2002 Head USRA 29th
Junior Olympic Championships
Presented by Head/Penn Racquet Sports

Athletic Club of Bloomingdale
Chicago, Illinois: June 26-30

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Huczek, in his last year of junior eligibility, attempts to earn his third straight 18- singles title against Illinois native Ben Croft (Lake Bluff, Ill.). Huczek has rolled through the competition this year including his 15-7, 15-6 semifinal victory over Clay Burris (Brandon, Fla.). Croft, unseeded, advanced into the finals with a win over David Chirban (Rolla, Mo.) 15-11, 15-8. Croft defeated the No. 2 seed earlier in the tournament, but expects to have his hands full against top seeded Huczek.

It was an all Oregon semifinal in the boy's 16- when No. 1 Dan Sheppick (Milwaukie, Ore.) defeated No. 4 Charlie Pratt (Portland, Ore.) 15-5, 15-9. Sheppick finished second at the USRA National High School Championships earlier in the year. Croft also made the finals in the boy's 16- when he defeated Drew Toland (Parkin, Ark.) 15-0, 15-5. The win gives Croft a chance to earn two gold medals in singles competition.

Former Sports Illustrated Young Sportsman of the Year (2000) and top seed Chris Coy (Elk City, Okla.) earned a spot in the boy's 14- championship match. Coy's left leg was amputated when he was just four years old. He now plays with the help of a prosthetic leg and was recently honored at the Shriner's 128th Imperial Council Session staged in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Coy will face unseeded Mike Keddie (Manchester, N.H.) for the championship. Keddie advanced into the finals when No. 2 Jose Rojas (Stockton, Calif.) was forced to withdraw from the tournament for health reasons.

Adrienne Fisher earned spots in both the girl's 18- and 16- singles divisions, where she was the top seed in both divisions. Fisher won the girl's 16- national title last year, as well as the 16- world title. She defeated Jeni Fuller (Albuquerque, N.M.) in straight games 15-4, 15-2 in the 18-singles. Fisher will face Janel Tisinger (Simi, Calif.) in the finals who defeated Adrienne's younger sister Kelly in a tiebreaker 15-3, 7-15, 11-2.

Kelly did make the finals in the girl's 16- by defeating No. 2 Elise Wilson (Bristol, Conn.). Kelly won the first game 15-9 but Wilson evened things up by taking the second 15-13. Kelly brought her game to a new level in the tiebreaker and blanked Wilson 11-0 to earn a spot in the finals where she will face sister Adrienne. Adrienne defeated Da'Monique Davis (San Antonio, Texas) 15-5, 15-8 for a shot at two singles titles.

No. 1 Ashley Willhite (Klamath Falls, Ore.) defeated Rebeka Kopf (Babylon, N.Y.) in straight games 15-10, 15-1. Kopf upset the No. 4 seed Friday but Wilson ended her run just short of the finals. Willhite will face No. 3 Sarah Hettesheimer (Cincinnati, Ohio) who upset No. 2 Danielle Pimental (Corvallis, Ore.). Hettesheimer was forced to comeback against Pimental after narrowly dropping the first game 15-14. Hetteshiemer's game then picked up as she took the next two games 15-3, 11-8.

Oregon has a substantial lead in the team standings followed by Ohio and California. Oregon has won 10 consecutive national team titles and was favored to repeat this year.

In boy's 18- action top seeded and defending champion Jack Huczek continued to roll through the competition by defeating Marc Moccia (Haverhill, Mass.) 15-1, 15-0. No. 2 Mike Lawrence wasn't so lucky as he was upset by Illinois native Ben Croft (Lake Bluff, Ill.), 10-15, 15-10, 11-5, in one of the most entertaining matches of the day. The other upset in the boy's 18- was by David Chirban (Rolla, Mo.) who defeated No. 3 Travis Woodbury (Arlington, Va.) 15-13, 8-15, 11-8. No. 5 Clay Burris (Brandon, Fla.) ended Darren Prince's (Baxter, Minn.) run in another close match 15-6, 11-15, 11-5.

