1994 World Championships
"Best ever!" for men's team
From First Serve, vol. 9, no. 1, page 1, Fall 1994. Author unidentified.
It wasn't just winning an individual World Championship - Canadians have done that three times before (Heather Stupp in 1988 and 1990 and Ross Harvey in 1984); nor was it winning the men's singles title (as noted, Ross Harvey won in 1984 in Canada's first appearance at the World Championships). What made this the Best Ever World Championships, for the men at least, was the gold-silver finish of Sherman Greenfeld and Mike Ceresia. This was the first time ever that the U.S.A. was shut-out of a final!
Overall it was a great championship for the Canadian team with a total of 10 medals: Gold and Silver for Greenfeld and Ceresia in the men's singles; silver for Chris Brumwell and Jacques Demers in the men's doubles; silver or Vicki Shanks and Debbie Ward in the women's doubles; gold for Carol Mulholland in the women's wheelchair individual; bronze for Ken Michaylenko in the men's wheelchair individual; and silver medals in all the team competitions: men's, women's, combined, and wheelchair.
After placing second to the U.S.A. in the team competition where Ceresia was the only Canadian to win his match, the men rebounded in the individual section of the Championships. Greenfeld cruised through his matches, losing only one game (the second game in the semi-final to Tim Sweeney of the U.S.A.) on his way to the final. Ceresia had the tougher of the draws, dropping one game to Fabian Balmori of Venezuela then having to battle back against both U.S> opponents in the quarter and semi-finals. He lost the first game to Derek Robinson then persevered to win in the tie-breaker and then in the semis lost the first game to Mike Bronfeld before coming back to win in the tie-breaker. By the time Ceresia faced Greenfeld in the final he was exhausted and the match was somewhat anti-climatic, with Sherman winning in straight games 15-3, 15-2.
Brumwell and Demers polished off Ireland, Germany and Mexico before facing a tough U.S.A. team in the men's doubles final, losing 15-12, 15-11 to John Ellis and Eric Muller.
In the women's play, Michelle Gould gained a measure of revenge over team mate Robin Levine who beat her in the U.S. Championships, beating Robin for the Gold Medal. Carol McFetridge faced Gould in the semi-final after dispatching Wage of Panama, Parada of Bolivia and Kofugi of Japan with relative ease. Gould was another matter however with the eventual world champion winning 15-3, 15-6. McFetridge then lost the play-off for third to Cheryl Gudinas, giving the U.S. women a sweep of the medals.
Shanks and Ward defeated Puerto Rico and Japan with little difficulty in the women's doubles before meeting Laura Fenton and Jackie Gibson of the U.S.A. in the final, with the U.S. duo winning 15-9, 15-7.
The Canadian Wheelchair team, consisting of only Carol Mulholland and Ken Michaylenko, after withdrawals of Marnie St. Louis and Mark Cormack, faced thin but vigorous competition. Michaylenko's field consisted of two U.S. players and a Brit, while Mulholland had only one opponent, a woman from Britain. Small fields did not mean easy competition though as Michaylenko faced the top player in the world, Chip Parmelly, and the number two American Gary Baker. Mulholland and Michaylenko won the silver medal in the team competition, losing only to the pair of U.S. men in individual play. Carol won the women's and Ken took the bronze in the men's.
Overall, a very successful world championship for the Canadian team and one of which we all can be proud.
|
From The President
An overview of the world championships
David Bell. From First Serve, vol. 9, no. 1, page 3, Fall 1994.
While not trying to give away my age, I think it is somewhat true, as we witness more events in life, the less likely we are to be impressed by those same events. I was very fortunate recently to have th opportunity to travel with out National Team to this year's World Championships in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and it will be one of those experiences that will be truly remembered for a lifetime.
From opening to closing ceremonies, the event reflected the efforts and contribution of a great many people, and the thought that went into trying to make the event a first class afair, was no misplaced. The opening ceremonies were second to none, and the emotion from the parade of countries, in and out of the auditorium, set the stage for the entire event.
