Open, clearly marking her as one of the game’s up and coming players. Kristen is the current Juniors and Intercollegiate Singles Champion and recently won the mixed open national doubles title in Las Vegas. Her loss to Kim Russell in the sixteen’s at the U.S. Open was the only five-game match in the entire round. Both Lori and Kristen are knocking on the door and we’ll surely be seeing quite a bit from these two new stars in the ladies ranks.

As we can see, there are definite shifts going on at the top. As new players make their way into the pro ranks, veterans must deal with these new upstarts and recognize their talent, or run the risk of losing early. On the other hand those trying to break into the pro’s must also learn how to deal with veteran players who have a great deal of experience and playing skills that more than rival their own. For the players during this process there is, of course, an added challenge. For those of us watching it is very exciting! And for the sport of racquetball, it’s very healthy.


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