No. 1 Dan Sheppick (Milwaukie, Ore.) continued towards the finals by defeating Jordan Walters (Fayetteville, N.C.) 15-7, 15-0, in the boy's 16-. No. 3 Shane Karmelin (Dacula, Ga.) got past Bradley Butler (Clarksville, Tenn.) 15-4, 15-6, and Charles Pratt (Portland, Ore.) defeated Anthony Herrera (Grand Junciton, Colo.) 15-12, 15-10. Unseeded Drew Toland (Parkin, Ark.) also made it into the semifinals when he beat Brady Hernandez (Harvey, La.), who upset the No. 2 seed Thursday, 15-13, 15-13.

Top seed Chris Coy (Elk City, Okla.) moved into the semifinals and closer to his dream of making the team when he downed Brady Prince (Baxter, Minn.) 15-8, 15-4. Jose Rojas (Stockton, Calif.) also advanced past Brandon Callahan (Anchorage, Alaska) 15-9, 15-11. Rojas, who is also seeded in the boy's 12-, was forced to forfeit out of the 12- division due to medical concerns. It has yet to be seen if he will continue in the 14-. No. 4 Ishmael Aldana (Stockton, Calif.) defeated Richard Sledzik (Brockton, Mass.) 15-7, 15-2 and Mike Keddie (Manchester, N.H.), who defeated the No. 3 seed Thursday, rounded out the semifinals by defeating Brad Starken (Muskego, Wisc.) 15-4, 15-1.

On the girl's side the Fisher sisters are beginning to resemble the Williams sisters in tennis. Both Adrienne and Kelley (Centerville, Ohio) earned semifinal spots in the girl's 18- and 16- divisions. Adrienne defeated Laurie Fisk (Kirkwood, Mo.) 15-6, 15-5 in the girl's 18- and Kimberly Walsh (Salt Lake City, Utah) in the girl's 16-. Kelly upset No. 3 Elise Wilson (Bristol, Conn.) 15-9, 15-5 in the 18- and got past Kynzie Dalton (Klamath Falls, Ore.) 15-14, 15-13 in the girl's 16-. If both sisters win Saturday they would face each other in the finals of both divisions.

Also advancing in the girl's 18- were No. 2 Janel Tisinger (Simi, Calif.) over Cari Mitlitsky (Fresh Meadows, N.Y.) 15-5, 15-7. Jeni Fuller (Albuquerque, N.M.) avenged her younger sisters earlier loss to Da'Monique Davis (San Antonio, Texas) in the girl's 16- to advance to the girl's 18- semifinals 15-11, 15-10.

Elise Wilson will get another shot at Kelly Fisher Saturday in the girl's 16- semifinals. Wilson made a comeback against Katie Ferguson (Portland, Ore.) in a tight match 9-15, 15-10, 11-8. As mentioned before, Da'Monique Davis defeated Jesi Fuller 15-11, 7-15, 11-8.

The top three seeds advanced in the girl's 14- but the fourth seed fell victim to an upset. Rebeka Kopf (Babylon, N.Y.) lost the first game to No. 4 Kara Mazur (Avon, Conn.) 9-15 but came back to win the next two 15-4, 11-9 to advance. No. 1 Ashley Willhite (Klamath Falls, Ore.), No. 2 Dannielle Pimental (Corvallis, Ore.), and No. 3 Sarah Hettesheimer (Cincinnati, Ohio) joined Kopf in the semifinals with straight game victories.

Brady Hernandez (Harvey, La.) surprised the crowd with his play and upset No. 2 Joey Lakowske (Corvallis, Ore.) in straight games, 15-4, 15-9. Hernandez played superbly in both games and never let Lakowske gain momentum. Everytime that Lakowske seemed to earn a side out or a point Hernandez was there to retrieve the ball for a winner of his own.

Top seeded Dan Sheppick (Milwaukie, Ore.) earned a spot in the quarterfinals by defeating Chris Weber (Billings, Mont.) 15-0, 15-0. No. 3 Shane Karmelin (Dacula, Ga.) and No. 4 Charles Pratt (Portland, Ore.) also advanced in straight games.

There were no upsets in the boy's 18- although No. 3 Travis Woodbury (Arlington, Va.) narrowly escaped with a victory. Woodbury won the first game against Patric Mascorro (Georgetown, Texas) 15-11, but Mascorro won the second game to force a tiebreaker. Moscorro kept Woodbury off balance by sometimes showing a soft touch as opposed to his usual hard, power game. In the end, however, Woodbury pulled out the victory with the help of some spectacular serves, 11-10.

