Thompson-raised racquetball player Jennifer Saunders competed in the 16th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Aug. 4-11.

Saunders is the number one ranked female player in Canada, and was the first Canadian female to reach a World Championship final since Christie Van Hees won the title in 2006.

A hard fought comeback victory in the semi finals against American Cheryl Gudinas propelled Saunders in to the final against Mexico’s Paola Longoria. In the final Saunders was in tough, and fell behind 14-6 in game one. She managed to pull the score back to 14-11 before falling 15-11.

In the second game, Longoria jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead and didn’t look back, sealing the World Championship with a 15-2 victory.

The silver medal for Saunders was also a springboard to the 2013 World Games to be held in Cali, Colombia July 25 – Aug 4. The top 16 players in Santo Domingo qualified for the World Games.

Three other Canadians will join Saunders at the World Games in 2013; Tim Landeryou and Kris Odegard from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, along with Brandi Jacobson Prentice from Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que.