1999 ProKennex 11th IRF
World Junior Championships

Los Caballeros Sports Village
Fountain Valley, California: December 17-22

dailies

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Team USA Captures World Junior Championship Titles [12/22]

Team USA swept the team divisions at the Pro Kennex 11th International Racquetball Federation's World Junior Championships presented by Penn Racquet Sports at the Los Caballeros Sports Village in Fountain Valley, Calif., by winning the boys' and girls' team titles, as well as the overall team title. Team Mexico finish second in the three team divisions, and Canada took third.

Team USA swept many of the older divisions, taking all the medals in the six divisions, including the boys' 18-and-under singles and doubles and the boys' 16-and-under singles divisions.

After taking the silver medal last year, Josh Tucker (Joplin, Mo.) grabbed the title of world junior champion by defeating Shane Vanderson (Dublin, Ohio) in a tiebreaker in the boys' 18-and-under singles division, 15-13, 11-15, 11-7. However, Vanderson will not leave southern California without a gold medal. He and Stephen Lewis (Kennewick, Wash.) took the doubles title.

The title of girls' 18-and-under world champion went to Brooke Crawford (Klamath Falls, Ore.) with her 15-12, 15-8 win over teammate Sara Borland (Bettendorf, Iowa). Crawford and Borland captured the doubles title together earlier in the day over Canadians Genevieve Brodeur and Veronique Guillemette.

Crawford and Tucker are the co-captains of this year's U.S. Junior National Team.

Jack Huczek (Rochester Hills, Mich.) swept the boys'16-and-under titles, by winning the singles division over Bart Crawford (Klamath Falls, Ore.), 15-6, 15-3, and winning the doubles division with Crawford over fellow U.S.-athletes Patric Mascorro (Houston, Texas) and Rusty Powell (Baton Rouge, La.).

The girls' 16-and-under title went to Kristen Walsh (Salt Lake City, Utah), who knocked off Karina Odegard of Canada, 15-14, 15-9. Walsh took the silver medal in the doubles division to Lauren Deutsch (Studio City, Calif.) and Crystal Winfrey (Powell, Ohio). Californian residents took home three gold, one silver and four bronze medals from the world junior championships held in their home state.

Team USA Dominates Semifinals at World Junior Championships [12/21]

The first round of gold medals were awarded today at Los Caballeros Sports Village in Fountain Valley, Calif., as the ProKennex 11th International Racquetball Federation’s World Junior Championships began to draw to a close. Five of the 30 divisions held their finals today, with the USA picking up three gold medals and Mexico two in the 8- and 10-and-under divisions.

Although teams traveled from around the world to compete in the event, Wedneday’s finals will not have much of an international flavor to them as Team USA dominated most of the older divisions. U.S. athletes Jack Huczek (Rochester Hills, Mich.) and Bart Crawford (Klamath Falls, Ore.) will battle together in the morning for the gold medal in the boys’ 16-and-under doubles division, but will become adversaries in the afternoon as they take the court against each other in the singles’ gold medal match.

Team USA’s Shane Vanderson (Dublin, Ohio) knocked off his teammate Stephen Lewis (Kennewick, Wash.) today en route to Wednesday’s boys’ 18-and-under gold medal round. However, he will join him in seeking gold in the doubles division against two more U.S. athletes, Matt Gehling (Annapolis, Md.) and Michael Harmon (Sarasota, Fla.).

The top girls’ divisions do have a little more international flavor, with a few players from north of the border making it into the finals. Brooke Crawford (Klamath Falls, Ore.) and Sara Borland (Bettendorf, Iowa) will face each other in the 18-and-under singles finals, but will first team together against Canada’s Genevieve Brodeur and Veronique Guillemette for the doubles title. In the 16-and-under division, Krystal Csuk (Naperville, Ill.) was on track to meet her doubles partner Kristan Walsh (CLC, Utah) in the singles gold medal match, but Canadian Karina Odegard derailed her efforts today in the semifinals.

