ROBERTS WINS IN MINNEAPO.LIS By Jack Neu11nan Excitement was in the air for the VCI World Championships June 23-27 at the Burnsville Swim and Racquet Club. Not only was this the fin<;ll of the VCI tournament series, but pro racquetball was being telecast on ESPN for the first time in ten years. Also on the line was the prestigious VCI Cup, which would go to the player who had earned the most points in the five VCI events of the series.
was Kachtik defeating Woody Clouse in four games, followed by Ruben Gonzalez beating Mike Ceresia in four. Mike Ray fought off Tim Sweeney in four games and Tim Doyle smashed Dan Obremski three straight to advance. Mike Guidry needed four games to defeat qualifier Kevin Graham, while Andy Roberts avenged an earlier season loss in taking out Aaron Katz in three straight. Jack
Newman needed five games to get by Dave Johnson, and Cliff Swain beat Roger Harripersad in four games.
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Quarterfinals The firsfmatch of the round saw Kachtik jump out to a first game victory over Gonzalez, 11-6. The second game went to Ruben, 11-3. Tied one game apiece, the two players battled for the undisputed #4 spot in the world. Gonzalez was able to prevail12-10, 11-8 to continue his mastery over Kachtik. The second quarterfinal match featured the control of Mike Ray against the power of Tim Doyle. Although Ray had beaten Doyle in every match this season, Doyle had been playing better as of late. In a
Round of 32 A couple of excellent matches started the tournament. Rob McKinney, who pushed Andy Roberts earlier this season, did the same as he battled Drew Kachtik for five games. McKinney had match point in the fifth game, only to have Drew fight him off to stay alive 14-12. Roger Harripersad and Egan Inoue squared off in a battle of power and speed. Egan jumped out to a 2-1 game lead only to have Roger come back and win games four and five to take the rna tch. The other top seeds all moved on with the exception of Bret Harnett, who was a no show for his first round match.
Round of 16 The round of 16 almost went exactly to the seeding. First up
PHOTO : SCOTT LIPARELLI
RACQUETBALL Magazine
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September-October 1993