August 25-28, 2005
Recap of the Summer Cooler at Elmwood, as told by Dave Negrete
THE 2005 NEW ORLEANS SUMMER COOLER
As the new IRT season kicks off for the 2005-06 season the big buzz is the new Pro Penn HD ball. The players have adjusted quickly to the
ball and it shows. The Elmwood Fitness Center with its two stadium style courts looks great and the staff welcomed the tour and players back
with open arms. The locals were treated with some great racquetball in the pro-am doubles on Thursday evening. All the players had a great
time as did the sponsors as the pro's pulled out some of their great shot making ability and dazzling the spectators and sponsors alike.
Al Schof does a first class job running this event and his hard work does not go unnoticed.
Qualifying was tough as the biggest pro draw in the history of this event began at 4:45pm. All the higher seeds advanced in the preliminary
round creating some great match-ups for the round of thirty-two. No real upsets here either. Former top four ranked professional, John Ellis
still battling health issues bowed out to Kyle Veenstra in four games. The Herrera brothers, Juan and Andres battled for the family bragging
rights with Juan coming out on top in a close five game match.
Friday's round of sixteen matches took off at 11:30am with great anticipation in getting the season on the way. Jack Huczek continued were he
left off in Dallas disposing of Juan Herrera in three straight games. Jack looked sharp, as he got comfortable on the stadium court. Shane
Vanderson however was a little shaky and Chris Crowther was hitting missiles as Chris pulled off the first upset of the day, defeating Shane
in three straight. Kane Waselenchuk looked relaxed and confident as he took out Mitch Williams in three games. Mitch played tough in the third
losing 12-10. Mitch has moved to Colorado to work on his graduate degree at Colorado State and also compete on the university's racquetball team.
Mitch is planning on playing most of the stops this season and should make an impact this season. The other 12:30 match featured Josh Tucker
and Mike Guidry. Mike turned thirty-five this summer but played like he was eighteen and he took out Josh in four games. Josh played tough in
spurts, which was not enough. The 1:30 matches featured Cliff Swain against Alejandro Herrera and Alvaro Beltran against Jason Thoerner. Swain
was dominating and his serve was blistering. He easily beat Herrera in three. The Betran-Thoerner match was one of the longest three game matches
on the tour. Alvaro looked very fit and did control the court as Jason struggled to put together a run of points. Beltran prevails in this one.
Rocky Carson met Kyle Veenstra in the 2:30 session and was ready for the challenge winning in three. The tour will welcome Kyle full-time
this season and his traveling partner from Minneapolis, Aaron Granberg. Both players will be challenging the top players this season. In the
other 2:30 match the fans saw Jason Mannino face off against Andy Hawthorne. Andy had one of the tougher match ups in the round of thirty two
defeating Mexico's Javier Moreno in four tough games to get to the sixteen's. Andy played tough the first and surprised Jason winning 12-10 but
then it was all Mannino as he turned up the gets winning the next three games easily.
The first quarterfinal featured #2 Jack Huczek (Pro Kennex) and #10 Chris Crowther (Head Racquet Sports). Chris came to play and used his power
right from the start. He controlled the beginning of the game while Jack played steady making few mistakes. It was Jack who executed the key
shots to take the first game 12-10.Chris kept the pressure on in the second hitting rocket passes and kills from all over the court. Jack could
not close this game out and it was Crowther who finished 11-8. Jack took the lead right away in game three handling everything that Crowther hit
at him at warp speeds. Chris was leaving it all on the court blasting everything. Huczek showed some great hands in the third returning some
hard blasts from Crowther with soft pinches. Jack takes game three 11-7 and goes on to finish the match as Chris runs out of gas 11-.1. Match
time was I hour and 45 minutes
The second match showcased #1 Kane Waselenchuk and #8 Mike Guidry. Kane seeking his fourth straight New Orleans title played like he wanted it
and served the ball well. Mike played some tough ball jumping on a few serves but it was not enough as Kane takes game one 11-5. Guidry picks up
his intensity in games two and three but Kane is just too much winning 11-8,11-9. A young junior posed a question to Mike after the match, “How
long have you been playing Mr. Guidry?” Guidry replies, “ Kane when were you born, 1981? I have been playing since Kane was born, wow!”
The reply brought out the laughter in the crowd. Kane goes on to play in the 6pm semi-final on Saturday.
#3 Cliff Swain met #6 Alvaro Beltran in the third match that begins at 9:00pm. Alvaro comes out blazing taking a commanding10-4 lead only to see
Swain light up the serve and battle back in the game to tie it at 10. Both players trade serve numerous times until Swain finally puts away the game winner 13-11. It is all Beltran in the second as his drive serve comes alive and Swain struggles to find his game. Beltran wins shot after shot with his patented corner kills 11-2. Beltran once again takes off right away as Cliff tries to find the drive serve. A few unforced errors by Swain and Beltran's great drive serves help him take game three 11-4. Beltran did cap off both the second and third games with crack aces to the right side. Alvaro keeps the pressure on in the fourth and takes the match 11-5. Alvaro will meet Jack Huczek in the 4pm semi-final Saturday.
The last match of the evening gets started at 11:00pm between #4 Jason Mannino and #5 Rocky Carson. Jason continues his stellar play and Rocky just cannot seem to find a way to put together a string of points in any game. Jason is just too in this match and goes on to win 4,4,7 to meet Kane in the 6pm semi final on Saturday. After the match Jason mentioned to the crowd that he played very solid and with confidence which enabled him to control the match. Everything seemed to go his way in this match.
Earlier in the evening on Friday, the local players began watching the television for information on the threat of hurricane Katrina. At first
all indications were that the storm was not going to approach the New Orleans area with any great force. No one seemed to be concerned over the
impending storm. As we rose on Saturday morning the mood had changed quickly as Katrina was looking like it was going to change direction and
head right towards New Orleans. After careful consideration for the safety of all, the IRT, Elmwood Fitness Center and Tournament director,
Al Schof made the decision to postpone the event and evacuate the club that afternoon. Most of the players were able to get flights home that
afternoon or Sunday morning and the locals finished out their matches and left the city. By Sunday evening the city had called for mandatory
evacuation and the weather service had upgraded the hurricane to a level five. We wish the best for all those who reside in Katrina's path and
for a safe and speedy recovery.
Side notes
The IRT wishes good luck to long time club GM Ken Katchik, father of former tour professional Drew Kachtik as he leaves the Elmwood Fitness Center
to move on to some new and exciting ventures in the health and fitness world. You will be missed at the New Orleans event next year.
Thank you for all you have done for the IRT and racquetball.
A great job again by Al Schof and his entire staff for putting on a first class event. Some very tough decisions had to be made and the staff
handled it very well. Al you are one of the best!
Elmwood Fitness Center is definitely one of the best facilities the IRT plays in all season. Thanks you to all the staff for your warm welcome.
The food was great again which was sponsored by Houston's and was never ending.
It was great to have Charles Hollinger back and sponsoring the main exhibition court. The IRT and the players always appreciate your
hospitality and support
We want to thank all of our
2005 SUMMER COOLER PRO-AM SPONSORS.
This tournament wouldn't be possible without their generous support.
If you would like to be a Sponsor, click
HERE for more info.
