IRT : Juarez Open Main Draw

It seems there were some other absences at the The International Racquetball Tour's (IRT's) Juarez Open in Juarez, Mexico, as five of the eight first round qualifying matches were won by forfeit. What's up with that? These are other absences because as we noted yesterday, Kane Waselenchuk has passed on another IRT Tier 1 event, as he's not in Juarez this weekend. Word is family commitments have led to Waselenchuk missing this weekend.

Qualifying Results

There were three upsets in the second round of qualifying. Armando Landa, ranked 139th, defeated IRT #17 Travis Woodbury in three straight games, 11-5, 11-6, 11-6. Also, Ruben Estrada, ranked 66th, beat #22 Anthony Herrera in a five game match where he lost the first two games before coming back to win, 3-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-5.

The third upset was a minor one, as #27 Gilberto Mejia of Mexico - winner of the recent IRT event in Chihuahua, Mexico where he defeated Chris Crowther in the final - won a close match with countryman and #25 ranked Polo Gutierrez, 15-13, 9-11, 11-7, 13-11.

Thus, the Round of 16 is all set. Maybe the most interesting match up will be Shane Vanderson versus Mexican leftie Javier Moreno. And there's another installment in the Jason Thoerner/Chris Crowther series, which Thoerner has dominated this season winning all three of their meetings.

Qualifying Draw Results

First Round

Alejandro Cardona d. Brian Zachery, fft
Eric Sandavol d. Jesus Jasso, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-8
Gil De Los Rios d. Miguel Ladera, fft
Eduardo Avila d. Pedro Gonzalez, fft
Armando Landa d. Alberto De La Rosa, fft
Felipe Camacho d. Rey Gutierrez, 11-3, 11-6, 10-12, 11-7
Ruben Estrada d. Oliver Moreno, fft
Gil Mejia d. Manuel Villareal, 11-1, 11-4, 11-0

Second Round

Q1: Chris Crowther d. Alejandro Cardona, 5-11, 11-1, 11-7, 11-7
Q2: Andy Hawthorne d. Eric Sandavol, 11-6, 11-5, 11-1
Q3: Juan Herrera d. Gil De Los Rios, 4-11, 11-2, 10-12, 11-9, 11-9
Q4: Javier Moreno d. Eduardo Avila, 11-1, 11-4, 11-1
Q5: Armando Landa d. Travis Woodbury, 11-5, 11-6, 11-6
Q6: Andreas Herrera d. Felipe Camacho, 11-8, 11-5, 11-5
Q7: Ruben Estrada d. Anthony Herrera, 3-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-5
Q8: Gil Mejia d. Polo Gutierrez, 15-13, 9-11, 11-7, 13-11

Main Draw - Round of 16 (IRT Ranking)

(1) Rocky Carson v. Gil Mejia
(8) Jason Thoerner v. Chris Crowther

(5) Shane Vanderson v. Javier Moreno
(4) Jason Mannino v. Armando Landa

(3) Alvaro Beltran v. Andreas Herrera
(6) Ben Croft v. Juan Herrera

(7) Mitch Williams v. Andy Hawthorne
(2) Jack Huczek v. Ruben Estrada

Follow the bouncing ball....