Fountain Valley’s Doyle Advances at Racquetball Championships

Relying on a powerful serving game, Tim Doyle of Fountain Valley defeated Ruben Gonzalez, 11-7, 11-6, 11-5, in a semifinal match of the VCI Pro-Am Racquetball Championships Friday at the L.A. Fitness Center.

Doyle, seeded second, had 13 aces in eliminating Gonzalez, at 42 the tournament’s oldest player.

Doyle will face Southwest Missouri State’s Tim Sweeney in a semifinal today. Sweeney, the reigning intercollegiate and amateur champion playing in his first pro tournament, ousted Jack Newman, 12-10, 9-11, 12-10, 11-6.

In other quarterfinals, Dave Johnson upset Drew Kachtik, top-seeded in the tournament, 11-4, 11-8, 11-5, and Cliff Swain, the national champion two seasons ago before sitting out a season, topped Mike Guidry, 11-2, 11-6, 7-11, 9-11, 11-7.

Johnson, who has never won a professional tournament, was able to cover the court, dived for balls throughout the match and finished many rallies with kills.