2002 Wilson 15th USRA National High School Racquetball Championships
Presented by Penn Racquet Sports

Multnomah Athletic Club
Portland, Oregon: March 1-3, 2002
Admission is free -- Spectators are welcome

Oregon native Jenny Cary (Beaverton, Ore.) upset No. 4 seed Kelley Fisher (Centerville, Ohio) in a close match that was decided in a tiebreaker. Cary, a senior at Aloha H.S., took the first game 15-6 only to see Fisher rebound in the second, 15-11, to force a tiebreaker. "I started off a little slow in the second game," said Cary. "I tried to come back but I was down so much (11-2) it was hard." Cary also found herself down in the tiebreaker, 7-2 at one point, but stuck to her game plan to pull out an 11-9 victory. "I just kept hitting my z-lob to her backhand," said Cary. "I also noticed that I wasn't bending my knees. After I started doing that I started making shots."

Another Oregon player nearly pulled off a second upset in the boy's singles division. Southridge High's Ryan Lindell (Beaverton, Ore.) faced No. 2 seed Travis Woodbury (Arlington, Va.) in the boy's quarterfinals. Woodbury won game one, 15-8, before Lindell evened things up by taking game two, 15-9. "In the first game I had a higher energy level and was concentrating more," said Woodbury. "He stepped it up in the second game; especially with his serves." Ironically it was Woodbury's serves in the tiebreaker that put him on top. "I reestablished my serve and began to mix in a soft lob serve," he explained. "I think that threw his timing off." Woodbury went on to win the tiebreaker 11-2 and earned his spot in Sunday's semifinals.

The tournament concludes Sunday at the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland, Ore. with semifinal and final matches. Players are not only competing for individual titles, but also for the national team title. Kirkwood H.S. (St. Louis, Mo.) won the title last year with Beaverton H.S. (Beaverton, Ore.) finishing second. Both schools are still in the hunt for the crown this year and Sunday's matches will decide the outcome.

"She is more into racquetball than I am. If there is a conflict between racquetball and something else, she always picks racquetball. For me if there is a conflict between racquetball and something else I have to think about it." Kelley Fisher, Sophomore at Centerville H.S. Centerville, Ohio. [On the differences between she and sister Adrienne.]

"Even when you are not the best player it's nice to play against really good competition to see how you match up against them." Rachel Dazey, Senior at St. Joseph Academy St. Louis, Mo.

"Not at all. This is my first year (competing at the U.S. National High School Championships) so I feel no pressure; especially since Jack's (Huczek) gone." Steven Klaiman, Senior at Episcopal H.S. Bellaire, Texas. [On the pressure of being the No. 1 seed in the tournament and referring to former two-time champion and current top 10 International Racquetball Tour [IRT] pro, Jack Huczek.]

"Usually I play better when I am not as comfortable. When I am used to the place, I don't take the tournament as serious as I should sometimes." Joey Lakowske, Freshman at Crescent Valley H.S. Corvallis, Ore. [On whether it is an advantage to play a national tournament in his home state.]

"I've never been in a bracket this large or played against people this much older and this much better than me." Charles Pratt, Sophomore at Sunset H.S. Beaverton, Ore. [On the level of competition at the U.S. National High School Championships.]

"No, I just take each match as it comes." Ashley Legget, Sophomore at Mazama H.S. Klamath Falls, Ore. [On the pressures of being the highest seed from Oregon (No. 2).]

"The amazing thing about this tournament is the team spirit. The way they watch their teams matches and cheer for their teams." John Ferguson, Vice-Commissioner Oregon State H.S. Racquetball Portland, Ore.

Adrienne, a junior at Centerville, is the defending U.S. High School girl's singles champion as well and often plays on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Association [LPRA] tour where she is currently ranked No. 17. She is also the current girl's 16-and-under national and world champion. She became the first freshman in history to win the U.S. High School championship in 2000 and has a chance to become the first player in history to win the title four times. "I will probably think about that next year," Adrienne said about the pressure of accomplishing the feat. "But I am not thinking about it now."

Kelley, a sophomore, is the No. 4 seed at the tournament, which means that she would have to go through sister Adrienne in order to earn a spot in Sunday's final. "I hate playing her," Kelly said. "Because I almost always lose." Although she may lose more often to her older sister, Kelley is an accomplished player in her own right. She is a current member on the U.S. Junior National team, placed third in girl's singles at this event last year, and second in girl's 14-and-under at the U.S. Junior National Championships.

As good as the two sisters are, they rarely play doubles together. "It's fun (playing doubles together)," said Kelley. "Whenever I am playing better I can tease her about it." Their father, Rex Fisher, disagrees, "They hate playing doubles together," he said. "No matter what they tell you." When they do play together they usually win. They are undefeated thus far in their quest to defend their title and are the favorites to repeat.

