2001 Ektelon USRA 34th
National Doubles Championships
Presented by Penn Racquet Sports

Las Vegas Sporting House
Las Vegas, Nevada: October 3-7, 2001

Gonzalez/Guidry vs. Llacera/Pointelin
The men's open final pitted the veteran team of Ruben Gonzalez, 50, of Staten Island, N.Y. and 31-year-old southpaw Mike Guidry of Carrollton, Texas against the tournament's Cinderella team of Dan Llacera, 35, (Robohoth Beach, Del.) and Brian Pointelin, 29, (West Jordan, Utah). It was the third straight year that the No. 1 seeded team of Gonzalez and Guidry had made it into the finals of the U.S. National Doubles Championships and the first time in three years that the No. 15 seeded team of Llacera and Pointelin had made it out of the first round.

In the first game it looked as though Llacera and Pointelin had run out of magic when Gonzalez and Guidry built a quick 10-3 lead. That's when the underdogs began to show how they were able to knock off the No. 2, No. 6, and No. 7 seeds on their way to the finals. Llacera began to hit his backhand effectively and they slowly closed the gap until the two teams became knotted at 14-14. At that point Llacera hit a lob serve that Guidry tried to return with a cross-court overhead kill that struck Llacera in the head. "I got dizzy," said Llacera. "I felt like I had been on a cruise for a week and the walls were spinning." After an injury timeout Llacera's head cleared and he ended the game with a rollout pinch.

Gonzalez and Guidry refocused for the second game and their experience began to shine through after the two sides fought to a 6-6 tie. "There was a rally where I had a good dive that I think ignited us in the second game," said Gonzalez. "We were more aggressive in the second game and we knew that we had to keep shooting the ball." "Ignited" was the right word, as Gonzalez caught fire and rolled out the next four shots. The two sides switched serves once after that before Gonzalez and Guidry finished off the game with a 9-0 run to force a tiebreaker.

The tiebreaker belonged to Gonzalez and Guidry as they started on a 7-0 run and never looked back taking the third game, and the match, 11-2. "I wasn't surprised at how well they (Llacera and Pointelin) played because they have been playing great all week," said Guidry. "I think that our experience helped us out in the second and third games."

Gudinas/Russell vs. Bailey/Rajsich
The women's open final featured the No.3 seeded team of Cheryl Gudinas (Lisle, Ill.) and Kim Russell (Austin, Texas) against the No. 5 seeded team of Malia Bailey (Norfolk, Va.) and Rhonda Rajsich (Phoenix, Ariz.). Both teams had already qualified for spots on the U.S. National team with their victory in the semifinals but neither team was satisfied with that accomplishment. "I am still thirsty," Rajsich said after her semifinal victory. "I feel like I have just had a sip and I want more."

For Gudinas a victory would not only mean that she would reign as a U.S. National Doubles champion, but also a U.S. National Singles champion - a title she won this past May in Houston. "I am kind of on a streak and I don't want it to end," said Gudinas. "I felt confident going into this tournament because I feel that Kim (Russell) is the best doubles player in the world."

In the first game they looked like the best doubles "team" in the world by starting the game out on an 8-0 run. Bailey and Rajsich were able to close the gap with three quick points to make the score 8-3 but they would never get closer in the first game and eventually fell 15-4. "They were playing good," said Rajsich. "They were hitting all of their shots and I felt like I didn't take advantage of the opportunities that were given to me."

The second game was much closer as Bailey and Rajsich did begin to take advantage of the opportunities that they were presented with. They started the game on a 3-0 run only to see Gudinas and Russell catch up to tie the score at 3-3. Bailey and Rajsich again inched their way ahead to lead 6-3 and again Gudinas and Russell were able to catch up and tie the score. Both sides continued their cat-and-mouse game until the score was 11-9 in favor of Bailey and Rajsich.

"We called a timeout to refocus and point out our positives to each other," said Gudinas. Russell added, "She would tell me that I was the best doubles player and I would tell her how quick she was. It was all about thinking positive thoughts and keeping our heads in the game." Their plan worked as they pulled away with the lead for good and took the second game, and match, 15-12, to earn the title of U.S. National Doubles Champions.

And the brothers might even have met in the 35's, if Hogan and Dave Peck hadn't been eliminated in the quarterfinal by another former pro tour regular -- Woody Clouse and teammate Mark Helton, of Denver. Had Dave advanced another round, the sibling rivalry could have re-kindled in the semi's. But instead, Hogan and Peck shifted gears to continue on in the 40s (one of the largest event draws, with 77 entrants), to go up against Hansen and Kirkland for the tiebreaker win.