U.S. athletes will meet each other in 10 of the 30 singles and doubles division finals, giving Team USA a strong sense of security in the race to be known as the best in the world. Play will kick off this morning at Los Caballeros Sports Village at 9 a.m. and will conclude with the boys’ 18-and-under division final at 4 p.m

Team USA Moves Closer to Repeating World Junior Team Title [12/20]

Los Caballeros Sports Village in Fountain Valley, Calif., continues to be abuzz with activity as it hosts the ProKennex 11th International Racquetball Federation's World Junior Championships presented by Penn Racquet Sports. Team USA increased its chances of bringing home the overall team title with impressive wins during Monday's quarterfinal play.

The USA guaranteed itself a gold medal in the boys' 18-and-under singles division today, as four U.S. players advanced to Tuesday's semifinals. Shane Vanderson (Dublin, Ohio) faced the toughest match in the quarterfinals when he played Mexico's Erwin Bernal. After squeaking out the first game 15-14, Vanderson was unable to put away the match in the second game, losing 14-15. He rallied back in the tiebreaker to win the quarterfinal match 11-9.

James Ford (Riverton, Wyo.) topped Mitch Williams (Washington, N.C.) to advance to the 18-and-under single semifinals in a tiebreaker match, 15-9, 12-15, 11-7. Josh Tucker (Joplin, Mo.) and Stephen Lewis (Kennewick, Wash.) also advanced into the semi-final rounds, after straight-game wins.

The USA and Canada will face off in the semifinals of the girls' 18-and-under singles division as Oregon's Brooke Crawford will meet Canada's Genevieve Brodeur and Iowa's Sara Borland will face Canada's Veronique Guillemette Tuesday for the right to advance to Wednesday's finals. While Crawford and Brodeur breezed into their semifinal matches, the lower half of the bracket proved to be a battle ground today. Borland dropped her first game to Michelle Gonzales, 7-15, but rallied back to win 15-2, 11-3, while Guillemette took hometown favorite Lauren Deutsch to a tiebreaker, 10-15, 15-10, 11-2.

The USA also locked up the boys' 16-and-under division as Jack Huczek (Rochester Hills, Mich.), Andy Hawthorne (Champaign, Ill.), Bart Crawford (Klamath Falls, Ore.) and Matt McElhiney (Bradenton, Fla.) all advanced to the semifinals. Hawthorne squeaked out a win Erik Leetch (Silam Springs, Ark.), 15-13, 9-15, 11-6, while McElhiney had some trouble with Mexico's Eduardo Ortego, 9-15, 15-11, 11-4. Huczek and Crawford both breezed through the quarterfinals in not only singles, but doubles as well. The partners knocked off Rey Garcia and Michael Rojas, 15-9, 15-7.

From Joey Lakowske, Corvallis, Oregon [12/20]

Joey played Chris Coy in the quarterfinals of the boys' 12-and-under singles division. Coy, who plays with an artificial leg, took the first game, 15-12, over Joey, the top-seed. However, Joey rallied back to win the match and advance to the semifinals.

(on playing Chris) I played Chris two years ago at junior nationals and beat him. I don't think about the fact that he plays with an artificial leg when I play him. I think its great though how good he's doing. I really feel good for him.

(on what he was thinking during the first game) I needed to pass and play smarter. I had some frustrations with the ref.

(on what changed in his game during the second game) I had someone telling me a little of what to do, but I knew I just needed to pass and get a run. I was just letting him sit in the frontcourt and hit everything. I had to pull him back.

(on the tiebreaker) I felt really confident going into the tiebreaker after winning the second game. I knew from the second game what I needed to do from the streak where I had him 8-1. I knew I needed to do what I was doing there, and that was lob serves, and I just kept that up. He couldn't do anything with them.

World Junior Championship Action Heats Up as Top Seeds Begin to Topple [12/19]

Action heated up on the third day of competition at the ProKennex 11th International Racquetball Federation's World Junior Championships presented by Penn Racquet Sports. Two top seeds from Mexico and the United States fell victim to the heat.

Boys' 14-and-under singles top-seed Juan Arzate, of Mexico, was knocked off by Upland, Calif.-resident Bernard Dorman in a tiebreaker, 15-14, 7-15, 11-4. In boy's 10-and-under doubles play, Mexican top-seeds David Ortega and Jose Ramos were upset by the international duo of Matthew Keddie from the U.S. and Pablo Kurzbard of Argentina, 15-2, 15-6.

