Arizona State Lady Devils finish 3rd in the Nation! Overall team finishes 8th
After a silent showing in 2009, the Lady Devils came back on fire in 2010 as they place their racquetball skills to finish 3rd in the nation. Congratulations Lady Devils. The #1 seed for the women’s, Michelle Key finished with the silver medal after taking out the defending champion Sheryl Lotts in the semifinals. Izayadeth Aguayo in her first year with the team went in as the #2 seed. She cruised the first two rounds only to discover Haily Miller from Oregon University in the quarterfinals as her stopping stone. Ashley Jimenez, who was the Lady’s #3 seed (also a freshman for the team), also cruised her way into the quarterfinals only to be stopped by the #1 seed, Brittany Travers. Ashley battled to a 11-5 loss in the tiebreaker. Haydee Cruz, 3rd year on the team, entered the tournament lean and fighting mean as she was on a mission this year. As Haydee rushed through the draw without dropping a game, found her toughest match of the tournament in the semifinals, the #1 seed from Oregon State University, Teresa Wright. The #5 seed, in only her second year on the team, Kristen Frisk was definitely on a mission after last years performance. She was determine to prove she belonged on the team. After this weekend, she not only proved her guts but also proved she can play hurt. The courage she gave on the court not only motivated the team but proved why this team won the National Championship in 2007. Kristen made it to the finals after a very very exciting semifinals (11-10 tiebreaker). Even though she made out of the tournament with a silver medal, I can rest assure you this girl has the fire to win it all next year. Vian Gerwargis in her first year on the team, made some sound improvements throughout the year as she battled in her first two rounds of the tournament. Even though she wasn’t as successful as she wanted to be, be sure this young Devil will be back next year!! Lady Devils Doubles also made a great showing at the tournament, as Key/Aguayo fought their way to the semifinals only to give way to Lotts/Hawthrone. Jimenez/Cruz also had the same path for the #2 seed doubles only to fall short in the semifinals. Snelling/Gerwargis also proved they were no slouch for the #3 doubles as they battled all the way to the semifinals.
Men’s who finished 16th had some great battles with some of the toughest men out there in the field. Granted the team didn’t get deep into the tournament you have to give a big hand to the players who gave their dedication and efforts. Kamran Masood who has been playing the best ball since being on the team faced one top freshman racquetballers of 2010, Taylor Knoth. Kam battled to a 15-11 and 15-9 loss but earned some major respect from Taylor. In the #2 seed, Will Bessette ran into a tough first round loss on to be placed in the White division and outright owned the rest of the tournament winning the gold in easy fashion. Matt Barcellos, the #3 seed, entered the tournament more determine that he has ever been, lost the first round entering the Red division only to find out he can battle with the rest of this men. Matt went on to the quarterfinals only to have continuous exchanges and battles with Ty Stolp. Ty got the better of Matt, but be sure Matt will be back next year in pursuit to the next level. Johnny Cheney who is in his 3rd year with the team is now trying to take the game to the next step. Johnny who has probably the most raw talent on the team and will beat most people on the court because of it. Johnny faced a very tough crowd on this weekend as he lost his first round, but managed to win the next two in the Red division only to be taken out in a very close tiebreaker in the quarterfinals (11-10). Johnny has one year left on the team, let’s hope he can take his given talents and push it to the next level. Josh Malmskog enter his first year with the team as the #5 seed. Josh has great movement and skills to be a bright future for the team. With some great coaching by Darrin, Josh will be a solid player very soon. Josh managed to go a couple of rounds before getting knocked out by Andrew Anthony in the round of 16s. Matt Nahlik another first year player made a his debut as the #6 seed. Going two rounds in the gold division he was stopped in the quarterfinals by the #1 seed, Rishi Ghosh. Masood/Bessette lost their first round in doubles but made a great showing in the consolation draw only to give way to Godwin/Ruiz. Cheney/Barcellos also lost their first round of their doubles, but fought their way to the gold medal in the consolation draw! Good job guys! Malmskog/Nahlik who ran into tough times in their first round managed to go into the consolation and work over a couple of teams only to fall short in the semifinals of the Consolation bracket. Good job Sun Devils, let’s work harder and get them next year!
As you read above and the amount of years that surrounds these group of Devil Racquetballers, you can see the experience is very low compare to most teams. While these men and women put out their efforts on the court, most of the credit belongs to Darrin Schenck. Darrin has given the ASU program a lot of time and dedication to everyone on this team. Without Darrin’s effort none of this would have been possible. While Darrin/ASU can not issue out racquetball scholarships like most schools, he does get each racquetballer that steps on the court the very best knowledge and information just like the ones that win the pro-tour and have become legends of the game. If you ever get a chance to talk or run into Darrin, be sure to give a special handshake and say “Thank you” for your hard efforts. Again neither Darrin nor the players get any money from the school, it is purely a hobby in which the whole entire team enjoys!! Congratulations Sun Devils on a very successful year!
more information on the draws can be found by clicking on here
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