Iwaasa & Murray Win Gold at Pan Am Championships!
WINNIPEG (April 14, 2022) – Coby Iwaasa of Lethbridge, Alberta and Samuel Murray of Baie-Comeau, Québec have struck gold at the Pan Am Championships being held in Santa Cruz de le Sierra, Bolivia.
Iwaasa and Murray came out on top in today’s final against Juan Francisco Cueva and José Daniel Ugalde of Ecuador, winning with scores of 10-15, 15-13, 15-5, 11-15, 11-5.
The Canadians had a strong match, serving and placing their shots well. It looked like the match could go either way after four games, but Team Canada took control early in the tiebreaker and made it extremely difficult for the team from Ecuador to find a way back into the game.
This is the first gold medal for either Iwaasa or Murray at the elite international level. They have played doubles as a team in previous international events, winning silver at the 2019 Pan Am Championships.
“I am very happy with our win today,” said Samuel Murray afterwards. “The team from Ecuador surprised us at the beginning of the match but we were able to make changes so we started to play better. I have been working very hard to have great results for Team Canada, so I am really happy to finally win for the team. Being able to do it with Coby is awesome.”
“It feels surreal. It feels great to be competing internationally again and have a great partner like Sam to play with,” said Coby Iwaasa. “The match was intense all the way through. Cueva and Ugalde were getting everything and killing everything, but we stayed calm. In the fifth game, I played more relaxed and felt I was able to work well with Sam to come up with the win.”
In other events, Murray advanced to the quarterfinals in Men’s Open Singles. Iwaasa and partner Juliette Parent of Saint-Jacques, Québec played in the Mixed Open Doubles quarterfinals.
Alexis Iwaasa of Lethbridge, Alberta and Cassie Prentice of Macrorie, Saskatchewan also advanced to the quarterfinals in the Women’s Open Doubles event. Prentice played in the Girl’s 21 & U quarterfinals.
In the Women’s Open consolation event, Parent faced Michèle Morissette of Baie-Comeau. Québec, with Parent coming out as the victor. Trevor Webb of Cambridge, Ontario advanced to the semi-final in the Men’s Open consolation event.
The Team Competition gets underway today at the Pan Am Championships. In this event, nations face off in a combination of singles and doubles matches.
Twelve Pan American nations competed in the 2022 Pan Am Championship. The tournament is held annually but was cancelled in 2020 and 2021. Play began on April 9 and will wrap up on April 16.
Click here for complete results.
Click here to link to athlete biographies which include highlights of national and international results.
The event is being streamed live on the International Racquetball Facebook Page. Click here to link to the page.
Team Canada Medal Round Results
Women’s Open Singles (Consolation)
Quarterfinals:
(5) Michèle Morissette (CAN) defeated (4) Angela Veronica Ortega Sabido (MEX), 12-15, 15-6, 9-15, 15-6, 11-6; (7) Juliette Parent (CAN) defeated (2) Maria Paz Riquielme (COL), 15-8, 15-8, 15-10.
Semi-finals:
(5) Morissette (CAN) defeated (1) Cristina Amaya (COL), forfeit; (7) Parent (CAN) defeated (6) Maricruz Ortiz (CRC), 12-15, 15-13 15-8, 15-0 (injury withdrawal)
Final:
(7) Parent (CAN) defeated (5) Morissette (CAN), 15-13, 12-15, 10-15, 15-10, 11-8.
Men’s Open Singles
Round of 16:
(7) Samuel Murray (CAN) defeated (10) Filipe Camacho (CRI), 15-2, 15-2, 15-11;
Quarterfinals:
(2) Alex Landa (USA) defeated (7) Murray (CAN), 15-12, 9-15, 15-12, 15-10.
Men’s Open Singles Consolation
Round of 16:
(8) Trevor Webb (CAN) defeated (9) Abraham Mercado (PUR), 15-7. 15-6, 15-7.
Quarterfinals:
(8) Webb (CAN) defeated (1) Juan Salvatierra (GUA), 6-15, 11-15, 15-6, 15-14, 11-8.
Semifinals:
(5) Mario Mercado (COL) defeated (8) Webb (CAN), 14-15, 15-12, 15-6, 15-11.
