The day after the US Open

The 2009 US Open ended yesterday, but there's still some news The Racquetball Blog wants you to know.

At Saturday's US Open banquet, the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) and the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) presented their annual awards.

WPRO Awards

Rookie of the year - Veronica Sotomayor
Most improved player - Kristen Bellows
Janet Myers sportsmanship award - Kerri Wachtel
Player of the year - Paola Longoria

IRT Awards

Most improved player - Kris Odegard
Sportsmanship award - Polo Gutierrez
Player of the year - Kane Waselenchuk

Open Division winners

Canadian Vincent Gagnon defeated Armando Landa, 15-10, 15-6, to win the men's open US Open title. He finished runner-up last year, when he lost to Gilberto Mejia. It's the first time a Canadian has won this division, and halts a six consecutive title streak by Mexican players.

Both Gagnon and Landa needed tie-breakers to win their semi-final matches. Gagnon defeated Alex Ackermann, 7-15, 15-5, 11-6, and Landa beat Alejandro Herrera, 15-7, 14-15, 11-3

Krystal Csuk won women's open division by defeating Harumi Kajino of Japan in the final, 15-8, 15-9. The division did not run to form, as Csuk was seeded 9th and Kajino 31st. They took out the 1st and 2nd seeds, respectively, as Csuk beat Aubry O'brien, 15-13, 15-11 in the quarter finals, and Kajino ousted Adrienne Fisher, 15-4, 15-5, in the Round of 32.

In Open doubles, Andres and Juan Herrera defeated Fernando Rios and Juan Diego Rodriguez, 15-7, 15-8 in the men's final, while Brandi Jacobson Prentice and Jennifer Saunders won the women's doubles crown with a victory over Jvonne Carplo and Maria Paz Munoz, 15-11, 15-10.

Follow the bouncing ball....