Champion!!!

Wow what a feeling! It's pretty surreal, especially after getting back home and realizing that practically everyone I know has heard about it. I can't thank my family and friends enough, especially my loving wife Kaitlyn, who I know would love to come to every one of my tournaments if she could.

In case some of you are reading about this for the first time, I won the national team selection event over the weekend, upsetting the top seed and current canadian champion Mike Green in the final. The entire match was a seesaw battle. I went up big in the first game and he came back to make it tight before I was able to close it out 16-14. I took another lead in the second game, albeit a smaller one, before he went on a tear, scoring 13 unanswered points! I recovered a bit of momentum to begin the tiebreaker though and was able to start that game strong with a lead as well. He would recover and take the lead by a few points, then I took it back. The finish was extremely tight, with both of us having to make great shots to win the rally. I made the final one at 10-8 though and fell to my knees, in utter disbelief of what I had accomplished. I've been trying to beat this guy for years with no success. To finally have that goal realized is an incredible feeling and fantastic testament to my training over the last few years. Here's a press release from my local paper on the tournament and a write-up/interview I did for theracquetballblog.

The next tournament for me is this coming weekend where I'll be competing at the Keystone Classic in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is the longest running racquetball tournament in Canada and one of my favourite events of the last few seasons. This year promises to be a quality draw as well, with several top players from Canada competing including up and coming stars Coby Iwasaa and Kurtis Cullen. Look for updates on this blog as well as the tournament website: http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=10580.

Selection Event Semi Finals

Only one day remains in the selection event. Let's take a look at how the semi finals shook up and the match ups happening tomorrow...

In his first selection event semi final, young star Coby Iwasaa was looking to pull off what would be the biggest upset of his career. In the first game it looked like he would have an opportunity as he matched the current national champion point for point right up to 13-13. A great drive serve and skipped serve return from Coby gave Green the first game though and he never looked back. Turning up the heat on his serve in the second and taking it easily 15-2. 

In the second semi final, Pedro Castro was looking for his second upset of the tournament against Tim Landeryou after taking out #3 seed Nathaniel Husulak in the quarter finals earlier in the day. The first started fairly evenly, with players trading points up until 4-4. Landeryou would open a lead to 7-4, finding effectiveness in a tight lob serve down the right side wall. Using this serve would allow him to build his lead to 10-5. Castro didn't seem to have an answer for this serve and Landeryou would take the first game 15-7. In the second, the right side lob wasn't working as well, mainly because Landeryou seemed to be having trouble keeping it as tight to the wall as he did in the first. Castro was also being more aggressive on the serve return which paid off as he was trading points and getting back into the service box more frequently. Mixing the serve up scored a few points for Tim, and several long rallies through the midpoint of the game seemed to tire Pedro, and Landeryou would take advantage of some errors as a result. This allowed him to open up another lead, which he would hold for most of the game. At 13-7, Landeryou seemed poised to finish the match but Pedro dug deep and made some excellent shots to get the serve back. Several changes of serve ensued before Castro was able to score a few points and close to within 3 points. This would be as close as he would come though, as Landeryou would regain his former composure and close out the game 15-10 to take the match in 2 games. 

This sets up the final between top seeds Mike Green and Tim Landeryou. The last time these 2 faced off was at the 2012 National Championships on these very courts! Green came out victorious in 2 straight games 15-8, 15-2 so the advantage is definitely with him going into this match. Landeryou has put up decent first games historically though, and if he can steal the first in this contest the match could be an interesting one. Green's biggest weapon will be the drive serve, and if he is putting heat on and keeping the line straight, it will be very difficult to neutralize. I'm looking forward to it though as it should be high quality racquetball if nothing else.

