The two sides of the draw at the Florida Spring Break tournament in Tampa, Florida had different quarter finals, as those on top of the draw went three straight and those on the bottom of the draw were five game matches, where the victory came back after dropping the first two games.
The International Racquetball Tour's (IRT's) top player Kane Waselenchuk defeated Tony Carson in three straight games, 11-4, 11-4, 11-4, and 4th seed Jose Rojas also won in straight games, beating Jose Diaz, 11-7, 11-3, 11-2. They'll meet in one of the semi-finals on Saturday.
IRT #2 Rocky Carson and Ben Croft will face off in the other semi-final, after both came back from two game deficits to win their respective quarter finals. Carson beat Chris Crowther, 10-12, 6-11, 11-0, 11-7, 12-10, and Croft defeated 3rd seed Alvaro Beltan, 8-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-2, 11-7.
Croft's win was an upset by the seedings, but for much of the match it was Croft who was upset, as he felt several calls by the referee were incorrect. His frustration got the better of him in game two, as he was behind 8-6, but then proceeded to be assessed technicals on three consecutive rallies for hitting the ball into the back glass wall in the direction of the referee.
Nevertheless, Croft built a big lead in game three, as he went up 9-3 and then 10-4. Beltran fought back and pecked away at Croft's lead, including fighting off three game points, as he cut the score to 10-8. But that was as close as Beltran got to winning the game and the match, as Croft finished off the third game, 11-8, and then used that momentum to win games four and five.
Crowther started out well in his match with Rocky Carson, as he won the first two games using his strong drive serve, which he often hit to the right side - Carson's forehand. But momentum changed in game three, as Carson ran the table winning 11-0.
In game four, Crowther led 7-5, when Carson was assessed a technical for disputing a call, making the score 7-4. But that seemed to inspire Carson, as he went on a four point run to take an 8-7 lead, at which point Crowther called time out.
The time out was to no avail, however, as Carson closed out the game, 11-7, to force a tie-breaker. In the breaker, Carson led through the early part of the game at 4-1 and 8-4. But then Crowther put a six point streak together to give him match point at 10-8.
Yet Crowther couldn't close it out in two opportunities, as Carson held him off and put a four point streak of his own to win the game, 12-10, and take the match in five games.
The IRT Network will web-cast the semi-final matches from Tampa beginning at 4 PM EST Saturday. The final will be noon on Sunday, but remember that is the day clocks in North America are turned ahead one hour for daylight savings.
2013 Florida Spring Break, Tampa, Florida
Quarter finals - Friday
Kane Waselenchuk d. Tony Carson, 11-4, 11-4, 11-4
Jose Rojas d. Jose Diaz, 11-7, 11-3, 11-2
Ben Croft d. Alvaro Beltran, 8-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-2, 11-7
Rocky Carson d. Chris Crowther, 10-12, 6-11, 11-0, 11-7, 12-10
Semi-finals - Saturday
Kane Waselenchuk v. Jose Rojas - 5 PM EST
Rocky Carson v. Ben Croft - 4 PM EST
Follow the bouncing ball....
Saturday, March 9, 2013
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