IRT - 2012 Coast to Coast California Open Quarter finals

Top seed Kane Waselenchuk, the #1 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), will have a chance to defeat the last man to beat him on court, as he and Alvaro Beltran both advanced to the semi-finals of the Coast to Coast California Open in Canoga Park, California Friday. Beltran beat Waselenchuk in this tournament three years ago, and Waselenchuk hasn't lost a match on court since then.

Waselenchuk had an easier time of getting to the semis, as won both his matches on Friday in three straight games, defeating Alex Landa in the Round of 16, 11-5, 11-4, 11-0, and Tony Carson in the quarter finals, 11-6, 11-5, 11-1.

Beltran, on the other hand, needed five games to get past 4th seed Chris Crowther, 9-11, 12-10, 11-2, 4-11, 11-2, and four games to beat 5th seed Jose Rojas, 5-11, 13-11, 11-0, 11-4. Those wins are upsets by the tournament seeding but Beltran was a top 4 IRT player before suffering some injuries that have severely limited his playing time the last two seasons.

Things ran to form on the other side of the draw, as 2nd seed Rocky Carson and 3rd seed Ben Croft both won their Round of 16 and quarter final matches to get to the semi-finals.

Carson beat Taylor Knoth in the 16s, 11-5, 11-7, 11-9, and Shane Vanderson, 11-5, 5-11, 11-1, 11-6, in the quarter finals. Croft dispatched Daniel de la Rosa, 11-9, 11-9, 11-5, in the 16s despite being down significantly in both the first two games. He also defeated Andy Hawthorne in three straight games, 11-8, 11-8, 11-2, in the quarter finals.

The only upset in the Round of 16 was Tony Carson's victory over Charlie Pratt, but it did take five games as Carson fought back from 2-1 down to win it in the fifth, 9-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-8.

The IRT Network will be web-casting the California Open semi-finals at on Saturday and final at noon on Sunday. All times are Pacific Standard Time.

2012 California Open - Canoga Park, California

Quarter finals

Kane Waselenchuk d. Tony Carson, 11-6, 11-5, 11-1
Alvaro Beltran d. Jose Rojas, 5-11, 13-11, 11-0, 11-4

Ben Croft d. Andy Hawthorne, 11-8, 11-8, 11-2
Rocky Carson d. Shane Vanderson, 11-5, 5-11, 11-1, 11-6

Semi-finals

Kane Waselenchuk v. Alvaro Beltran - Saturday 4 PM PST
Rocky Carson v. Ben Croft - Saturday 3 PM PST

Round of 16

Kane Waselenchuk d. Alex Landa, 11-6, 11-4, 11-0
Tony Carson d. Charlie Pratt, 9-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-8

Jose Rojas d. Juan Herrera, 11-2, 11-3, 5-11, 11-1
Alvaro Beltran d. Chris Crowther, 9-11, 12-10, 11-2, 4-11, 11-2

Ben Croft d. Daniel De La Rosa, 11-9, 11-9, 11-5
Andy Hawthorne d. Javier Moreno, 11-9, 12-10, 11-7

Shane Vanderson d. Anthony Herrera, 11-3, 11-7, 11-9
Rocky Carson d. Taylor Knoth, 11-5, 11-7, 11-9

Follow the bouncing ball....