Mexico's performance at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia was its most dominant ever, as they pulled in 15 medals including 10 gold. But Mexico has been good for some time now, as they've won 11 or more medals every year since 2008.
Bolivia finished second in the medal total with 14, although only one of those was gold. But that was in the premier Boy's U18 singles division, as Conrado Moscoso defeated Mexican Rodrigo Garay in the final. That result made Moscoso front page news in Bolivia, and he's the first Bolivian to win the Boy's U18 World Junior title.
The USA, on the other hand, had a historically low total of three (yes, 3) medals: 1 silver and 2 bronze. That's down from 11 last year and 15 in 2010. The USA were missing two of their Junior Nationals Champions, so that could have made some difference, although it would still be a stretch to imagine them getting up to double digits. We don't think the USA has ever had fewer than 10 medalists at World Juniors.
Four countries - Guatemala, USA, Canada and Costa Rica - had three medals overall, but of them only Guatemala won a gold medal, along with two bronze medals. It's the first time Guatemala has won a gold medal in singles. Canada and Costa Rica both had three bronze medals.
Welcome additions and rumour of next year's site
For the first time, the IRF brought in 11 referees from other countries as well as 20 Bolivians so that all of the World Cup matches, including the group stage matches, were refereed by an adult, not a junior player. The refereeing varied, of course, as it's difficult to judge everything that happens in a racquetball game, but it was a welcome improvement to the event.
Also, the IRF has created software on tablet computers that was used in conjunction with monitors on six of the courts, so that spectators didn't need to wonder what the score was. They just needed to look at the monitor, and everything was there: the score, server, timeouts and appeals used. The link between tablet and monitor was occasionally lost but again it was a welcome addition to the event.
The site for the 2014 World Juniors has not been selected. Rumour was that Cali, Colombia might be the location. For those wondering why the event doesn't go back to the USA, the answer in part is that USA Racquetball would not financially support a local organizations bid for the event. As you can imagine, bringing in those officials as well as other aspects of the event are not cheap, so financial support from the National Sport Organization is important if not essential for hosting the event. That support is currently absent in the USA.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
BOY'S SINGLES
Boy's U18
GOLD - Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia)
SILVER - Rodrigo Garay (Mexico)
BRONZE - Diego Crespo (Bolivia) & Eduardo Garay (Mexico)
Boy's U16
GOLD - Andree Parrilla (Mexico)
SILVER - Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico)
BRONZE - Coby Iwaasa (Canada) & Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia)
Boy's U14
GOLD - Cristian Longoria (Mexico)
SILVER - Juan Loreto (Mexico)
BRONZE - Andres Avendaño (Bolivia) & Set Cubillos (Colombia)
BOY'S DOUBLES
Boy's U18
GOLD - Rodrigo Garay & Javier Mar (Mexico)
SILVER - Conrado Moscoso & Sebastian Julio Oña (Bolivia)
BRONZE - Sawyer Lloyd & Adam Manilla (USA) and Andres Aviles & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica)
Boy's U16
GOLD - Erik Garcia & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico)
SILVER - Cristhian Mina & Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia)
BRONZE - Hansel Martinez & Juan Jose Salvatierra (Guatemala) and Nicolas Bousquet & Coby Iwaasa (Canada)
Boy's U14
GOLD - Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico)
SILVER - Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia)
BRONZE - Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica)
Boy's Medal totals
Mexico - 8 Total = 5 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze
Bolivia - 7 = 1, 3, 3
Canada - 2 = 0, 0, 2
Costa Rica - 2 = 0, 0, 2
USA - 1 = 0, 0, 1
Guatemala - 1 = 0, 0, 1
Colombia - 1 = 0, 0, 1
GIRL'S SINGLES
Girl's U18
GOLD - Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico)
SILVER - Mariana Tobon (Venezuela)
BRONZE - Masiel Rivera (Bolivia) & Melania Sauma (Costa Rica)
Girl's U16
GOLD - Diana Aguilar (Mexico)
SILVER - Natalia Mendez (Bolivia)
BRONZE - Luisa Santillan Lahud (Mexico) & Hawira Rojas (Bolivia)
Girl's U14
GOLD - Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala)
SILVER - Erin Rivera (Mexico)
BRONZE - Wanda Carvajal (Bolivia) & Jordan Cooperrider (USA)
GIRL'S DOUBLES
Girl's U18
GOLD - Alexandra Herrera & Ximena Gonzalez (Mexico)
SILVER - Paola Cossio & Masiel Rivera (Bolivia)
BRONZE - Ana Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala)
Girl's U16
GOLD - Diana Aguilar & Montserrat Perez (Mexico)
SILVER - Natalia Mendez & Iriana Avendaño (Bolivia)
BRONZE - Danielle Drury & Michelle Morissette (Canada)
Girl's U14
GOLD - Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez (Mexico)
SILVER - Erika Manilla & Jordan Cooperrider (USA)
BRONZE - Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi (Bolivia)
Girl's Medal totals
Mexico - 7 Total = 5 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Bolivia - 7 = 0, 3, 4
Guatemala - 2 = 1, 0, 1
USA - 2 = 0, 1, 1
Canada - 1 = 0, 0, 1
Costa Rica - 1 = 0, 0, 1
Venezuela - 1 = 0, 1, 0
Overall Medal Totals
Mexico - 15 Total = 10 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Bronze
Bolivia - 14 = 1, 6, 7
Guatemala - 3 = 1, 0, 2
USA - 3 = 0, 1, 2
Canada - 3 = 0, 0, 3
Costa Rica - 3 = 0, 0, 3
Venezuela - 1 = 0, 1, 0
Colombia - 1 = 0, 0, 1
Follow the bouncing ball....
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
IRF 25th World Juniors - Mexico sweeps Boy's Doubles
Mexico completed a sweep in boy's doubles with wins in both Boy's U18 and U16 finals at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia. The Mexicans defeated Bolivians in both finals.
In U18, Mexicans Rodrigo Garay and Javier Mar defeated Bolivians Conrado Moscoso and Sebastian Julio Oña, 15-8, 15-14, while in U16 Erik Garcia and Rodrigo Montoya beat Cristhian Mina and Marcelo Vargas, 15-3, 15-8.
Earlier, Mexicans Cesar Barragan and Cristian Longoria went undefeated in Boy's U14 Doubles, finishing ahead of Bolivians Andres Avendaño and Rodrigo Mendoza in second and Costa Ricans Sergio Acuna and Andres Montero in third.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Doubles (with seedings)
Final
1. Rodrigo Garay & Javier Mar (Mexico) d. 2. Conrado Moscoso & Sebastian Julio Oña (Bolivia), 15-8, 15-14
Boy's U16 Doubles (with seedings)
Final
1. Erik Garcia & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 2. Cristhian Mina & Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia), 15-3, 15-8
Medalists
Boy's U18 Doubles
GOLD - Rodrigo Garay & Javier Mar (Mexico)
SILVER - Conrado Moscoso & Sebastian Julio Oña (Bolivia)
BRONZE - Sawyer Lloyd & Adam Manilla (USA) and Andres Aviles & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica)
Boy's U16 Doubles
GOLD - Erik Garcia & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico)
SILVER - Cristhian Mina & Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia)
BRONZE - Hansel Martinez & Juan Jose Salvatierra (Guatemala) and Nicolas Bousquet & Coby Iwaasa (Canada)
Boy's U14 Doubles
GOLD - Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico)
SILVER - Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia)
BRONZE - Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica)
4th - Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador)
5th - Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia)
6th - Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA)
Follow the bouncing ball....
In U18, Mexicans Rodrigo Garay and Javier Mar defeated Bolivians Conrado Moscoso and Sebastian Julio Oña, 15-8, 15-14, while in U16 Erik Garcia and Rodrigo Montoya beat Cristhian Mina and Marcelo Vargas, 15-3, 15-8.
Earlier, Mexicans Cesar Barragan and Cristian Longoria went undefeated in Boy's U14 Doubles, finishing ahead of Bolivians Andres Avendaño and Rodrigo Mendoza in second and Costa Ricans Sergio Acuna and Andres Montero in third.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Doubles (with seedings)
Final
1. Rodrigo Garay & Javier Mar (Mexico) d. 2. Conrado Moscoso & Sebastian Julio Oña (Bolivia), 15-8, 15-14
Boy's U16 Doubles (with seedings)
Final
1. Erik Garcia & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 2. Cristhian Mina & Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia), 15-3, 15-8
Medalists
Boy's U18 Doubles
GOLD - Rodrigo Garay & Javier Mar (Mexico)
SILVER - Conrado Moscoso & Sebastian Julio Oña (Bolivia)
BRONZE - Sawyer Lloyd & Adam Manilla (USA) and Andres Aviles & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica)
Boy's U16 Doubles
GOLD - Erik Garcia & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico)
SILVER - Cristhian Mina & Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia)
BRONZE - Hansel Martinez & Juan Jose Salvatierra (Guatemala) and Nicolas Bousquet & Coby Iwaasa (Canada)
Boy's U14 Doubles
GOLD - Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico)
SILVER - Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia)
BRONZE - Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica)
4th - Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador)
5th - Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia)
6th - Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA)
Follow the bouncing ball....
IRF 25th World Juniors - Mexico sweeps Girl's Doubles
Mexico swept the gold medals in girl's doubles at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia. We've earlier explained how that came about in the U18 and U16 divisions, but the last round of the Girl's U14 competition happened on Saturday, and Americans Erika Manilla and Jordan Cooperrider had a chance to prevent the Mexican sweep.
The American team were 5-0 playing their last match against the Mexican team of Monserrat Meija and Andrea Ramierez, who were 4-1 going into Saturday's last round of matches. A USA win would have given them the gold.
But the Mexicans beat the Americans 15-13, 15-11 (we had the score as 15-14, 15-12; but it's 13, 11 on the IRF site), which gave the gold to Mexico.
In the match, Mexico started strongly, as they took a 6-0 lead in game one and extended that to 11-3. However, the Americans then fought back, as they scored nine straight points to take the lead 12-11.
We have it that the Americans got to 14-12, but couldn't get that last point, which could have gotten them the gold, as there was going to be a three way tie with Mexico and Bolivia, who also finished 5-1 after beating the Puerto Rican team of Frances Vasquez Souchet and Charleen Tono, 15-3, 15-2, in the last round of play.
But with the tie-breaker rule, the USA needed only one game to come out ahead of Mexico and Bolivia, even if they lost to Mexico in a tie-breaker.
But Mexico came back and beat the USA in game one "15-13" (sic). In game two, it was the USA that took the early lead, as they were up 6-4 and then 10-7, so again it looked like the gold was within their grasp.
But Mexico came back and tied the game at 10, and they went back and forth, tying at 11 and at 12, and then Mexico pushed on to win "15-11" (sic). The last shot was a set up off the back wall that Meija killed with her backhand straight to the front wall.
Meija was clearly the better player of the two Mexicans, and if the Americans had kept the ball away from her, they maybe have won the match. Meija's not a power player, but has excellent control on the court.
Also, Ivana Sepertegui and Maria Jose Munoz of Ecuador defeated Valentina Valor and Lilian Zea of Venezuela in the last round, 15-8, 15-7, to finish fourth and Venezuela sixth. Canada was fifth and Puerto Rico seventh.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Girl's U18 Doubles
GOLD - Mexico - Alexandra Herrera & Ximena Gonzalez
SILVER - Bolivia - Paola Cossio & Masiel Rivera
BRONZE - Guatemala - Ana Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez
Girl's U16 Doubles
GOLD - Mexico - Diana Aguilar & Montserrat Perez
SILVER - Bolivia - Natalia Mendez & Iriana Avendaño
BRONZE - Canada - Danielle Drury & Michelle Morissette
4th - Dominican Republic - Maria Cespedes & Merinanllely Delgado
5th - USA - Hollie Scott & Kaitlin Simmons
Girl's U14 Doubles
Round 7 - Saturday
Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez (Mexico) d. Erika Manilla & Jordan Cooperrider (USA), 15-13, 15-11 (sic)
Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi (Bolivia) d. Frances Vasquez Souchet & Charleen Tono (Puerto Rico), 15-3, 15-2
Ivana Sepertegui & Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador) d. Valentina Valor & Lilian Zea (Venezuela), 15-8, 15-7
Standings
1. Mexico - 5-1
2. USA - 5-1
3. Bolivia - 5-1
4. Ecuador - 3-3
5. Canada - 2-4
6. Venezuela - 1-5
7. Puerto Rico - 0-6
Medals
GOLD - Mexico - Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez
SILVER - USA - Erika Manilla & Jordan Cooperrider
BRONZE - Bolivia - Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi
4th - Ecuador - Ivana Sepertegui & Maria Jose Munoz
5th - Canada - Annie Fisher & Alexis Iwaasa
6th - Venezuela - Valentina Valor & Lilian Zea
7th - Puerto Rico - Frances Vasquez Souchet & Charleen Tono
Follow the bouncing ball....
The American team were 5-0 playing their last match against the Mexican team of Monserrat Meija and Andrea Ramierez, who were 4-1 going into Saturday's last round of matches. A USA win would have given them the gold.
But the Mexicans beat the Americans 15-13, 15-11 (we had the score as 15-14, 15-12; but it's 13, 11 on the IRF site), which gave the gold to Mexico.
In the match, Mexico started strongly, as they took a 6-0 lead in game one and extended that to 11-3. However, the Americans then fought back, as they scored nine straight points to take the lead 12-11.
We have it that the Americans got to 14-12, but couldn't get that last point, which could have gotten them the gold, as there was going to be a three way tie with Mexico and Bolivia, who also finished 5-1 after beating the Puerto Rican team of Frances Vasquez Souchet and Charleen Tono, 15-3, 15-2, in the last round of play.
But with the tie-breaker rule, the USA needed only one game to come out ahead of Mexico and Bolivia, even if they lost to Mexico in a tie-breaker.
But Mexico came back and beat the USA in game one "15-13" (sic). In game two, it was the USA that took the early lead, as they were up 6-4 and then 10-7, so again it looked like the gold was within their grasp.
But Mexico came back and tied the game at 10, and they went back and forth, tying at 11 and at 12, and then Mexico pushed on to win "15-11" (sic). The last shot was a set up off the back wall that Meija killed with her backhand straight to the front wall.
Meija was clearly the better player of the two Mexicans, and if the Americans had kept the ball away from her, they maybe have won the match. Meija's not a power player, but has excellent control on the court.
Also, Ivana Sepertegui and Maria Jose Munoz of Ecuador defeated Valentina Valor and Lilian Zea of Venezuela in the last round, 15-8, 15-7, to finish fourth and Venezuela sixth. Canada was fifth and Puerto Rico seventh.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Girl's U18 Doubles
GOLD - Mexico - Alexandra Herrera & Ximena Gonzalez
SILVER - Bolivia - Paola Cossio & Masiel Rivera
BRONZE - Guatemala - Ana Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez
Girl's U16 Doubles
GOLD - Mexico - Diana Aguilar & Montserrat Perez
SILVER - Bolivia - Natalia Mendez & Iriana Avendaño
BRONZE - Canada - Danielle Drury & Michelle Morissette
4th - Dominican Republic - Maria Cespedes & Merinanllely Delgado
5th - USA - Hollie Scott & Kaitlin Simmons
Girl's U14 Doubles
Round 7 - Saturday
Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez (Mexico) d. Erika Manilla & Jordan Cooperrider (USA), 15-13, 15-11 (sic)
Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi (Bolivia) d. Frances Vasquez Souchet & Charleen Tono (Puerto Rico), 15-3, 15-2
Ivana Sepertegui & Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador) d. Valentina Valor & Lilian Zea (Venezuela), 15-8, 15-7
Standings
1. Mexico - 5-1
2. USA - 5-1
3. Bolivia - 5-1
4. Ecuador - 3-3
5. Canada - 2-4
6. Venezuela - 1-5
7. Puerto Rico - 0-6
Medals
GOLD - Mexico - Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez
SILVER - USA - Erika Manilla & Jordan Cooperrider
BRONZE - Bolivia - Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi
4th - Ecuador - Ivana Sepertegui & Maria Jose Munoz
5th - Canada - Annie Fisher & Alexis Iwaasa
6th - Venezuela - Valentina Valor & Lilian Zea
7th - Puerto Rico - Frances Vasquez Souchet & Charleen Tono
Follow the bouncing ball....
Sunday, October 27, 2013
IRF 25th World Juniors - 2 Gold for Mexico & 1st ever for Guatemala in Girl's Singles
Two gold medals for Mexico in the Girl's Singles competitions and a first event gold for Guatemala at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia, although the Mexicans were the lower seeds in their finals.
In Girl's U18, 5th seed Lucia Gonzalez of Mexico took the title with a win over 2nd seed Mariana Tobon of Venezuela, 15-5, 15-8. Despite the loss, Tobon's silver medal is the best ever result for Venezuela in Girl's U18.
Number 2 beat number 1 in Girl's U16, Diana Aguilar of Mexico defeated Natalia Mendez of Bolivia, 15-13, 7-15, 11-2.
The Girl's U14 final went to 1st seed Ana Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala, who defeated 3rd seeded Mexican Erin Rivera, 15-9, 15-8, and capture the first gold medal in singles for Guatemala at Junior Worlds.
A more complete wrap up will follow later.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Girl's U18 (with seedings)
Final
5. Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico) d. 2. Mariana Tobon (Venezuela), 15-5, 15-8
Girl's U16
Final
2. Diana Aguilar (Mexico) d. 1. Natalia Mendez (Bolivia), 15-13, 7-15, 11-2
Girl's U14 Singles
Final
1. Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) d. 3. Erin Rivera (Mexico), 15-9, 15-8
Follow the bouncing ball....
In Girl's U18, 5th seed Lucia Gonzalez of Mexico took the title with a win over 2nd seed Mariana Tobon of Venezuela, 15-5, 15-8. Despite the loss, Tobon's silver medal is the best ever result for Venezuela in Girl's U18.
Number 2 beat number 1 in Girl's U16, Diana Aguilar of Mexico defeated Natalia Mendez of Bolivia, 15-13, 7-15, 11-2.
The Girl's U14 final went to 1st seed Ana Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala, who defeated 3rd seeded Mexican Erin Rivera, 15-9, 15-8, and capture the first gold medal in singles for Guatemala at Junior Worlds.
A more complete wrap up will follow later.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Girl's U18 (with seedings)
Final
5. Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico) d. 2. Mariana Tobon (Venezuela), 15-5, 15-8
Girl's U16
Final
2. Diana Aguilar (Mexico) d. 1. Natalia Mendez (Bolivia), 15-13, 7-15, 11-2
Girl's U14 Singles
Final
1. Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) d. 3. Erin Rivera (Mexico), 15-9, 15-8
Follow the bouncing ball....
IRF 25th World Juniors - 2 gold for Mexico, 1 for Bolivia in Boy's Singles
Bolivian Conrado Moscoso prevented a Mexican sweep in Boy's Singles on Saturday at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia, he won Boy's U18, although he beat Mexican Rodrigo Garay by the narrowest of margins: 10-15, 15-9, 11-10.
Moscoso was down in the tie-breaker, 10-9, but he got the serve back and tied the game. On his first match point Morcoso drove the ball to the left, Garay's return was high, and allowing the Bolivian an opportunity to pinch the ball after it came off the back wall. He capitalized on that and won the championship.
Moscoso is the first Bolivian to win Boy's U18 at World Juniors.
Fourth seed Andree Parrilla of Mexico defeated fellow Mexican Rodrigo Montoya, the sixth seed, 15-9, 15-11, to win Boy's U16.
Finally, 2nd seed Cristian Longoria of Mexico won Boy's U14 by defeating 4th seed Juan Loreto of Mexico, 15-2, 15-12.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Singles (with seedings)
Final
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) d. 8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico), 10-15, 15-9, 11-10
Boy's U16 Singles (with seedings)
Final
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) d. 6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico), 15-9, 15-11
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Final
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. 4. Juan Loreto (Mexico), 15-2, 15-12
Follow the bouncing ball....
Moscoso was down in the tie-breaker, 10-9, but he got the serve back and tied the game. On his first match point Morcoso drove the ball to the left, Garay's return was high, and allowing the Bolivian an opportunity to pinch the ball after it came off the back wall. He capitalized on that and won the championship.