Darrin Prince (Baxter, Minn.), who upset the No. 4 seed Wednesday, continued toward the finals by defeating John Fly (Dayton, Ohio) 15-5, 15-3. Top seeded Jack Huczek (Rochester, Mich.) and No. 2 Mike Lawrence (Memphis, Tenn.) also advanced into the quarterfinals.

There was also an upset in the boy's 14- when Mike Keddie (Manchester, N.H.) defeated third seeded David LaForest (Queens Village, N.Y.) in straight games 15-8, 15-14. Other top seeds in the boy's 14- advanced including No. 1 Chris Coy (Elk City, Okla.) who has only given up a combined five points in the two matches he has played thus far.

There weren't many matches played Thursday in the girl's singles divisions but play picks up on Friday with all divisions slated to compete. Girl's 18- top seed Adrienne Fisher (Centerville, Ohio) was in action and defeated Jocelyn Ntaba (Portland, Ore.) 15-0, 15-0. Other action taking place was in the girl's 14- where Alyson Webb (Westerville, Ohio) advanced by defeating Erin Egan (Chicago, Ill.) 15-6, 15-11, and Rebeka Kopf (Babylon, N.Y.) got past Kristen Johnson (Mountain Home, Ark.) 15-6, 15-7.

Coy was diagnosed with cancer at only five months, and had surgery that removed a tumor, his spleen and a kidney. After recovering, he was hit at the age of three by a devastating bacterial infection.

"Because of the infection, I had no circulation, and they had to amputate my left foot," said Chris, now 14.

He did not let that stop him and after his parents bought a health club when he was 6, Coy began to play racquetball. "I started watching other guys play at the club and I wanted to try it," Coy said. "I knew that when I got in there and started hitting racquetballs it was what I wanted to do."

Chris entered his first tournament at age 8 and won. Later he went on to win a state championship and an adult national singles championship in men's B. Most recently Coy won another adult national singles title in May, competing against opponents twice his age and with no handicap, in men's A - the second highest skill division offered. But at the moment all of Coy's attention is on making the U.S. Junior National Team this week.

"Right now I'm concentrating on making the team," he explains. "If I get to the semifinals and win then I will begin to really focus on winning the championship." Coy finished fourth last year, just one spot off of the team. The top three finishers in the boy's and girl's 18-, 16-, and 14-and-under singles divisions earn positions.

If he makes the team Coy looks forward to competing for the U.S. at the International Racquetball Federation [IRF] World Junior Championships this December in Orlando, Florida. "I sure would like to play David Ortega again in the finals," Coy said. Ortega (Chihuahua, Mexico) defeated Coy in the 1998 boy's 10- world junior championship final. After that he would like to pursue a career on the men's International Racquetball Tour [IRT].

The top three seeds in the boy's 18- division advanced easily in straight games but the fourth seed was upset early. Darrin Prince (Baxter, Minn.) upset No. 4 Jacob Karmelin (Dacula, Ga.) 15-5, 15-11 in the round of 32. Top seed and defending champion Jack Huczek (Rochester, Mich.) stayed on track to three-peat by defeating Mike DeGonia (Palos Park, Ill.) 15-1, 15-3. Also advancing was No. 2 Mike Lawrence (Memphis, Tenn.) and No. 3 Travis Woodbury (Arlington, Va.).

All of the top seeds advanced in the boy's 16- singles division in straight games but there were some nail biters in some of the other matches. No. 7 Drew Toland (Parkin, Ark.) needed a tiebreaker to get past Devin Drury (Bellingham, Wash.). Toland edged Drury in the first game 15-14 but the match was tied up one game apiece after Drury won the second 15-11. Toland then advanced into the next round by winning the tiebreaker 15-11.

Adrienne Fisher (Centerville, Ohio) is the No. 1 seed in both the girl's 18- and 16- singles divisions. She received byes in each of her divisions and doesn't begin play until Thursday. Other top seeds in action in the girl's 18- division were No. 2 Janel Tisinger (Simi, Calif.) who defeated Lauren Ritter (St. Louis, Mo.) 15-5, 15-3. No. 3 Elise Wilson (Bristol, Conn.) and No. 4 Jeni Fuller (Albuquerque, N.M.) also advanced in straight games.

There was also action in the girl's 16- division Wednesday. Wilson, seeded second in that division, got past Ritter 15-2, 15-4. Following the lead of their older sisters and advancing were No. 3 Kelley Fisher (Centerville, Ohio), the younger sister of Adrienne, and Jesi Fuller (Albuquerque, N.M.), the younger sister of Jeni.