Women’s Open Doubles
Quarterfinals:
(2) Maria Jose Vargas / Natalia Mendez (ARG) defeated (7) Alexis Iwaasa / Cassie Prentice (CAN), 15-8, 15-6, 15-11.
Men’s Open Doubles
Round of 16:
(4) Coby Iwaasa / Samuel Murray (CAN), bye
Quarterfinals:
(4) Iwaasa / Murray (CAN) defeated (5) Erick Trujillo / Elias Nieto (MEX), 15-7, 15-9, 15-8.
Semifinals
(4) Iwaasa / Murray (CAN) defeated Jake Bredenbeck / Sam Bredenbeck (USA), 15-13, 15-13, 15-12.
Finals:
(4) Iwaasa / Murray (CAN) defeated Juan Francisco Cueva / José Daniel Ugalde (ECU), 10-15, 15-13, 15-5, 11-15, 11-5.
Mixed Open Doubles
Round of 16: (3) Coby Iwaasa / Juliette Parent (CAN), bye
Quarterfinals: (6) Rodrigo Montoya / Samantha Salas Solis (MEX) defeated Iwaasa / Parent (CAN), 15-6, 15-9, 15-12.
Girl’s 21 & U Singles
Round of 16:
(5) Cassie Prentice (CAN), bye
Quarterfinals:
(4) Valeria Dentellas (ARG) defeated (5) Prentice (CAN), 15-10. 15-13, 15-11.
Team Canada Final Standings.
Women’s Open Singles
- Juliette Parent (Saint-Jacques, QC), 11th
- Michèle Morissette (Baie-Comeau, QC), 12th
Men’s Open Singles:
- Samuel Murray (Baie-Comeau, QC), 5th
- Trevor Webb (Cambridge, ON), 15th
Women’s Open Doubles
- Alexis Iwaasa (Lethbridge, AB) / Cassie Prentice (Macrorie, SK), 5th
Men’s Open Doubles
- Coby Iwaasa (Lethbridge, AB) / Samuel Murray (Baie-Comeau, QC),
Mixed Open Doubles
- Coby Iwaasa (Lethbridge, AB) / Juliette Parent (Saint-Jacques, QC), 5th
Girl’s 21 & U Singles
- Cassie Prentice (Macrorie, SK), 5th
Iwaasa & Murray Win Gold at Pan Am Championships!
(4) Iwaasa / Murray (CAN) defeated (5) Erick Trujillo / Elias Nieto (MEX), 15-7, 15-9, 15-8.
Semifinals
(4) Iwaasa / Murray (CAN) defeated Jake Bredenbeck / Sam Bredenbeck (USA), 15-13, 15-13, 15-12.
Finals:
(4) Iwaasa / Murray (CAN) defeated Juan Francisco Cueva / Jose Daniel Ugalde (ECU), 10-15, 15-13, 15-5, 11-15, 11-5.
Mixed Open Doubles
Round of 16: (3) Coby Iwaasa / Juliette Parent (CAN), bye
Quarterfinals: (6) Rodrigo Montoya / Samantha Salas Solis (MEX) defeated Iwaasa / Parent (CAN), 15-6, 15-9, 15-12.
Girl’s 21 & U Singles
Round of 16:
(5) Cassie Prentice (CAN), bye
Quarterfinals:
(4) Valeria Dentellas (ARG) defeated (5) Prentice (CAN), 15-10. 15-13, 15-11.
Team Canada Final Standings.
Women’s Open Singles
- Juliette Parent (Saint-Jacques, QC), 11th
- Michèle Morissette (Baie-Comeau, QC), 12th
Men’s Open Singles:
- Samuel Murray (Baie-Comeau, QC), 5th
- Trevor Webb (Cambridge, ON), 15th
Women’s Open Doubles
- Alexis Iwaasa (Lethbridge, AB) / Cassie Prentice (Macrorie, SK), 5th
Men’s Open Doubles
- Coby Iwaasa (Lethbridge, AB) / Samuel Murray (Baie-Comeau, QC),
Mixed Open Doubles
- Coby Iwaasa (Lethbridge, AB) / Juliette Parent (Saint-Jacques, QC), 5th
Girl’s 21 & U Singles
- Cassie Prentice (Macrorie, SK), 5th