Selection Event Quarter Finals

Well the quarter finals almost all went according to seeding, as 3 of the top 4 move onto the semis. On the top half, Mike Green's photon drive serve and consistent lane shooting were too much for Hugo Laprise and would take the match in 2 fairly easy games 15-2, 15-1. Coby Iwasaa had an extremely close, albeit straight games win over former junior national team mate Samuel Murray. Murray held a small lead late in the second game and looked as if he would force a tiebreaker serving at 13-11, but Coby showed great composure and played disciplined racquetball near the end to capitalize on Murray's errors and come back to take the game and the match 15-13, 16-14.

On the bottom half, I didn't have too tough of a time with Lee. He threatened at times and made some solid shots but I was able to mix my passes and pinches well to keep him off balance and take the match 15-5, 15-8. In the only upset of the quarter finals, Pedro Castro was able to take capitalize on some uncharacteristic and loose play from Nathaniel Husulak as well as having the match on his home courts to secure a win and the last spot in the semi finals. I didn't see very much of this match but Loren Prentice, Nate's coach, said Nate struggled to find a rhythm all match. His drive serve wasn't going in consistently and he was having trouble with his lanes. Passing is difficult on these courts and it is something I will have to establish if I'm to be successful against Pedro where Nate wasn't. There is definitely some intrigue in the semi finals but I won't be surprised if it's Mike and I playing for gold tomorrow.

Selection Event Day 1

Well the first day of the National Team Selection Event in 2013 is in the books and man was it a doozie... With 4 tiebreakers, 2 upsets, and the quarter final match ups all set let's get to the details!

Bottom Half:
While none of the upsets on Day 1 occurred in the bottom half of the draw, 2 of the tiebreakers did. The first of which was Patrick Jauvin's nail-bitingly close first round 12-10 victory over up and comer Mitch Brayley. A very disappointing loss for the youngster but he is improving rapidly and I'm sure will exact revenge the next time these 2 face each other. Both the other first round matches went according to seeding with Tommy Murray, Nicolas Bousquet, and Corey Osbourne moving into the second round. Since I already gave away that no upsets occurred you should already know who made it through to the quarter finals. There was some interesting racquetball though, as Patrick injured himself during our match and had to default, and Pedro seemed to demoralize Nicolas on his way to a steamroll style win. Nathaniel survived a scare in the second game, coming back from 13-7 down to take the second game and the match from wily veteran and former national champion Corey Osbourne. Finally Lee Connell had all he could handle from talented local Tommy Murray, he dug deep though, and narrowly scraped out an 11-8 tiebreaker win.

This sets up a quarter final match between Nathaniel and Pedro in what should be an interesting rematch from Kelowna. In that match Nate was fairly dominant but here, where the courts are slower (and thus drive serving is less effective) and where Pedro has home court advantage, the odds definitely swing in Pedro's favour. Whether this will be enough for Pedro to take the match is debatable but one thing is certain, the match should definitely be more interesting than their contest earlier this season. The second quarter final on the bottom half is between myself and Lee. On the basis of our play today, I'd say I was confident in my ability to impose my will and take the match but Lee showed a lot of grit today against Tommy. If he can bring that level of intensity and focus for our match tomorrow I will have my work cut out for me. If I was a betting man though, I would put money on having a rematch with Nate tomorrow evening.

Top Half:
There were no upsets in the first round as Quebec natives Sebastien Juteau, Samuel Murray, and Francis Guillemette advanced past their lower seeded opponents, although Juteau did have a tougher time with 17th seeded Sami Harb than any of the others. The 2 upsets both occurred on the top half of the draw though so let's get to those... The first was one I alluded to in my earlier post as 9th seeded Hugo Laprise upset 8th seeded Troy Brooks in a thrilling 12-10 tiebreaker finish! The second was another thriller as former junior national team mates Samuel Murray and Kurtis Cullen faced off. Kullen took the first game on the back of some blistering drive serves but Murray was able to come back to take the second and another 2 point tiebreaker 11-9. He will face another of his former junior national team mates in the quarter finals as Coby Iwasaa bested Quebec local and former national team member Francis Guillemette in 2 games. The last quarter final will be between Hugo Laprise and #1 seed and current national champion Mike Green.