Moscoso is the first Bolivian to win Boy's U18 at World Juniors.
Fourth seed Andree Parrilla of Mexico defeated fellow Mexican Rodrigo Montoya, the sixth seed, 15-9, 15-11, to win Boy's U16.
Finally, 2nd seed Cristian Longoria of Mexico won Boy's U14 by defeating 4th seed Juan Loreto of Mexico, 15-2, 15-12.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Singles (with seedings)
Final
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) d. 8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico), 10-15, 15-9, 11-10
Boy's U16 Singles (with seedings)
Final
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) d. 6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico), 15-9, 15-11
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Final
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. 4. Juan Loreto (Mexico), 15-2, 15-12
Follow the bouncing ball....
Saturday, October 26, 2013
IRF 25th World Juniors - Girl's Doubles results: 2 gold for Mexico
Mexico has won gold in Girl's U18 and U16 Doubles but the U14 title is still up for grabs at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia.
There were only three teams in Girl's U18 Doubles, so a double round robin format was used with each team playing the other twice, and the same result occurred both times.
Mexicans Alexandra Herrera, a left-hander, and Ximena Gonzalez defeated the Bolivian team of Paola Cossio Masiel Rivera in two straight games twice and
needed two tie-breakers to beat the Guatemalan pair Ana Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez. Also the Bolivians beat the Guatemalans in two straight games in both their matches.
Thus, it's gold for Mexico, silver for Bolivia and bronze for Guatemala.
Mexico also won gold in Girl's U16, as the team of Diana Aguilar and Montserrat Perez were undefeated in a five team round robin competition, including a win over silver medalists Natalia Mendez & Iriana Avendaño, who were 3-1.
Canadians Danielle Drury and Michelle Morissette, Americans Hollie Scott and Kaitlin Simmons and Maria Cespedes and Merinanllely of the Dominican Republic all finished with 1-3 records, but the bronze goes to Canada as they lost in a tie-breaker to the Americans and beat the Dominicans two straight, while the Dominicans beat the Americans two straight but lost to the Canadians two straight.
There are two potential three way ties in Girl's U14 Doubles. The American team of Erika Manilla and Jordan Cooperrider are currently undefeated but face the 4-1 Mexicans Monserrat Meija and Andrea Ramierez in the last round of matches. Bolivians Wanda Carvajal and Adriana Homsi are also 4-1, and are against the winless team of Frances Vasquez Souchet and Charleen Tono from Puerto Rico in the last round.
Also, Ivana Sepertegui and Maria Jose Munoz of Ecuador play Valentina Valor and Lilian Zea of Venezuela in the last round, and Ecuador is 2-3 and Venezuela is 1-4. A Venezuelan victory would create a three way tie between these two teams and Canada's Alexis Iwaasa and Annie Fisher, who finished 2-4.
There is live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Girl's U18 Doubles
Round 1 - Paola Cossio & Masiel Rivera (Bolivia) d. Ana Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala), 15-9, 15-14
Round 2 - Alexandra Herrera & Ximena Gonzalez (Mexico) d. Ana Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala), 15-9, 15-14
Round 3 - Alexandra Herrera & Ximena Gonzalez (Mexico) d. Paola Cossio & Masiel Rivera (Bolivia), 15-7, 15-14
Round 4 - Paola Cossio & Masiel Rivera (Bolivia) d. Ana Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala), 15-7, 15-11
Round 5 - Alexandra Herrera & Ximena Gonzalez (Mexico) d. Ana Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala), 10-15, 15-13, 11-0
Round 6 - Alexandra Herrera & Ximena Gonzalez (Mexico) d. Paola Cossio & Masiel Rivera (Bolivia), 15-10, 15-12
Standings
1. Mexico - 4-0
2. Bolivia - 2-2
3. Guatemala - 0-4
Girl's U16 Doubles
Round 1
Diana Aguilar & Montserrat Perez (Mexico) d. Maria Cespedes & Merinanllely (Dominican Rep.), 15-5, 15-2
Natalia Mendez & Iriana Avendaño (Bolivia) d. Hollie Scott & Kaitlin Simmons (USA), 15-6, 15-3
Round 2
Diana Aguilar & Montserrat Perez (Mexico) d. Danielle Drury & Michelle Morissette (Canada), 14-15, 15-2, 11-9
Natalia Mendez & Iriana Avendaño (Bolivia) d. Maria Cespedes & Merinanllely (Dominican Rep.), 15-2, 15-13
Round 3
Maria Cespedes & Merinanllely (Dominican Rep.) d. Hollie Scott & Kaitlin Simmons (USA), 15-4, 15-8
Natalia Mendez & Iriana Avendaño (Bolivia) d. Danielle Drury & Michelle Morissette (Canada), 15-4, 15-8
Round 4
Diana Aguilar & Montserrat Perez (Mexico) d. Natalia Mendez & Iriana Avendaño (Bolivia), 15-11, 15-8
Hollie Scott & Kaitlin Simmons (USA) d. Danielle Drury & Michelle Morissette (Canada), 10-15, 15-4, 11-9
Round 5
Diana Aguilar & Montserrat Perez (Mexico) d. Hollie Scott & Kaitlin Simmons (USA), 15-9, 15-5
Danielle Drury & Michelle Morissette (Canada) d. Maria Cespedes & Merinanllely (Dominican Rep.), 15-9, 15-9
Standings
1. Mexico - 4-0
2. Bolivia - 3-1
3. Canada - 1-3
4. Dominican Republic - 1-3
5. USA - 1-3
Girl's U14 Doubles
Round 1
Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez (Mexico) d. Frances Vasquez Souchet & Charleen Tono (Puerto Rico), 15-3, 15-2
Erika Manilla & Jordan Cooperrider (USA) d. Ivana Sepertegui & Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador), 15-8, 15-8
Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi (Bolivia) d. Annie Fisher & Alexis Iwaasa (Canada), 15-3, 15-10
Round 2
Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez (Mexico) d. Valentina Valor & Lilian Zea (Venezuela), 15-2, 15-5
Ivana Sepertegui & Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador) d. Frances Vasquez Souchet & Charleen Tono (Puerto Rico), 15-3, 15-8
Erika Manilla & Jordan Cooperrider (USA) d. Annie Fisher & Alexis Iwaasa (Canada), 15-2, 15-2
Round 3
Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez (Mexico) d. Ivana Sepertegui & Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador), 15-8, 15-2
Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi (Bolivia) d. Valentina Valor & Lilian Zea (Venezuela), 15-2, 15-2
Annie Fisher & Alexis Iwaasa (Canada) d. Frances Vasquez Souchet & Charleen Tono (Puerto Rico), 15-8, 15-5
Round 4
Erika Manilla & Jordan Cooperrider (USA) d. Frances Vasquez Souchet & Charleen Tono (Puerto Rico), 15-0, 15-0
Annie Fisher & Alexis Iwaasa (Canada) d. Valentina Valor & Lilian Zea (Venezuela), 15-3, 15-14
Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi (Bolivia) d. Ivana Sepertegui & Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador), 15-10, 15-1
Round 5
Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi (Bolivia) d. Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez (Mexico), 15-4, 10-15, 11-4
Ivana Sepertegui & Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador) d. Annie Fisher & Alexis Iwaasa (Canada), 6-15, 15-14, 11-6
Erika Manilla & Jordan Cooperrider (USA) d. Valentina Valor & Lilian Zea (Venezuela), 15-0, 15-7
Round 6
Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez (Mexico) d. Annie Fisher & Alexis Iwaasa (Canada), 15-10, 15-11
Erika Manilla & Jordan Cooperrider (USA) d. Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi (Bolivia), 15-14, 15-13
Valentina Valor & Lilian Zea (Venezuela) d. Frances Vasquez Souchet & Charleen Tono (Puerto Rico), 15-3, 15-12
Round 7 - Saturday
Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez (Mexico) v. Erika Manilla (USA) & Jordan Cooperrider (USA)
Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi (Bolivia) v. Frances Vasquez Souchet & Charleen Tono (Puerto Rico)
Ivana Sepertegui & Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador) v. Valentina Valor & Lilian Zea (Venezuela)
Standings
1. USA - 5-0
2. Bolivia - 4-1
3. Mexico - 4-1
4. Ecuador - 2-3
5. Canada - 2-4
6. Venezuela - 1-4
7. Puerto Rico - 0-5
Follow the bouncing ball....
There were only three teams in Girl's U18 Doubles, so a double round robin format was used with each team playing the other twice, and the same result occurred both times.
Mexicans Alexandra Herrera, a left-hander, and Ximena Gonzalez defeated the Bolivian team of Paola Cossio Masiel Rivera in two straight games twice and
needed two tie-breakers to beat the Guatemalan pair Ana Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez. Also the Bolivians beat the Guatemalans in two straight games in both their matches.
Thus, it's gold for Mexico, silver for Bolivia and bronze for Guatemala.
Mexico also won gold in Girl's U16, as the team of Diana Aguilar and Montserrat Perez were undefeated in a five team round robin competition, including a win over silver medalists Natalia Mendez & Iriana Avendaño, who were 3-1.
Canadians Danielle Drury and Michelle Morissette, Americans Hollie Scott and Kaitlin Simmons and Maria Cespedes and Merinanllely of the Dominican Republic all finished with 1-3 records, but the bronze goes to Canada as they lost in a tie-breaker to the Americans and beat the Dominicans two straight, while the Dominicans beat the Americans two straight but lost to the Canadians two straight.
There are two potential three way ties in Girl's U14 Doubles. The American team of Erika Manilla and Jordan Cooperrider are currently undefeated but face the 4-1 Mexicans Monserrat Meija and Andrea Ramierez in the last round of matches. Bolivians Wanda Carvajal and Adriana Homsi are also 4-1, and are against the winless team of Frances Vasquez Souchet and Charleen Tono from Puerto Rico in the last round.
Also, Ivana Sepertegui and Maria Jose Munoz of Ecuador play Valentina Valor and Lilian Zea of Venezuela in the last round, and Ecuador is 2-3 and Venezuela is 1-4. A Venezuelan victory would create a three way tie between these two teams and Canada's Alexis Iwaasa and Annie Fisher, who finished 2-4.
There is live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Girl's U18 Doubles
Round 1 - Paola Cossio & Masiel Rivera (Bolivia) d. Ana Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala), 15-9, 15-14
Round 2 - Alexandra Herrera & Ximena Gonzalez (Mexico) d. Ana Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala), 15-9, 15-14
Round 3 - Alexandra Herrera & Ximena Gonzalez (Mexico) d. Paola Cossio & Masiel Rivera (Bolivia), 15-7, 15-14
Round 4 - Paola Cossio & Masiel Rivera (Bolivia) d. Ana Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala), 15-7, 15-11
Round 5 - Alexandra Herrera & Ximena Gonzalez (Mexico) d. Ana Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala), 10-15, 15-13, 11-0
Round 6 - Alexandra Herrera & Ximena Gonzalez (Mexico) d. Paola Cossio & Masiel Rivera (Bolivia), 15-10, 15-12
Standings
1. Mexico - 4-0
2. Bolivia - 2-2
3. Guatemala - 0-4
Girl's U16 Doubles
Round 1
Diana Aguilar & Montserrat Perez (Mexico) d. Maria Cespedes & Merinanllely (Dominican Rep.), 15-5, 15-2
Natalia Mendez & Iriana Avendaño (Bolivia) d. Hollie Scott & Kaitlin Simmons (USA), 15-6, 15-3
Round 2
Diana Aguilar & Montserrat Perez (Mexico) d. Danielle Drury & Michelle Morissette (Canada), 14-15, 15-2, 11-9
Natalia Mendez & Iriana Avendaño (Bolivia) d. Maria Cespedes & Merinanllely (Dominican Rep.), 15-2, 15-13
Round 3
Maria Cespedes & Merinanllely (Dominican Rep.) d. Hollie Scott & Kaitlin Simmons (USA), 15-4, 15-8
Natalia Mendez & Iriana Avendaño (Bolivia) d. Danielle Drury & Michelle Morissette (Canada), 15-4, 15-8
Round 4
Diana Aguilar & Montserrat Perez (Mexico) d. Natalia Mendez & Iriana Avendaño (Bolivia), 15-11, 15-8
Hollie Scott & Kaitlin Simmons (USA) d. Danielle Drury & Michelle Morissette (Canada), 10-15, 15-4, 11-9
Round 5
Diana Aguilar & Montserrat Perez (Mexico) d. Hollie Scott & Kaitlin Simmons (USA), 15-9, 15-5
Danielle Drury & Michelle Morissette (Canada) d. Maria Cespedes & Merinanllely (Dominican Rep.), 15-9, 15-9
Standings
1. Mexico - 4-0
2. Bolivia - 3-1
3. Canada - 1-3
4. Dominican Republic - 1-3
5. USA - 1-3
Girl's U14 Doubles
Round 1
Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez (Mexico) d. Frances Vasquez Souchet & Charleen Tono (Puerto Rico), 15-3, 15-2
Erika Manilla & Jordan Cooperrider (USA) d. Ivana Sepertegui & Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador), 15-8, 15-8
Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi (Bolivia) d. Annie Fisher & Alexis Iwaasa (Canada), 15-3, 15-10
Round 2
Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez (Mexico) d. Valentina Valor & Lilian Zea (Venezuela), 15-2, 15-5
Ivana Sepertegui & Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador) d. Frances Vasquez Souchet & Charleen Tono (Puerto Rico), 15-3, 15-8
Erika Manilla & Jordan Cooperrider (USA) d. Annie Fisher & Alexis Iwaasa (Canada), 15-2, 15-2
Round 3
Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez (Mexico) d. Ivana Sepertegui & Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador), 15-8, 15-2
Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi (Bolivia) d. Valentina Valor & Lilian Zea (Venezuela), 15-2, 15-2
Annie Fisher & Alexis Iwaasa (Canada) d. Frances Vasquez Souchet & Charleen Tono (Puerto Rico), 15-8, 15-5
Round 4
Erika Manilla & Jordan Cooperrider (USA) d. Frances Vasquez Souchet & Charleen Tono (Puerto Rico), 15-0, 15-0
Annie Fisher & Alexis Iwaasa (Canada) d. Valentina Valor & Lilian Zea (Venezuela), 15-3, 15-14
Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi (Bolivia) d. Ivana Sepertegui & Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador), 15-10, 15-1
Round 5
Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi (Bolivia) d. Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez (Mexico), 15-4, 10-15, 11-4
Ivana Sepertegui & Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador) d. Annie Fisher & Alexis Iwaasa (Canada), 6-15, 15-14, 11-6
Erika Manilla & Jordan Cooperrider (USA) d. Valentina Valor & Lilian Zea (Venezuela), 15-0, 15-7
Round 6
Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez (Mexico) d. Annie Fisher & Alexis Iwaasa (Canada), 15-10, 15-11
Erika Manilla & Jordan Cooperrider (USA) d. Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi (Bolivia), 15-14, 15-13
Valentina Valor & Lilian Zea (Venezuela) d. Frances Vasquez Souchet & Charleen Tono (Puerto Rico), 15-3, 15-12
Round 7 - Saturday
Monserrat Meija & Andrea Ramierez (Mexico) v. Erika Manilla (USA) & Jordan Cooperrider (USA)
Wanda Carvajal & Adriana Homsi (Bolivia) v. Frances Vasquez Souchet & Charleen Tono (Puerto Rico)
Ivana Sepertegui & Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador) v. Valentina Valor & Lilian Zea (Venezuela)
Standings
1. USA - 5-0
2. Bolivia - 4-1
3. Mexico - 4-1
4. Ecuador - 2-3
5. Canada - 2-4
6. Venezuela - 1-4
7. Puerto Rico - 0-5
Follow the bouncing ball....
IRF 25th World Juniors - Three Mexicans in Girl's Finals
Mexicans made all three finals in the Girl's World Cup divisions Friday at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia, although only one in each final, so there could be a gold medal sweep for Mexico or a gold medal shutout.
In Girl's U18, 5th seed Lucia Gonzalez of Mexico knocked off the #1 seed Masiel Rivera of Bolivia in two close games, 15-12, 15-14, and will face 2nd seed Mariana Tobon of Venezuela in the final, as Tobon beat Costa Rican Melania Sauma, 6-15, 15-12, 11-10, in the other semi.
It was the second consecutive match for Sauma that ended in an 11-10 tie-breaker, as she beat Paola Cossio of Bolivia 11-10 in the quarter-finals.
Gonzalez started strong against Rivera, going out to a 5-1 lead in game one by using drive serves to both sides, including into the left side glass wall. But Rivera began using a backhand lob Z serve to the left side - to Gonzalez's backhand and into that side glass wall.
Rivera went on a 10-1 run to take the lead at 11-6 and looked comfortable to win the first game. However, Gonzalez began to make some good returns of the lob Z and score points of her own, as she cut the score to 11-9.
They traded points to make it 12-10, and then Gonzalez scored two to level the game at 12-12. The Mexican pushed forward to win game one 15-12 seemingly against the run of play. Late in that game Rivera stopped using the lob Z as her first serve and only used it sometimes as a second serve the rest of the match.
In game two, they traded points back and forth to 3-3. Then Gonzalez scored three in a row to make it 6-3. But Rivera worked to catch up and did so at 7-7 and then led 8-7.
Gonzalez then put together a seven point run using her powerful drive serve to both sides making the score 14-8 and it looked like the upset was certain. However, the Bolivian playing in front of full stands of fans and on national television came back to tie the game at 14-14.
In her six point run, Rivera had two drive serve aces to right side: Gonzalez's forehand. In that run, Gonzalez served twice for the match, but couldn't win it.
After Rivera scored her 14th point off a backhand serve return skip by Gonzalez, Gonzalez put the next serve return away for a third match point opportunity. Again that wasn't successful for her, giving Rivera a second match point.
Both girls seemed to be tight, as they were often serving short at the end of game two. And so it was with Rivera's second match point, as she hit a short drive serve and then a lob to the right side that Gonzalez returned down the line for a winner and her 4th match point.
Gonzalez drove serve short, and then hit a lob to the left that started a long rally. After a few shots, Rivera had to scramble and did the splits as she hit the ball up to the ceiling to keep the rally going. That shot came off the back wall and Ganzalez hit a backhand winner to the left side to finally complete the upset.
It's #1 versus #2 in Girl's U16, as top seed Natalia Mendez of Bolivia and 2nd seed Diana Aguilar of Mexico will face off in the final. Mendez defeated 4th seed Luisa Santillan Lahud of Mexico, 15-6, 14-15, 11-7, in one semi-final, while Aguilar beat 3rd seed Hawira Rojas of Bolivia, 15-6, 15-3, in the other.
The Girl's U14 final should be a good one, as 1st seed Ana Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala will play 3rd seeded Mexican Erin Rivera. Both have powerful game styles. Rivera drive serves well and can drive the ball well during the rally as well, and if you can do that, then you're going to win a lot of matches.
In the semi-finals, Martinez defeated 4th seed Wanda Carvajal of Bolivia, 15-10, 15-7, and Rivera got the better of American Jordan Cooperrider, 15-11, 15-6.
There is live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Girl's U18 (with seedings)
Semi-finals
5. Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico) d. 1. Masiel Rivera (Bolivia), 15-12, 15-14
2. Mariana Tobon (Venezuela) d. 6. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica), 6-15, 15-12, 11-10
Final
2. Mariana Tobon (Venezuela) v. 5. Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico)
Girl's U16
Semi-finals
1. Natalia Mendez (Bolivia) d. 4. Luisa Santillan Lahud (Mexico), 15-6, 14-15, 11-7
2. Diana Aguilar (Mexico) d. 3. Hawira Rojas (Bolivia), 15-6, 15-3
Final
1. Natalia Mendez (Bolivia) v. 2. Diana Aguilar (Mexico)
Girl's U14 Singles
Semi-finals
1. Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) d. 4. Wanda Carvajal (Bolivia), 15-10, 15-7
3. Erin Rivera (Mexico) v. 7. Jordan Cooperrider (USA), 15-11, 15-6
Final
1. Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) v. 3. Erin Rivera (Mexico)
Follow the bouncing ball....
