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13th Pan American Games
Racquetball

Winnipeg Winter Club & Duckworth Centre
Winnipeg, Canada: July 24-30

prelims

[U.S. TEAM] -- Preliminary Pool Play
by Christie Hyde, USOC Press Officer &
USRA Media/Public Relations Coordinator
• Saturday, 24
• Sunday, 25
• Monday, 26
• Tuesday, 27

U.S. Racquetball Team Update: Day 1

After sweeping the medals at the 1995 Pan American Games, the USA racquetball team showed it is aiming for another sweep with its dominating performance in the opening day of competition. All eight athletes representing the United States won their opening-day matches.

No. 2 men's singles player Michael Bronfeld (Pacific Grove, Calif.) started off the day with a 15-3, 15-6 victory over Pablo Fajre of Chili. Although Bronfeld, the 1999 U.S. National Singles Championships silver medalist, took an easy victory over his opponent, he admits the Chile team, along with the other South American countries, have shown much improvement.

"This is a huge international event, so you don't take anyone lightly. You play every match as hard as you can," Bronfeld said. "Generally, if we do that, we're going to do pretty good in the end. South America has gotten a lot better, though. They improve every year at every tournament we go to."

No. 2 women's singles player Laura Fenton (Lincoln, Neb.) opened the USA women's team play with a perfect 15-0, 15-0 game against Honduras' Paola Matamoros. Fenton, whose first game only took two minutes, admits that her South American opponents have problems competing with some of the racquetball powerhouses like the USA and Canada, but also says she has noticed improvement in their games. She was later seen on one of the practice courts at the Duckworth Centre with her previous opponent, Matamoros, sharing some tips that she's learned in her 22 years with the sport.

"I love to teach, but I have to be careful. This is the first tournament that I've really trained to keep driving throughout, so I don't want to break my concentration," Fenton said. "I care about (my opponents) as a person. I might spend five minutes and give them a couple of tips. I know I can't change their game overnight. I do what I can to help, because I want to help, not because I have to help."

The USA's top-seeded singles players, Adam Karp (Stockton, Calif.) and Cheryl Gudinas (Chicago, Ill.), both blew away the competition in their opening matches. Karp took a 15-4, 15-5 win over Boliva's A. Tapia Sologuren, while Gudinas captured a 15-4, 15-4 victory over Honduras' G. Toccaccely.

In USA doubles team action, twin-sisters Jackie Paraiso (El Cajon, Calif.) and Joy MacKenzie (Santee, Calif.) picked up 12 consecutive points in their first game en route to a 15-1, 15-2 win over C. Garcia Albizu and Alma Karina Saviñon of the Dominican Republic.

The USA men's doubles team of Doug Ganim (Westerville, Ohio) and Drew Kachtik (Westerville, Ohio) easily took their first game, 15-3, over Chili, but an injury to Ganim's elbow in the second game caused it slip from their grasp, 9-15. However in the tiebreaker, the USA bounced back to a defiant 11-5 finish. Ganim's elbow was still bothering him following the match and will be looked at by official USA doctors. The USA men's doubles team doesn't return to action until Monday when they take on Argentina.

Although the USA racquetball team is off to a strong start, they admit that it's still early in the competition. "It's early in the week. It doesn't mean anything that we are playing good in the beginning of the week. We've got play good at the end of the week," Karp said.

Round-robin action will continue for most of the USA team Sunday. Karp and Bronfeld will take on Guatemala's Manolo Bendfeld and Gustavo Morales, respectively, while Gudinas and Fenton will play Chili's Loreto Barriga and Angela Grisar, respectively. In women's doubles action, Paraiso and MacKenzie will meet Puerto Rico's Anita Maldonado and Kim Venegas.

To see how the players are doing, complete event results can be found using the links at the top of the page.

U.S. Racquetball Team Update: Day 2

After a dominating performance in the opening day of the racquetball competition at the 1999 Pan Am Games, the USA racquetball team continued its quest for another sweep of the medals with five more victories.

No. 1 men's singles player Adam Karp (Stockton, Calif.) started off the USA's competition with a 15-8, 15-6 victory over Guatemala's Manolo Bendfeldt at the Winnipeg Winter Club. USA women's singles players Cheryl Gudinas (Chicago, Ill.) and Laura Fenton (Lincoln, Neb.) knocked off Chile's singles players Loreto Barriga, 15-5, 15-6, and Angela Grisar, 15-8, 15-11, respectively, while Michael Bronfeld (Pacific Grove, Calif.) defeated Guatemala's Gustavo Morales , 15-1, 15-6.

The twin-sisters doubles team of Jackie Paraiso (El Cajon, Calif.) and Joy MacKenzie (Santee, Calif.) finished off the day by finishing off the Puerto Rican women's doubles team of Anita Maldonodo and Kim Venegas, 15-2,15-1.

When asked to comment on his match, Karp, who played Saturday's match at the Duckworth Centre, simply commented "it's hot." That seems to be the general consensus at the Winnipeg Winter Club, host of the quarterfinal through final matches. The heat and humidity in the venue, which as no air conditioning, appears to be taking its toll on all the players.