I don't think Mike will have too much trouble with Hugo to take his spot in the semi finals, but the match between Samuel and Coby definitely has the potential to be tight. Samuel now has some experience with blistering drive serves under his belt at this tournament, and played mentally tough down the stretch against Kurtis. Of all the quarter finals that will be the match to watch. Look for an update tomorrow afternoon with the semi final match ups and predictions!

February 2013 Selection Event Draw/Preview

EDIT Jan 30: 2 days before the tournament and changes to the draw. Hopefully this will be the last one! Francois Viens has pulled out of the tournament which doesn't change much other than some of the first round match ups but it is worth mentioning. The draw below is the amended version and I have also edited my reviews of first round match ups to reflect the new draw.

With the entry deadline past and the tournament approaching, I thought I'd take a bit of time to release the (unofficial) draw and give a brief preview of the tournament. Again, this is not the official draw, but it is based off of the current racquetball canada rankings and thus should be more or less what we see this upcoming weekend.

One of the most interesting aspects of this draw is the low attendance of top players (similar to the first selection event in Kelowna). With 4 of the top 8 players in Canada not attending (#2 Vincent Gagnon, #3 Kris Odegard, #6 James Landeryou and #7 Eric Desrochers), the draw again becomes very open and full of match ups we don't see that often. Unfortunately, the draw ends up looking very similar to what we saw in Kelowna so while these match ups aren't common, they are happening in back to back tournaments which may make things seem less interesting than they are. The contrast to Kelowna here is the size of the draw. With 23 entrants there is a full extra round (and in some cases 2 rounds) of play which not only ensures more racquetball for everyone, but additional opportunities for upsets. Speaking of upsets, let's take a look at the first round matches!

Top Half:

There will definitely be some hotly contested matches in this bracket. Samuel Murray and Francis Guillemette should both get by their first round opponents and set up what potentially thrilling second round matches with rising stars Kurtis Cullen and Coby Iwasaa. With the #8 and #9 seeds both receiving first round byes, the second round match between Hugo Laprise and aging veteran Troy Brooks also has barn burner possibilities and gives Laprise a chance to move into the quarter finals if he plays well. A great first round match up between youngsters Sami Harb and Sebastien Juteau rounds out the top half and will showcase not only the future of our sport but some exciting and energetic racquetball as well.While this writer believes the top seeds will still advance to the quarter finals, there are definitely some entertaining matches along the way, and several chances for upsets exist in the top half of the draw.

Bottom Half:

From the looks of things the bottom half of the draw will be somewhat more straightforward than the top, as most top seeds should advance without too much trouble. The first round matchup between Albertan junior Mitch Brayley and Quebec veteran Patrick Jauvin could be contentious though, and if nothing else, will provide an interesting contrast in game styles. In the second round, former national team member Corey Osbourne could give some trouble to 3rd seed Nathaniel Husulak if he can impose his style on Nate in that match, and youngsters Nicholas Bousquet and Tommy Murray could also prove to be a handful for their higher ranked (and more experienced opponents) Pedro Castro and Lee Connell.. I will watch the match between Patrick and Mitch with anticipation, looking forward to my match with whomever I face as I've never played Mitch, and it's been years since I've played Patrick. I believe I will be able to move onto the 3rd round though, barring any catastrophically poor play. So while there are less opportunities for upsets in the bottom half, there is still some entertaining racquetball to be had.

Disagree with any of my predictions? Who's your pick to win? Who will be the best match of the 1st/2nd round? Comment below!

Semi Finals

Apologies for the tardiness of these posts, the internet at our hotel was fairly suspect all weekend but now that I have a connection I'll put these last couple of posts up. I apologize for their brevity as I only was able to catch a couple of the matches due to having to play ourselves. Stupid playing always gets in the way of watching! Anyway here we go...

