Cheryl Gudinas

Cheryl Gudinas

Personal information
Nationality	American
Born	(1967-05-11) May 11, 1967
Residence	Naperville, Illinois, U.S.
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	160 lb (73 kg)
Sport
Sport	Racquetball
Turned pro	1993
Achievements and titles
World finals	1st 2000, 2002, 2004
Regional finals	1st
National finals	1st 1999–2003, 2005, 2008, 2010 (singles) 1st 1995, 1996, 2001 (doubles)
Highest world ranking	1
Medal record Women's Racquetball Representing  United States Pan American Games 1999 Winnipeg Singles 2003 Santo Domingo Singles 2011 Guadalajara Singles 2011 Guadalajara Team World Championships 2000 Mexico Singles 2002 San Juan Singles 2004 Anyang Singles 2004 Anyang Team 2006 Santo Domingo Team 2008 Kingscourt Team 2010 Seoul Team 2012 Santo Domingo Singles 2012 Santo Domingo Team Pan Am Championships 1994 Buenos Aires Singles 1996 Cali Doubles 1997 Chihuahua Singles 1998 Winnipeg Singles 1999 Rosarito Singles 2001 San Pedro Sula Singles 2003 Santo Domingo Singles 2005 Caracas Singles 2009 Cali Singles

Cheryl Gudinas (born May 11, 1967) is an American racquetball player. Gudinas is a former three time World Champion (2000, 2002, 2004) and former #1 women's pro player (from 2000-2004). At the end of the 2013-14 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour season, she finished 11th, which ended a two decade run of top 10 pro tour finishes - the most by any women's racquetball player.

Professional career

Gudinas's professional career is highlighted by her two US Open Racquetball Championships in 2002 and 2004,^[1] which helped her attain the #1 position on the women's pro tour. She was a top 5 player on the women's pro tour from 1993-94 to 2010-2011, including four seasons as the #1 player from 2000-2004. Her 20 years ranked in the season ending top 10 is a record for women's pro racquetball. Gudinas fell to the #11 spot this past season partly due to missing the first few tournaments of the season with a foot injury.

International career

Gudinas won three consecutive International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in 2000, 2002 and 2004. She defeated Canadians Christie Van Hees and Jennifer Saunders in 2000 and 2002, respectively, and Chilean Angela Grisar in 2004.^[2]

Gudinas won the Pan American Championships (formerly the Tournament of the Americas) in 1994 (against American Laura Fenton), 1997 (Michelle Gould, USA), 2001^[3] (Josée Grand'Maître, Canada) and 2009 (Carola Loma, Bolivia).^[4] In 2005, Gudinas was the Pan Am Championship silver medalist, losing the final to Kristen Walsh^[5] and was also silver in 2003, when she lost to Fenton,^[6] in 1999, when she lost to Robin Levine, and 1998, losing to Michelle Gould.^[7]

Gudinas has also won two gold medals at the Pan American Games. In 1999 she defeated Canadian Christie Van Hees in the final in Winnipeg, Canada and beat fellow American Laura Fenton in the 2003 final in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In the 2011 Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, Gudinas earned the bronze medal, losing to eventual gold medalist Paola Longoria of Mexico in the semi-finals. Gudinas was also a silver medalist in 2011 from the Pan Am Games team competition.

Most recently in the 2012 Worlds, Gudinas was a bronze medalist in singles, losing to Canadian Jennifer Saunders in the semi-finals, and a silver medalist in the team competition, when the American women's team lost to the Mexican team, including a loss by Gudinas to Mexican Jessica Parrilla.^[8]

Gudinas has played in the World Games twice, and she finished 4th in both 2009 and 2011.

US championships

Gudinas won 5 consecutive US Nationals Championships in singles from 1999 to 2003, and also won in 2005, 2008 and 2010. Her eight titles are tied for the most all time with Michelle Gould.^[9]

Gudinas teamed up with Gould in 1995 and 1996 to win two of her three US National Doubles titles. Her other title was in 2001 with Kim Russell.^[10]

See also

• List of racquetball players

References

1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-09-28. Retrieved 2009-07-24. 
2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-09-07. Retrieved 2011-12-02. 
3. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-12-30. Retrieved 2012-06-18. 
4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2009-07-24. 
5. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-12-18. Retrieved 2012-08-13. 
6. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-12-30. Retrieved 2012-06-18. 
7. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-05-17. Retrieved 2012-06-18. 
8. ↑ http://www.sirc.ca/news_view.cfm?id=47740
9. ↑ http://usaracquetball.com/RecordBooks/SinglesChampions.aspx
10. ↑ http://usaracquetball.com/RecordBooks/DoublesChampions.aspx

External links

• LPRT Page for Cheryl Gudinas