"The heat and humidity will definitely be a factor," Karp said. "It will be the same for both players, though. In the later rounds, with more people in the crowd, it will get even hotter."

The USA women's singles players were not only faced with the heat today, but also a much-improved Chile team. After a long first game against Grisar, Fenton took a commanding 10-1 lead in the second. However, Chile went on a six-point run and closed the gap to as close as four points before Fenton put the match away.

Top-seeded USA singles player Gudinas also met stiff competition in Barriga, who she trailed early in the match. After a drawn out, low scoring start to the match, Gudinas took the led at 5-4 and never looked back. "The score doesn't reflect how close that game was," Gudinas said. "It felt more like a 15-13 game than what it really was. The Chile team is really showing improvement."

MacKenzie and Paraiso continued in their quest for repeat gold with a highly animated game against Puerto Rico. Despite many acrobatic dives by Maldonodo, she and Venegas were left shaking their heads after the twin sisters recorded three aces and took a 9-0 lead to start off the second game of the match.

"They are unbelievable. That's why they're the world champions," Maldonodo said.

Round-robin play will conclude on Monday with the USA men's doubles team returning to action against Argentina. Paraiso and MacKenzie and Bronfeld will get their first taste of the heat and humidity of the Winnipeg Winter Club when they meet Mexico and Venezuela's Ralf Reinhard, respectively. Karp will start off the morning at the Duckworth Centre against Venezuela's Shai Manzuri. Gudinas and Fenton will play simultaneous side-by-side matches, also at the Duckworth Centre, against Mexico's Susana Acosta and Guadalupe Torres, respectively.

To see how the players are doing, complete event results can be found using the links at the top of the page.

U.S. Racquetball Team Update: Day 3

Current U.S. National Singles Champion Adam Karp (Stockton, Calif.) started of the day by downing Argentina's Shai Manzuri, 15-7, 15-12, and kicking off a string of victories by USA racquetball team players, leading to the entire team being placed into top spots in the quarterfinals.

Women's singles players Cheryl Gudinas (Chicago, Ill.) and Laura Fenton (Lincoln, Neb.) followed their teammate Karp by playing simultaneous matches on side-by-side courts against Mexico's Susana Acosta and Guadalupe Torres, respectively, at the Duckworth Centre. Gudinas knocked off Acosta, 15-4, 15-11, and Fenton topped Torres, 15-11, 15-3. Michael Bronfeld (Pacific Grove, Calif.) capped his third win in round-round play with a 15-3, 15-5 victory over Venezuela's Ralf Reinhard.

In doubles action, twins Jackie Paraiso (El Cajon, Calif.) and Joy MacKenzie (Santee, Calif.) completed the USA women's sweep of the Mexican team by defeating Diana Almeida and Karina Hamilton, while the men's team returned to action to record a 15-12, 15-1 win over Argentina's Manzuri and Daniel Maggi.

Gudinas and Fenton met their first challenge of the competition with the Mexican team. After an easy 15-4 first game, Gudinas battled with the left-handed Acosta when she pulled the second game within one point at 11-10. However, Gudinas broke away to cap the victory.

"I played crisp today. She made a really good run at the end, though. She has a really good forehand," Gudinas said. "I was hoping that my experience would pull me through, and it did."

Fenton fell behind early in her first game, 1-3, before gathering her game and taking the 15-11 win. By the second game, she had found her opponent's weakness when she changed serves and easily took her 15-3.

"If you look at the score (of the first game), it looks tight, but I always felt in control. I could feel my groove coming back." Fenton said. "I started warming up, and I changed my serve. I hit one serve and she couldn't really do anything with it."

Paraiso and MacKenzie had a surprisingly easy match with the Mexican doubles team, giving Almeida and Hamilton only two chances to serve in the second game.

"I thought they would come out a little stronger," Paraiso said. "I was happy we played well and tipped them off balance."

All matches will be played at the Winnipeg Winter Club on the USRA's portable racquetball court, which exhibits a clear back and side for ideal spectator viewing.

To see how the players are doing, complete event results can be found using the links at the top of the page.

U.S. Racquetball Team Update: Day 4

Now the USA team looks towards the quarterfinals, where both the men's and women's doubles team will play on Tuesday, with the women facing Honduras at 4:30 p.m. and the men facing the winner of the Honduras vs. Guatemala playoff, at 8:15 p.m. All four men's and women's singles players will take the court for quarterfinal action on Wednesday. Karp will meet the winner of Tuesday's Curtis Winter (Puerto Rico) vs. Ralf Reinhard (Venezuela) tiebreaker, at 11:30 a.m., followed by Fenton's match against Boliva's Chavez Parada at 12:45 p.m. Gudinas plays Albizu Garcia of the Dominican Republic at 3:15 p.m., and Bronfeld meets Jorge Hirsekorn of Venezuela at 4:30 p.m.

To see how the players are doing, complete event results can be found using the links at the top of the page.