Photos by John Foust [right: John Ellis, with Kane Waslenechuk in the background]

To end the 2001-02 season for the IRT, the men came to Los Caballeros knowing that Cliff Swain had already locked up the season championship -- but they were still ready to stake a claim on the last stop title of the season. Then, with Swain’s injury withdrawal from the event [see sidebar], one of the main attractions became Sudsy Monchik’s return to action after a seven-month stint on injured reserve while he recovered from a broken foot sustained just days before the U.S. OPEN. 

In unfamiliar territory (having to advance through qualifying rounds, after losing his ranking position due to the long layoff), Sudsy squared off against Jason Mannino in the round of 16’s. This time last year, a match-up of this caliber would have been, at least, a semi or a final. So why would Sudsy put himself through qualifying at the last stop of the year? “I wanted to protect my place in history and I wanted to test out my foot,” he explained, perhaps referring to his desire to stop Cliff from winning an unprecedented sixth pro title before he could.

On paper, the Mannino-Monchik match-up looked as though it could have been one of the best round of 16 matches ever, but it didn’t pan out that way. Jason advanced easily over Sudsy in straight games of 11-6, 11-2, 11-2. “My mindset was a little different and the reason I came out to play changed a little bit,” Sudsy said after the match. “Besides that, Jason’s great. He killed me.”

Sudsy insists that although he may have felt a little rusty at this event, he’ll be ready to go next season. He’s been working hard to come back stronger than ever. When asked if the long layoff would make him hungrier next season he didn’t hesitate with his answer, “Oh yeah, it already has.”

Quarterfinals
After getting out of the gate slow, Jason kicked things into high gear against Derek Robinson, who had won the first game 11-5 before Jason took the next three 11-6, 11-4, 11-4. John Ellis didn’t have any trouble getting up to speed in his match against Mike Green. He controlled the first two games, 11-3, 11-2, and held Green off in the third, 11-9, to complete the sweep. Perhaps it was a little revenge for Green’s five game win over Ellis two weeks earlier in Greensboro.

Alvaro Beltran continued to play well this season, knocking off Rocky Carson to earn a spot in the semis. Alvaro had already made an appearance in the finals of one tournament this year, also in California, where Jason defeated him in four games. When he is on, there’s no telling how far he can go.

In a match-up that is certain to be repeated in years to come (it’s already occurred several times this season alone), Kane Waselenchuk went up against Jack Huczek. Two of the youngest and hottest players on the tour, each of them already has one pro stop title; but what Jack doesn’t have yet this year is a win over Kane. In both previous faceoffs this season, Kane defeated Jack - and did so again, to make it three straight in Los Cab, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7, 11-6.

Semifinals
Mannino has stated publicly that he’d rather face Jack than have to play against Kane in a tournament, and he has good reason: Kane defeated Jason in three straight. “He does everything well,” Jason said after their match. “He was serving very well and we were playing on concrete courts, which don’t help me when he’s hitting the ball so hard.” 

Even though the match only went to three games, it was by no means a cakewalk for Kane. The first two games were tight at 11-8 and 11-9, before Kane dominated the third 11-1. Had Jason slumped when he realized that he wasn’t playing for the No.1 spot anymore? After hearing that Cliff wasn’t going to play, thus locking up the top spot, he’d said that he “couldn’t put it into words” how he felt, but didn’t feel like it affected his play. “I would like to think that I could play through that.”

Obviously disappointed, Jason fell just short of the No.1 ranking at season’s end, but he was still proud that he had finished higher than in any other year. “I am happy that I was able to reach a plateau that I didn’t reach before.” And how does he see next year shaping up? “I think it will be very similar to this year, but with throwing Sudsy in the mix.” He went onto say, “A couple of good calls, a couple of bad calls, or a couple of ace serves could decide the champion next year.”

Ellis and Beltran were matched up in the other semifinal match to see who would get to face Kane for the title. Ellis took the first two games rather easily 11-5, 11-4. Alvaro stepped it up to take one in the third, 11-8, but Ellis was just too much and closed out the match in four, 11-4. “I think he wasn’t playing as well as he could,” Ellis said, “and I think it was one of my better matches of the tournament.”

The Finals
For the third straight year, John Ellis was in the finals at Pro Nationals — he won it two years ago, but lost it last year to Mannino in a five-game thriller. This year he would have to face one of the fastest rising stars on the tour — Kane Waselenchuk. Ellis started out hot, winning the first two games 11-8, 11-5, before Kane started to play some incredible racquetball and copied the scores with identical wins of his own 11-8, 11-5. “I felt that I really let that third game slip away,” Ellis said. “He played solid in the fourth.”

Season stats, on top of the title, were up for grabs in the fifth, as Ellis attempted to earn his first finals win, on his third try, while Kane worked for a second tour victory that could possibly put him ahead of Ellis in the final rankings. The game was close and ended with another “8” to complete the full house, but it was Ellis who scored point 11. “In the fifth game I got a little tired and I think it made me focus a little more on my drive serve,” Ellis said after the match. “I think being a veteran of the tour for 10 years helped me out at the end of that match.”