Rhonda Rajsich

Rhonda Rajsich

Rajsich at 2006 Worlds
Personal information
Birth name	Rhonda Rajsich
Nickname(s)	Rhonda Rocks, Rondeezee
Nationality	American
Born	(1978-10-07) October 7, 1978 Phoenix, Arizona
Residence	Phoenix, Arizona
Height	5'10"
Sport
Country	USA
Sport	Racquetball
College team	Stephen F. Austin
Team	Ektelon, rollout
Coached by	Jim Winterton
Achievements and titles
National finals	1st singles (2004, 2006, 2007), 1st doubles (2012 & 2015)
Highest world ranking	No. 1 (2005-08, 2010-11)
Medal record World Championships 2008 Singles 2010 Singles 2012 Singles 2012 Doubles 2012 Team 2014 Singles Pan American Games 2011 Guadalajara Singles 2011 Guadalajara Doubles 2011 Guadalajara Team 2015 Toronto Singles 2015 Toronto Doubles 2015 Toronto Team Pan American Championships 2002 Singles 2007 Singles 2007 Doubles 2008 Singles 2011 Singles 2012 Singles 2013 Doubles 2013 Singles World Games 2009 Singles 2013 Singles

Rhonda Rajsich (born October 7, 1978) is an American racquetball player. She has won two Racquetball World Championships and four US Open championships. Rajsich was the #1 player on the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization season ending rankings four times - from 2005-06 to 2007-08 and again in 2010-11. She is of Serbian descent.^[1][2]

Professional career

Rajsich has been in the finals of the US Open a record eleven times with a 4-7 win-loss record. Her four US Open titles are second most for a woman behind Paola Longoria with six. She defeated Longoria in the US Open final twice in 2009 and 2010, and Rajsich also won in 2003, when she beat Christie Van Hees in the final and 2007, when she defeated Cheryl Gudinas in the final.^[3] She has been a top 4 player on the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization tour since the 2000-01 season, achieving the season ending #1 ranking for four seasons (2006–2008 & 2010-11).

International career

Rajsich won back to back World Championship titles, first at the 2008 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in Kingscourt, Ireland and then in 2010 in Seoul, South Korea. In 2008, Rajsich defeated fellow American Cheryl Gudinas in the final,^[4] and in 2010 she defeated Nancy Enriquez of Mexico in the final.

In both of the last two World Championships, Rajsich lost to Longoria. At the 2012 World Championships, Rajsich lost to Longoria in the semi-finals - resulting in a bronze medal, and in 2014 they met in the final, which Longoria again won, so Rajsich got the silver medal.

Rajsich won gold in both singles and doubles (with Janel Tisinger) at the 2007 Pan American Championships.^[5] Rajsich also won Pan Am Championship gold in 2011.^[6] She was the silver medalist in 2008, and bronze medalist in 2012.^[7]

At the 2013 Pan American Championships, Rajsich was a double medalist. Taking silver in singles,^[8] where Longoria was gold medalist, and winning doubles with partner Sharon Jackson, defeating Longoria and Samantha Salas for the gold.^[9]

Rajsich was also a silver medalist at both the 2009 World Games and 2011 Pan American Games, losing in both finals to Mexican Paola Longoria. She was bronze medalist at the World Games in 2013.

Rajsich's first appearance with Team USA was at the 2002 Pan American Championships (then Tournament of the Americas), where she was bronze medalist after losing in the semi-finals to Josée Grand'Maître of Canada.^[10]

Most recently, Rajsich earned three medals at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, where she was a bronze medalist in Women's Singles, where she lost to Longoria in the semi-finals, 15-13, 15-9, and Women's Doubles Kim Russell-Waselenchuk, where they lost to Maria Jose Vargas and Véronique Guillemette of Argentina, 15-7, 13-15, 11-6, in the semi-finals, and a silver medalist in the Women's Team event.

US championships

Rajsich has won three US National Championships in singles in 2004, 2006 and 2007,^[11] and two US National Championships in doubles with Kim Russell-Waselenchuk in 2012^[12] and 2015.

Basketball career

Rajsich played college basketball first at Phoenix College in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference, where she was freshman of the year in 1997-98,^[13] and was a first team Arizona Community College Athletic Conference all-conference player in both 1997-98 and 1998-99.^[14]

She then transferred to Stephen F. Austin University and played for the Ladyjacks in 1999-2000^[15] on a team that went 28-4 and won the Southland Conference Championship.

See also

• List of racquetball players

References

1. ↑ http://www.lprtour.com/rajsich_inducted_011413.asp
2. ↑ http://heraeamarketing.com/rajsich-inducted-into-the-serbian-american-museum/
3. ↑ http://usaracquetball.com/RecordBooks/USOpenChampions.aspx
4. ↑ http://www.internationalracquetball.com/worlds/03worlds.htm
5. ↑ http://www.internationalracquetball.com/parc/02trnams.htm
6. ↑ Racquetball Canada. "Press Release". SIRC. Retrieved 10 July 2012. 
7. ↑ Racquetball Canada. "Press Release". SIRC. Retrieved 10 July 2012. 
8. ↑ https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6zikx99p4xqjm6v/lixj24Kjxk/3-Llaves/Llave-Women%20Singles-2.pdf
9. ↑ https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6zikx99p4xqjm6v/Br25b-_Cr3/3-Llaves/Llave-Women%20Doubles-2.pdf
10. ↑ Pan American Racquetball Confederation. "Draw Sheets 2002 Tournament of Americas" (PDF). Racquetball Canada. Retrieved 10 July 2012. 
11. ↑ http://usaracquetball.com/RecordBooks/SinglesChampions.aspx
12. ↑ USA Racquetball. "Press Release". USA Racquetball. Retrieved 10 July 2012. 
13. ↑ http://www.pc.maricopa.edu/athletics/ACCAC/basketw/1998/ac.html
14. ↑ http://www.pc.maricopa.edu/athletics/ACCAC/basketw/1999/ac.html
15. ↑ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/sasu/sports/w-baskbl/auto_pdf/2010-11InformationGuide.pdf

External links

• Rhonda Rajsich web site
• WPRO page for Rhonda Rajsich