Danielle Drury of Saskatoon and Jennifer Saunders of Winnipeg were ranked 11th coming out of the preliminary round but the team put together two solid wins against tough opponents defeating both the 7th and 3rd ranked teams. They will face the 2nd ranked team of Cristina Amaya and Adriana Riveros from Colombia in Friday’s semi-final.
Coby Iwaasa of Lethbridge and Samuel Murray of Baie-Comeau, who were ranked 7th in the elimination round also had a big win in the quarterfinals against the 2nd ranked team from USA to advance. Canada will play the 3rd seeded team of Andres Acuna and Filipe Camacho of Costa Rica in the semi-final on Friday.
In women’s singles play, both Erin Geeraert of Calgary and Michèle Morissette of Baie-Comeau did not advance after losses in the round of 32. In men’s singles, Iwaasa and Murray both lost out in the round of 16. Although the athletes had goals to advance further in the tournament, they were in a tough position in the bracket after loses in the preliminary round.
Results from the Pan Am Championships will be used to determine the number of athletes each nation can send to the 2019 Pan Am Games as well as seeding for the tournament.
The event is being live-streamed by the International Racquetball Federation. Links to the draws, results and live-streaming can be found on the International Racquetball Federation website.
2019 Pan Am Championships Elimination Round Results
Women’s Singles
Round of 32
(13) Rhonda Rajsich (USA) defeated (20) Michèle Morissette (CAN), 15-11, 15-9.
(8) Angelica Barrios (ARG) defeated (25) Erin Geeraert (CAN), 15-4, 15-4.
Men Singles
Round of 32
(10) Coby Iwaasa (CAN) defeated (23) Shai Manzuri (ARG), 15-4, 15-8,
(12) Samuel Murray (CAN) defeated (21) Fernando Kurzbard (ARG), 15-0, 15-5.
Round of 16
(7) Carlos Keller (BOL) defeated (10) Iwaasa (CAN), 15-10, 15-9.
(5) Conrrado Moscoso (BOL) defeated (12) Murray (CAN), 15-6, 15-6.
Women’s Doubles
Round of 16
(11) Danielle Drury / Jennifer Saunders (CAN) defeated (6) Marie Gomar / Maria Renee Rodriguez (GUA), 6-15, 15-9, 11-4.
Quarterfinals
(11) Drury / Saunders (CAN) defeated (3) Ana Lucia Sarmiento / Maria Paz Munoz (ECU), 8-15, 15-9, 11-8.
Men’s Doubles
Round of 16
(7) Coby Iwaasa / Samuel Murray (CAN) defeated (10) Enier Chacon / Mikel Mollet (CUB), 15-11, 15-4.
Quarterfinals
(7) Iwaasa / Murray (CAN) defeated (2) Jake Bredenbeck / Mauro Rojas (USA), 13-15, 15-1, 11-7.
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