2000 International Racquetball Federation
X World Championships

San Luis Potosi, Mexico: August 4-12

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Record-High 43 Countries to Compete for World Cup in Mexico

The International Racquetball Federation will hold its 10th World Championships in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Aug. 4-12, with a record number of countries competing. Forty-three nations from around the globe will vie for the World Cup, which is currently held by the United States.

Although the U.S. is the reigning World Cup holder, both the men's and women's singles champions from the 1998 World Championships hail from Canada. Christie Van Hees (Vancouver, B.C.) will hope to defend her world championship title, but will face fierce competition from the USA's Cheryl Gudinas (Lisle, Ill.). Gudinas defeated Van Hees in an 11-10 tiebreaker during the gold medal match of the last summer's Pan American Games, held in Van Hees home country.

The USA's Jackie Paraiso (El Cajon, Calif.), the reigning doubles world champion, has switched her focus to singles play after the retirement of her twin sister-and doubles-partner Joy MacKenzie from the sport. Paraiso finished out the 1999-2000 WIRT pro tour at the top of the rankings, followed by Gudinas in second and Van Hees in third. Paraiso will play number-two singles for the USA, after losing in the U.S. National Singles finals to Gudinas.

Canada's reigning world champion Sherman Greenfeld (Winnipeg, Manitoba) will not defend his title at this year's championships, due to his retirement from the sport after a disappointing fourth-place finish at the 1999 Pan Am Games. Several of the world's top players will be seeking Greenfeld's crown, including the U.S. National Singles champion Rocky Carson (Santa Maria, Calif.) who captured the bronze medal at the 1998 championships.

Canada's hopes of regaining the men's singles title will be pinned on 18-year-old Kane Waselenchuk (Spruce Grove, Alberta), the two-time reigning Canadian national champion. Puerto Rico's Rob DeJesus (Phoenix, Ariz.), who defeated Greenfeld for the 1999 Pan Am Games bronze medal, is also shaping up to be a top contender.

World Championship titles will be awarded in men's and women's singles and doubles play, in addition to the World Cup being awarded to the country whose athletes garner the most points during team competition.

Participating National Teams:
Argentina
Australia
Belgium
Belize
Bolivia
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
France
Germany
Great Britain
Greece
Guam
Guatemala
Honduras
India
Ireland
Jamaica
Japan
Laos
Lebanon
Mexico
Netherlands
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Pakistan
Panama
Peru
Philippines
Puerto Rico
Republic of Korea
South Africa
Spain
Tonga
USA
Venezuela
Vietnam

U.S. Racquetball Names World Championship Team

The United States Racquetball Association announced its World Championship Team, which will compete at the International Racquetball Federation's 10th World Championships in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Aug. 4-12.

Headlining the Team is two 1999 Pan American Games gold medalist, Cheryl Gudinas (Lisle, Ill.) and Jackie Paraiso (El Cajon, Calif.), both of which will be playing women's singles. Gudinas is the two-time national singles champion and captured the women's singles gold medal at last summer's Pan Am Games over reigning world champion Christie Van Hees of Canada. Paraiso also won a gold at the Pan Am Games with her twin sister in women's doubles. She is was the silver medalist to Gudinas at this year's national singles championships, and is the number-one ranked pro player on the Women's International Racquetball Tour.

The United States' women's doubles team will be comprised of 1999 National Doubles gold medalist Kim Russell (Austin, Texas) and 2000 National Singles bronze medalist Kersten Hallander (San Diego, Calif.). Russell, who captured the last year's women's doubles gold medal with Robin Levin (Sacramento, Calif.), will pair up with Hallander due to her Levine's retirement from the sport.

The men's team will be led by 2000 national singles champion Rocky Carson (Santa Maria, Calif.). He will joined by silver medalist Doug Eagle (Houston, Texas) in the men's singles competition. Carson was the bronze medalist at the last world championships, held in 1998. 1999 National Doubles gold medalists Ruben Gonzalez (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Mike Guidry (Dallas, Texas) will compete in the men's doubles competition. Gonzalez, 49, has become known as a legend in the sport, and was inducted in the USRA Hall of Fame this year.

The International Racquetball Federation holds its World Championships every other year. This year's event will host 148 athletes representing 42 countries.

U.S. MEN'S TEAM
Rocky Carson —Santa Maria, Calif. —Men's #1 Singles

2000 U.S. National Singles Gold Medalist
1999-2000 IRT Pro-Tour Final Season Ranking - 7th
1998 World Championships Bronze Medalist

Doug Eagle — Houston, Texas — Men's #2 Singles
2000 U.S. National Singles Silver Medalist
1999 U.S. National Doubles Fourth-Place Finisher
1999-2000 IRT Pro-Tour Final Season Ranking - 16th

Ruben Gonzalez — Staten Island, N.Y. — Men's Doubles
2000 USRA Hall of Fame Inductee
1999-2000 IRT Pro-Tour Final Season Ranking - 14th
1999 U.S. National Doubles Gold Medalist
1998 World Championship Singles Quarterfinalist

Mike Guidry —Dallas, Texas — Men's Doubles
1999-2000 IRT Pro-Tour Final Season Ranking - 6th
1999 U.S. National Doubles Gold Medalist

U.S. WOMEN'S TEAM
Cheryl Gudinas — Lisle, Ill. — Women's #1 Singles

2000 U.S. National Singles Gold Medalist
1999-2000 WIRT Pro-Tour Final Season Ranking - 2nd
1999 Pan American Games Singles Gold Medalist
1999 U.S. National Singles Gold Medalist