Double-Time
Mitch Williams was a double-gold medalist, after taking a win in the Men's 24- with Brent Walters and a mixed open victory with Kristen Walsh. 

Jody Nance and Mark-O Perez were also dual winners, with titles in the Mixed 25+ and 30+ divisions; while Shelley Ogden took home gold medals in the women's 50+ with long-time partner Gerri Stoffregen, and in the mixed 50+ with Frank Taddonio. Both Ogden and Taddonio serve on the USRA Board of Directors.

Chris Evon also won the Women's 35+ with Terri Graham & Mixed 40+ with Bill Lyman; and Merijean Kelley won Women's 55+ with Nidia Funes and the Mixed 55+ with Mike Pawka ... who also won the men's 55+ with Kevin Dorr.

Finals Set for Sunday
Teams Try Not to Slump After Qualifying for U.S. National Team

The finals are set at the Ektelon 34th U.S. National Doubles Championships - presented by Penn Racquet Sports - after a day filled with exciting semifinal matches in which teams battled it out for a spot not only in the finals, but on the U.S. National team. Three of the four semifinal matches were decided by a tiebreaker and all of the matches were played hard to the end.

The "Stringers", Dan Llacera and Brian Pointelin, once again overcame the odds to earn their spot in the finals and more importantly, to them, on the U.S. National team . "I have been trying to get on this team for 13 years and Brian 6," said Llacera. "We have been looking for this kind of respect." They have earned it with their victory over Josh Tucker and Chris Wright in the semifinals.

Pointelin and Llacera came out hot in the first game and took it with surprising ease 15-4. Tucker and Wright came onto the court more focused for game two and won in equally dominating fashion 15-9. With the first two games being so lopsided it was anyone's guess who would come out on top in the tiebreaker. Llacera and Pointelin didn't leave the crowd guessing for long as they started on fire and finished on fire. "Our plan in the tiebreaker was to pass them every chance we got then I hit a reverse rollout backhand pinch and shouted to Brian, 'I am the best shooter on this court!" Llacera explained, "Brian told me to forget the pass, just keep shooting the ball." Llacera did just that and they finished with an 11-1 victory.

"This is just the most awesome feeling (to make the U.S. National team)," said Pointelin. "I couldn't describe it even if I tried." They have one more mountain to climb tomorrow against Ruben Gonzalez and Mike Guidry.

Gonzalez and Guidry were victorious in their match against Jason Thoerner and Mitch Williams 15-11, 15-9. This will mark the third year in a row that the team has made it to the finals of the U.S. National Doubles Championships winning it in 1999 and placing second last year. "Hopefully we will make it two out of three," said Guidry. "Ruben is playing great and I feel good about how we are playing together."

Gonzalez, at 50, is looking as good as he did at 30 and shows no signs of slowing up. "I want to play as long as my legs can keep up with my heart," he said. "When I was 40, I said I would retire at 45 then I won National Singles so I said I would retire at 50. Now that I made the finals of this I will have to push it back to 55 but don't quote me on that," he laughed. "It's all about having a good time."

Women's Preview
The women also played exciting matches in the semifinals - all of which went into a tiebreaker. Kim Russell and Cheryl Gudinas ruined Michelle Gould's return to tournament action by defeating her and her partner Kersten Hallander. The first game was tight with many ties and lead changes as both teams came through with clutch shots. In the end Gould and Hallander squeaked out the victory 15-14. The second game was much of the same but Gudinas and Russell came out on top 15-11 to force a deciding game.

In the tiebreaker it was all Russell and Gudinas as they jumped out to a big lead and never looked back. They were in control for the final game and rolled to an 11-1 victory. Russell made the final shot by flicking a forehand off the tip of her racquet that hit the front wall and died. "I have been in the finals of this tournament before and I feel like doubles is my forte," said Russell. "Because of that I was nervous this morning but I talked to my mom and she has a knack for saying the right things. I went into the match with a lot of confidence."

The other women's semifinal pitted Janel Tisinger and Kristen Walsh against Malia Bailey and Rhonda Rajsich. The first game was knotted up several times but Tisinger and Walsh pulled ahead in the end to take it 15-11. The second game was controlled much of the time by Bailey and Rajsich but tisinger and Walsh wouldn't go away, pulling within two at 9-7. That is when Bailey and Rajsich started to make their shots and cruised 15-9 to force a third game.