In Girl's U18, 5th seed Lucia Gonzalez of Mexico knocked off the #1 seed Masiel Rivera of Bolivia in two close games, 15-12, 15-14, and will face 2nd seed Mariana Tobon of Venezuela in the final, as Tobon beat Costa Rican Melania Sauma, 6-15, 15-12, 11-10, in the other semi.
It was the second consecutive match for Sauma that ended in an 11-10 tie-breaker, as she beat Paola Cossio of Bolivia 11-10 in the quarter-finals.
Gonzalez started strong against Rivera, going out to a 5-1 lead in game one by using drive serves to both sides, including into the left side glass wall. But Rivera began using a backhand lob Z serve to the left side - to Gonzalez's backhand and into that side glass wall.
Rivera went on a 10-1 run to take the lead at 11-6 and looked comfortable to win the first game. However, Gonzalez began to make some good returns of the lob Z and score points of her own, as she cut the score to 11-9.
They traded points to make it 12-10, and then Gonzalez scored two to level the game at 12-12. The Mexican pushed forward to win game one 15-12 seemingly against the run of play. Late in that game Rivera stopped using the lob Z as her first serve and only used it sometimes as a second serve the rest of the match.
In game two, they traded points back and forth to 3-3. Then Gonzalez scored three in a row to make it 6-3. But Rivera worked to catch up and did so at 7-7 and then led 8-7.
Gonzalez then put together a seven point run using her powerful drive serve to both sides making the score 14-8 and it looked like the upset was certain. However, the Bolivian playing in front of full stands of fans and on national television came back to tie the game at 14-14.
In her six point run, Rivera had two drive serve aces to right side: Gonzalez's forehand. In that run, Gonzalez served twice for the match, but couldn't win it.
After Rivera scored her 14th point off a backhand serve return skip by Gonzalez, Gonzalez put the next serve return away for a third match point opportunity. Again that wasn't successful for her, giving Rivera a second match point.
Both girls seemed to be tight, as they were often serving short at the end of game two. And so it was with Rivera's second match point, as she hit a short drive serve and then a lob to the right side that Gonzalez returned down the line for a winner and her 4th match point.
Gonzalez drove serve short, and then hit a lob to the left that started a long rally. After a few shots, Rivera had to scramble and did the splits as she hit the ball up to the ceiling to keep the rally going. That shot came off the back wall and Ganzalez hit a backhand winner to the left side to finally complete the upset.
It's #1 versus #2 in Girl's U16, as top seed Natalia Mendez of Bolivia and 2nd seed Diana Aguilar of Mexico will face off in the final. Mendez defeated 4th seed Luisa Santillan Lahud of Mexico, 15-6, 14-15, 11-7, in one semi-final, while Aguilar beat 3rd seed Hawira Rojas of Bolivia, 15-6, 15-3, in the other.
The Girl's U14 final should be a good one, as 1st seed Ana Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala will play 3rd seeded Mexican Erin Rivera. Both have powerful game styles. Rivera drive serves well and can drive the ball well during the rally as well, and if you can do that, then you're going to win a lot of matches.
In the semi-finals, Martinez defeated 4th seed Wanda Carvajal of Bolivia, 15-10, 15-7, and Rivera got the better of American Jordan Cooperrider, 15-11, 15-6.
There is live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Girl's U18 (with seedings)
Semi-finals
5. Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico) d. 1. Masiel Rivera (Bolivia), 15-12, 15-14
2. Mariana Tobon (Venezuela) d. 6. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica), 6-15, 15-12, 11-10
Final
2. Mariana Tobon (Venezuela) v. 5. Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico)
Girl's U16
Semi-finals
1. Natalia Mendez (Bolivia) d. 4. Luisa Santillan Lahud (Mexico), 15-6, 14-15, 11-7
2. Diana Aguilar (Mexico) d. 3. Hawira Rojas (Bolivia), 15-6, 15-3
Final
1. Natalia Mendez (Bolivia) v. 2. Diana Aguilar (Mexico)
Girl's U14 Singles
Semi-finals
1. Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) d. 4. Wanda Carvajal (Bolivia), 15-10, 15-7
3. Erin Rivera (Mexico) v. 7. Jordan Cooperrider (USA), 15-11, 15-6
Final
1. Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) v. 3. Erin Rivera (Mexico)
Follow the bouncing ball....
Friday, October 25, 2013
IRF 25th World Juniors - Near Mexico sweep in Boy's Singles
Five of the six finalists in Boy's U18, U16 and U14 are Mexican, so they'll have a good chance to sweep the gold in the Boy's competitions at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia with gold assured in U16 and U14, as those are both all Mexico finals.
Conrado Moscoso prevented a Mexican sweep, as the 2nd seed in Boy's U18 defeated Mexican Eduardo Garay in the semi-finals, 15-9, 15-14, on Friday.
Moscosa will face another Garay in the final, as 8th seed Rodrigo Garay of Mexico defeated Bolivian Diego Crespo, 15-6, 9-15, 11-10, in the other semi.
Both of the top seeds in Boy's U16 lost to Mexicans in the semi-finals. Fourth seed Andree Parrilla beat Canadian Coby Iwaasa, 15-5, 15-6, and sixth seed Rodrigo Montoya defeated second seed Marcelo Vargas of Bolivia, 15-13, 15-5.
Parrilla used mostly drive Z serves against Iwaasa, the defending U16 World Junior Champion, and it was very effective, as Iwaasa never really got on track in the match.
It seemed like it might come together for the Canadian in the middle of game two, although Parrilla still led at 8-3 after Iwaasa had score a couple of consecutive points. That led Parrilla to switch to the backhand lob serve tight to the left wall, which he used effectively against Iwaasa earlier this month in the final of Men's Open at the US Open in Minneapolis - a match Parrilla won in a tie-breaker.
Parrilla got two points to make the score 11-3 and cause Iwaasa to call a time out. Iwaasa did get a few more points, but never really threatened Parrilla who won the match with a good drive serve to the right - the first time he'd done that serve all match, as Iwaasa's forehand return skipped. That rally was indicative of the match.
The top seed in Boy's U14 also lost and also to a Mexican, as 4th seed Juan Loreto defeated top seed Andres Avendaño of Bolivia, 15-11, 11-15, 11-0. Loreto will face teammate and 2nd seed Cristian Longoria in the final after Longoria beat 3rd seed Set Cubillos of Colombia in the other semi-final, 15-14, 15-3.
There is live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Singles (with seedings)
Semi-finals
8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico) d. 4. Diego Crespo (Bolivia), 15-6, 9-15, 11-10
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) d. 6. Eduardo Garay (Mexico), 15-9, 15-14
Final
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) v. 8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico)
Boy's U16 Singles (with seedings)
Semi-finals
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) d. 1. Coby Iwaasa (Canada), 15-5, 15-6
6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 2. Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia), 15-13, 15-5
Final
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) v. 6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico)
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Semi-finals
4. Juan Loreto (Mexico) d. 1. Andres Avendaño (Bolivia), 15-11, 11-15, 11-0
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. 3. Set Cubillos (Colombia), 15-14, 15-3
Final
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) v. 4. Juan Loreto (Mexico)
Follow the bouncing ball....
Conrado Moscoso prevented a Mexican sweep, as the 2nd seed in Boy's U18 defeated Mexican Eduardo Garay in the semi-finals, 15-9, 15-14, on Friday.
Moscosa will face another Garay in the final, as 8th seed Rodrigo Garay of Mexico defeated Bolivian Diego Crespo, 15-6, 9-15, 11-10, in the other semi.
Both of the top seeds in Boy's U16 lost to Mexicans in the semi-finals. Fourth seed Andree Parrilla beat Canadian Coby Iwaasa, 15-5, 15-6, and sixth seed Rodrigo Montoya defeated second seed Marcelo Vargas of Bolivia, 15-13, 15-5.
Parrilla used mostly drive Z serves against Iwaasa, the defending U16 World Junior Champion, and it was very effective, as Iwaasa never really got on track in the match.
It seemed like it might come together for the Canadian in the middle of game two, although Parrilla still led at 8-3 after Iwaasa had score a couple of consecutive points. That led Parrilla to switch to the backhand lob serve tight to the left wall, which he used effectively against Iwaasa earlier this month in the final of Men's Open at the US Open in Minneapolis - a match Parrilla won in a tie-breaker.
Parrilla got two points to make the score 11-3 and cause Iwaasa to call a time out. Iwaasa did get a few more points, but never really threatened Parrilla who won the match with a good drive serve to the right - the first time he'd done that serve all match, as Iwaasa's forehand return skipped. That rally was indicative of the match.
The top seed in Boy's U14 also lost and also to a Mexican, as 4th seed Juan Loreto defeated top seed Andres Avendaño of Bolivia, 15-11, 11-15, 11-0. Loreto will face teammate and 2nd seed Cristian Longoria in the final after Longoria beat 3rd seed Set Cubillos of Colombia in the other semi-final, 15-14, 15-3.
There is live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Singles (with seedings)
Semi-finals
8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico) d. 4. Diego Crespo (Bolivia), 15-6, 9-15, 11-10
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) d. 6. Eduardo Garay (Mexico), 15-9, 15-14
Final
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) v. 8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico)
Boy's U16 Singles (with seedings)
Semi-finals
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) d. 1. Coby Iwaasa (Canada), 15-5, 15-6
6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 2. Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia), 15-13, 15-5
Final
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) v. 6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico)
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Semi-finals
4. Juan Loreto (Mexico) d. 1. Andres Avendaño (Bolivia), 15-11, 11-15, 11-0
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. 3. Set Cubillos (Colombia), 15-14, 15-3
Final
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) v. 4. Juan Loreto (Mexico)
Follow the bouncing ball....
IRF 25th World Juniors - Near Mexico sweep in Boy's Singles
Five of the six finalists in Boy's U18, U16 and U14 are Mexican, so they'll have a good chance to sweep the gold in the Boy's competitions at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia with gold assured in U16 and U14, as those are both all Mexico finals.
Conrado Moscoso prevented a Mexican sweep, as the 2nd seed in Boy's U18 defeated Mexican Eduardo Garay in the semi-finals, 15-9, 15-14, on Friday.
Moscosa will face another Garay in the final, as 8th seed Rodrigo Garay of Mexico defeated Bolivian Diego Crespo, 15-6, 9-15, 11-10, in the other semi.
Both of the top seeds in Boy's U16 lost to Mexicans in the semi-finals. Fourth seed Andree Parrilla beat Canadian Coby Iwaasa, 15-5, 15-6, and sixth seed Rodrigo Montoya defeated second seed Marcelo Vargas of Bolivia, 15-13, 15-5.
Parrilla used mostly drive Z serves against Iwaasa, the defending U16 World Junior Champion, and it was very effective, as Iwaasa never really got on track in the match.
It seemed like it might come together for the Canadian in the middle of game two, although Parrilla still led at 8-3 after Iwaasa had score a couple of consecutive points. That led Parrilla to switch to the backhand lob serve tight to the left wall, which he used effectively against Iwaasa earlier this month in the final of Men's Open at the US Open in Minneapolis - a match Parrilla won in a tie-breaker.
Parrilla got two points to make the score 11-3 and cause Iwaasa to call a time out. Iwaasa did get a few more points, but never really threatened Parrilla who won the match with a good drive serve to the right - the first time he'd done that serve all match, as Iwaasa's forehand return skipped. That rally was indicative of the match.
The top seed in Boy's U14 also lost and also to a Mexican, as 4th seed Juan Loreto defeated top seed Andres Avendaño of Bolivia, 15-11, 11-15, 11-0. Loreto will face teammate and 2nd seed Cristian Longoria in the final after Longoria beat 3rd seed Set Cubillos of Colombia in the other semi-final, 15-14, 15-3.
There is live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Singles (with seedings)
Semi-finals
8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico) d. 4. Diego Crespo (Bolivia), 15-6, 9-15, 11-10
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) d. 6. Eduardo Garay (Mexico), 15-9, 15-14
Final
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) v. 8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico)
Boy's U16 Singles (with seedings)
Semi-finals
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) d. 1. Coby Iwaasa (Canada), 15-5, 15-6
6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 2. Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia), 15-13, 15-5
Final
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) v. 6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico)
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Semi-finals
4. Juan Loreto (Mexico) d. 1. Andres Avendaño (Bolivia), 15-11, 11-15, 11-0
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. 3. Set Cubillos (Colombia), 15-14, 15-3
Final
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) v. 4. Juan Loreto (Mexico)
Follow the bouncing ball....
Conrado Moscoso prevented a Mexican sweep, as the 2nd seed in Boy's U18 defeated Mexican Eduardo Garay in the semi-finals, 15-9, 15-14, on Friday.
Moscosa will face another Garay in the final, as 8th seed Rodrigo Garay of Mexico defeated Bolivian Diego Crespo, 15-6, 9-15, 11-10, in the other semi.
Both of the top seeds in Boy's U16 lost to Mexicans in the semi-finals. Fourth seed Andree Parrilla beat Canadian Coby Iwaasa, 15-5, 15-6, and sixth seed Rodrigo Montoya defeated second seed Marcelo Vargas of Bolivia, 15-13, 15-5.
Parrilla used mostly drive Z serves against Iwaasa, the defending U16 World Junior Champion, and it was very effective, as Iwaasa never really got on track in the match.
It seemed like it might come together for the Canadian in the middle of game two, although Parrilla still led at 8-3 after Iwaasa had score a couple of consecutive points. That led Parrilla to switch to the backhand lob serve tight to the left wall, which he used effectively against Iwaasa earlier this month in the final of Men's Open at the US Open in Minneapolis - a match Parrilla won in a tie-breaker.
Parrilla got two points to make the score 11-3 and cause Iwaasa to call a time out. Iwaasa did get a few more points, but never really threatened Parrilla who won the match with a good drive serve to the right - the first time he'd done that serve all match, as Iwaasa's forehand return skipped. That rally was indicative of the match.
The top seed in Boy's U14 also lost and also to a Mexican, as 4th seed Juan Loreto defeated top seed Andres Avendaño of Bolivia, 15-11, 11-15, 11-0. Loreto will face teammate and 2nd seed Cristian Longoria in the final after Longoria beat 3rd seed Set Cubillos of Colombia in the other semi-final, 15-14, 15-3.
There is live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Singles (with seedings)
Semi-finals
8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico) d. 4. Diego Crespo (Bolivia), 15-6, 9-15, 11-10
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) d. 6. Eduardo Garay (Mexico), 15-9, 15-14
Final
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) v. 8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico)
Boy's U16 Singles (with seedings)
Semi-finals
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) d. 1. Coby Iwaasa (Canada), 15-5, 15-6
6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 2. Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia), 15-13, 15-5
Final
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) v. 6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico)
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Semi-finals
4. Juan Loreto (Mexico) d. 1. Andres Avendaño (Bolivia), 15-11, 11-15, 11-0
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. 3. Set Cubillos (Colombia), 15-14, 15-3
Final
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) v. 4. Juan Loreto (Mexico)
Follow the bouncing ball....
IRF 25th World Juniors - Mexico & Bolivia to face off in Boy's Doubles
There will be two Mexico-Bolivia showdowns in the finals of Boy's U18 and U16 Doubles at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia. The Mexicans are the #1 seeds in both divisions with Bolivia #2 in both.
In U18, Mexicans Rodrigo Garay and Javier Mar advanced to the final with a win over 4th seeded Americans Sawyer Lloyd and Adam Manilla, 15-14, 15-7, while Bolivians Conrado Moscoso and Sebastian Julio Oña beat Costa Ricans Andres Aviles and Gabriel Garcia, 15-8, 15-7.
In Boy's U14 Doubles, the Mexican team of Cesar Barragan and Cristian Longoria finished undefeated at 5-0 in a six team round robin playoff. Bolivians Andres Avendaño and Rodrigo Mendoza were second at 4-1, and the Costa Ricans Sergio Acuna and Andres Montero finished third with a 3-2 record.
There is live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Doubles (with seedings)
Semi-finals
1. Rodrigo Garay & Javier Mar (Mexico) v. 4. Sawyer Lloyd & Adam Manilla (USA), 15-14, 15-7
2. Conrado Moscoso & Sebastian Julio Oña (Bolivia) d. 3. Andres Aviles & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica), 15-9, 15-7
Final
1. Rodrigo Garay & Javier Mar (Mexico) v. 2. Conrado Moscoso & Sebastian Julio Oña (Bolivia)
Boy's U16 Doubles (with seedings)
Semi-finals
1. Erik Garcia & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 5. Hansel Martinez & Juan Jose Salvatierra (Guatemala), 15-5, 15-10
2. Cristhian Mina & Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) d. 6. Nicolas Bousquet & Coby Iwaasa (Canada), 15-3, 6-15, 11-3
Final
1. Erik Garcia & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) v. 2. Cristhian Mina & Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia)
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Round Robin
Round 5
Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador), 15-7, 15-2
Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica) d. Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA), 15-7, 15-7
Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia) d. Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia), 15-12, 15-11
Standings
1. Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) - 5-0
2. Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia) - 4-1
3. Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica) - 3-2
4. Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador) - 2-3
5. Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia) - 1-4
6. Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA) - 0-5
Follow the bouncing ball....
In U18, Mexicans Rodrigo Garay and Javier Mar advanced to the final with a win over 4th seeded Americans Sawyer Lloyd and Adam Manilla, 15-14, 15-7, while Bolivians Conrado Moscoso and Sebastian Julio Oña beat Costa Ricans Andres Aviles and Gabriel Garcia, 15-8, 15-7.
In Boy's U14 Doubles, the Mexican team of Cesar Barragan and Cristian Longoria finished undefeated at 5-0 in a six team round robin playoff. Bolivians Andres Avendaño and Rodrigo Mendoza were second at 4-1, and the Costa Ricans Sergio Acuna and Andres Montero finished third with a 3-2 record.
There is live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Doubles (with seedings)
Semi-finals
1. Rodrigo Garay & Javier Mar (Mexico) v. 4. Sawyer Lloyd & Adam Manilla (USA), 15-14, 15-7
2. Conrado Moscoso & Sebastian Julio Oña (Bolivia) d. 3. Andres Aviles & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica), 15-9, 15-7
Final
1. Rodrigo Garay & Javier Mar (Mexico) v. 2. Conrado Moscoso & Sebastian Julio Oña (Bolivia)
Boy's U16 Doubles (with seedings)
Semi-finals
1. Erik Garcia & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 5. Hansel Martinez & Juan Jose Salvatierra (Guatemala), 15-5, 15-10
2. Cristhian Mina & Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) d. 6. Nicolas Bousquet & Coby Iwaasa (Canada), 15-3, 6-15, 11-3
Final
1. Erik Garcia & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) v. 2. Cristhian Mina & Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia)
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Round Robin
Round 5
Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador), 15-7, 15-2
Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica) d. Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA), 15-7, 15-7
Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia) d. Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia), 15-12, 15-11
Standings
1. Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) - 5-0
2. Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia) - 4-1
3. Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica) - 3-2
4. Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador) - 2-3
5. Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia) - 1-4
6. Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA) - 0-5
Follow the bouncing ball....
IRF World Juniors - Boy's doubles results
The top four seeds in Boy's U18 Doubles are through to the semi-finals at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia, but it's a different story in Boy's U16 Doubles, as the 3rd and 4th seeds lost on Thursday.
Mexicans Rodrigo Garay and Javier Mar are the top seeds in U18 and they beat Michael Leduc & Anthony Schonberger (Canada), 15-10, 15-3, in the quarter finals Thursday and in the semis will face the 4th seeded leftie-rightie team of Sawyer Lloyd and Adam Manilla of the USA, who knocked off the 5th seeds Diego Pimentel and Junior Rodriguez (Dominican Rep.), 15-1, 15-9, in the quarters.
On the other side of the draw it's Bolivians Conrado Moscoso and Sebastian Julio Oña against Costa Ricans Andres Aviles and Gabriel Garcia in the semi-finals. Bolivia beat Rodrigo Salgado & Diego Silva (Chile), 15-4, 15-5, in the quarters and Costa Rica defeated Estevan Aldana and Edwin Galicia of Guatemala, 15-7, 15-3.
In Boy's U14 Doubles, the Mexican team of Cesar Barragan and Cristian Longoria remains undefeated at 4-0 with the Bolivians Andres Avendaño and Rodrigo Mendoza 3-1, so those are likely your gold and silver medalists, respectively.