Team USA suffered a blow when top-seed Jose Rojas (Stockton, Calif.) was toppled by Mexico's Jorge Rivera in the boys' 8-and-under singles division, 15-1, 15-8. Shannon Inglesby (Portland, Ore.), the top-seed in the girls' 10-and-under singles division, was upset by Mexico's Alejandra Licon, 15-11, 15-9.

In girls' 16-and-under singles competition, the USA's Janel Tisinger (Canoga Falls, Calif.) rallied back from being down 12-5 in the second game to defeat third-seed Joanna Rivera, of Mexico, 8-15, 15-14, 11-6.

The boys' 18-and-under singles division was the hottest division of the day. Although top-seed Josh Tucker (Joplin, Mo.) breezed to the quarterfinals with his 15-0, 15-1 win over Canada's Trevor Grunbridge, it was one of the only easy matches in the division. Second-seed Octavia Bustillos, of Mexico, fell to U.S.-athlete Matt Gehling (Annapolis, Md.), 15-6, 15-9, while fourth-seed Kam Barteski, of Canada, could not manage the onslaught by another U.S. athlete, Mitch Williams, as he fell 15-13, 15-12. The fifth seed, Mexico's Oviedo Baco, batted a long close tiebreaker match against James Ford (Riverton, Wyo.), but was unable to hold out, falling 12-15, 15-14, 11-10.

The competition should continue to grow hotter Monday as quarterfinal and semifinal play gets underway at the World Junior Championships.

Team USA Survives Scare Thanks to Southern California Player [12/19]

Janel Tisinger Rallies Back to Top Mexico in Tiebreaker
Team USA suffered a major scare on Sunday at the ProKennex 11th International Racquetball Federation's World Junior Championships presented by Penn Racquet Sports. In the girls' 16-and-under singles division, Janel Tisinger, of Canoga Park, Calif., met third-seed Joanna Rivera, of Mexico, in the quarterfinals.

Tisinger dropped the first game to Rivera, 15-8, and quickly began to trail in the second game to Mexico's highest seeded player in the division.

"I was about to give up. I actually did at one point," Tisinger said about trailing Rivera 12-5 in the second game. "I was really upset with how I was playing." However, Tisinger's teammates on the USA team quickly reminded her that she wasn't playing just for herself; she was playing for her country. "The fact that I play for a team really clicked in the middle of the second game. I couldn't give up, because everyone else on the team was out there watching and cheering for me."

Tisinger and her coach, Kelley Beane (N.H.), re-evaluated her game during a timeout, and Tisinger started her comeback, managing to squeak out the second game, 15-14, to force a tiebreaker. Although she had her confidence back, the tiebreaker was not a breeze for the southern California native.

"I felt confident in the tiebreaker, although I was really shaky," she said. "I started to cry because I couldn't stand straight because my legs were shaking. I was really scared." Despite shaky legs, Tisinger pulled out the 11-6 tiebreaker win to advance to the semifinals, where she will meet teammate Kristen Walsh (Utah).

Tisinger says that it's an honor to play for a world junior title close to her home turf. "Not only am I playing in the United States, but also I'm playing in California - only an hour from my home."

Tisinger will step to tougher competition Monday, when she plays in the first round of the girls' 18-and-under doubles division with partner Meghan Guardiani (Marlboro, Mass.) against Mexico's Claudia Copri and Farah Estrada.

Janel Tisinger, of Canoga Park, Calif. lost the first game 15-8 to Mexico's Joanna Riviera and was down 12-5 in the second game when she managed to rally back to win the second game, 15-14, and force a tiebreaker, which she won 11-6 to advance to the girls' 16-and-under semifinals. Here were some of her thoughts:

(on what sparked her play in the second game) The fact that I play for a team now really clicked in the middle of the second game. I can't give up because everyone else is watching. Everyone else on the team is depending on me to do it. I told myself I had to get my game going for the team. That and the coaches were really helping me out a lot.