It looked as though Tisinger and Walsh would run away with the tiebreaker as they jumped out to a commanding 9-1 lead. "All I could think about was 'comeback'," said Rajsich. "I knew that if we were up 9-1 that the match wasn't over so just because they were up I knew it wasn't either." With their confidence still intact, Bailey and Rajsich began their amazing comeback. They finished the match on a 10-0 run based on Rajsich's amazing retrievals and Bailey's shooting. "I was thinking that I needed to do something different," said Bailey about the large deficit in the tiebreaker, "I just didn't know what it was so I started to hit a straight lob that I think they might have tried to do too much with."

Rajsich will try to make tomorrow extra special for herself by celebrating her birthday with a victory in the finals. "I came here to win this and tried not think of making the (U.S. National) team," she said. "In Houston I felt like I had a let down after I made the team so I went into this just thinking about winning. Tomorrow is my birthday so maybe it is meant to be."

Over/under: for number of racquets strung by Llacera & Pointelin for the entire weekend: 125. If you'd given Todd O'Neil a dollar on Wednesday, he'd have taken it. But ... considering their stellar clutch play throughout the tournament, 'ya never know. 

Gregg Peck told me today that he sees no difference in the way Ruben is playing now and as he did in the mid-80s. That, combined with Guidry missing only five shots all weekend, makes it a tough task for any team to overcome.

For the women, I've got to say that it will be a tough one to call. But Shirley Goodey-knees has been gathering gold medals at national championships like a 40-something mother of four at a flea market. And she's playing with Kim "money" Russell to boot. 

But Rhonda is looking real good; in fact, seeing her in last year's bikini spread has been burned into my memory. She's playing with my fellow coach, Malia Bailey, who I think is awesome. I would much rather see her playing Jim Hiser in a mixed doubles match ... so she can rip him again, but I'm sure she'll do well tomorrow. Money Lines: Gudinas/Russell = Bailey/Rajsich ... straight up, even money.

Mixing it Up
The only top seeded team to remain alive in the Men's Open after yesterday's quarterfinal round was made up of the legendary Ruben Gonzalez, at 50, and southpaw partner Mike Guidry, 35. They advanced against another righty/lefty team in Chris Crowther and Woody Clouse, in close games of 15-12, 15-13. Other team hopefuls to remain in the round are Jason Thoerner/Mitch Williams and Josh Tucker/Chris Wright.

Stringers Continue to Upset
The No. 15 seeded team of Dan Llacera and Brian Pointelin continued to surprise everyone in their defeat of the No.7 seeded team of Jack Huczek and Eric Muller in a hotly contested match that went to a tiebreaker. Llacera and Pointelin are not only playing in the tournament, but are the official stringers of the event and can be found stringing racquets just outside the exhibition court in their off hours.

The two sides battled back and forth in the first game, exchanging leads several times down the stretch. With Llacera and Pointelin serving for the first game with the score 14-13 a controversial call was made by the referee that had the two stringers fuming. Llacera called a time out to settle his team down before they came back on the court to take game one 15-13.

The second game belonged to Huczek and Muller as Huczek showed the skills that he used to win a U.S. National singles title last May. They jumped out to a 13-3 lead and never looked back, taking the second game 15-7 to force a deciding game.

In the tiebreaker Llacera and Pointelin took the initiative building an early 4-1 advantage. Huczek and Muller were able to rattle off three quick points to knot the score at 4-4. Again Llacera and Pointelin were able build a lead at 6-4 only to see Huczek and Muller tie things up again at 6-6. After another sideout which was created by Pointelin's amazing dives to keep the ball in play, the underdogs were able to take the lead for good and win the match 11-6 to earn their spot in the semifinals.

Another Surprise
In another stunning upset, top seeded defending champions Laura Fenton and Jackie Paraiso Rice were defeated in the quarterfinal round by No.8 seeded junior team alumni Janel Tisinger and Kristen Walsh. Formerly on the U.S. junior team, Tisinger held her own against pro tour regular Fenton on the right side, while current intercollegiate champion and Junior Female Athlete of the Year Walsh pressed newlywed Rice on the left.

After losing 15-3 in the first game, and narrowly salvaging the match 15-14 in the second, the youngsters charged out to a 10-0 lead in the tiebreak, but couldn't close out the match point. They exchanged side outs several times as the veteran pros picked at the lead to close it to 6-10 before the second service by Walsh opened the final exchange. After a long rally of ceiling shots and wide-angle passes, Walsh blasted a winning pass shot along the left wall, which edged past Rice with just enough angle to drop out of play in back court, with no hope of return by Fenton.

Highly ranked on the LPRA pro tour, both Fenton, 39, and Rice, 35, have been plagued by injuries over the past two years, including a recent ankle surgery by Rice over the summer off-season. But the youngsters – Tisinger at 18 and Walsh at 19 – were in top form in advancing past their veteran opponents. And they've got plenty of support from "racquetball moms" Debra Tisinger and Marianne Walsh, who competed against each other in the women's 35+ division between restless bouts of spectating in the stands.