Costa Ricans Sergio Acuna and Andres Montero and Ecuadorans Juan Francisco Cueva and Jorge Ochoa both have records of 2-2 going into the last match day, but the edge goes to Costa Rica for bronze, as they have to face the winless American team while Ecuador faces Mexico. Costa Rica did beat Ecuador in an 11-8 tie-breaker in the 2nd round of play, so even if they finished with 3-2 records that result would put Costa Rica ahead of Ecuador.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Doubles (with seedings)
Quarter finals
1. Rodrigo Garay & Javier Mar (Mexico) d. Michael Leduc & Anthony Schonberger (Canada), 15-10, 15-3
4. Sawyer Lloyd & Adam Manilla (USA) d. 5. Diego Pimentel & Junior Rodriguez (Dominican Rep.), 15-1, 15-9
3. Andres Aviles & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica) d. 6. Estevan Aldana & Edwin Galicia (Guatemala), 15-7, 15-3
2. Conrado Moscoso & Sebastian Julio Oña (Bolivia) d. Rodrigo Salgado & Diego Silva (Chile), 15-4, 15-5
Semi-finals
1. Rodrigo Garay & Javier Mar (Mexico) v. 4. Sawyer Lloyd & Adam Manilla (USA)
2. Conrado Moscoso & Sebastian Julio Oña (Bolivia) v. 3. Andres Aviles & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica)
Boy's U16 Doubles (with seedings)
Quarter finals
1. Erik Garcia & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 9. Alexander Pirie & Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica), 15-9, 15-6
5. Hansel Martinez & Juan Jose Salvatierra (Guatemala) d. 4. Daniel Arevalo & Eliseo Molina (Venezuela), 15-14, 15-11
6. Nicolas Bousquet & Coby Iwaasa (Canada) d. 3. Jake Birnel & Sam Bredenbeck (USA), 15-12, 15-14
2. Cristhian Mina & Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) d. 7. Christian Chavez & Mateo Espinoza (Ecuador), 15-2, 15-1
Semi-finals
1. Erik Garcia & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) v. 5. Hansel Martinez & Juan Jose Salvatierra (Guatemala)
2. Cristhian Mina & Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) v. 6. Nicolas Bousquet & Coby Iwaasa (Canada)
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Round Robin
Round 4
Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA), 15-1, 15-4
Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia) d. Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica), 15-9, 15-7
Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador) d. Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia), 15-4, 15-11
Standings
1. Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) - 4-0
2. Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia) - 3-1
3. Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica) - 2-2
3. Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador) - 2-2
5. Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia) - 1-3
6. Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA) - 0-4
Follow the bouncing ball....
Mexicans Rodrigo Garay and Javier Mar are the top seeds in U18 and they beat Michael Leduc & Anthony Schonberger (Canada), 15-10, 15-3, in the quarter finals Thursday and in the semis will face the 4th seeded leftie-rightie team of Sawyer Lloyd and Adam Manilla of the USA, who knocked off the 5th seeds Diego Pimentel and Junior Rodriguez (Dominican Rep.), 15-1, 15-9, in the quarters.
On the other side of the draw it's Bolivians Conrado Moscoso and Sebastian Julio Oña against Costa Ricans Andres Aviles and Gabriel Garcia in the semi-finals. Bolivia beat Rodrigo Salgado & Diego Silva (Chile), 15-4, 15-5, in the quarters and Costa Rica defeated Estevan Aldana and Edwin Galicia of Guatemala, 15-7, 15-3.
In Boy's U14 Doubles, the Mexican team of Cesar Barragan and Cristian Longoria remains undefeated at 4-0 with the Bolivians Andres Avendaño and Rodrigo Mendoza 3-1, so those are likely your gold and silver medalists, respectively.
Costa Ricans Sergio Acuna and Andres Montero and Ecuadorans Juan Francisco Cueva and Jorge Ochoa both have records of 2-2 going into the last match day, but the edge goes to Costa Rica for bronze, as they have to face the winless American team while Ecuador faces Mexico. Costa Rica did beat Ecuador in an 11-8 tie-breaker in the 2nd round of play, so even if they finished with 3-2 records that result would put Costa Rica ahead of Ecuador.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Doubles (with seedings)
Quarter finals
1. Rodrigo Garay & Javier Mar (Mexico) d. Michael Leduc & Anthony Schonberger (Canada), 15-10, 15-3
4. Sawyer Lloyd & Adam Manilla (USA) d. 5. Diego Pimentel & Junior Rodriguez (Dominican Rep.), 15-1, 15-9
3. Andres Aviles & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica) d. 6. Estevan Aldana & Edwin Galicia (Guatemala), 15-7, 15-3
2. Conrado Moscoso & Sebastian Julio Oña (Bolivia) d. Rodrigo Salgado & Diego Silva (Chile), 15-4, 15-5
Semi-finals
1. Rodrigo Garay & Javier Mar (Mexico) v. 4. Sawyer Lloyd & Adam Manilla (USA)
2. Conrado Moscoso & Sebastian Julio Oña (Bolivia) v. 3. Andres Aviles & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica)
Boy's U16 Doubles (with seedings)
Quarter finals
1. Erik Garcia & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 9. Alexander Pirie & Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica), 15-9, 15-6
5. Hansel Martinez & Juan Jose Salvatierra (Guatemala) d. 4. Daniel Arevalo & Eliseo Molina (Venezuela), 15-14, 15-11
6. Nicolas Bousquet & Coby Iwaasa (Canada) d. 3. Jake Birnel & Sam Bredenbeck (USA), 15-12, 15-14
2. Cristhian Mina & Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) d. 7. Christian Chavez & Mateo Espinoza (Ecuador), 15-2, 15-1
Semi-finals
1. Erik Garcia & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) v. 5. Hansel Martinez & Juan Jose Salvatierra (Guatemala)
2. Cristhian Mina & Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) v. 6. Nicolas Bousquet & Coby Iwaasa (Canada)
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Round Robin
Round 4
Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA), 15-1, 15-4
Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia) d. Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica), 15-9, 15-7
Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador) d. Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia), 15-4, 15-11
Standings
1. Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) - 4-0
2. Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia) - 3-1
3. Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica) - 2-2
3. Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador) - 2-2
5. Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia) - 1-3
6. Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA) - 0-4
Follow the bouncing ball....
IRF - 25th World Junior Championships - 3 of 4 top seeds in Boy's U18 are out
There were three upsets in Boy's U18, on in U16 and none in U14 on Thursday at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia, and the top seed in U18 Adam Manilla was one of those upset victims.
Manilla lost to 8th seed Rodrigo Garay of Mexico, 8-15, 15-10, 11-2, in the quarter finals. Garay's brother Eduardo, the 6th seed, was another upset winner, as he beat Andres Aviles of Costa Rica, 15-5, 15-14.
Thus, the Boy's U18 final would be an all Mexico and all Garay family showdown. However, both Garays will have to defeat Bolivians in the semi-finals to make that happen, as 2nd seed Conrado Moscoso defeated 7th seed Connor Laffey (USA), 15-9, 15-8, and 4th seed Diego Crespo beat 5th seed Canadian Anthony Schonberger, 15-6, 15-4.
Coby Iwaasa of Canada remains on track to defend his Boy's U16 title after beating Alexander Pirie of Costa Rica, 15-1, 15-6, in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, Iwaasa will face Andree Parrilla of Mexico, as Parrilla defeated American Jake Birnel, 15-9, 15-10, in the quarters.
Their semi-final match will be the second time Iwaasa and Parrilla play each other this month, as they met in the final of the Men's Open division at the US Open earlier this month in Minneapolis, where Parrilla won in a tie-breaker.
Also in Boy's U16, Mexican Rodrigo Montoya defeated Nicolas Bousquet of Montreal, 15-7, 15-8, and 2nd seed Marcelo Vargas of Bolivia beat this 10th seeded team-mate Gonzalo Paco, 15-6, 15-7.
No upsets in Boy's U14. Top seed Andres Avendaño of Bolivia beat 8th seed Justus Benson (USA), 11-15, 15-11, 11-4, and will face 4th seed Juan Loreto of Mexico in the semi-finals after Loreto defeated 5th seed Juan Francisco Cueva (Ecuador), 15-5, 15-13.
Second seed Cristian Longoria of Mexico defeated 10th seed Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia), 15-11, 15-5, to set up a semi-final with 3rd seed Set Cubillos of Colombia, who beat 6th seed Daniel Arevalo of Venezuela, 15-1, 15-7, in the other quarter final match.
The semi-finals are on Friday and finals on Saturday in Sucre.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Singles (with seedings)
Quarter-finals
8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico) d. 1. Adam Manilla (USA), 8-15, 15-10, 11-2
4. Diego Crespo (Bolivia) d. 5. Anthony Schonberger (Canada), 15-6, 15-4
6. Eduardo Garay (Mexico) d. 3. Andres Aviles (Costa Rica), 15-5, 15-14
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) v. 7. Connor Laffey (USA), 15-9, 15-8
Semi-finals
4. Diego Crespo (Bolivia) v. 8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico)
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) v. 6. Eduardo Garay (Mexico)
Boy's U16 Singles (with seedings)
Quarter finals
1. Coby Iwaasa (Canada) d. 9. Alexander Pirie (Costa Rica), 15-1, 15-6
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) d. 5. Jake Birnel (USA), 15-9, 15-10
6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 3. Nicolas Bousquet (Canada), 15-7, 15-8
2. Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) d. 10. Gonzalo Paco (Bolivia), 15-6, 15-7
Semi-finals
1. Coby Iwaasa (Canada) v. 4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico)
2. Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) v. 6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico)
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Quarter finals
1. Andres Avendaño (Bolivia) d. 8. Justus Benson (USA), 11-15, 15-11, 11-4
4. Juan Loreto (Mexico) d. 5. Juan Francisco Cueva (Ecuador), 15-5, 15-13
3. Set Cubillos (Colombia) d. 6. Daniel Arevalo (Venezuela), 15-1, 15-7
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. 10. Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia), 15-11, 15-5
Semi-finals
1. Andres Avendaño (Bolivia) v. 4. Juan Loreto (Mexico)
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) v. 3. Set Cubillos (Colombia)
Follow the bouncing ball....
Manilla lost to 8th seed Rodrigo Garay of Mexico, 8-15, 15-10, 11-2, in the quarter finals. Garay's brother Eduardo, the 6th seed, was another upset winner, as he beat Andres Aviles of Costa Rica, 15-5, 15-14.
Thus, the Boy's U18 final would be an all Mexico and all Garay family showdown. However, both Garays will have to defeat Bolivians in the semi-finals to make that happen, as 2nd seed Conrado Moscoso defeated 7th seed Connor Laffey (USA), 15-9, 15-8, and 4th seed Diego Crespo beat 5th seed Canadian Anthony Schonberger, 15-6, 15-4.
Coby Iwaasa of Canada remains on track to defend his Boy's U16 title after beating Alexander Pirie of Costa Rica, 15-1, 15-6, in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, Iwaasa will face Andree Parrilla of Mexico, as Parrilla defeated American Jake Birnel, 15-9, 15-10, in the quarters.
Their semi-final match will be the second time Iwaasa and Parrilla play each other this month, as they met in the final of the Men's Open division at the US Open earlier this month in Minneapolis, where Parrilla won in a tie-breaker.
Also in Boy's U16, Mexican Rodrigo Montoya defeated Nicolas Bousquet of Montreal, 15-7, 15-8, and 2nd seed Marcelo Vargas of Bolivia beat this 10th seeded team-mate Gonzalo Paco, 15-6, 15-7.
No upsets in Boy's U14. Top seed Andres Avendaño of Bolivia beat 8th seed Justus Benson (USA), 11-15, 15-11, 11-4, and will face 4th seed Juan Loreto of Mexico in the semi-finals after Loreto defeated 5th seed Juan Francisco Cueva (Ecuador), 15-5, 15-13.
Second seed Cristian Longoria of Mexico defeated 10th seed Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia), 15-11, 15-5, to set up a semi-final with 3rd seed Set Cubillos of Colombia, who beat 6th seed Daniel Arevalo of Venezuela, 15-1, 15-7, in the other quarter final match.
The semi-finals are on Friday and finals on Saturday in Sucre.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Singles (with seedings)
Quarter-finals
8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico) d. 1. Adam Manilla (USA), 8-15, 15-10, 11-2
4. Diego Crespo (Bolivia) d. 5. Anthony Schonberger (Canada), 15-6, 15-4
6. Eduardo Garay (Mexico) d. 3. Andres Aviles (Costa Rica), 15-5, 15-14
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) v. 7. Connor Laffey (USA), 15-9, 15-8
Semi-finals
4. Diego Crespo (Bolivia) v. 8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico)
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) v. 6. Eduardo Garay (Mexico)
Boy's U16 Singles (with seedings)
Quarter finals
1. Coby Iwaasa (Canada) d. 9. Alexander Pirie (Costa Rica), 15-1, 15-6
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) d. 5. Jake Birnel (USA), 15-9, 15-10
6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 3. Nicolas Bousquet (Canada), 15-7, 15-8
2. Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) d. 10. Gonzalo Paco (Bolivia), 15-6, 15-7
Semi-finals
1. Coby Iwaasa (Canada) v. 4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico)
2. Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) v. 6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico)
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Quarter finals
1. Andres Avendaño (Bolivia) d. 8. Justus Benson (USA), 11-15, 15-11, 11-4
4. Juan Loreto (Mexico) d. 5. Juan Francisco Cueva (Ecuador), 15-5, 15-13
3. Set Cubillos (Colombia) d. 6. Daniel Arevalo (Venezuela), 15-1, 15-7
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. 10. Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia), 15-11, 15-5
Semi-finals
1. Andres Avendaño (Bolivia) v. 4. Juan Loreto (Mexico)
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) v. 3. Set Cubillos (Colombia)
Follow the bouncing ball....
IRF - 25th World Junior Championships - All #1 Girl's seeds advance
Some of the top seeds in the Girl's World Cup divisions lost on Thursday at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia, including the second seed in Girl's U14, where American Erika Manilla was beaten by her team-mate Jordan Cooperrider, 15-12, 15-9.
Cooperrider will play Mexican Erin Rivera, who beat her team-mate Monserrat Meija, 15-4, 15-12, in the quarters. Top seed Ana Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala and 4th seed Wanda Carvajal of Bolivia will square off in the other semi.
There were three tie-breakers in the Girl's U18 quarter finals, and two of them ended 11-10. Top seed Masiel Rivera of Bolivia was down 10-7 in the tie-breaker against 9th seed Maria Renee Rodriguez of Guatemala, but managed to come back and win it, 11-15, 15-10, 11-10.
Rivera's opponent in the semis will be 5th seed Lucia Gonzalez of Mexico who defeated team-mate and 4th seed Alexandra Herrera, 13-15, 15-9, 11-4.
On the bottom half of the Girl's U18 draw, Costa Rican Melania Sauma beat 3rd seed Paola Cossio of Bolivia, 15-4, 6-15, 11-10, which puts her up against 2nd seed Mariana Tobon of Venezuela in the semis, as Tobon beat fellow Venezuelan Paola Guerra, 15-4, 15-6.
The top four seeds advanced from the Girl's U16 quarter finals, and all did so in two straight games setting up two Bolivia-Mexico showdowns in the semi-finals. Top seed Natalia Mendez of Bolivia beat 9th seed Andrea Martinez of Guatemala, 15-0, 15-5, and 4th seed Luisa Santillan Lahud of Mexico defeated 5th Maria Cespedes from the Dominican Rep., 15-0, 15-9.
Second seed Diana Aguilar of Mexico beat 10th seed Melania Sauma of Costa Rica, 15-5, 15-6, and will face 3rd seed Hawira Rojas of Bolivia in the semis after Rojas defeated 6th seed Danielle Drury of Canada, 15-4, 15-9.
The girl's semi-finals are on Friday and finals on Saturday.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Girl's U18 (with seedings)
Quarter finals
1. Masiel Rivera (Bolivia) d. 9. Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala), 11-15, 15-10, 11-10
5. Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico) d. 4. Alexandra Herrera (Mexico), 13-15, 15-9, 11-4
6. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica) d. 3. Paola Cossio (Bolivia), 15-4, 6-15, 11-10
2. Mariana Tobon (Venezuela) d. 7. Paola Guerra (Venezuela), 15-4, 15-6
Semi-finals
1. Masiel Rivera (Bolivia) v. 5. Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico)
2. Mariana Tobon (Venezuela) v. 3. Paola Cossio (Bolivia)
Girl's U16
Quarter finals
1. Natalia Mendez (Bolivia) d. 9. Andrea Martinez (Guatemala), 15-0, 15-5
4. Luisa Santillan Lahud (Mexico) d. 5. Maria Cespedes (Dominican Rep.), 15-0, 15-9
3. Hawira Rojas (Bolivia) d. 6. Danielle Drury (Canada), 15-4, 15-9
2. Diana Aguilar (Mexico) d. 10. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica), 15-5, 15-6
Semi-finals
1. Natalia Mendez (Bolivia) v. 4. Luisa Santillan Lahud (Mexico)
2. Diana Aguilar (Mexico) v. 3. Hawira Rojas (Bolivia)
Girl's U14 Singles
Quarter finals
1. Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) d. 8. Alexis Iwaasa (Canada), 15-11, 15-2
4. Wanda Carvajal (Bolivia) d. 5. Micaela Molina (Bolivia), 15-9, 15-12
3. Erin Rivera (Mexico) d. 6. Monserrat Meija (Mexico), 15-4, 15-12
7. Jordan Cooperrider (USA) d. 2. Erika Manilla (USA), 15-12, 15-9
Semi-finals
1. Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) v. 4. Wanda Carvajal (Bolivia)
3. Erin Rivera (Mexico) v. 7. Jordan Cooperrider (USA)
Follow the bouncing ball....
Cooperrider will play Mexican Erin Rivera, who beat her team-mate Monserrat Meija, 15-4, 15-12, in the quarters. Top seed Ana Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala and 4th seed Wanda Carvajal of Bolivia will square off in the other semi.
There were three tie-breakers in the Girl's U18 quarter finals, and two of them ended 11-10. Top seed Masiel Rivera of Bolivia was down 10-7 in the tie-breaker against 9th seed Maria Renee Rodriguez of Guatemala, but managed to come back and win it, 11-15, 15-10, 11-10.
Rivera's opponent in the semis will be 5th seed Lucia Gonzalez of Mexico who defeated team-mate and 4th seed Alexandra Herrera, 13-15, 15-9, 11-4.
On the bottom half of the Girl's U18 draw, Costa Rican Melania Sauma beat 3rd seed Paola Cossio of Bolivia, 15-4, 6-15, 11-10, which puts her up against 2nd seed Mariana Tobon of Venezuela in the semis, as Tobon beat fellow Venezuelan Paola Guerra, 15-4, 15-6.
The top four seeds advanced from the Girl's U16 quarter finals, and all did so in two straight games setting up two Bolivia-Mexico showdowns in the semi-finals. Top seed Natalia Mendez of Bolivia beat 9th seed Andrea Martinez of Guatemala, 15-0, 15-5, and 4th seed Luisa Santillan Lahud of Mexico defeated 5th Maria Cespedes from the Dominican Rep., 15-0, 15-9.
Second seed Diana Aguilar of Mexico beat 10th seed Melania Sauma of Costa Rica, 15-5, 15-6, and will face 3rd seed Hawira Rojas of Bolivia in the semis after Rojas defeated 6th seed Danielle Drury of Canada, 15-4, 15-9.