"I think it's a strong competition between the two and (last year) it was nice to have the title somewhere besides Oregon." Nathan Rich, Senior at Kirkwood H.S. (2001 High School National Champions) St. Louis, Mo. [On the rivalry between Oregon and Missouri in high school racquetball.]

"I'd like to see more people playing in Virginia. I go to school and some people don't even know what racquetball is." Travis Woodbury, Senior at Washington-Lee H.S. Arlington, Va. [On being the only representative from Virginia to attend the event.]

"Yeah, I feel some pressure; but not as much as some people think." Kimberly Walsh, Sophomore at Skyline H.S. Salt Lake City, Utah. [On the pressures of following older sister Kristen Walsh, a former high school national champion.]

"Lot's of feeder matches." Andy Klibowitz, Senior at Hamilton H.S. Sussex, Wisc. His opinion of the first day of play.

"More fun and less competition than other junior tournaments." David LaForest, Sophomore at Xavier H.S. Queens Village, N.Y. Comparing the U.S. National High School Championships against other junior national events.

"At the local level you have mostly C and D players. Most of the players that fly in from around the country are Open and A level players." Jim Hiser, USRA Executive Director Colorado Springs, Colo. On why there are so many lopsided matches in the early rounds of competition.

"I reffed over ten matches so I could pay for my spring break." Laurie Fisk, Senior at Kirkwood H.S. St. Louis, Mo.

Friday saw many early round matches with lopsided results. "At the local level you have mostly C and D players," explains USRA Executive Director Jim Hiser. "Most of the players that fly in from around the country are Open and A level players. That is why you might sometimes have lopsided matches." As the draw dwindles down the level of play promises to pick up. There are only 32 players left in both the boy's and girl's singles divisions.

The winner of both the boy's and girl's singles divisions receive one-year appointments to the U.S. Junior National team. Ten members of the current U.S. Junior National team are participating in the event and all advanced into the round of 32. Four members, Joey Lakowske (Corvallis), Charles Pratt (Portland), Jenny Cary (Beaverton), Ashley Legget (Klamath Falls) hail from Oregon and are enjoying the home turf advantage. All four players advanced into Saturday's round of 32.

Team competition is the main focus of the tournament with the final results still up in the air. 2001 champion Kirkwood High School (St. Louis, Mo.) and runner-up Beaverton High School (Beaverton, Ore.) are still the front-runners but expect tough competition from Sprague High School (Salem, Ore.). Traditionally, Missouri and Oregon have the best high school racquetball programs in the country. The two states have earned eleven of the fourteen U.S. National High School Championship team titles between them.

Oregon -- Portland in particular -- has one of the strongest high school and junior racquetball programs in the country, winning five of the last six National High School team titles. "Our emphasis on team play is the story of our success," explains John Ferguson (Portland, Ore.), Vice-Commissioner of the Oregon High School Racquetball Association [OHSRA]. "A team will not necessarily win a state or national title with one superstar. To do it successfully you need a good team." Ferguson points to the success of Beaverton H.S., three time national champions and current Oregon state champions, to solidify his point. "I don't think that Beaverton has one player that has won an individual national title, but they have a great shot at winning the team title this year."

Of course, with the level of competition the OHSRA provides, a few "superstars" have emerged from the ranks. Oregon boasts four members of the U.S. Junior National team, all of which will compete this weekend in the tournament. Ashley Legget (Klamath Falls, Ore.) of Mazama H.S., Jenny Cary (Beaverton, Ore.) of Aloha H.S., Joey Lakowske (Corvallis, Ore.) of Crescent Valley H.S., and Charles Pratt (Portland, Ore.) of Sunset H.S. are members of the U.S. Junior National team. They will challenge for individual titles, as well as try to help their teams capture a national title.

Missouri also has a strong high school racquetball program and is the home of current national champions Kirkwood H.S. (St. Louis, Mo.). "We (Missouri) have good coaches. The coaching staffs have been in place for many years," said Jim Murphy (St. Louis, Mo.), Missouri High School Racquetball Director. "We also have a strong junior varsity program that gives us a constant feeder system into our varsity programs." Murphy believes the J.V. program helps to push the varsity players to practice harder and at the same time provides incentive for the J.V. players to push themselves to one day play at the varsity level.

Virtually all of the forty-plus Missouri players are from the St. Louis area including Missouri State High School girl's champion Betsy Rombach (Nerinx Hall H.S.) and state runner-up Laurie Fisk (Kirkwood, H.S.). Missouri's boy's champion Brent Goldman (Parkway Central H.S.) and runner-up Kevin Moore (St. Louis University) also reside in the St. Louis area.

It seems logical that a rivalry exists between the two states that have the most successful high school racquetball programs in the country. Murphy downplays the rivalry, but Ferguson believes that the rivalry is real and growing. "I think it really got our kids attention last year," said Ferguson of Kirkwood H.S. winning the national title, ending Oregon's five-year dominance. "I think it made them (the Oregon players) work harder this year and has them looking out for those Missouri players."