The number one seeds have maintained their domination of the Australian Racquetball titles.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Cameron White remains unbeaten over 15 years after toppling second seed Jason Mudge, 21-17, 21-8.
“Cameron went into the competition underdone, and a lot of people thought he was suspect,” Australian Racquetball’s Paul Vear said.
“But he has the ability to lift a gear when the pressure really comes on.”
Work commitments had restricted White’s preparation, with Mudge’s only loss in the sport coming against the national star in 2014.
And it was a similar story in the Open women’s.
Sarah Fitz-Gerald continued her seven-year undefeated reign with a straight sets win over South Australian, Corinne Yallup-Cross, 21-9, 21-8.
“Sarah was a bit like that when she played squash, just a bit better than anybody else,” Vear said.
Fitz-Gerald was a five-time world Open winner in squash from 1996-2002, and is a member of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
Both Fitz-Gerald and White acted as ambassadors for the titles.
Officials have been delighted with the tournament, attracting its biggest field since the mid-1990s with 235 entries.
“The people here in Albury and Wodonga have been tremendous,” Vear said.
“We’ve used three venues, the Commercial Club, the Albury Club and in Wodonga, and that has worked well.”
Vear says one of the reasons the Border was selected for the championships was due to its booming nature.
“Four years ago it was squash with 90 per cent of the players, and racquetball with 10 per cent,” he said.
“Now it’s 50-50, and that doesn’t mean squash has fallen away.
“We have 32 juniors at these titles, with the majority from this region.”
And those juniors played starring roles.
Boom youngster Alex Baines won A grade, while Daniel Chu claimed the C division.
Justin Chu won the under 13s, while Baines’ younger siblings Nicola and Gabby snared E grade and the junior girls under 13 respectively.
“It’s been great to watch the development of our juniors, and they really showed the way,” Commercial Club Squash and Racquetball’s Ross Falconer said.
“We’re delighted with the event.
“The decision on next year’s titles will be made in November, but at this stage if the local club looks to re-apply they would start favourite because it’s all gone off very well,” Vear said.
The Commercial Club also hosted a capacity presentation function on Saturday night.