The girl's semi-finals are on Friday and finals on Saturday.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Girl's U18 (with seedings)
Quarter finals
1. Masiel Rivera (Bolivia) d. 9. Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala), 11-15, 15-10, 11-10
5. Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico) d. 4. Alexandra Herrera (Mexico), 13-15, 15-9, 11-4
6. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica) d. 3. Paola Cossio (Bolivia), 15-4, 6-15, 11-10
2. Mariana Tobon (Venezuela) d. 7. Paola Guerra (Venezuela), 15-4, 15-6
Semi-finals
1. Masiel Rivera (Bolivia) v. 5. Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico)
2. Mariana Tobon (Venezuela) v. 3. Paola Cossio (Bolivia)
Girl's U16
Quarter finals
1. Natalia Mendez (Bolivia) d. 9. Andrea Martinez (Guatemala), 15-0, 15-5
4. Luisa Santillan Lahud (Mexico) d. 5. Maria Cespedes (Dominican Rep.), 15-0, 15-9
3. Hawira Rojas (Bolivia) d. 6. Danielle Drury (Canada), 15-4, 15-9
2. Diana Aguilar (Mexico) d. 10. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica), 15-5, 15-6
Semi-finals
1. Natalia Mendez (Bolivia) v. 4. Luisa Santillan Lahud (Mexico)
2. Diana Aguilar (Mexico) v. 3. Hawira Rojas (Bolivia)
Girl's U14 Singles
Quarter finals
1. Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) d. 8. Alexis Iwaasa (Canada), 15-11, 15-2
4. Wanda Carvajal (Bolivia) d. 5. Micaela Molina (Bolivia), 15-9, 15-12
3. Erin Rivera (Mexico) d. 6. Monserrat Meija (Mexico), 15-4, 15-12
7. Jordan Cooperrider (USA) d. 2. Erika Manilla (USA), 15-12, 15-9
Semi-finals
1. Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) v. 4. Wanda Carvajal (Bolivia)
3. Erin Rivera (Mexico) v. 7. Jordan Cooperrider (USA)
Follow the bouncing ball....
Thursday, October 24, 2013
IRF - 25th World Juniors - Boy's Doubles Quarter Final Day
The quarter finals for the Boy's U18 and U16 Doubles playoffs begins today at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia. Mexico and Bolivia are the #1 and #2 seeds in both divisions are likely candidates to meet in the finals.
The Boy's U14 is a six team round robin, and we've got the run down of the first three rounds below. The Mexican team of Cesar Barragan and Cristian Longoria is undefeated at 3-0, including a win over Bolivians Andres Avendaño and Rodrigo Mendoza, so they are looking good to win the title.
Bolivia sits at 2-1 as does the Costa Rican team of Sergio Acuna and Andres Montero. Bolivia and Costa Rica play today in what could determine the silver and bronze medals.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Doubles (with seedings)
Quarter finals
1. Rodrigo Garay & Javier Mar (Mexico) v. 8. Michael Leduc & Anthony Schonberger (Canada)
4. Sawyer Lloyd & Adam Manilla (USA) v. 5. Diego Pimentel & Junior Rodriguez (Dominican Rep.)
3. Andres Aviles & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica) v. 6. Estevan Aldana & Edwin Galicia (Guatemala)
2. Conrado Moscoso & Sebastian Julio Oña (Bolivia) v. 7. Rodrigo Salgado & Diego Silva (Chile)
Boy's U16 Doubles (with seedings)
Round of 16
9. Alexander Pirie & Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica) d. 8. Arturo Acevedo & Felipe Arenas (Colombia), 15-11, 15-14
Quarter finals
1. Erik Garcia & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) v. 9. Alexander Pirie & Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica)
4. Daniel Arevalo & Eliseo Molina (Venezuela) v. 5. Hansel Martinez & Juan Jose Salvatierra (Guatemala)
3. Jake Birnel & Sam Bredenbeck (USA) v. 6. Nicolas Bousquet & Coby Iwaasa (Canada)
2. Cristhian Mina & Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) v. 7. Christian Chavez & Mateo Espinoza (Ecuador)
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Round Robin
Round 1
Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia) d. Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA), 15-8, 15-6
Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia) d. Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador), 15-3, 15-0
Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica), 15-4, 15-6
Round 2
Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia) d. Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA), 15-3, 15-0
Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica) d. Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador), 11-15, 15-3, 11-8
Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia), 15-5, 15-6
Round 3
Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador) d. Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA), 15-9, 15-7
Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica) d. Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia), 15-14, 15-14
Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia), 15-11, 15-13
Standings
1. Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) - 3-0
2. Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia) - 2-1
2. Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica) - 2-1
4. Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia) - 1-2
4. Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador) - 1-2
6. Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA) - 0-3
Follow the bouncing ball....
The Boy's U14 is a six team round robin, and we've got the run down of the first three rounds below. The Mexican team of Cesar Barragan and Cristian Longoria is undefeated at 3-0, including a win over Bolivians Andres Avendaño and Rodrigo Mendoza, so they are looking good to win the title.
Bolivia sits at 2-1 as does the Costa Rican team of Sergio Acuna and Andres Montero. Bolivia and Costa Rica play today in what could determine the silver and bronze medals.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Doubles (with seedings)
Quarter finals
1. Rodrigo Garay & Javier Mar (Mexico) v. 8. Michael Leduc & Anthony Schonberger (Canada)
4. Sawyer Lloyd & Adam Manilla (USA) v. 5. Diego Pimentel & Junior Rodriguez (Dominican Rep.)
3. Andres Aviles & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica) v. 6. Estevan Aldana & Edwin Galicia (Guatemala)
2. Conrado Moscoso & Sebastian Julio Oña (Bolivia) v. 7. Rodrigo Salgado & Diego Silva (Chile)
Boy's U16 Doubles (with seedings)
Round of 16
9. Alexander Pirie & Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica) d. 8. Arturo Acevedo & Felipe Arenas (Colombia), 15-11, 15-14
Quarter finals
1. Erik Garcia & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) v. 9. Alexander Pirie & Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica)
4. Daniel Arevalo & Eliseo Molina (Venezuela) v. 5. Hansel Martinez & Juan Jose Salvatierra (Guatemala)
3. Jake Birnel & Sam Bredenbeck (USA) v. 6. Nicolas Bousquet & Coby Iwaasa (Canada)
2. Cristhian Mina & Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) v. 7. Christian Chavez & Mateo Espinoza (Ecuador)
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Round Robin
Round 1
Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia) d. Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA), 15-8, 15-6
Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia) d. Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador), 15-3, 15-0
Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica), 15-4, 15-6
Round 2
Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia) d. Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA), 15-3, 15-0
Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica) d. Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador), 11-15, 15-3, 11-8
Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia), 15-5, 15-6
Round 3
Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador) d. Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA), 15-9, 15-7
Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica) d. Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia), 15-14, 15-14
Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia), 15-11, 15-13
Standings
1. Cesar Barragan & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) - 3-0
2. Andres Avendaño & Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia) - 2-1
2. Sergio Acuna & Andres Montero (Costa Rica) - 2-1
4. Set Cubillos & Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia) - 1-2
4. Juan Francisco Cueva & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador) - 1-2
6. Justus Benson & Evan Wargo (USA) - 0-3
Follow the bouncing ball....
IRF - 25th World Junior Championships - Girl's Playoff Day 1
As with the boy's competition, the first girl's elimination round matches at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia yielded few upsets.
In Girl's U18, the only upset was in the 8/9 match, where 9th seed Maria Renee Rodriguez of Guatemala defeated 8th seeded American Samantha Simmons, 15-10, 15-3.
Two upsets happened in Girl's U16, as Andrea Martinez of Guatemala won the 8/9 match against Canadian Michele Morissette, 13-15, 15-11, 11-6, and 10th seed Melania Sauma of Costa Rica beat 7th seed Merinanllely Delgado of the Dominican Republic, 15-13, 15-3.
The results of the first elimination round of play in Girl's U14 have guaranteed that four countries will be in the semi-finals as the two players from each of Bolivia, Mexico and the United States will face off in the quarter finals, and the other quarter final features a Guatemalan versus a Canadian.
Also notable in the Girl's U14 matches is how few points the losing player got. Of the seven matches on Wednesday, the losing players got 10 or few points, with one exception. The exception was the 8/9 game, where Canadian Alexis Iwaasa needed tie-breaker to defeat Maria Jose Munoz of Ecuador, 11-15, 15-8, 11-5.
The girl's quarter finals are on Thursday, semi-finals on Friday and finals on Saturday.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Girl's U18 (with seedings)
Round of 16
1. Masiel Rivera (Bolivia) - BYE
9. Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala) d. 8. Samantha Simmons (USA), 15-10, 15-3
5. Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico) d. 12. Dafne Macrino (Argentina), 15-2, 15-0
4. Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) d. 13. Andrea Martinez (Guatemala), 15-10, 15-11
3. Paola Cossio (Bolivia) - BYE
6. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica) d. 11. Callie Hunter (Canada), 15-0, 15-0
7. Paola Guerra (Venezuela) d. 10. Paulina Sempertegui (Ecuador), 15-12, 15-4
2. Mariana Tobon (Venezuela) - BYE
Quarter finals
1. Masiel Rivera (Bolivia) v. 9. Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala)
4. Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) v. 5. Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico)
3. Paola Cossio (Bolivia) v. 6. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica)
2. Mariana Tobon (Venezuela) v. 7. Paola Guerra (Venezuela)
Girl's U16
Round of 16 (with seeding)
1. Natalia Mendez (Bolivia) - BYE
9. Andrea Martinez (Guatemala) d. 8. Michele Morissette (Canada), 13-15, 15-11, 11-6
5. Maria Cespedes (Dominican Rep.) d. 12. Hollie Scott (USA), 15-13, 15-11
4. Luisa Santillan Lahud (Mexico) d. 13. Paulina Sempertegui (Ecuador), 15-6, 15-3
3. Hawira Rojas (Bolivia) d. 14. Paola Guerra (Venezuela), 15-12, 15-0
6. Danielle Drury (Canada) d. 11. Kaitlin Simmons (USA), 15-5, 15-4
10. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica) d. 7. Merinanllely Delgado (Dominican Rep.), 15-13, 15-3
2. Diana Aguilar (Mexico) d. 15. Angeles Sarria (Colombia), 15-0, 15-4
Quarter finals
1. Natalia Mendez (Bolivia) v. 9. Andrea Martinez (Guatemala)
4. Luisa Santillan Lahud (Mexico) v. 5. Maria Cespedes (Dominican Rep.)
3. Hawira Rojas (Bolivia) v. 6. Danielle Drury (Canada)
2. Diana Aguilar (Mexico) v. 10. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica)
Girl's U14 Singles
Round of 16 (with seeding)
1. Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) - BYE
8. Alexis Iwaasa (Canada) d. 9. Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador), 11-15, 15-8, 11-5
5. Micaela Molina (Bolivia) d. 12. Annie Fisher (Canada), 15-8, 15-2
4. Wanda Carvajal (Bolivia) d. 13. Frances Vasquez Souchet (Puerto Rico), 15-1, 15-0
3. Erin Rivera (Mexico) d. 14. Lilian Zea (Venezuela), 15-0, 15-0
6. Monserrat Meija (Mexico) d. 11. Valentina Valor (Venezuela), 15-2, 15-6
7. Jordan Cooperrider (USA) d. 10. Ivana Sempertegui (Ecuador), 15-3, 15-5
2. Erika Manilla (USA) - BYE
Quarter finals
1. Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) v. 8. Alexis Iwaasa (Canada)
4. Wanda Carvajal (Bolivia) v. 5. Micaela Molina (Bolivia)
3. Erin Rivera (Mexico) v. 6. Monserrat Meija (Mexico)
2. Erika Manilla (USA) v. 7. Jordan Cooperrider (USA)
Follow the bouncing ball....
In Girl's U18, the only upset was in the 8/9 match, where 9th seed Maria Renee Rodriguez of Guatemala defeated 8th seeded American Samantha Simmons, 15-10, 15-3.
Two upsets happened in Girl's U16, as Andrea Martinez of Guatemala won the 8/9 match against Canadian Michele Morissette, 13-15, 15-11, 11-6, and 10th seed Melania Sauma of Costa Rica beat 7th seed Merinanllely Delgado of the Dominican Republic, 15-13, 15-3.
The results of the first elimination round of play in Girl's U14 have guaranteed that four countries will be in the semi-finals as the two players from each of Bolivia, Mexico and the United States will face off in the quarter finals, and the other quarter final features a Guatemalan versus a Canadian.
Also notable in the Girl's U14 matches is how few points the losing player got. Of the seven matches on Wednesday, the losing players got 10 or few points, with one exception. The exception was the 8/9 game, where Canadian Alexis Iwaasa needed tie-breaker to defeat Maria Jose Munoz of Ecuador, 11-15, 15-8, 11-5.
The girl's quarter finals are on Thursday, semi-finals on Friday and finals on Saturday.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Girl's U18 (with seedings)
Round of 16
1. Masiel Rivera (Bolivia) - BYE
9. Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala) d. 8. Samantha Simmons (USA), 15-10, 15-3
5. Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico) d. 12. Dafne Macrino (Argentina), 15-2, 15-0
4. Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) d. 13. Andrea Martinez (Guatemala), 15-10, 15-11
3. Paola Cossio (Bolivia) - BYE
6. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica) d. 11. Callie Hunter (Canada), 15-0, 15-0
7. Paola Guerra (Venezuela) d. 10. Paulina Sempertegui (Ecuador), 15-12, 15-4
2. Mariana Tobon (Venezuela) - BYE
Quarter finals
1. Masiel Rivera (Bolivia) v. 9. Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala)
4. Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) v. 5. Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico)
3. Paola Cossio (Bolivia) v. 6. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica)
2. Mariana Tobon (Venezuela) v. 7. Paola Guerra (Venezuela)
Girl's U16
Round of 16 (with seeding)
1. Natalia Mendez (Bolivia) - BYE
9. Andrea Martinez (Guatemala) d. 8. Michele Morissette (Canada), 13-15, 15-11, 11-6
5. Maria Cespedes (Dominican Rep.) d. 12. Hollie Scott (USA), 15-13, 15-11
4. Luisa Santillan Lahud (Mexico) d. 13. Paulina Sempertegui (Ecuador), 15-6, 15-3
3. Hawira Rojas (Bolivia) d. 14. Paola Guerra (Venezuela), 15-12, 15-0
6. Danielle Drury (Canada) d. 11. Kaitlin Simmons (USA), 15-5, 15-4
10. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica) d. 7. Merinanllely Delgado (Dominican Rep.), 15-13, 15-3
2. Diana Aguilar (Mexico) d. 15. Angeles Sarria (Colombia), 15-0, 15-4
Quarter finals
1. Natalia Mendez (Bolivia) v. 9. Andrea Martinez (Guatemala)
4. Luisa Santillan Lahud (Mexico) v. 5. Maria Cespedes (Dominican Rep.)
3. Hawira Rojas (Bolivia) v. 6. Danielle Drury (Canada)
2. Diana Aguilar (Mexico) v. 10. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica)
Girl's U14 Singles
Round of 16 (with seeding)
1. Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) - BYE
8. Alexis Iwaasa (Canada) d. 9. Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador), 11-15, 15-8, 11-5
5. Micaela Molina (Bolivia) d. 12. Annie Fisher (Canada), 15-8, 15-2
4. Wanda Carvajal (Bolivia) d. 13. Frances Vasquez Souchet (Puerto Rico), 15-1, 15-0
3. Erin Rivera (Mexico) d. 14. Lilian Zea (Venezuela), 15-0, 15-0
6. Monserrat Meija (Mexico) d. 11. Valentina Valor (Venezuela), 15-2, 15-6
7. Jordan Cooperrider (USA) d. 10. Ivana Sempertegui (Ecuador), 15-3, 15-5
2. Erika Manilla (USA) - BYE
Quarter finals
1. Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) v. 8. Alexis Iwaasa (Canada)
4. Wanda Carvajal (Bolivia) v. 5. Micaela Molina (Bolivia)
3. Erin Rivera (Mexico) v. 6. Monserrat Meija (Mexico)
2. Erika Manilla (USA) v. 7. Jordan Cooperrider (USA)
Follow the bouncing ball....
IRF - 25th World Junior Championships - Boy's Results Day 1
There were few upsets in the first rounds of the Boy's competitions on Wednesday at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia, and none of the upsets involved players seeded 6th or higher.
The #1 seed in Boy's U18, Adam Manilla of the USA had his hands full with Luciano Garcia of Nicaragua, including going down 6-0 in game two of their match. But Manilla put it together and prevailed in two games, 15-7, 15-12.
Manilla will play Rodrigo Garay (Mexico) in the quarter finals on Thursday, as Garay beat Luis Fernando Polo of Colombia, 15-2, 15-5, on Wednesday.
All of the top eight seeds in Boy's U18 made it through to the quarter finals.
In Boy's U18, 1st seed Coby Iwaasa of Canada defeated Diego Silva (Chile), 15-3, 15-12. He'll be up against 9th Alexander Pirie of Costa Rica in the quarters, as Pirie was an upset winner over 8th Christan Chavez of Ecuador, 15-14, 15-5.
On the bottom of the Boy's U16 draw, 10th seed Gonzalo Paco of Bolivia upset 7th seed Felipe Arenas of Colombia, 15-0, 15-2, to set up an all Bolivian quarter final, as Paco's fellow countryman and 2nd seed Marcelo Vargas beat Alejandro Santos of Venezuela, 15-3, 15-0, to advance to the semis.
In Boy's U14, the only upset was 10th seed Rodrigo Mendoza of Bolivia beating 7th seed Sergio Acuna of Costa Rica, 15-2, 15-9. The other top eight seeds all won their matches.
The quarter finals will be on Thursday, semi-finals on Friday and finals on Saturday in Sucre.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Singles (with seedings)
Round of 32
Luciano Garcia (Nicaragua) d. Michael Leduc (Canada), 15-9, 15-4
Alejandro Santos (Venezuela) d. Rodrigo Salgado (Chile), 11-15, 15-8 11-5
Diego Pimentel (Dominican Rep.) d. Marion Pesantez (Ecuador), 15-7, 15-5
Round of 16
1. Adam Manilla (USA) d. Luciano Garcia (Nicaragua), 15-7, 15-12
8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico) d. 9. Luis Fernando Polo (Colombia), 15-2, 15-5
5. Anthony Schonberger (Canada) d. 12. Junior Rodriguez (Dominican Rep.), 15-14, 15-5
4. Diego Crespo (Bolivia) d. 13. Edwin Galicia (Guatemala), 15-, 15-12
3. Andres Aviles (Costa Rica) d. Alejandro Santos (Venezuela), 15-5, 15-8
6. Eduardo Garay (Mexico) d. 11. Estevan Aldana (Guatemala), 15-2, 15-2
7. Connor Laffey (USA) d. 10. Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica), 15-11, 15-8
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) d. Diego Pimentel (Dominican Rep.), 15-2, 15-1
Quarter-finals
1. Adam Manilla (USA) v. 8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico)
4. Diego Crespo (Bolivia) v. 5. Anthony Schonberger (Canada)
3. Andres Aviles (Costa Rica) v. 6. Eduardo Garay (Mexico)
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) v. 7. Connor Laffey (USA)
Boy's U16 Singles (with seedings)
Round of 32
Diego Silva (Chile) d. Arturo Acevedo (Colombia), 15-4, 15-0
Eliseo Molina (Venezuela) d. Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica), 15-3, 11-15, 11-8
Alejandro Santos (Venezuela) d. Mateo Espinoza (Ecuador), 7-15, 15-14, 11-8
Round of 16
1. Coby Iwaasa (Canada) d. Diego Silva (Chile), 15-3, 15-12
9. Alexander Pirie (Costa Rica) d. 8. Christan Chavez (Ecuador), 15-14, 15-5
5. Jake Birnel (USA) d. 12. Juan Jose Salvatierra (Guatemala), 15-5, 15-13
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) d. 13. Sam Bredenbeck (USA), 15-4, 15-3
3. Nicolas Bousquet (Canada) d. Eliseo Molina (Venezuela), 15-3, 15-6
6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 11. Hansel Martinez (Guatemala), 15-4, 15-9
10. Gonzalo Paco (Bolivia) d. 7. Felipe Arenas (Colombia), 15-0, 15-2
2. Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) d. Alejandro Santos (Venezuela), 15-3, 15-0
Quarter finals
1. Coby Iwaasa (Canada) v. 9. Alexander Pirie (Costa Rica)
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) v. 5. Jake Birnel (USA)
3. Nicolas Bousquet (Canada) v. 6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico)
2. Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) v. 10. Gonzalo Paco (Bolivia)
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Round of 16
1. Andres Avendaño (Bolivia) - BYE
8. Justus Benson (USA) d. 9. Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador), 15-9, 15-7
5. Juan Francisco Cueva (Ecuador) d. 12. Evan Wargo (USA), 15-0, 15-1
4. Juan Loreto (Mexico) d. 13. Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia), 15-4, 15-2
3. Set Cubillos (Colombia) - BYE
6. Daniel Arevalo (Venezuela) d. 11. Andres Montero (Costa Rica), 15-12, 15-11
10. Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia) d. 7. Sergio Acuna (Costa Rica), 15-2, 15-9
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) - BYE
Quarter finals
1. Andres Avendaño (Bolivia) v. 8. Justus Benson (USA)
4. Juan Loreto (Mexico) v. 5. Juan Francisco Cueva (Ecuador)
3. Set Cubillos (Colombia) v. 6. Daniel Arevalo (Venezuela)
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) v. 10. Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia)
Follow the bouncing ball....
