May - June 1999
| Vol. 10, No. 3

For Utah’s Kristen Walsh and Washington’s Stephen Lewis, their High School title wins earned them each an extended stay on the U.S. Junior National Team.

In Portland, Oregon for the first time this decade, shifting the Wilson 12th U.S. National High School Championships, presented by Penn Racquet Sports, to northwest territory did offer quite a good weekend to singles winners Kristen Walsh and Stephen Lewis — as well as the entire Beaverton High School squad, which won its third overall team title in the past four years.

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Daily Site Reports | Wrap-Up & Final Results

Boy’s Gold Division Qualifier

After losing in the finals of the past two high school championships, Ryan Staten entered this season’s event as the favorite. Surely he wouldn’t leave with a silver medal again. Thanks to Portland’s Trevor Crowe, Staten wasn’t forced to take home the second place hardware. Instead, Crowe eliminated the top seed 15-13, 8-15, 11-7 in the round of 16! Staten’s rip-and-shoot style proved detrimental as the Dodge City, Kan., product repeatedly ripped and shot the ball into the floorboards. Conversely, Crowe played well within himself and made very few mistakes.

“What’s been happening to me the last eight months?” Staten questioned. “It’s the same problem I’ve had all of my life, I beat myself. I haven’t made myself realize that hitting the ball 7½-feet high is still going to be better than skipping it. At least you still have a chance if you hit it that high.”

Staten pointed to a much needed on-court attitude adjustment as a possible remedy.

“It’s like the saying from ‘White Men Can’t Jump,” Staten said. “I would rather look good and lose than look bad and win. On the court, that’s how I think ... and I’m trying to change that.”

For Crowe, it was his finest racquetball hour. “Trevor played so well, I’ve never seen him play better,” Crowe’s mother Terryl said. “That’s an honor (for him) to beat a player that good.”

It was Crowe’s finely-tuned game plan that allowed the Westview H.S. student to advance into the quarterfinals. “Since he (Staten) is obviously best at sidewall splats and pinches and also has the most power of any of the juniors, the No. 1 thing is I had to take away the side walls,” Crowe said. “So I just hit ceiling balls to the middle of the court. Also, you have to take away his power hitting by changing up speeds so he can’t just hit everything full bore.”

An hour and a half later, Crowe fell to Jason Jansen (Fargo South H.S., Fargo, N.D.) 15-7, 15-3 in the quarters.

Meanwhile, No. 4 seeded Stephen Lewis of Kennewick, Wash., was reeling off one victory after another. Lewis advanced to the finals by putting away fifth-seeded Matt Gehling (Broadneck H.S., Annapolis, Md.), 15-6, 15-9, then No. 8-seeded Jansen, 15-2, 9-15, 11-5.

“Going in, the week or two before, I felt like I had a really good shot,” Lewis said. “I was playing really well and had a lot of confidence. I felt like I had the mental edge over everybody.” By working with IRT pro Derek Robinson on a weekly basis, Lewis’ game has improved tremendously.

In the finals, the Kamiakin H.S. senior met third-seeded Shane Vanderson (Dublin Scioto H.S., Dublin, Ohio). Vanderson, along with Huczek and current No. 1 player in the world Sudsy Monchik, is one of the most decorated juniors in the record books.

Nevertheless, Lewis fought off Vanderson, 14-15, 15-14, 11-5 for the crown.

Girl’s Gold Division Qualifier

Defending champion and top-seeded Brooke Crawford of Klamath Falls, Ore. was only out of a hand cast for about a week before the Rose City event. Was her hand bothering her? Probably, but the Henley H.S. senior wouldn’t admit it.

Early on, Crawford cruised past the competition. She defeated Amy Jo Hollingsworth (North Salem H.S., Salem, Ore.) 15-4, 15-0 in the quarterfinals and No. 4 seed Lauren Deutsch (Bellaire H.S., Houston, Texas), 15-9, 15-7 in the semifinals.

In the bottom-half of the girl’s bracket, Kristen Walsh, representing Skyline H.S. in Salt Lake City, was tossing aside the opposition with such ease that some fans were beginning to wonder if Crawford could beat the Utah sensation — injured or not. Walsh took out Jane Rombach from Nerinx Hall H.S. in St. Louis, Mo., 15-6, 15-2 in the quarters and Denver’s Molly Law of Mullen High in the semis, 15-12, 15-7.

“I was very consistent,” Walsh said of her play. “My goal was to keep everybody under five (points) per game. I was a little skeptical of that goal in the finals (against Brooke Crawford), then I just decided to go for it. I didn’t really have anything to lose.”

Final score: Walsh over Crawford, 15-3, 15-3 — less than five points in each game and a glimpse at what could become one of racquetball’s best women’s players.

“I was so focused on that match, that, afterward, it almost felt like my brain hurt,” Walsh said jokingly. “I really respect Brooke. I’m sure it (the hand injury) affected her a little bit. I’ve seen Brooke play a lot better than that. She did miss shots that she usually would have made. I don’t know if that was because of her hand or because I was putting pressure on her.”

Crawford refused to take credit away from Walsh by pointing to her hand, saying, “Kristen played very, very well. She was rollin’ out my serves. She was shooting really well and killing the ball. She took advantage of every opportunity. I was a little bit off and she just pounced.”