(on how she felt during the tiebreaker) I felt really confident in the tiebreaker, although I was really shaky. I was started to cry because I couldn't stand straight because my legs were shaking. I was really scared.

(on extra pressure on her for playing so close to home) Not only am I playing the United States, but also I'm playing in California - only an hour from my home. The team is really what I thought about most the time. I'm playing for a team, and not just myself now. I think that was a lot of the motivation. And the fact that there were a lot of people out there watching me. I knew that I had to keep it going or it wasn't going to be very fun to watch.

(on increased competition from other countries) Everybody on the U.S. team is starting to realize that we are facing some really tough competition from other countries here. I have trained really hard for the past four months for this. I wasn't about to just let it go like that. At one point I was about to, but I just told myself that I just needed to work for this. I had trained for this and I knew I could do it.

"Team Oregon" ... Top Junior Racquetball Player Vie for World Junior Championship Titles [12/19]

Junior players from Oregon make up a large segment of Team USA. Fifteen of the Team USA's 40 members hail from Oregon, the largest of any other state.

The Oregon contingent is led by the brother-sister duo of Bart and Brooke Crawford of Klamath Falls. Brooke is competing in her final World Junior Championships in the girls' 18-and-under singles and doubles divisions, while younger brother Bart is looking for the boys' 16-and-under singles and doubles titles. The Crawford's are not the only siblings competing in the championships from Klamath Falls.

Sisters Ashley and Brittany Legget are both competing for Team USA in the girls' 12-and-under and 10-and-under singles, doubles and mixed doubles divisions, respectively. Another Klamath Falls resident, Kynzie Dalton, is competing in the girls' 12-and-under singles, doubles and mixed doubles divisions as well.

Portland has a strong showing at the World Junior Championships, with eight players residing in the greater Portland area. Charles Pratt, Liz Taylor, Erick Podwill and Shannon Inglesby all reside in Portland. Pratt is competing in the boys' 12-and-under singles, doubles and mixed doubles divisions, while Podwill is looking for the boys' 8-and-under multi-bounce singles and singles and 10-and-under mixed doubles crowns. Both Taylor and Inglesby are vying for the girls' 10-and-under singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles.

Beaverton's Ryan Lindell and sisters Stephanie and Sarah Moyle also are looking for world junior championship titles. Lindell is competing in the boys' 14-and-under singles, doubles and mixed doubles divisions. Stephanie Moyle is looking for girls' 8-and-under multi-bounce singles and singles titles, while her older sister Sarah competes for the girls' 12-and-under singles and mixed doubles crowns.

Troutdale's Jennifer Fenton is competing in the girls' 10-and-under singles and doubles divisions, as well as the 12-and-under mixed doubles division. Jenny Cary of Hillsboro is looking for the girls' 14-and-uncer singles, doubles and mixed doubles world junior titles. Corvallis' Joey Lakowske is hoping to bring home the boys' 12-and-under singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles.

National Disaster keeps Venezuelan Team at Home [12/18]

The World Junior Championships came up short one team this year when the Venezuelan National Junior Racquetball Team was unable to escape from Venezuela before the country fell victim to flooding and mudslides that has left more than 200 dead and 7,000 missing.

"There has been heavy flooding along the north coast, which has caused a lot of damage to houses, highways, roads and the airport," Venezuelan National Racquetball Coach Manuel Medina said. "Many people have died and many are without homes."

The Venezuelan team was scheduled to fly from Venezuela to Atlanta on Thursday, and then onto Los Angeles to compete. However, due to extreme damage from the flooding, Delta Airlines was forced to cancel its flights in and out of Venezuela.

"Delta Airlines advised us to wait until Friday, and they would let me know if we could get out on a flight then, but the highway from Caracas to La Guaira is closed, so we have no access to the airport anymore," Medina said.

Venezuela was slated to bring 10 junior athletes, in addition to coaches, to vie for the title of world junior champion. ABC News reported the death toll from mudslides and flooding at 202 and expected to rise significantly, with Foreign Minister Jose Vicente Rangel saying between 6,000 and 7,000 people were reported missing. Another 80,000 people were rendered homeless.