Play continues Thursday at the Athletic Club of Bloomingdale located at 321 Edgewater Drive in Bloomingdale, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The tournament concludes on Sunday with all finals matches and a medal presentation for the winners of each division.

Huczek is the only junior player to win each age group division twice during his career. His first national championships came in 1991 in the boy's 8-and-under division. "It's hard to believe it has been eleven years," Huczek said in an interview before his first match. "I'm getting old!" Since then he has amassed 19 national junior titles - 12 in singles and 7 in doubles.

Huczek has not only had success on a national level but also on a world level. He has also won every junior world age division twice. Huczek has been named the USRA Junior Athlete of the Year for two straight years and is seemingly a lock for this year's award. If he does then he will join Shane Wood (Worcester, Mass.) as the only three-time winner. "Winning the award twice was an honor," Huczek said. "Adding another to that would be the best way I could end my junior career."

When most juniors are nearing the end of their junior eligibility they begin to think about entering the adult ranks - Huczek has already done that. He just completed his first full year on the International Racquetball Tour [IRT] and finished the season ranked No. 5 in the world. He is a member of the U.S. Adult National Team that will head to Puerto Rico in August to compete in the International Racquetball Federation [IRF] World Championships.

Huczek has already competed for the U.S. once in international competition at this year's Tournament of the Americas in Cocabamba, Bolivia, where he was a semifinalist. "My first international trip was great learning experience," Huczek commented. "As I prepare for the World Championships, I look forward to representing the USA with great pride." He, with his teammates, will try to regain the World Cup that was lost to Canada at the last world championships.

Huczek, along with over 250 of the nations best junior racquetball players, will compete through Sunday at the Athletic Club of Bloomingdale. There are 18 spots up for grabs on the U.S. Junior National Team awarded to the top three finishers in the boy's and girl's 18-, 16-, and 14-and-under singles divisions. Huczek won his first match Wednesday against Mike DeGonia (Palos Park, Ill.) 15-1, 15-3.

Tuesday, 06/25: Junior Olympics set to Begin in Chicago

Top seeded Jack Huczek (Rochester Hills, Mich.) aims to three-peat as the boy's 18-and-under national champion in his last year of junior eligibility. Huczek is the only player to win each age division twice throughout his junior career. Age divisions are separated in two-year increments. Huczek won the title last year without dropping a game on his way to a world junior title and the USRA Junior Athlete of the Year Award.

Dan Sheppick (Milwaukie, Ore.) earned the top seed in boy's 16-and-under singles. Sheppick lost in the semifinals last year to eventual champion Steven Klaiman (Bellaire, Texas). Klaiman is out this year due to a broken ankle. Expected to challenge Sheppick is No. 2 Joey Lakowske (Corvallis, Ore.) who finished third in boy's 14-and-under singles last year.

Chris Coy (Elk City, Okla.) is the boy's 14-and-under top seed after finishing fourth last year. Coy, whose left foot and ankle amputated at the age of four due to cancer complications plays using a prosthetic leg. Coy was named the 2000 Sports Illustrated Young Sportsman of the Year. His top challenger is expected to be Jose Rojas (Stockton, Calif.) who is also the top seed in the boy's 12-and-under singles division.

Adrienne Fisher (Centerville, Ohio) was named the top seed in both the girl's 18-and-under and 16-and-under singles divisions. Fisher, who just turned 17 last month, already has several professional tournaments under her belt. Last year she won the girl's 16-and-under and finished third in the girl's 18-and-under.

No. 2 in the girl's 18-and-under singles is Janel Tisinger (Simi Valley, Calif.) followed by No. 3 Elise Wilson (Bristol, Conn.) and No. 4 Jeni Fuller (Albuquerque, N.M.). Wilson also earned a seed (No. 2) in the girl's 16-and-under singles followed by Adrienne's sister Kelly at No. 3 and Jesi Fuller (Albuquerque, N.M.) rounding out the top four.

The main venue for the tournament is the Athletic Club of Bloomingdale with additional matches to be played at the B.R. Ryall YMCA. There are over 250 players competing in 28 singles and doubles divisions separated in two-year increments from 6-and-under to 18-and-under. There is no charge for spectators to view the action.