The #1 seed in Boy's U18, Adam Manilla of the USA had his hands full with Luciano Garcia of Nicaragua, including going down 6-0 in game two of their match. But Manilla put it together and prevailed in two games, 15-7, 15-12.
Manilla will play Rodrigo Garay (Mexico) in the quarter finals on Thursday, as Garay beat Luis Fernando Polo of Colombia, 15-2, 15-5, on Wednesday.
All of the top eight seeds in Boy's U18 made it through to the quarter finals.
In Boy's U18, 1st seed Coby Iwaasa of Canada defeated Diego Silva (Chile), 15-3, 15-12. He'll be up against 9th Alexander Pirie of Costa Rica in the quarters, as Pirie was an upset winner over 8th Christan Chavez of Ecuador, 15-14, 15-5.
On the bottom of the Boy's U16 draw, 10th seed Gonzalo Paco of Bolivia upset 7th seed Felipe Arenas of Colombia, 15-0, 15-2, to set up an all Bolivian quarter final, as Paco's fellow countryman and 2nd seed Marcelo Vargas beat Alejandro Santos of Venezuela, 15-3, 15-0, to advance to the semis.
In Boy's U14, the only upset was 10th seed Rodrigo Mendoza of Bolivia beating 7th seed Sergio Acuna of Costa Rica, 15-2, 15-9. The other top eight seeds all won their matches.
The quarter finals will be on Thursday, semi-finals on Friday and finals on Saturday in Sucre.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Singles (with seedings)
Round of 32
Luciano Garcia (Nicaragua) d. Michael Leduc (Canada), 15-9, 15-4
Alejandro Santos (Venezuela) d. Rodrigo Salgado (Chile), 11-15, 15-8 11-5
Diego Pimentel (Dominican Rep.) d. Marion Pesantez (Ecuador), 15-7, 15-5
Round of 16
1. Adam Manilla (USA) d. Luciano Garcia (Nicaragua), 15-7, 15-12
8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico) d. 9. Luis Fernando Polo (Colombia), 15-2, 15-5
5. Anthony Schonberger (Canada) d. 12. Junior Rodriguez (Dominican Rep.), 15-14, 15-5
4. Diego Crespo (Bolivia) d. 13. Edwin Galicia (Guatemala), 15-, 15-12
3. Andres Aviles (Costa Rica) d. Alejandro Santos (Venezuela), 15-5, 15-8
6. Eduardo Garay (Mexico) d. 11. Estevan Aldana (Guatemala), 15-2, 15-2
7. Connor Laffey (USA) d. 10. Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica), 15-11, 15-8
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) d. Diego Pimentel (Dominican Rep.), 15-2, 15-1
Quarter-finals
1. Adam Manilla (USA) v. 8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico)
4. Diego Crespo (Bolivia) v. 5. Anthony Schonberger (Canada)
3. Andres Aviles (Costa Rica) v. 6. Eduardo Garay (Mexico)
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) v. 7. Connor Laffey (USA)
Boy's U16 Singles (with seedings)
Round of 32
Diego Silva (Chile) d. Arturo Acevedo (Colombia), 15-4, 15-0
Eliseo Molina (Venezuela) d. Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica), 15-3, 11-15, 11-8
Alejandro Santos (Venezuela) d. Mateo Espinoza (Ecuador), 7-15, 15-14, 11-8
Round of 16
1. Coby Iwaasa (Canada) d. Diego Silva (Chile), 15-3, 15-12
9. Alexander Pirie (Costa Rica) d. 8. Christan Chavez (Ecuador), 15-14, 15-5
5. Jake Birnel (USA) d. 12. Juan Jose Salvatierra (Guatemala), 15-5, 15-13
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) d. 13. Sam Bredenbeck (USA), 15-4, 15-3
3. Nicolas Bousquet (Canada) d. Eliseo Molina (Venezuela), 15-3, 15-6
6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 11. Hansel Martinez (Guatemala), 15-4, 15-9
10. Gonzalo Paco (Bolivia) d. 7. Felipe Arenas (Colombia), 15-0, 15-2
2. Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) d. Alejandro Santos (Venezuela), 15-3, 15-0
Quarter finals
1. Coby Iwaasa (Canada) v. 9. Alexander Pirie (Costa Rica)
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) v. 5. Jake Birnel (USA)
3. Nicolas Bousquet (Canada) v. 6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico)
2. Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) v. 10. Gonzalo Paco (Bolivia)
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Round of 16
1. Andres Avendaño (Bolivia) - BYE
8. Justus Benson (USA) d. 9. Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador), 15-9, 15-7
5. Juan Francisco Cueva (Ecuador) d. 12. Evan Wargo (USA), 15-0, 15-1
4. Juan Loreto (Mexico) d. 13. Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia), 15-4, 15-2
3. Set Cubillos (Colombia) - BYE
6. Daniel Arevalo (Venezuela) d. 11. Andres Montero (Costa Rica), 15-12, 15-11
10. Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia) d. 7. Sergio Acuna (Costa Rica), 15-2, 15-9
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) - BYE
Quarter finals
1. Andres Avendaño (Bolivia) v. 8. Justus Benson (USA)
4. Juan Loreto (Mexico) v. 5. Juan Francisco Cueva (Ecuador)
3. Set Cubillos (Colombia) v. 6. Daniel Arevalo (Venezuela)
2. Cristian Longoria (Mexico) v. 10. Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia)
Follow the bouncing ball....
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
IRF - 25th World Junior Championships - Boy's Playoffs
The boy's elimination round draws have been released for the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia.
Left-hander Adam Manilla of the USA is the top seed in Boy's U18, but 2nd seed Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) and 3rd seed Andres Aviles (Costa Rica) have been impressive in the group matches. Also, 4th seed Diego Crespo of Bolivia went tie-breaker with Alex Ackermann at this year's International Racquetball Tour (IRT) event in Denver, so he also no slouch.
Coby Iwaasa of Canada is the top seed in Boy's U16 and the defending U16 champion, so he's the player to beat. But he could face Mexican Andree Parrilla in the semi-finals, and Parrilla defeated Iwaasa in a tie-breaker earlier this month at the US Open in the final of Men's Open.
Set Cubillos of Colombia has impressed in Boy's U14, but he's still only the 3rd seed, so he'll have work to do to get to the championship. With Mexicans Cristian Longoria and Juan Loreta as the 2nd and 4th seeds, respectively, it's a good opportunity for Mexico to double medal in this division.
The Rounds of 32 and 16 will be played Wednesday with the quarter finals on Thursday, semi-finals on Friday and finals on Saturday.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Singles (with seedings)
Round of 32
Luciano Garcia (Nicaragua) v. Michael Leduc (Canada)
Rodrigo Salgado (Chile) v. Alejandro Santos (Venezuela)
Marion Pesantez (Ecuador) v. Diego Pimentel (Dominican Rep.)
Round of 16
1. Adam Manilla (USA) v. Luciano Garcia (Nicaragua) or Michael Leduc (Canada)
8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico) v. 9. Luis Fernando Polo (Colombia)
5. Anthony Schonberger (Canada) v. 12. Junior Rodriguez (Dominican Rep.)
4. Diego Crespo (Bolivia) v. 13. Edwin Galicia (Guatemala)
3. Andres Aviles (Costa Rica) v. Rodrigo Salgado (Chile) or Alejandro Santos (Venezuela)
6. Eduardo Garay (Mexico) v. 11. Estevan Aldana (Guatemala)
7. Connor Laffey (USA) v. 10. Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica)
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) v. Marion Pesantez (Ecuador) or Diego Pimentel (Dominican Rep.)
Boy's U16 Singles (with seedings)
Round of 32
Arturo Acevedo (Colombia) v. Diego Silva (Chile)
Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica) v. Eliseo Molina (Venezuela)
Mateo Espinoza (Ecuador) v. Alejandro Santos (Venezuela)
Round of 16
1. Coby Iwaasa (Canada) v. Arturo Acevedo (Colombia) or Diego Silva (Chile)
8. Christan Chavez (Ecuador) v. 9. Alexander Pirie (Costa Rica)
5. Jake Birnel (USA) v. 12. Juan Jose Salvatierra (Guatemala)
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) v. 13. Sam Bredenbeck (USA)
3. Nicolas Bousquet (Canada) v. 14. Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica) or Eliseo Molina (Venezuela)
6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) v. 11. Hansel Martinez (Guatemala)
7. Felipe Arenas (Colombia) v. 10. Gonzalo Paco (Bolivia)
2. Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) v. 15. Mateo Espinoza (Ecuador) or Alejandro Santos (Venezuela)
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Round of 16
Andres Avendaño (Bolivia) - BYE
Justus Benson (USA) v. Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador)
Juan Francisco Cueva (Ecuador) v. Evan Wargo (USA)
Juan Loreto (Mexico) v. Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia)
Set Cubillos (Colombia) - BYE
Daniel Arevalo (Venezuela) v. Andres Montero (Costa Rica)
Sergio Acuna (Costa Rica) v. Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia)
Cristian Longoria (Mexico) - BYE
Follow the bouncing ball....
Left-hander Adam Manilla of the USA is the top seed in Boy's U18, but 2nd seed Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) and 3rd seed Andres Aviles (Costa Rica) have been impressive in the group matches. Also, 4th seed Diego Crespo of Bolivia went tie-breaker with Alex Ackermann at this year's International Racquetball Tour (IRT) event in Denver, so he also no slouch.
Coby Iwaasa of Canada is the top seed in Boy's U16 and the defending U16 champion, so he's the player to beat. But he could face Mexican Andree Parrilla in the semi-finals, and Parrilla defeated Iwaasa in a tie-breaker earlier this month at the US Open in the final of Men's Open.
Set Cubillos of Colombia has impressed in Boy's U14, but he's still only the 3rd seed, so he'll have work to do to get to the championship. With Mexicans Cristian Longoria and Juan Loreta as the 2nd and 4th seeds, respectively, it's a good opportunity for Mexico to double medal in this division.
The Rounds of 32 and 16 will be played Wednesday with the quarter finals on Thursday, semi-finals on Friday and finals on Saturday.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Boy's U18 Singles (with seedings)
Round of 32
Luciano Garcia (Nicaragua) v. Michael Leduc (Canada)
Rodrigo Salgado (Chile) v. Alejandro Santos (Venezuela)
Marion Pesantez (Ecuador) v. Diego Pimentel (Dominican Rep.)
Round of 16
1. Adam Manilla (USA) v. Luciano Garcia (Nicaragua) or Michael Leduc (Canada)
8. Rodrigo Garay (Mexico) v. 9. Luis Fernando Polo (Colombia)
5. Anthony Schonberger (Canada) v. 12. Junior Rodriguez (Dominican Rep.)
4. Diego Crespo (Bolivia) v. 13. Edwin Galicia (Guatemala)
3. Andres Aviles (Costa Rica) v. Rodrigo Salgado (Chile) or Alejandro Santos (Venezuela)
6. Eduardo Garay (Mexico) v. 11. Estevan Aldana (Guatemala)
7. Connor Laffey (USA) v. 10. Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica)
2. Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) v. Marion Pesantez (Ecuador) or Diego Pimentel (Dominican Rep.)
Boy's U16 Singles (with seedings)
Round of 32
Arturo Acevedo (Colombia) v. Diego Silva (Chile)
Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica) v. Eliseo Molina (Venezuela)
Mateo Espinoza (Ecuador) v. Alejandro Santos (Venezuela)
Round of 16
1. Coby Iwaasa (Canada) v. Arturo Acevedo (Colombia) or Diego Silva (Chile)
8. Christan Chavez (Ecuador) v. 9. Alexander Pirie (Costa Rica)
5. Jake Birnel (USA) v. 12. Juan Jose Salvatierra (Guatemala)
4. Andree Parrilla (Mexico) v. 13. Sam Bredenbeck (USA)
3. Nicolas Bousquet (Canada) v. 14. Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica) or Eliseo Molina (Venezuela)
6. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) v. 11. Hansel Martinez (Guatemala)
7. Felipe Arenas (Colombia) v. 10. Gonzalo Paco (Bolivia)
2. Marcelo Vargas (Bolivia) v. 15. Mateo Espinoza (Ecuador) or Alejandro Santos (Venezuela)
Boy's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Round of 16
Andres Avendaño (Bolivia) - BYE
Justus Benson (USA) v. Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador)
Juan Francisco Cueva (Ecuador) v. Evan Wargo (USA)
Juan Loreto (Mexico) v. Arturo Gonzalez (Colombia)
Set Cubillos (Colombia) - BYE
Daniel Arevalo (Venezuela) v. Andres Montero (Costa Rica)
Sergio Acuna (Costa Rica) v. Rodrigo Mendoza (Bolivia)
Cristian Longoria (Mexico) - BYE
Follow the bouncing ball....
IRF - 25th World Junior Championships - Girl's Playoffs
The girl's elimination round draws have been released for the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia.
There's a smaller field than usual in Girl's U18, as most countries only have one girl entered, so there won't likely be country double medaling unless it's Bolivia, whose two players - Masiel Rivera and Paola Cossio - are the 1st and 3rd seeds.
There could be two medals for Guatemala in Girl's U18, but not an all Guatemala final as 9th seed Maria Renee Rodriguez and 13th seed Andrea Martinez are both on the top side of the draw and would meet in the semi-finals if they win their first two matches.
In Girl's U16, Natalia Mendez of Bolivia is the top seed and defending champion, but word is that Mexican Diana Aguilar, who was the Girl's U14 Champion last year is the player to beat. Aguilar is the 2nd seed.
Ana Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala is the top seed in Girl's U14 and probably the player to beat in a division that is unlikely to yield two medals for any country.
The Round of 16 will be played Wednesday with the quarter finals on Thursday, semi-finals on Friday and finals on Saturday.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Girl's U18 Singles (with seedings)
1. Masiel Rivera (Bolivia) - BYE
8. Samantha Simmons (USA) v. 9. Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala)
5. Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico) v. 12. Dafne Macrino (Argentina)
4. Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) v. 13. Andrea Martinez (Guatemala)
3. Paola Cossio (Bolivia) - BYE
6. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica) v. 11. Callie Hunter (Canada)
7. Paola Guerra (Venezuela) v. 10. Paulina Sempertegui (Ecuador)
2. Mariana Tobon (Venezuela) - BYE
Girl's U16 Singles (with seedings)
1. Natalia Mendez (Bolivia) - BYE
8. Michele Morissette (Canada) v. 9. Andrea Martinez (Guatemala)
5. Maria Cespedes (Dominican Rep.) v. 12. Hollie Scott (USA)
4. Luisa Santillan Lahud (Mexico) v. 13. Paulina Sempertegui (Ecuador)
3. Hawira Rojas (Bolivia) v. 14. Paola Guerra (Venezuela)
6. Danielle Drury (Canada) v. 11. Kaitlin Simmons (USA)
7. Merinanllely Delgado (Dominican Rep.) v. 10. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica)
2. Diana Aguilar (Mexico) v. 15. Angeles Sarria (Colombia)
Girl's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) - BYE
Alexis Iwaasa (Canada) v. Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador)
Micaela Molina (Bolivia) v. Annie Fisher (Canada)
Wanda Carvajal (Bolivia) v. Frances Vasquez Souchet (Puerto Rico)
Erin Rivera (Mexico) v. Lilian Zea (Venezuela)
Monserrat (Mexico) v. Valentina Valor (Venezuela)
Jordan Cooperrider (USA) v. Ivana Sempertegui (Ecuador)
Erika Manilla (USA) - BYE
Follow the bouncing ball....
There's a smaller field than usual in Girl's U18, as most countries only have one girl entered, so there won't likely be country double medaling unless it's Bolivia, whose two players - Masiel Rivera and Paola Cossio - are the 1st and 3rd seeds.
There could be two medals for Guatemala in Girl's U18, but not an all Guatemala final as 9th seed Maria Renee Rodriguez and 13th seed Andrea Martinez are both on the top side of the draw and would meet in the semi-finals if they win their first two matches.
In Girl's U16, Natalia Mendez of Bolivia is the top seed and defending champion, but word is that Mexican Diana Aguilar, who was the Girl's U14 Champion last year is the player to beat. Aguilar is the 2nd seed.
Ana Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala is the top seed in Girl's U14 and probably the player to beat in a division that is unlikely to yield two medals for any country.
The Round of 16 will be played Wednesday with the quarter finals on Thursday, semi-finals on Friday and finals on Saturday.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
25th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Sucre, Bolivia
Girl's U18 Singles (with seedings)
1. Masiel Rivera (Bolivia) - BYE
8. Samantha Simmons (USA) v. 9. Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala)
5. Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico) v. 12. Dafne Macrino (Argentina)
4. Alexandra Herrera (Mexico) v. 13. Andrea Martinez (Guatemala)
3. Paola Cossio (Bolivia) - BYE
6. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica) v. 11. Callie Hunter (Canada)
7. Paola Guerra (Venezuela) v. 10. Paulina Sempertegui (Ecuador)
2. Mariana Tobon (Venezuela) - BYE
Girl's U16 Singles (with seedings)
1. Natalia Mendez (Bolivia) - BYE
8. Michele Morissette (Canada) v. 9. Andrea Martinez (Guatemala)
5. Maria Cespedes (Dominican Rep.) v. 12. Hollie Scott (USA)
4. Luisa Santillan Lahud (Mexico) v. 13. Paulina Sempertegui (Ecuador)
3. Hawira Rojas (Bolivia) v. 14. Paola Guerra (Venezuela)
6. Danielle Drury (Canada) v. 11. Kaitlin Simmons (USA)
7. Merinanllely Delgado (Dominican Rep.) v. 10. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica)
2. Diana Aguilar (Mexico) v. 15. Angeles Sarria (Colombia)
Girl's U14 Singles (with seedings)
Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) - BYE
Alexis Iwaasa (Canada) v. Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador)
Micaela Molina (Bolivia) v. Annie Fisher (Canada)
Wanda Carvajal (Bolivia) v. Frances Vasquez Souchet (Puerto Rico)
Erin Rivera (Mexico) v. Lilian Zea (Venezuela)
Monserrat (Mexico) v. Valentina Valor (Venezuela)
Jordan Cooperrider (USA) v. Ivana Sempertegui (Ecuador)
Erika Manilla (USA) - BYE
Follow the bouncing ball....
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Day 2 at 25th IRF World Junior Championships
Play continued Monday at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia, although unlike Sunday there were no upsets on the girl's side, although notable is the performance of Ana Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala in Girl's U14, as she followed up her win over #1 seed Monserrat Mejia of Mexico on Sunday with a win over Annie Fisher of Canada, 15-0, 15-2. That should ensure she takes the #1 seed in the elimination round that will begin on Wednesday. Fisher and Mejia will play on Tuesday.
Martinez is also playing doubles with Maria Renee Rodriguez, but in Girl's U18. They pushed the Mexican team of Alexandra Herrera and Ximena Gonzaelez to a tie-breaker before losing 15-3, 13-15, 11-9.
Boy's Rounds
In Boy's U18 singles, Conrado Kevin Moscoso Ortiz (Bolivia), 12th seed, has a chance to win his group and claim the #2 seeding for the elimination round as he defeated 2nd seed Rodrigo Garay of Mexico, 15-7, 15-14, on Monday. Ortiz will have to beat Alejandro Santos of Venezuela in their last group match on Tuesday. Santos has lost both his group matches so far.
Ortiz's team-mate, Diego Crespo is in a similar situation, as he defeated Mexican Eduardo Garay, 15-8, 12-15, 11-7, on Monday for his second group win. If he wins on Monday against Marlon Peasantez of Ecuador, the 14th seeded Crespo will win the group.
