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DICK ELLIS TROPHY
for Outstanding Male Team
Canadian Men's Racquetball Team
Nominated by Racquetball Canada
Fresh from a training camp that did wonders for chemistry, cohesiveness, and camaraderie, Canada's racquetball team headed to the 2000 world championships with high hopes. Even without reigning world champion Sherman Greenfeld, who has retired, Canada's men's side was strong. Playing singles were two-time national champion Kane Waselenchuk of Spruce Grove, Alta., and powerful server Brian Istace of Calgary. Contesting doubles were national champions Mike Ceresia of Burlington, Ont., and Mike Green of Hannon, Ont., well known for their skill and determination.
In overall team competition, Canada was in the hunt for gold, mindful that every title in the event's 19-year-history had been won by the United States, but quietly confident.
Istace, who won the individual bronze medal earlier in the week, got things started with a solid win over Doug Eagle of the United States. Waselenchuk, only 18 but already building a reputation for mental toughness, took on individual silver medallist Rocky Carson of the United States, but lost in the tiebreaker.
With the competition even at 1-1, the stage was set for the final doubles match. Playing as though possessed, and incredibly focused, Ceresia and Green outlasted a feisty American pair, winners of the doubles silver medal in individual play, to win the tiebreaker in the last of six matches and assure Canada its first ever gold medal in overall team competition.
The victory, combined with the women's silver medal performance, also gave Canada the World Racquetball Team Championship, handing another first ever loss to the United States. Canada also brought home the prestigious World Cup, awarded to the country whose athletes garner the most points during team competition.
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