Semi Final #1: Quebec (1) vs. Manitoba (4)
Manitoba fielded a solid team to this tournament but as with PEI in the quarter finals, the Quebec squad was simply too strong. I wish I had caught more of this contest as I'm sure there would have been some great squash but the host province takes the first spot in the final on the back of a solid victory.

Semi Final #2: Alberta (2) vs. Ontario (3)

Tyler Hamilton d. Grayson Witcher (3-1)

A combination of great play from Witcher and a slow start from Hamilton allowed “Gray” to take the first game. After that though Hamilton settled in and you could tell it would only be a matter of time before Witcher ran out of steam. On the 17” tin, Hamilton’s drops were deadly and while his Albertan opponent would track many of them down in the second, the number dwindled in the 3^rd and 4^th games as Hamilton made them tighter while Gray tired. In the end, the Ontarian player simply controlled where play took place too well for the Albertan and would take the match in 4 games.

Dane Sharp d. Andrew Schnell (3-2)

In what was one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament, the #3 and #5 players in Canada did not disappoint the crowd awaiting their on-court contest. In a thrilling match that saw numerous lead changes, fantastic nicks, and unbelievable retrieving, a down-to-the-wire finish was a perfect way to have it happen. After splitting the first 2 games, Schnell would take the third with extremely consistent and disciplined play. Sharp seemed to be tiring and Schnell was taking advantage, moving him around the court and jumping on loose balls that Dane provided. Despite fatigue setting in Sharp regrouped in the fourth and it was excellent squash to start the game. A nick drop from Andrew, a fantastic counter drop from Dane; both players came out firing and it was something to see! They traded even points to 5-5 before Dane opened up a lead on the back of play that was obviously frustrating Andrew. The Albertan was controlling most of the play but to Dane's credit he dug deep and played a retrieval game until he got his opportunities and while they were few, to Andrew's frustration he was capitalizing on them. A marathon rally at 9-5 saw Schnell give Sharp a scenic tour of the court before a loose length provided a let opportunity. Schnell's frustration was visible at this point and 2 tins in the next 3 rallies illustrated this and give Dane the game and level the match at 2-2. In many ways the 5th game was a snapshot of the match. Schnell played extremely consistent, disciplined, and controlled the majority of the rallies. Sharp scrambled, scratched and clawed his way through to capitalize on the small number of opportunities he had to win rallies. It was extremely tight, but in the end Sharp frustrated Schnell by retrieving well and forced errors at key points. He would take the 5th tight and the match 3-2.

So after winning the first 2 matches Ontario upsets Alberta and moves onto the final to face Quebec! Should be an entertaining contest with some high quality squash.

In the consolation side, Nova Scotia defeated Saskatchewan 3-0 and Quebec #2 defeated PEI 3-0 so they will play for 5th on sunday and Saskatchewan and PEI will play for 7th.

Quarter Final Results

Things are rolling along in the tournament with the top 4 seeds advancing to the semi finals. This will set up what promises to be an extremely tough and entertaining matchup between #2 Alberta and #3 Ontario. Before we get to that though, let's quickly go through the quarter final match ups...

Quebec (1) d. PEI (9)
After upsetting the 8th seeded New Brunswick squad, PEI found themselves in a tough position against the top seeded Quebec team. They would force some lengthly rallies by retrieving a lot of balls but ultimately the host team was simply too skilled and would take the contest 3-0.

Manitoba (4) d. Quebec #2 (5)
I unfortunately didn't get a chance to watch much of this contest, but Manitoba had slightly more depth on their team which allowed them to edge out the host province's second team 2-1.

Ontario (3) d. Nova Scotia (6)
Nova Scotia comes into the tournament with a strong team but ran into a juggernaut squad from Ontario who will definitely be in the running to win the tournament. There was simply too much skill and fitness for the atlantic team to compete with and Ontario would move on 3-0.

Alberta (2) d. Saskatchewan (7)
The very strong Alberta squad overwhelmed the SK players on every match. This will set up what should be a thrilling matchup between Alberta and Ontario in the semi finals.