One upset in Boy's U18 doubles, 7th seeds Junior Rodriguez and Diego Pimentel of the Dominican Republic defeated 3rd seeds Michael Leduc and Anthony Schonberger of Canada, 15-6, 15-7.
In Boy's U16 singles, Christan Chavez of Ecuador, the 13th seed, defeated 3rd seed Nicolas Bousquet of Canada, 15-14, 6-15, 11-3, and 14th seed Felipe Arenas of Colombia beat 4th seed Jose Ubilla of Costa Rica, 15-14, 15-7.
Two upsets in Boy's U16 doubles, as 9th seeds Daniel Arevalo and Eliseo Molina beat 4th seeds Alexander Pirie and Jose Ubilla, 15-6, 15-8, and 7th seeds Hansel Martinez and Juan Jose Salvatierra defeated 6th seeds Christian Chavez and Maleo Espinoza, 11-15, 15-10, 11-10.
Set Cubillos of Colombia followed up his win in Boy's U14 singles over American Justus Benson on Sunday with a win over Rodrigo Mendoza, 15-11, 15-6, on Monday, so he'll win that three player group and be the 3rd seed in the elimination draw. Other upsets in Boy's U14 were Daniel Arevalo of Venezuela's win over Evan Wargo of the USA, 15-1, 15-6, and Juan Francisco Cueva (Ecuador) beat Andres Montero of Costa Rica, 15-11, 15-5.
In Boy's U14 doubles, the Bolivian team of Andres Avendaño and Rodrigo Mendoza defeated the top seeded American team of Justus Benson and Evan Wargo, 15-3, 15-0.
On Tuesday, the last of the preliminary round matches will be played. The results of the first three days will be used to seed players in the elimination round that begins on Wednesday.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
Follow the bouncing ball....
Martinez is also playing doubles with Maria Renee Rodriguez, but in Girl's U18. They pushed the Mexican team of Alexandra Herrera and Ximena Gonzaelez to a tie-breaker before losing 15-3, 13-15, 11-9.
Boy's Rounds
In Boy's U18 singles, Conrado Kevin Moscoso Ortiz (Bolivia), 12th seed, has a chance to win his group and claim the #2 seeding for the elimination round as he defeated 2nd seed Rodrigo Garay of Mexico, 15-7, 15-14, on Monday. Ortiz will have to beat Alejandro Santos of Venezuela in their last group match on Tuesday. Santos has lost both his group matches so far.
Ortiz's team-mate, Diego Crespo is in a similar situation, as he defeated Mexican Eduardo Garay, 15-8, 12-15, 11-7, on Monday for his second group win. If he wins on Monday against Marlon Peasantez of Ecuador, the 14th seeded Crespo will win the group.
One upset in Boy's U18 doubles, 7th seeds Junior Rodriguez and Diego Pimentel of the Dominican Republic defeated 3rd seeds Michael Leduc and Anthony Schonberger of Canada, 15-6, 15-7.
In Boy's U16 singles, Christan Chavez of Ecuador, the 13th seed, defeated 3rd seed Nicolas Bousquet of Canada, 15-14, 6-15, 11-3, and 14th seed Felipe Arenas of Colombia beat 4th seed Jose Ubilla of Costa Rica, 15-14, 15-7.
Two upsets in Boy's U16 doubles, as 9th seeds Daniel Arevalo and Eliseo Molina beat 4th seeds Alexander Pirie and Jose Ubilla, 15-6, 15-8, and 7th seeds Hansel Martinez and Juan Jose Salvatierra defeated 6th seeds Christian Chavez and Maleo Espinoza, 11-15, 15-10, 11-10.
Set Cubillos of Colombia followed up his win in Boy's U14 singles over American Justus Benson on Sunday with a win over Rodrigo Mendoza, 15-11, 15-6, on Monday, so he'll win that three player group and be the 3rd seed in the elimination draw. Other upsets in Boy's U14 were Daniel Arevalo of Venezuela's win over Evan Wargo of the USA, 15-1, 15-6, and Juan Francisco Cueva (Ecuador) beat Andres Montero of Costa Rica, 15-11, 15-5.
In Boy's U14 doubles, the Bolivian team of Andres Avendaño and Rodrigo Mendoza defeated the top seeded American team of Justus Benson and Evan Wargo, 15-3, 15-0.
On Tuesday, the last of the preliminary round matches will be played. The results of the first three days will be used to seed players in the elimination round that begins on Wednesday.
There is some live streaming of matches from Sucre via the IRF website.
Follow the bouncing ball....
Monday, October 21, 2013
IRF 25th World Junior Championships - Day 1
Play began on Sunday at the 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Sucre, Bolivia, and there were a few upsets*.
Girl's Rounds
In the girl's rounds, Melania Sauma of Costa Rica - the 12th seed - had the only upset on Sunday in Girl's U18 singles, as she defeatd 5th seed Paulina Sempertegui of Ecuador, 15-2, 15-1.
Girl's U18 doubles is being played as a double round robin, as there are only three teams, in part because Canada, Costa Rica, the USA and Venezuela only have one U18 girl entered in Sucre. In the first match of the competition, Alexandra Herrera and Ximena Gonzalez beat Paola Cossio and Masiel Rivera of Bolivia, 15-7, 15-14. Guatemalans Maria Renee Rodriguez and Ana Gabriela Martinez are the third team in this division.
In Girl's U16 singles, both Dominican Republic players won their matches, despite being the lower seeded players. Maria Cespedes defeated American Kaitlin Simmons, 15-0, 15-2, and Merinanliely Delgado beat Andrea Martinez of Guatemala, 15-11, 15-4.
But the Dominicans lost their doubles match against top seeded Mexicans Diana Aguilar and Montserrat Perez, 15-5, 15-2. However, Bolivians Iriana Avendaño Cuellar and Natalia Mendez upset Americans Hollie Scott and Simmmons, 15-6, 15-3, in a battle of the 3rd and 2nd, respectively, seeded teams. Girls U16 doubles is a five team round robin, with Canadians Danielle Drury and Michelle Morissette as the fifth team.
There was an upset in Girl's U14 singles as 9th seed Ana Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala defeated #1 seed Monserrat Mejia of Mexico, 15-14, 15-9. Also in Girl's U14 doubles, the Bolivian team of Adriana Homsi and Wanda Carajal won the 3/4 seed match against Canadians Annie Fisher and Alexis Iwaasa, 15-3, 15-10.
Boy's Rounds
A couple of upsets in Boy's U18 singles, including a win by the narrowest of margins when 15th seed Diego Pimentel of the Dominican Republic beat 6th seed Luis Fernando Polo, 5-15, 15-14, 11-10. Also, the Bolivian boys in U18 are seeded lowly due to their team's results last year, but both won on Sunday.
Diego Crespo (Bolivia), 14th seed, beat Michael Leduc (Canada), 6th seed, 15-3, 15-13, and Conrado Kevin Moscoso Ortiz (Bolivia), 12th seed, defeated Edwin Haraldo Galicia Lutin of Guatemala, the 9th seed, 15-0, 15-9.
One upset in Boy's U18 doubles, as the Costa Rican team of Andres Aviles and Gabriel Garcia got the better of the Canadian team of Michael Leduc and Anthony Schonberger, 15-10, 15-3.
No upsets in Boy's U16 but perhaps the highlight of play on Sunday was American Sam Bredenbeck's win over Christian Chavez of Ecuador, 10-15, 15-7, 11-10, because it showed what international competition is all about with wild cheering for both sides in the tie-breaker.
In that tie-breaker, Bredenbeck was ahead all the way, leading 4-2, 8-4 and 10-8. But Chavez never quit, and tied the game at 10-10. He was on the verge of an upset and had a glorious chance for a winner when Brendenbeck hit a ball that hit the back wall about 10 feet high. It was a clear set up for Chavez on his backhand, but he skipped it.
On the next rally Brendenbeck served to the left side - Chavez's backhand - and again Chavez had an opportunity to make a good return as the serve came off the back wall, but sadly for the Ecuadoran he skipped the serve return giving the game and match to the American.
Some upsets in Boy's U14, as Set Cubillos of Colombia defeated Justus Benson of the USA, 15-9, 15-6 and in doubles all two of the three higher ranked teams lost their first matches on Sunday, including the Americans Benson and Evan Wargo, who were beaten by Cubillos and Arturo Gonzalez, 15-8, 15-6. The Boy's U14 doubles is a six team round robin.
Other notes: there are 170 players on the Bolivian team at this year's World Juniors. Also, play was interrupted briefly on Sunday when the power went out in the late afternoon. It was out for about 20 min causing a delay in the matches, but play resumed once the power came back on.
*NOTE: initial seedings for group play are based on performances from last year's World Juniors, so the players from the country that won the division, for example, are seeded 1st and 3rd (thereby those players would be on opposite sides of the draw if all the preliminary matches go according to the seedings). Of course, players often change from year to year, and as the seeding goes with the country not the player, an "upset" based on the initial seedings should not be taken as something that's necessarily surprising. This is why the tournament has a preliminary round to determine the seeding for the elimination, or playoff, round.
Follow the bouncing ball....
Girl's Rounds
In the girl's rounds, Melania Sauma of Costa Rica - the 12th seed - had the only upset on Sunday in Girl's U18 singles, as she defeatd 5th seed Paulina Sempertegui of Ecuador, 15-2, 15-1.
Girl's U18 doubles is being played as a double round robin, as there are only three teams, in part because Canada, Costa Rica, the USA and Venezuela only have one U18 girl entered in Sucre. In the first match of the competition, Alexandra Herrera and Ximena Gonzalez beat Paola Cossio and Masiel Rivera of Bolivia, 15-7, 15-14. Guatemalans Maria Renee Rodriguez and Ana Gabriela Martinez are the third team in this division.
In Girl's U16 singles, both Dominican Republic players won their matches, despite being the lower seeded players. Maria Cespedes defeated American Kaitlin Simmons, 15-0, 15-2, and Merinanliely Delgado beat Andrea Martinez of Guatemala, 15-11, 15-4.
But the Dominicans lost their doubles match against top seeded Mexicans Diana Aguilar and Montserrat Perez, 15-5, 15-2. However, Bolivians Iriana Avendaño Cuellar and Natalia Mendez upset Americans Hollie Scott and Simmmons, 15-6, 15-3, in a battle of the 3rd and 2nd, respectively, seeded teams. Girls U16 doubles is a five team round robin, with Canadians Danielle Drury and Michelle Morissette as the fifth team.
There was an upset in Girl's U14 singles as 9th seed Ana Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala defeated #1 seed Monserrat Mejia of Mexico, 15-14, 15-9. Also in Girl's U14 doubles, the Bolivian team of Adriana Homsi and Wanda Carajal won the 3/4 seed match against Canadians Annie Fisher and Alexis Iwaasa, 15-3, 15-10.
Boy's Rounds
A couple of upsets in Boy's U18 singles, including a win by the narrowest of margins when 15th seed Diego Pimentel of the Dominican Republic beat 6th seed Luis Fernando Polo, 5-15, 15-14, 11-10. Also, the Bolivian boys in U18 are seeded lowly due to their team's results last year, but both won on Sunday.
Diego Crespo (Bolivia), 14th seed, beat Michael Leduc (Canada), 6th seed, 15-3, 15-13, and Conrado Kevin Moscoso Ortiz (Bolivia), 12th seed, defeated Edwin Haraldo Galicia Lutin of Guatemala, the 9th seed, 15-0, 15-9.
One upset in Boy's U18 doubles, as the Costa Rican team of Andres Aviles and Gabriel Garcia got the better of the Canadian team of Michael Leduc and Anthony Schonberger, 15-10, 15-3.
No upsets in Boy's U16 but perhaps the highlight of play on Sunday was American Sam Bredenbeck's win over Christian Chavez of Ecuador, 10-15, 15-7, 11-10, because it showed what international competition is all about with wild cheering for both sides in the tie-breaker.
In that tie-breaker, Bredenbeck was ahead all the way, leading 4-2, 8-4 and 10-8. But Chavez never quit, and tied the game at 10-10. He was on the verge of an upset and had a glorious chance for a winner when Brendenbeck hit a ball that hit the back wall about 10 feet high. It was a clear set up for Chavez on his backhand, but he skipped it.
On the next rally Brendenbeck served to the left side - Chavez's backhand - and again Chavez had an opportunity to make a good return as the serve came off the back wall, but sadly for the Ecuadoran he skipped the serve return giving the game and match to the American.
Some upsets in Boy's U14, as Set Cubillos of Colombia defeated Justus Benson of the USA, 15-9, 15-6 and in doubles all two of the three higher ranked teams lost their first matches on Sunday, including the Americans Benson and Evan Wargo, who were beaten by Cubillos and Arturo Gonzalez, 15-8, 15-6. The Boy's U14 doubles is a six team round robin.
Other notes: there are 170 players on the Bolivian team at this year's World Juniors. Also, play was interrupted briefly on Sunday when the power went out in the late afternoon. It was out for about 20 min causing a delay in the matches, but play resumed once the power came back on.
*NOTE: initial seedings for group play are based on performances from last year's World Juniors, so the players from the country that won the division, for example, are seeded 1st and 3rd (thereby those players would be on opposite sides of the draw if all the preliminary matches go according to the seedings). Of course, players often change from year to year, and as the seeding goes with the country not the player, an "upset" based on the initial seedings should not be taken as something that's necessarily surprising. This is why the tournament has a preliminary round to determine the seeding for the elimination, or playoff, round.
Follow the bouncing ball....
Saturday, October 19, 2013
25th IRF World Junior Championships - PREVIEW
The 25th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships begins Sunday in Sucre, Bolivia. This is the second time the competition has been in Bolivia. The first was in 2009 in Cochabamba. Fourteen countries will be represented in Sucre, although none from outside the Americas.
Bolivia is coming off its best ever results at last year's Junior Worlds in Canoga Park, California, finishing with 10 medals (4 gold, 4 silver & 2 bronze) to top the overall team competition. Playing on home soil - and at high altitude - the host nation will be looking to have another banner year.
However, they will be without Maria Jose Vargas, who was a double gold medalist last year in U18 singles and doubles, as she's graduated from juniors, and is doing well on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT), where she's 6th in the latest rankings.
But Natalia Mendez, who was a double medalist last year for Bolivia with gold in U16 and silver in U14 - should be back and a definite medal threat.
The USA is without most of their gold medalists from a year ago, as Marco Rojas and Jose Diaz have also graduated from the junior ranks. They won gold in U18 doubles in Canoga Park and were the finalists in U18 singles with Rojas winning. Further, one of their gold medal U14 Boy's doubles team - Jordan Barth - is also absent, although his partner Justus Benson is there.
The USA is without Kelani Bailey, who was a double bronze medalist in U18 last year and would have been a definite threat to podium again in this her last year of junior eligibility, but rumor is that she's absent for family reasons.
Canada's double medalist of a year ago - Coby Iwaasa, who won gold in Boy's U16 and silver in U16 doubles, is back to defend his singles title and he won't face two of the other medalists from last year. Adam Manilla of the USA is playing U18 and the silver medalist Andreas Acuña of Costa Rica is absent due to injury.
Other highlights from last year were the good showings of Guatemala and Costa Rica, who both had gold medalists for the first time ever. They'll be looking to follow up those results with good performances in Sucre.
The facility in Sucre looks great. There are 14 courts that are all glass back walls with two that are glass on one side also. us, it should be a wide open and exciting week of racquetball coming up. The IRF will be streaming matches on the last few days of the competition, although if you are in Bolivia, you can watch several hours a day of the competition on live TV.
24th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Canoga Park, California - November 2012
MEDAL SUMMARY - Singles
Boy's U18
GOLD Marco Rojas (USA)
SILVER Jose Diaz (USA)
BRONZE Salvador Ortiz (Mexico)
BRONZE Sebastian Franco (Colombia)
Boy's U16
GOLD Coby Iwaasa (Canada)
SILVER Andreas Acuña (Costa Rica)
BRONZE Adam Manilla (USA)
BRONZE Erik Garcia (Mexico)
Boy's U14
SILVER Cristhian Mina (Bolivia)
SILVER Gonzalo Paco (Bolivia)
BRONZE Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica)
BRONZE Alejandro Almada Felix (Mexico)
Girl's U18
GOLD Maria Jose Vargas (Bolivia)
SILVER Adriana Riveros (Bolivia)
BRONZE Aisling Hickey (Ireland)
BRONZE Kelani Bailey (USA)
Girl's U16
GOLD Natalia Mendez (Bolivia)
SILVER Ximena Gonzalez (Mexico)
BRONZE Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala)
BRONZE Michèle Morissette (Canada)
Girl's U14
GOLD Diana Aguilar (Mexico)
SILVER Natalia Mendez (Bolivia)
BRONZE Erika Manilla (USA)
BRONZE Melania Sauma (Costa Rica)
MEDAL SUMMARY - Doubles
Boy's U18
GOLD Jose Diaz & Marco Rojas (USA)
SILVER Danilo Torrico & Vladimir Sona (Bolivia)
BRONZE Salvador Ortiz & Missael Leija (Mexico)
BRONZE Ashton Duda & Samuel Murray (Canada)
Boy's U16
GOLD Rodrigo Montoya & Francisco Javier Mar Garcia (Mexico)
SILVER Coby Iwaasa & Sami Harb (Canada)
BRONZE Andres Acuña & Pablo Sauma (Costa Rica)
BRONZE Adam Manilla & Sawyer Lloyd (USA)
Boy's U14
GOLD Jordan Barth & Justus Benson (USA)
SILVER Jose Ubila & Alexander Pirie (Costa Rica)
BRONZE Victor Camacho & Jordy Alonso (Mexico)
BRONZE Rodrigo Mendoza & Gonzalo Paco (Bolivia)
Girl's U18
GOLD Adriana Riveros & Maria Jose Vargas (Bolivia)
SILVER Alexandra Herrera & Natalia Villagomez (Mexico)
BRONZE Kelani Bailey & Samantha Simmons (USA)
BRONZE Aisling Hickey & Katie Kenny (Ireland)
Girl's U16
GOLD Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala)
SILVER Ximena Gonzalez & Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico)
BRONZE Kaitlin Simmons & Lexi York (USA)
BRONZE Veronica Dotty & Mariana Lopez (Bolivia)
Girl's U14
GOLD Melania Sauma & Sofia Soley (Costa Rica)
SILVER Diana Aguilar & Mariel Morales (Mexico)
BRONZE Jordan Cooperrider & Erika Manilla (USA)
BRONZE Callie Drury & Alexis Iwaasa (Canada)
TEAM MEDAL SUMMARY
Boy's
USA - 6 = 3 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze
Mexico - 6 = 1, 0, 5
Bolivia - 4 = 1, 2, 1
Costa Rica - 4 = 0, 2, 2
Canada - 3 = 1, 1, 1
Colombia - 1 = 0, 0, 1
Girl's
Bolivia - 6 = 3 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze
Mexico - 5 = 1, 3, 1
USA - 5 = 0, 1, 4
Guatemala - 2 = 1, 0, 1
Costa Rica - 2 = 1, 0, 1
Canada - 2 = 0, 0, 2
Ireland - 2 = 0, 0, 2
Combined
USA - 11 = 3 gold, 2 silver, 6 bronze
Mexico - 11 = 2, 3, 6
Bolivia - 10 = 4, 4, 2
Costa Rica - 6 = 1, 2, 3
Canada - 5 = 1, 1, 3
Guatemala - 2 = 1, 0, 1
Ireland - 2 = 0, 0, 2
Colombia - 1 = 0, 0, 1
Follow the bouncing ball....
Bolivia is coming off its best ever results at last year's Junior Worlds in Canoga Park, California, finishing with 10 medals (4 gold, 4 silver & 2 bronze) to top the overall team competition. Playing on home soil - and at high altitude - the host nation will be looking to have another banner year.
However, they will be without Maria Jose Vargas, who was a double gold medalist last year in U18 singles and doubles, as she's graduated from juniors, and is doing well on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT), where she's 6th in the latest rankings.
But Natalia Mendez, who was a double medalist last year for Bolivia with gold in U16 and silver in U14 - should be back and a definite medal threat.