Jackie Paraiso — El Cajon, Calif. — Women's #2 Singles
2000 U.S. National Singles Silver Medalist
1999-2000 WIRT Pro-Tour Final Season Ranking - 1st
1999 Pan American Games Doubles Gold Medalist
1999 U.S. National Doubles Silver Medalist

Kersten Hallander — San Diego, Calif. — Women's Doubles
2000 U.S. National Singles Bronze Medalist
1999-2000 WIRT Pro-Tour Final Season Ranking - 4th
1998 World Championships Singles Silver Medalist

Kim Russell —Austin, Texas —Women's Doubles
1999 U.S. National Doubles Gold Medalist
1998 U.S. National Doubles Silver Medalist

Racquetball Canada ready for World Championships

By Cheryl McKeeman
For more information contact Ron Brown at 204-489-5889 or check out the Racquetball Canada website at www.raccquetball.ca

Racquetball Canada will send a well-prepared contingent to Mexico August 5-13 for the World Championships. The team is coming off a recent training camp in Saskatchewan and Head Coach Ron Brown feels the camp has done wonders for team chemistry, team cohesiveness and team camaraderie.

The men's team will consist of Ontario's Mike Ceresia and Mike Green in doubles and Edmonton's Kane Waselenchuk and Brian Istace of Calgary in singles. On the women's side, Christie Van Hees of Vancouver, BC and Lori-Jane Powell from Prince Albert, SK will compete in singles and the doubles team will consist of Saskatchewan's Karina Odegard and Amanda MacDonald.

"I always find the times we have training camps are the times we have performed our best," says Brown. "We haven't seen these other countries in two years. You don't know who you'll play but we will be prepared."

Men's Singles
Waselenchuk will be Canada's number one seed. "You know, Kane came to me before the 1999 Nationals and told me he would win the singles title. I thought to myself, he's young, good for him to have that self-confidence. And then he won and proved me wrong. The only time I saw nerves from him was at the Pan Am Games, and he should have been nervous. But I haven't seen those nerves since. He told me I feel like I can win' and I think he's capable of anything he sets his mind to. His mental skills allow him to compete at the level he is."

Brown likens Waselenchuk's mental toughness to golfer Tiger Woods. It's what sets apart the good players from the great players.

"I'm going into this with a positive attitude," says Waselenchuk. "Just get on the court and play. I can't wait. I'm playing well and my focus is really good."

In men's singles, Rocky Carson and Doug Eagle will go in as the Americans to beat. Carson will be the number one American seed. Eagle has never played internationally at the senior level.

"Because we're playing at 6000 feet, Brian (Istace) can really make an impact. With Brian's serve and power, if he gets hot, he can be hard to beat," adds Brown.

Women's Singles
Defending World Champion, Christie Van Hees will have a talented American contingent to contend with in Cheryl Gudinas and Jackie Paraiso. "Along with Christie, these are the top three players in the world. The competition will be really fierce. But Christie definitely has a chance to defend. She plays well at altitude and she plays such a powerful game that when she pounds the ball at altitude, the ball seems like it's travelling that much faster."

Van Hees won the World Championship title in Cochabamba, Bolivia July 11-18, 1998 and at the time, was the youngest athlete to ever accomplish this feat. She was also, a bronze medallist at the 1999 Tournament of the Americas in Rosarito, Mexico.

She claims that there is no pressure being the defending champion in Canada. It's when she gets to Mexico where she will feel the pressure.

"The media will really get to me in Mexico," says Van Hees. "But I've been working with a mental trainer to deal with it. She has mapped out a plan for me to focus on before hand. I have to get myself into a different zone."

Saskatchewan's Lori-Jane Powell is going into the World Championships with the right attitude according to Brown.

"I like her attitude. She looked into my eyes at the Nationals and told me I'll be prepared, I'll open people's eyes'. She goes in as the underdog but she will perform quite well. Lori-Jane plays best with a chip on her shoulder. She's been given a second chance and she's going to make the best of it."

Men's Doubles
Mike Green and Mike Ceresia believe they can win. "They're playing as good doubles play as I've seen in a long time," says Brown. "Their chief competition will come from Americans Mike Guidry and Reuben Gonzalez. But we will have to beat Mexico to get to the States."

"We're really going to try and build momentum throughout the whole tournament," says Ceresia. "The Mexicans, Americans and Japanese will all be tough. I've played them all. The key to our success will be to peak at the right time, the semi-finals and finals."

When the duo from Ontario set their minds to something, they usually succeed. After losing the 1999 Senior Nationals Doubles Championship title, they focused on getting that title back throughout the 1999-2000 season.

When it came down to the 2000 National Doubles Final, Ceresia and Green finished off Waselenchuk and Istace in two straight 15-7, 15-11.

"This victory is something we planned on all year long," said Ceresia at the time. "We had to prove a point after losing in the finals last year. Winning this has been on our minds all year long."

Women's Doubles
The young duo of Amanda MacDonald and Karina Odegard has benefited from the team atmosphere and in particular the training camp July 13-16, 2000 in Saskatoon. "The camp gave all the players a chance to be a team," adds Brown. "But our women's doubles team really focuses on Amanda. Karina feeds off Amanda's energy."

"Having training camp in Saskatchewan was really good for me," says Odegard. "It was just like training as usual for me, I didn't feel any pressure. It's hard for Amanda and me because even though we play as a team, we have to train in different cities. But I think we're ready. It's a different US team than we know but the training camp really helped us keep our focus leading up to the Worlds."

The Canadians leave for Mexico August 2nd. Individual play begins August 5th and ends August 7th. Doubles begin Wednesday, August 9 and continues to Saturday August 12th.

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