Competition Underway for Team Canada at Pan Am Championships
WINNIPEG, MB, April 14, 2019 – Play is underway at the Pan American Racquetball championships taking place in Barranquilla, Colombia from April 13 to 20, 2019.
Jennifer Saunders of Winnipeg, who will compete in doubles, brings the most experience to the team. She has represented Canada on twenty-nine occasions internationally, winning more than twenty medals over the span of her career, including a bronze medal at the 2015 Pan Am Games and several world championship medals.
Danielle Drury of Saskatoon will join Saunders on the court in doubles. Drury has represented Canada previously and holds a Canadian Open Women’s Double’s Championship title with Saunders.
Michèle Morissette of Baie-Comeau and Erin Geeraert of Calgary round out the team, both playing singles. Morissette has also represented Canada several times internationally and was a member of the Pan Am Games women’s team which won bronze. Geeraert is competing for her first time at an elite international level.
Samuel Murray of Baie-Comeau has medaled at the international level and is currently the seventh ranked athlete in singles on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT). Murray will play both the singles and doubles events at the Pan Am Championships.
Pan Am Games medalist Coby Iwaasa of Lethbridge will also play singles and doubles. Iwaasa had been away from the sport for a couple of years but quickly returned to his position on the national team and in the rankings and has also represented Canada internationally this season.
The coach for Team Canada will be Michel Gagnon of Montréal and Christian Lord also of Montréal joins the team staff as Team Physiotherapist.
The first few days of competition will determine seeding for the elimination round which will begin Wednesday, April 17.
Results of the Pan Am Championships impacts the number of athletes named to the Pan Am Games team for Lima and also influences the seeding for that tournament.
The event will be live-streamed by the International Racquetball Federation. Links to the draws, results and live-streaming can be found on the International Racquetball Federation website.
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Athlete
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Hometown
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Event
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Personal Coach
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Coby Iwaasa
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Lethbridge, AB | Singles & Doubles | Corey Osborne |
| Samuel Murray | Baie-Comeau, QC | Singles & Doubles | Rino Langelier |
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Athlete
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Hometown | Event | Personal Coach |
| Danielle Drury | Saskatoon, SK | Doubles | Loren Prentice |
| Erin Geeraert | Calgary, AB | Singles | Tim Landeryou |
| Michèle Morissette | Baie-Comeau, QC | Singles | Michel Gagnon |
| Jennifer Saunders | Winnipeg, MB | Singles & Doubles | Corey Osborne |
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Name
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Hometown | Role |
| Michel Gagnon | Montréal, QC | Head Coach |
| Christian Lord | Montréal, QC | Physiotherapist |
