USA Racquetball Junior National Team 2017

XXIX 2017 Junior World Racquetball Championship Blogs – Day 8

Day 8 of the USA Racquetball XXIX 2017 Junior World Racquetball Championship Blogs has been published by Cheryl Kirk.

Originally published on November 10, 2017.

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US Junior Team — Blog #8
Friday, November 10, 2017

Greetings to all! Tomorrow on Veterans Day, we join our fellow Americans in honoring the sacrifices of all those who serve and have served. Thank you to all U.S. veterans! Please see the end of this Blog #8 for a little more information on Veterans Day.**
 
Brief weather report…as I write this, a dusting of snow has fallen on downtown Minneapolis, and the kids from the Central and South American are loving it! An observation: someone does need to teach Walking on Snow 101…
 
Coach Charlie Recaps the Day
Well, Akul almost gave Coach Pratt another heart attack. 11-10 win! All World Cup matches were played on the back courts 4-8 which created an unforgettable atmosphere. We were able to cheer for each other on three different courts at one time.
 
Nikita started us off at 10 am against the Mexican #1, falling short in two games. What a great tournament for Nikita! Bronze medal! Annie followed on the same court, playing Mexico’s #1 in 14’s. She fought hard, but it wasn’t her day. This tournament brings the best players in the world, and although Annie is one of the best, you have to bring it every match, and you have to be the better player every time in an event that only gets harder.
 
Tatoe played the same time as Annie. He was doing very well, but his momentum faded as the match went on. He lost in two games to the #1 from Mexico. Akul went on shortly after Tatoe. His match was insane, and to save you all the drama, and myself a panic attack, I’ll just give you the scores: 11-15, 15-14, 11-10. He was down 10-8. Akul plays Mexico’s #1 tomorrow in the final.
 
Our team captain, Daniel, won his semifinal against Mexico’s #1, Gerardo Franco. Daniel played phenomenally, described by his fellow Stocktonians as ‘the best ever.’ He won in two games and plays Mexico’s #2 tomorrow in the final.
 
Tatoe and Akul won their doubles in two games against Ecuador. They play Mexico tomorrow in the finals.
 
The Girls 14 Doubles of Heather and Julia played their best racquetball of the tournament today. They played a very tough Mexican team, going point for point with great rallies, dives from Heather, and thunderous forehands from Julia. Despite their best effort, they lost in two games, but made their coaches very proud!
 
The Girls 16 Doubles played a tough Bolivian team and lost in two games. It was their first loss in the tournament and their round robin. They play for silver tomorrow against Mexico. Podium, nonetheless! We are also very proud of Briana and Graci!
 
Tomorrow concludes our tournament. What a week it has been! We have more finals matches in the Esprit divisions. Very proud of our younger players!
 
Let’s go USA!!! GO FOR GOLD!!

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