PARC 15th Tournament of the Americas
Pan American Games Qualifying Trials
Cochabamba, Bolivia: March
22-31, 2002
preview | drawsheets | finals & finishers
The two-part event featured round-robin play in the first segment, followed by single elimination draw play for individual TOA titles and team finishes. But from the outset the U.S. women's roster was weakened by the injury withdrawal of Cheryl Gudinas, who suffered from a series of maladies throughout the week. Sidelined from play, she was replaced in singles by Rhonda Rajsich, who was already paired with Kim Russell in doubles. By the end of the week, Rajsich had fallen to Canada's Josee GrandMaitre in the semi-final round of singles, and - with Russell - been eliminated in the doubles semi-final by the Canadian team of Lori-Jane Powell and Karina Odegard. Powell and Odegard went on to take the women's doubles title over Bolivian challengers Paola Nunez and Carola Santos, with narrow straight game wins. But Laura Fenton, from the #2 roster spot, salvaged the women's singles title for the U.S., with back to back wins against Canadians Jan Saunders in the semi-final, and GrandMaitre in the final.
Upsets over top-ranked U.S. men came in the semi-final rounds, where current national champion Jack Huczek lost in straight games of 15-6, 15-11 to Mexico's Javier Moreno, and 2001 champ Rocky Carson went to a tiebreaker against Canadian national champion Kane Waselenchuk, before falling in the third game, 11-2. Waselenchuk later defeated Moreno in the final, with another tiebreaker victory. In doubles, current national champions Ruben Gonzalez and Mike Guidry advanced through one tiebreaker after another, the last against Mexico's Polo Gutierrez and Gilberto Mejia ... which went down to the wire with an 11-10 third game score.
In a pre-event year, the 2002 Tournament of the Americas event also served as both a qualifier, and seeding playoff, for positioning for the quadrennial Pan American Games. Separate tallies, reflecting advances by all roster players (individually in singles and doubles) on each national team, will play an important role in the setting the draws for the 2003 Pan American Games [seeding]. Each year's TOA event also hosts a "Friendship Cup" playoff for team associates, which was dominated by the Bolivian contingent this year.
| Men's Singles: | Kane Waselenchuk (Canada) def. Javier Moreno (Mexico) 15-5, 14-15, 11-8 |
| Women's Singles: | Laura Fenton (USA) def. Josee GrandMaitre (Canada) 15-6, 15-11 |
| Men's Doubles: | Ruben Gonzalez/Mike Guidry (USA) def. Polo Gutierrez/Gilberto Mejia (Mexico) 15-10, 4-15, 11-10 |
| Women's Doubles: | Lori-Jane Powell/Karina Odegard (Canada) def. Paola Nunez/Carola Santos (Bolivia) 15-14, 15-14 |
| Overall Team (points) | Men's Team | Women's Team |
| 1. USA (80) | 1. USA (40) | 1. Canada (45) |
| 1. Canada (80) | 2. Canada (35) | 2. USA (40) |
| 3. Mexico (55) | 2. Mexico (35) | 3. Bolivia (22) |
| 4. Bolivia (34) | 4. Argentina (13) | 4. Mexico (20) |
| 5. Chile (18) | 5. Bolivia (12) | 5. Chile (11) |
| 5. Colombia (18) | 5. Colombia (12) | 6. Dominican Republic (8) |
| 7. Argentina (13) | 7. Chile (7) | 7. Venezuela (7) |
| 8. Dominican Republic (9) | 8. Ecuador (6) | 8. Colombia (6) |
| 9. Venezuela (7) | 9. Guatemala (3) | 9. Guatemala (1) |
| 10. Ecuador (6) | 10. Puerto Rico (1) | 10. Argentina |
| 11. Guatemala (4) | 10. Dominican Republic (1) | 11. Ecuador |
| 12. Puerto Rico (1) | 12. Venezuela | 12. Puerto Rico |
| Men's Singles | Men's Doubles | Women's Singles | Women's Doubles |
| 1. Canada | 1. USA | 1. USA | 1. Canada |
| 2. Mexico | 2. Mexico | 2. Canada | 2. Bolivia |
| 3. USA | 3. Canada | 3. Mexico | 3. USA |
| 4. Colombia | 4. Argentina | 4. Bolivia | 4. Mexico |
| 5. Bolivia | 5. Colombia | 5. Chile | 5. Dom. Republic |
| 6. Argentina | 6. Bolivia | 6. Dom. Republic | 6. Chile |
| 7. Chile | 7. Ecuador | 7. Venezuela | 7. Colombia |
| 8. Ecuador | 8. Chile | 8. Colombia | 8. Venezuela |
| 9. Guatemala | 9. Guatemala | 9. Guatemala | 9. Guatemala |
| 10. Dom. Republic | 10. Dom. Republic | 10. Ecuador | 10. Ecuador |
| 11. Venezuela | 11. Venezuela | 11. Argentina | |
| 12. Puerto Rico | 12. Puerto Rico |
The Tournament of the Americas
"Friendship Cup" invitational tournament features delegates, coaches
and support staff from the national teams represented. Team finishes in this
informal event were 1. Bolivia, 2. Canada, 3. Argentina.
Men's A: Sergio Rivera (Bol) def. Luis Copa (Bol);
3. Ricardo Prada (BRA), 4. Carlos Contreras (Col)
Men's B: Herbert Valaflor (Bol) def. Juan Pablo Caravacal (Bol); 3. Richard
Abella (Col), 4. Humberto Lopez (Bol)
Men's C: Augusto Vasquez (Bol) def. Willie Vega (Bol); 3. Christian Retamae
(Chi), 4. Alejandro Orios (Bol)
Men's 35: J.C. Miranda (Bol) def. Grover Gutierrez (Bol); 3. Armando Quinteros
(Bol), 4. Randy Pontland (Can)
Men's 45: Wilde Moscosa (Bol) def. Rufo Miranda (Bol); 3. Miguel Jaurequi (Bol),
4. Usher Barnoff (Can)
Women's A: Natalie Salazar (Bol) def. Angela Flores (Bol); 3. Gabriela
Melendrez (Bol), 4. Claudia Melandrez (Bol)
Women's B: Sandra Ballon (Bol) def. Carla Nichols (Bol); 3. Ruth Almarez (Bol),
4. Andrea Cuellar (Bol)
Boys 16: Jorge Zambrana (Bol) def. Alvaro Rolabado (Bol); 3. Gabriel Arcondozo
(Bol), 4. Luis Vargas (Bol)
Boys 14: Ahmed Eid (Bol) def. Kadim Carrasco (Bol); 3. Arnold Rocha (Bol)
Girls 16: Paola Bohorquez (Bol) def. Jenny Daza (Bol); 3. Daniela Fossati (Bol),
4. Claudia Nunez (Bol)
Senior Doubles: Grover Gutierrez/Geraldo Barreta (Bol) def. Javier Cremer/Juan
Carlos Miranda (Bol)