The only other seed to fall in yesterday's round was No.4 Mary Lyons and Susan Pfahler, who were eliminated by the new pairing of Malia Bailey and Rhonda Rajsich. In the No.2 spot, the semi-un-retired Michelle Gould and Kersten Hallander advanced in straight games, as did the No.3 seeds, Cheryl Gudinas and Kim Russell.

Coincidentally, the No.2 and No.3 teams have "crossed over" in their new partnerships. Gould's last doubles win was with Gudinas (in '98) and Hallander teamed with Russell last year for a silver medal and a world title.

Double Duty
A couple of the event's top names will appear in two semifinals today: Mitch Williams will warm up with a mixed open match with partner Kristen Walsh and both will later make an appearance in their respective open division semis.

Cheryl Gudinas will also play an early match in the Mixed Open with Jack Huczek (the two are the current national singles champions), then follow-up with a women's open semi.

In the biggest upset of the day, the No. 15 seeded team, Dan Llacera (Robohoth Beach, N.J.) and Brian Pointelin (West Jordan, Utah), was able to defeat the No. 2 seeded team, Harnett and Karp, in a close match. Harnett and Karp started the match out hot, taking the first game 15-4 but in the second game Llacera and Pointelin came out just as hot jumping out to an 11-5 lead. That is when the local favorite Harnett began to hit his grove on serve. Behind his serves they were able to battle back and tie Llacera and Pointelin at 11-11. "Bret's (Harnett) serve was just awesome," said Pointelin. "I was just trying to give Dan as much room as he needed to try and return it." With the score tied, Llacera and Pointelin called a timeout to regroup. When they came back on the court the two sides battled it out until Llacera and Pointelin were able to pull out the win,15-13, to force a deciding game.

In the tiebreaker Llacera and Pointelin jumped out to another huge lead 7-0 and again Harnett and Karp were able to close the gap, heavily relying on Harnett's serve, and eventually got to match point with a 10-7 lead. "I just told Dan (Llacera) to keep shooting," said Pointelin. "I thought we were playing well even when they made their comeback. We just had to relax and play our game." The strategy worked as Llacera and Pointelin received a side-out when Harnett hit his serve long and eventually they knotted the score at 10-10. Llacera then hit a lob serve to Harnett that he was able to return for the match, 11-10.

"Knowing how well Bret played on the pro tour it was just an honor to be able to be on the court with him," said Pointelin. "Seeing that we were able to win against such great players made it all the better."

Harnett is still alive in the tournament playing in the men's 35-and-over division with Greg Peck (Flower Mound, Texas) - another former top ranked pro. They are scheduled to play against Glen Warren (Orange Park, Fla.) and Curtis Winter (Jacksonville, Fla.) in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Also recording an upset was Matt Gehling (Annapolis, Mary.) and Brent Walters (Raleigh, N.C.) over the No. 3 seeded team of Drew Kachtik (Louisville, Texas) and former world doubles champion Todd O'Neil (Dallas, Texas). Gehling and Walters were in control of the entire match and won easily 15-6, 15-7.

Brian Fredenberg (The Colony, Texas) and Jim Minkle (Houston, Texas) were able to surprise the No. 4 seeded team of Michael Bronfeld (Pacific Grove, Calif.) and Doug Ganim (Westerville, Ohio) in a close match 7-15, 15-9, 11-7. To round out the list of upsets, Jason Thoerner (Atlanta, Ga.) and Mitch Williams (Washington, N.C.) got past the No. 5 seeded team of Jonathan Dunn (Newhall, Calif.) and Greg Solis (Orange, Calif.) in straight games 15-14, 15-9.

The top three seeds in the men's open division had the day off and will begin play Thursday, including defending champion Adam Karp and Las Vegas native Bret Harnett in the No.2 seed position. Harnett did warm up with an early round match in his age division, pairing with former pro tour rival Gregg Peck in the Men's 35+.

The only top seeded team to see action on Wednesday was the No.4 seeded duo of Michael Bronfeld (Pacific Grove, Calif.) and Doug Ganim (Westerville, Ohio), who advanced easily past Steve Black and David Timmons (St. George, Utah) 15-4, 15-7.

The current U.S. National Singles champion Jack Huczek (Rochester Hills, Mich.) and his partner Eric Muller (New York, N.Y.) were seeded No.7 as they went up against Jimmy Lowe (Fairbanks, Alaska) and Jeff Stark (Olympia, Wash.). After surviving a close second game, Huczek and Muller were able to win the match in two, 15-5, 15-12.

