Jennifer Saunders (racquetball)
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| Nickname(s) | Jen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Canadian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
November 18, 1976 Thompson, Manitoba |
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| Residence | Winnipeg, Manitoba | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 75 kg (165 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Racquetball | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 2001 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Ron Brown (1999-2009), Evan Pritchard (2009-2012), Sue Swaine (2012-2013), Cliff Swain (current) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| World finals | 2nd (2002, 2012) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National finals | 1st (Women’s Singles: 2002, 2005, 2009-2014, 2016, Women’s Doubles: 2003-2007, 2009, 2011-2015) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest world ranking | LPRT - 7th (2010-11, 2011-12) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Jennifer "Jen" Saunders (born November 18, 1976) is a Canadian racquetball player from Thompson, Manitoba. Saunders has been Canadian Champion in Women's Singles nine times, which is the most for a Canadian woman. Her 9 Canadian Women’s Singles Championships and 20 combined Canadian Women’s Singles and Doubles Championships are also Canadian women's records. Saunders was the 2009 Manitoba Female Athlete of the Year as voted by the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
Saunders was born in Thompson, Manitoba to Ed and Ruth Saunders, the youngest of their three girls. She began playing racquetball at age 10. Saunders earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Activity and Sport Studies at the University of Winnipeg in 1999. She now lives in Winnipeg, where she is the Executive Director for Racquetball Manitoba.
Saunders’s racquetball career started slowly. She won Women’s A at the 1996 Canadian Championships in Montreal. She then won back to back Mixed Doubles A Division titles in 1997 with François Viens and in 1998 with Trent Foley.
Competing in the Women’s Open Doubles division at the 1999 Canadian Championships, Saunders and partner Julie Neubauer won the consolation title. They followed that up with a 4th place finish the next year at the 2000 Canadian Championships.
Saunders got to her first significant result in Women’s Singles at the Canadian Championships in 2001, when she reached the final by defeating Lori-Jane Powell in the semi-finals, 11-6, 11-0, 11-2, but lost the final to Josée Grand'Maître, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7. Saunders again played Women’s Doubles with Neubauer, and they finished 5th.
Saunders made Team Canada for the first time in 2002, when she played Women’s Singles at the 2002 Pan American Championships (then called Tournament of the Americas) in Cochabomba, Bolivia. Saunders lost to American Laura Fenton in the semi-finals, and then lost to American Rhonda Rajsich in the 3rd place match.
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