The World Championships is comprised of what can be considered two tournaments within on compeition. The first part of the tournament consists of head to head play of one country against another, with the total performance of the country determining its advancement. As expected, Canada and the U.S. met in the finals, and while the matches were close, the U.S. emerged as the gold medal team winner. From the results of team play, the tournament began anew in the more familar elimination format and it was from this competition that the individual champions were named. Once again, this part of the tournament proceeded as expected, though there were some very tough matches, depending on seeding. This certainly was the case for Mike Ceresia, but he showed his true spirit and determination and allowed history to be made by providing an all Canadian men's final against Sherman Greenfeld. Other performances which were equally inspiring, featured Carol McFetridge in women's competition, Vicki Shanks and Debbie Ward in women's doubles, Chris Brumwell and Jacques Demers in men's doubles and Carol Mulholland and Ken Michaylenko in the wheelchair division. It was a pleasure to be associated with this group of men and women with special thanks going out to physiotherapist, D'Arcy Bain, for outstanding contribution.
While the above represents the compeitive aspect of the World Championships, as equally important, is the World Congress, which occurs during this event. The World Congress is the meeting of individual representatives from each country involved in that year's World Championships and it lends itself to establishing a global perspective of racquetball. As is the case domestically, not all areas of the world are having unilateral success, but for a sport that is only 25 years old, racquetball has come a long way in a short period of time. Racquetball seems to be an activity that has been adversely affected with the global downturn of economy, but regions of tremendous growth include Korea and China. Areas of concern include limited accesss to racquetball facilities, especially in NATO countries, and the limited volunteer base to service the sport. The feeling, however, as a result of the huge success of this year's World Championships was one of renewed interest and spirit ... and it is this enthusiasm that will keep the sport on track to realizing the Olympic dream. The U.S. is also an integral part of maintaining the profile of the sport through their funding involvement with the International Racquetball Federation.
A lot of which has to occur internationally parallels the same scenarios, which have to occur domestically, so in a sense the future of the sport lies in everyone's hands. Please support your province and clubs in any manner that will pursue the growth of the sport. Good playing and good health.
|
We've still got it!
By Carol Mulholland. From First Serve, vol. 9, no. 1, page 8, Fall 1994.
Every time the World Championships come around Canadian racquetballers often wonder - is Canada still a racquetball powerhouse? We can again answer this with an undeniable YES!! After experiencing the World Championship phenomena firsthand, I have come away with a great deal of respect for players who are truly among the best in the world - Racquetball Canada's National Team! To see the Canadian Maple Leaf on the back of two shirt in the men's championship final was a proud moment. To Sherman Greenfeld and Mike Ceresia.
For a number of years, countries developing the sport of racquetball have been modelling their play after our American counterparts; this year, however, the Canadian Team under the leadership of Gary Ness left their mark. Not only were we well represented on the court, but our players were ambassadors off court of whom we all could be proud. (Ask the three girls who were cheering on the men's doubles team in their semi final against the Mexicans - with an audience of approximately 200 loudly cheering Mexican fans! have you seen the Wave being done at a racquetball match?)
Silver medals in all the team competitions (men's, women's, combined and wheelchair) is a feat for which we should be proud. Our athletes have worked hard to get where they are and to elevate our sport to the level it has achieved internationally. Our women's team put up tough opposition to a strong American contingent and our men played tough in the team play, but even tougher in the individual competition. With the Pan Ams coming up this winter, Team Canada will be stronger than ever.
At this point, I would like to share with the membership the atmosphere created by the host Mexicans for thsi event. In a setting located high in the mountains, approximately 7300 feet above sea level, the city of San Luis Potosi welcomed players from around the world in a manner fit for royalty. From the opening ceremonies to the final banquet, there were bands, singers and dancers - all dressed in appropriate costumes - providing entertainment daily. Our Mexican hosts were only too willing to be helpful in any way they could - event to the extent of taking the group to a "bloodless" bullfight and Mexican rodeo.
As you can probably tell from this article, I was very excited to be a part of the Canadian contingent at these world championships. But I am probably more excited about the prospects for our team's continued domination internationally in this sport. The National Team program put in place two years ago by RC will ensure our continual development of a strong "competition ready" team no matter what event we enter. No longer is our sport in the position that we can take any matches for granted. There is tremendous respect for the talents of our opposition no matter who they play for. This fact alone will keep our athletes focused on their trek to racquetball excellence.
Again, congratulation to Ron Hughes (National Team COmmittee Chairman) and Gary Ness (National Coach) for putting together a team that performed so well. Congratulations to all the athletes for a job well done!
|