U.S. National Intercollegiate Champion Shane Vanderson (Dublin, Ohio) along with his partner Mike Dennison (Tallmadge, Ohio) were able to win their match in straight games against Ryan Drumm (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Son Nguyen (Huntington Beach, Calif.) 15-5, 15-4.

And although Las Vegas native Bret Harnett didn't see action in the open division on Wednesday, he played in the 35-and-over division with partner Gregg Peck (Flower Mound, Texas). The two blew past their opponents 15-10, 15-5. Thursday Harnett and Adam Karp will face their first competition in the open division when they go up against Dan Llacera (Rehoboth Beach, Del.) and Brian Pointelin (West Jordan, Utah).

The women's open division also starts play tomorrow, with competition by all but the top four seeds, who have all advanced with a bye into the quarterfinal round that begins on Friday.

“The reason for the large draw is the location,” said tournament director Jim Hiser. “Doubles has been on the east coast for the past three years. In Vegas, it's driving distance for the people on the west coast.” Hiser is referring to the popularity of the sport on the west coast — especially California, which boasts the most USRA members, and the largest state contingent, with 174 players on its roster.

Due to the large numbers, the tournament had to be played at two separate clubs - The Las Vegas Sporting House and the Chuck Minker Sports Complex. The playing schedule also had to be expanded to accomodate the load; matches have been scheduled as early as 8:00 am and as late as 11:00 pm, Wednesday through Sunday.

“I have never seen anything like this,” said Hiser. “This is definitely the largest tournament that I have ever been involved with.” Hiser would know ... he's been the Associate Executive Director for Programming at the USRA, in charge of running its national events, for over ten years. Before that, he ran a successful tournament series in Michigan for several years.

Among the staff, there are substantial concerns to overcome with a tournament this size. “It is more difficult to do the draws; more people, two clubs ... alot of people are playing three divisions,” says Hiser.

Flight delays, late arrivals, entry corrections and "I can't get off work until 5:00" requests compound the problems. “Not only are the problems more numerous, but we've figured out that it takes about a half an hour just to do a single time change. [To do so] you need to check that person's divisions for time conflicts, plus their partner's and opponents times in each of their individual divisions. It becomes very time consuming.”

“All in all, the extra efforts are worth it. It [having a tournament this large] is good for the sport.”

In 1986, Todd O'Neil won the world doubles championship with Jack Nolan, followed by three back-to-back wins by Doug Ganim in '88, '90 and '92 (the first two with Dan Obremski, the last with Eric Muller). Muller followed up with a second world title, with John Ellis, in '94 and Adam Karp earned the U.S.'s most recent world doubles titles in '96 and '98.

For the women, the current world champions – Kersten Hallander and Kim Russell – have split up to pair with Michelle Gould and Cheryl Gudinas, respectively. Jackie Paraiso leads the list of world doubles titlists with four ('90, '94, '96, '98), followed by Malia Bailey with three ('84, '90, '92) and Laura Fenton with one in 1994.

Native Las Vegas business owner Brett Harnett is paired with defending doubles champion Adam Karp of Stockton, California. Karp won the event last year with another partner, earning him the the No. 2 seed with Harnett. Finalists in the men's and women's open divisions will earn a spot on the U.S. National Racquetball team.

Harnett, 37, was born and raised in Las Vegas where he attended Las Vegas Valley High. Currently he shares ownership of Excavators Corp. with his father, Dan. The company primarily deals with the building of commercial and residential swimming pools. "My father first started in the business around 1964," says Harnett. "He stopped doing it for awhile, then about 7 or 8 years ago he decided to start it up again and that is when I started with him."

Before that, Harnett was a regular on the pro racquetball tour, where he earned several tournament wins and finished as high as fourth in the season ending rankings. "I was ranked number one from time to time during the season," says Harnett. "But I wasn't ever able to win a pro national title."

This week he has another chance to earn a national title - one that would earn him a spot on the U.S. National team. "I was always playing the pro events so I never had a chance to make a national team before," says Harnett. "That would really be something." If he is able to make the national team, Harnett would become eligible to travel worldwide representing the United States at tournaments such as the Pan-American Games, World Championships, and the Tournament of the Americas.

The U.S. National Doubles Championships begin Wednesday at 8:00 am and are played at the Las Vegas Sporting House located at 3025 Industrial Road behind the Stardust Resort and Casino, and at the Chuck Meeker Athletic Complex at 275 North Mojave Road. The tournament continues through Sunday, at both venues, with no charge for spectators to view the action.