Rains continued Friday, but their intensity leveled off somewhat, allowing rescue teams to begin clearing debris and recovering bodies. Starting Wednesday, avalanches of mud, boulders and water came crashing down a mountain between the capital, Caracas, and the Caribbean coast. Tournament play was stopped during the World Junior Championships to observe a moment silence in honor of the Venezuelan team and their families.

Top Seeds Remain Unscathed in Early Rounds [12/18]

World Junior Championships Southern California Boys Have Bad Day, Girls Remain Perfect
Fountain Valley, Calif. -- The top seeds all survived the second day of competition at the ProKennex 11th International Racquetball Federation's World Junior Championships presented by Penn Racquet Sports at Los Caballeros Sports Village in Fountain Valley, Calif.

Southern California boys competing in the tourney had a bad day, however the girls played extremely well.

Juan Herrera of Laguna Hills fell to Mitch Williams in the boys' 18-and-under singles division, although he would not go down without a fight. After losing the first game 11-2, Herrera battled back to take the second game, 15-11, and force a tiebreaker. However, Williams was too much for the Laguna Hills resident in the tiebreaker, as he fell 11-4. Anaheim's Brad Dane also lost today in the boys' 14-and-under singles division. Houston's Jeremy Robbins topped Dane, 15-3, 15-6.

Girls from southern California had a perfect day as Janel Tisinger of Canoga Park knocked off Ireland's Niamh O'Neill, 15-1, 15-4, in the girls' 16-and-under division, while Studio City's Lauren Deutsch defeated fellow-Californian Adlisha Payne of Sacramento, 15-5, 15-5, in the girls' 18-and-under singles division.

A handful of U.S. players, did not have travel far at all to vie for the title of world junior champion. Twenty-nine players from California are competing in this year's World Junior Championships, including 11 players from southern California.

In the boys' competition, Bernard and Joshua Dorman of Upland are competing for the boys' 14-and-under singles and doubles divisions and boys' 10-and-under singles division, respectively. Laguna Hills-brothers Andres and Juan Herrera are looking to grab the boys' 16-and-under and 18-and-under singles titles, respectively. Zack Miller of Alta Loma is also looking to excel in the boys' 16-and-under singles division, as well as the doubles division. Riverside's Todd Entrikin will compete in the boys' 18-and-under mixed doubles for the USA, while Tim Drigo of Covina will play in the boys' 14-and-under singles and doubles divisions.

In girls' play, Studio City-sisters Lauren and Lindsay Deutsch, both of whom are U.S. National Junior Team members, will look to help Team USA win the girls' team title by competing in the girls' 16-and-under singles and doubles divisions and 14-and-under singles and doubles divisions, respectively. Janel Tisinger of Canoga Park will also look to capture the girls' 16-and-under singles and doubles titles.

Most singles play will move into the rounds of 16 on Sunday, while doubles play will increase at the Los Caballeros Sports Village. The World Junior Championships will continue through finals on Wednesday, December 22.

World Junior Championship Competition Kicks Off [12/17]

Competition kicked off on Friday at the ProKennex 11th International Racquetball Federation's World Junior Championships presented by Penn Racquet Sports at the Los Caballeros Sports Village in Fountain Valley, Calif. The championships got underway with play in the boys' 18-and-under and 16-and-under singles divisions and the girls' 10-and-under doubles division.

Team Mexico showed that they would be a major force to be reckoned with this year by racking up wins in six of their seven opening round matches. Mexico brought its largest junior team ever to a world junior championships, with 63 players coming north of the border to compete.

California residents did not have much luck in the first round of play, as Laguna Hills' Andres Herrera fell to Mexico's Polo Gutierrez and Stockton's Alex Aldana was knocked off by Andy Hawthorne (Champaign, Ill.) in the boys' 16-and-under division. However, Andres' older brother, Juan Herrera, did score a win in front of the home-state crowd with his 15-7, 15-2 win over Mexico's Manual Villa, which was the only loss for Mexico. Competition resumes on Saturday morning at Los Caballeros Sports Village and run through finals on Wednesday, December 22.