The USA is without most of their gold medalists from a year ago, as Marco Rojas and Jose Diaz have also graduated from the junior ranks. They won gold in U18 doubles in Canoga Park and were the finalists in U18 singles with Rojas winning. Further, one of their gold medal U14 Boy's doubles team - Jordan Barth - is also absent, although his partner Justus Benson is there.
The USA is without Kelani Bailey, who was a double bronze medalist in U18 last year and would have been a definite threat to podium again in this her last year of junior eligibility, but rumor is that she's absent for family reasons.
Canada's double medalist of a year ago - Coby Iwaasa, who won gold in Boy's U16 and silver in U16 doubles, is back to defend his singles title and he won't face two of the other medalists from last year. Adam Manilla of the USA is playing U18 and the silver medalist Andreas Acuña of Costa Rica is absent due to injury.
Other highlights from last year were the good showings of Guatemala and Costa Rica, who both had gold medalists for the first time ever. They'll be looking to follow up those results with good performances in Sucre.
The facility in Sucre looks great. There are 14 courts that are all glass back walls with two that are glass on one side also. us, it should be a wide open and exciting week of racquetball coming up. The IRF will be streaming matches on the last few days of the competition, although if you are in Bolivia, you can watch several hours a day of the competition on live TV.
24th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
Canoga Park, California - November 2012
MEDAL SUMMARY - Singles
Boy's U18
GOLD Marco Rojas (USA)
SILVER Jose Diaz (USA)
BRONZE Salvador Ortiz (Mexico)
BRONZE Sebastian Franco (Colombia)
Boy's U16
GOLD Coby Iwaasa (Canada)
SILVER Andreas Acuña (Costa Rica)
BRONZE Adam Manilla (USA)
BRONZE Erik Garcia (Mexico)
Boy's U14
SILVER Cristhian Mina (Bolivia)
SILVER Gonzalo Paco (Bolivia)
BRONZE Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica)
BRONZE Alejandro Almada Felix (Mexico)
Girl's U18
GOLD Maria Jose Vargas (Bolivia)
SILVER Adriana Riveros (Bolivia)
BRONZE Aisling Hickey (Ireland)
BRONZE Kelani Bailey (USA)
Girl's U16
GOLD Natalia Mendez (Bolivia)
SILVER Ximena Gonzalez (Mexico)
BRONZE Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala)
BRONZE Michèle Morissette (Canada)
Girl's U14
GOLD Diana Aguilar (Mexico)
SILVER Natalia Mendez (Bolivia)
BRONZE Erika Manilla (USA)
BRONZE Melania Sauma (Costa Rica)
MEDAL SUMMARY - Doubles
Boy's U18
GOLD Jose Diaz & Marco Rojas (USA)
SILVER Danilo Torrico & Vladimir Sona (Bolivia)
BRONZE Salvador Ortiz & Missael Leija (Mexico)
BRONZE Ashton Duda & Samuel Murray (Canada)
Boy's U16
GOLD Rodrigo Montoya & Francisco Javier Mar Garcia (Mexico)
SILVER Coby Iwaasa & Sami Harb (Canada)
BRONZE Andres Acuña & Pablo Sauma (Costa Rica)
BRONZE Adam Manilla & Sawyer Lloyd (USA)
Boy's U14
GOLD Jordan Barth & Justus Benson (USA)
SILVER Jose Ubila & Alexander Pirie (Costa Rica)
BRONZE Victor Camacho & Jordy Alonso (Mexico)
BRONZE Rodrigo Mendoza & Gonzalo Paco (Bolivia)
Girl's U18
GOLD Adriana Riveros & Maria Jose Vargas (Bolivia)
SILVER Alexandra Herrera & Natalia Villagomez (Mexico)
BRONZE Kelani Bailey & Samantha Simmons (USA)
BRONZE Aisling Hickey & Katie Kenny (Ireland)
Girl's U16
GOLD Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala)
SILVER Ximena Gonzalez & Lucia Gonzalez (Mexico)
BRONZE Kaitlin Simmons & Lexi York (USA)
BRONZE Veronica Dotty & Mariana Lopez (Bolivia)
Girl's U14
GOLD Melania Sauma & Sofia Soley (Costa Rica)
SILVER Diana Aguilar & Mariel Morales (Mexico)
BRONZE Jordan Cooperrider & Erika Manilla (USA)
BRONZE Callie Drury & Alexis Iwaasa (Canada)
TEAM MEDAL SUMMARY
Boy's
USA - 6 = 3 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze
Mexico - 6 = 1, 0, 5
Bolivia - 4 = 1, 2, 1
Costa Rica - 4 = 0, 2, 2
Canada - 3 = 1, 1, 1
Colombia - 1 = 0, 0, 1
Girl's
Bolivia - 6 = 3 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze
Mexico - 5 = 1, 3, 1
USA - 5 = 0, 1, 4
Guatemala - 2 = 1, 0, 1
Costa Rica - 2 = 1, 0, 1
Canada - 2 = 0, 0, 2
Ireland - 2 = 0, 0, 2
Combined
USA - 11 = 3 gold, 2 silver, 6 bronze
Mexico - 11 = 2, 3, 6
Bolivia - 10 = 4, 4, 2
Costa Rica - 6 = 1, 2, 3
Canada - 5 = 1, 1, 3
Guatemala - 2 = 1, 0, 1
Ireland - 2 = 0, 0, 2
Colombia - 1 = 0, 0, 1
Follow the bouncing ball....
Thursday, October 17, 2013
LPRT - Rankings for October 10, 2013 - Amaya up to #4
US Open winner Paola Longoria is again the #1 player in the latest Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) rankings released this week. US Open finalist Rhonda Rajsich is holding steady at #2, and Susana Acosta remains at #3 with her US Open semi-final finish.
But Cristina Amaya's rise up the rankings continues, as she's the new #4 player moving ahead of Samantha Salas who's now #5, although Salas did get to the semis in Minneapolis by beating Amaya in the quarter-finals.
Maria Jose Vargas remains the 6th ranked player with both Adrienne Haynes and Veronica Sotomayor moving up - to 7th and 8th, respectively. Cheryl Gudinas, who still hasn't played an LPRT event this season, drops down to 9th with Da'monique Davis moving up one spot to 10th, rounding out the top 10.
The biggest move in the rankings is by Frédérique Lambert, who's jumped eight spots from 20th to 12th just behind #11 Grace Hughes, who's moved to Japan and hasn't played any LPRT events this season but may in the second half of the season.
Maria Paz Muñoz is up again and now sits in 13th place ahead of veterans Jennifer Saunders and Kerri Wachtel, who also has been absent from the tour due to injury.
Finally, in the 16-20 spots, Carla Muñoz is back on the top 20 at #16 ahead of Linda Scales and Hailey Miller, in 17th and 18th, respectively. T. J. Baumbaugh and Sofia Rascon round out the top 20 in 19th and 20th, respectively.
Krystal Csuk and Jackie Paraiso have dropped out of the top 20.
The LPRT is on a bit of a break as the next event is the Christmas Classic in Arlington, Virginia December 6-8, 2013.
LPRT Rankings - October 10, 2013
Rank - Name - Country - Points
1 Paola Longoria (Mexico) 2020.00
2 Rhonda Rajsich (USA) 1022.00
3 Susana Acosta (Mexico) 619.50
4 Cristina Amaya (Colombia) 542.00
5 Samantha Salas (Mexico) 528.50
6 Maria Jose Vargas (Bolivia) 497.50
7 Adrienne Haynes (USA) 387.00
8 Veronica Sotomayor (Ecuador) 338.00
9 Cheryl Gudinas (USA) 322.00
10 Da'monique Davis (USA) 305.75
11 Grace Hughes (USA) 276.00
12 Frédérique Lambert (Canada) 221.50
13 Maria Paz Muñoz (Ecuador) 217.50
14 Jennifer Saunders (Canada) 213.75
15 Kerri Wachtel (USA) 178.00
16 Carla Muñoz (Chile) 173.50
17 Linda Scales (USA) 169.25
18 Hailey Miller (USA) 165.75
19 T.J. Baumbaugh (USA) 160.75
20 Sofia Rascon (Mexico) 146.75
Follow the bouncing ball....
But Cristina Amaya's rise up the rankings continues, as she's the new #4 player moving ahead of Samantha Salas who's now #5, although Salas did get to the semis in Minneapolis by beating Amaya in the quarter-finals.
Maria Jose Vargas remains the 6th ranked player with both Adrienne Haynes and Veronica Sotomayor moving up - to 7th and 8th, respectively. Cheryl Gudinas, who still hasn't played an LPRT event this season, drops down to 9th with Da'monique Davis moving up one spot to 10th, rounding out the top 10.
The biggest move in the rankings is by Frédérique Lambert, who's jumped eight spots from 20th to 12th just behind #11 Grace Hughes, who's moved to Japan and hasn't played any LPRT events this season but may in the second half of the season.
Maria Paz Muñoz is up again and now sits in 13th place ahead of veterans Jennifer Saunders and Kerri Wachtel, who also has been absent from the tour due to injury.
Finally, in the 16-20 spots, Carla Muñoz is back on the top 20 at #16 ahead of Linda Scales and Hailey Miller, in 17th and 18th, respectively. T. J. Baumbaugh and Sofia Rascon round out the top 20 in 19th and 20th, respectively.
Krystal Csuk and Jackie Paraiso have dropped out of the top 20.
The LPRT is on a bit of a break as the next event is the Christmas Classic in Arlington, Virginia December 6-8, 2013.
LPRT Rankings - October 10, 2013
Rank - Name - Country - Points
1 Paola Longoria (Mexico) 2020.00
2 Rhonda Rajsich (USA) 1022.00
3 Susana Acosta (Mexico) 619.50
4 Cristina Amaya (Colombia) 542.00
5 Samantha Salas (Mexico) 528.50
6 Maria Jose Vargas (Bolivia) 497.50
7 Adrienne Haynes (USA) 387.00
8 Veronica Sotomayor (Ecuador) 338.00
9 Cheryl Gudinas (USA) 322.00
10 Da'monique Davis (USA) 305.75
11 Grace Hughes (USA) 276.00
12 Frédérique Lambert (Canada) 221.50
13 Maria Paz Muñoz (Ecuador) 217.50
14 Jennifer Saunders (Canada) 213.75
15 Kerri Wachtel (USA) 178.00
16 Carla Muñoz (Chile) 173.50
17 Linda Scales (USA) 169.25
18 Hailey Miller (USA) 165.75
19 T.J. Baumbaugh (USA) 160.75
20 Sofia Rascon (Mexico) 146.75
Follow the bouncing ball....
Monday, October 7, 2013
2013 US Open - Open division winners
It's the day after the 2013 United Healthcare US Open in Minneapolis - presented by USA Racquetball - and we've got a run down of the open division winners. In the open singles divisions, the US Open winner has generally been a non-American, and 2013 was no different. In fact, both men's and women's open finals were between two non-Americans.
On the men's side it was two 17 year olds facing off as Mexican Andree Parrilla defeated Coby Iwaasa of Canada, 6-15, 15-7, 11-9. They may replay that match in Bolivia later this month at the World Junior Championships, as Parrilla and Iwaasa will both compete in U16, as they turned 17 in 2013 (junior age division eligibility is based on age on January 1).
An American hasn't won the men's open title at the US Open since Josh Tucker did it in 2002.
There have been American women to win the women's open title more recently, but only four of the 18 US Open women's open titles have gone to Americans. Krystal Csuk is the most recent winner, taking the title in 2009.
Maiko Sato of Japan became the first Asian woman to win the title, as she defeated Cristina Amaya of Colombia in the final, 14-15, 15-3, 11-7.
In doubles play, Aaron Granberg and John Goth thwarted the bid of Alejandro Landa and Polo Gutierrez to win their third straight US Open men's open doubles title, as the Americans beat the Mexican team 15-14, 14-15, 11-8.
But last year's women's open doubles champions repeated as Aimee Ruiz and Janel Tisinger beat Sofia Rascon and Susana Acosta, 15-2, 15-12, to win for a second consecutive time.
The mixed open doubles title went to Daniel De La Rosa and Michelle Key, who defeated Ruiz and Jansen Allen, 15-9, 8-15, 11-9.
2013 IRT US Open, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Men's Open
Final
Andree Parrilla d. Coby Iwaasa, 6-15, 15-7, 11-9
Semi-finals
Andree Parrilla d. Samuel Murray, 15-8, 9-15, 11-7
Coby Iwaasa, 9-15, 15-14, 11-5
Women's Open
Final
Maiko Sato d. Cristina Amaya, 14-15, 15-3, 11-7
Semi-finals
Maiko Sato d. Janel Tisinger, 15-3, 15-3
Cristina Amaya d. Aubrey Kirch, 15-11, 6-15, 11-6
Men's Open Doubles
Final
Aaron Granberg & John Goth d. Alejandro Landa & Polo Gutierrez, 15-14, 14-15, 11-8
Semi-finals
Aaron Granberg & John Goth d. Daniel Maggi & Fernando Kurzbard, 15-4, 12-15, 11-10
Alejandro Landa & Polo Gutierrez d. Cesar Castillo & Cesar Castro, 15-12, 15-9
Women's Open Doubles
Final
Aimee Ruiz & Janel Tisinger d. Sofia Rascon & Susana Acosta, 15-2, 15-12
Semi-finals
Aimee Ruiz & Janel Tisinger d. Maria Paz Muñoz & Veronica Sotomayor, 15-9, 15-13
Sofia Rascon & Susana Acosta d. Hailey Miller & Jacqueline Paraiso, 15-9, 9-15, 11-9
Mixed Open Doubles
Final
Daniel De La Rosa & Michelle Key d. Jansen Allen & Aimee Ruiz, 15-9, 8-15, 11-9
Semi-finals
Daniel De La Rosa & Michelle Key d. Coby Iwaasa & Jennifer Saunders, 15-3, 15-8
Jansen Allen & Aimee Ruiz d. Corey Osborne & Frédérique Lambert, 15-2, 14-15, 11-3
Follow the bouncing ball….
On the men's side it was two 17 year olds facing off as Mexican Andree Parrilla defeated Coby Iwaasa of Canada, 6-15, 15-7, 11-9. They may replay that match in Bolivia later this month at the World Junior Championships, as Parrilla and Iwaasa will both compete in U16, as they turned 17 in 2013 (junior age division eligibility is based on age on January 1).
An American hasn't won the men's open title at the US Open since Josh Tucker did it in 2002.
There have been American women to win the women's open title more recently, but only four of the 18 US Open women's open titles have gone to Americans. Krystal Csuk is the most recent winner, taking the title in 2009.
Maiko Sato of Japan became the first Asian woman to win the title, as she defeated Cristina Amaya of Colombia in the final, 14-15, 15-3, 11-7.
In doubles play, Aaron Granberg and John Goth thwarted the bid of Alejandro Landa and Polo Gutierrez to win their third straight US Open men's open doubles title, as the Americans beat the Mexican team 15-14, 14-15, 11-8.
But last year's women's open doubles champions repeated as Aimee Ruiz and Janel Tisinger beat Sofia Rascon and Susana Acosta, 15-2, 15-12, to win for a second consecutive time.
The mixed open doubles title went to Daniel De La Rosa and Michelle Key, who defeated Ruiz and Jansen Allen, 15-9, 8-15, 11-9.
2013 IRT US Open, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Men's Open
Final
Andree Parrilla d. Coby Iwaasa, 6-15, 15-7, 11-9
Semi-finals
Andree Parrilla d. Samuel Murray, 15-8, 9-15, 11-7
Coby Iwaasa, 9-15, 15-14, 11-5
Women's Open
Final
Maiko Sato d. Cristina Amaya, 14-15, 15-3, 11-7
Semi-finals
Maiko Sato d. Janel Tisinger, 15-3, 15-3
Cristina Amaya d. Aubrey Kirch, 15-11, 6-15, 11-6
Men's Open Doubles
Final
Aaron Granberg & John Goth d. Alejandro Landa & Polo Gutierrez, 15-14, 14-15, 11-8
Semi-finals
Aaron Granberg & John Goth d. Daniel Maggi & Fernando Kurzbard, 15-4, 12-15, 11-10
Alejandro Landa & Polo Gutierrez d. Cesar Castillo & Cesar Castro, 15-12, 15-9
Women's Open Doubles
Final
Aimee Ruiz & Janel Tisinger d. Sofia Rascon & Susana Acosta, 15-2, 15-12
Semi-finals
Aimee Ruiz & Janel Tisinger d. Maria Paz Muñoz & Veronica Sotomayor, 15-9, 15-13
Sofia Rascon & Susana Acosta d. Hailey Miller & Jacqueline Paraiso, 15-9, 9-15, 11-9
Mixed Open Doubles
Final
Daniel De La Rosa & Michelle Key d. Jansen Allen & Aimee Ruiz, 15-9, 8-15, 11-9
Semi-finals
Daniel De La Rosa & Michelle Key d. Coby Iwaasa & Jennifer Saunders, 15-3, 15-8
Jansen Allen & Aimee Ruiz d. Corey Osborne & Frédérique Lambert, 15-2, 14-15, 11-3
Follow the bouncing ball….
Sunday, October 6, 2013
2013 US Open - Waselenchuk wins 9th title, sets career mark at 71
Kane Waselenchuk set a new mark for career wins on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) at 71 on Sunday, as he won his 9th US Open title by defeating Rocky Carson, 11-9, 11-1, 11-6.
Waselenchuk was previously tied at 70 with Cliff Swain.
In game one, it didn't look like it would be Waselenchuk's as Carson was playing well. But they were scoring points back and forth and tied at 5-5. Then Carson took control as he went up 9-5.
Waselenchuk changed his serve strategy and began lob serving to the right side - Carson's forehand, and that got him back into the game as he came back with six unanswered points all off lob serves.
Game two was all Waselenchuk as he went back to drive serving and Carson only served twice before Waselenchuk won it 11-1. There were only 14 rallies in game two.
In game three Waselenchuk led early at 4-0, but Carson came back to make it 4-4 and then 5-4. Waselenchuk tied it at 5-5, and they traded side outs until Waselenchuk hit a down the line forehand to make it 6-5. Another one like that made it 7-5, and again they traded side outs.
However, slowly but surely Waselenchuk worked his way to match point, and then on his second opportunity, he drove serve to the left. Carson hit a backhand cross court, and Waselenchuk killed it down the line with his backhand.
The next IRT Tier 1 event is the Red Swain Shootout in Davison, Michigan November 7-10, 2013.
2013 IRT US Open, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Final - Sunday (with seedings)
1 Kane Waselenchuk d. 2 Rocky Carson, 11-9, 11-1, 11-6
Follow the bouncing ball….
Waselenchuk was previously tied at 70 with Cliff Swain.
In game one, it didn't look like it would be Waselenchuk's as Carson was playing well. But they were scoring points back and forth and tied at 5-5. Then Carson took control as he went up 9-5.
Waselenchuk changed his serve strategy and began lob serving to the right side - Carson's forehand, and that got him back into the game as he came back with six unanswered points all off lob serves.
Game two was all Waselenchuk as he went back to drive serving and Carson only served twice before Waselenchuk won it 11-1. There were only 14 rallies in game two.
In game three Waselenchuk led early at 4-0, but Carson came back to make it 4-4 and then 5-4. Waselenchuk tied it at 5-5, and they traded side outs until Waselenchuk hit a down the line forehand to make it 6-5. Another one like that made it 7-5, and again they traded side outs.
However, slowly but surely Waselenchuk worked his way to match point, and then on his second opportunity, he drove serve to the left. Carson hit a backhand cross court, and Waselenchuk killed it down the line with his backhand.
The next IRT Tier 1 event is the Red Swain Shootout in Davison, Michigan November 7-10, 2013.
2013 IRT US Open, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Final - Sunday (with seedings)
1 Kane Waselenchuk d. 2 Rocky Carson, 11-9, 11-1, 11-6
Follow the bouncing ball….
2013 US Open - Longoria wins 4th women's pro title
Paola Longoria won her fourth US Open title as she beat Rhonda Rajsich in the final of the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) division, 11-4, 11-1, 11-7, Sunday at the 2013 United Healthcare US Open in Minneapolis. The win ties her for most US Open titles by a woman with Rajsich, who's also won four times - twice against Longoria.
Longoria's now won the last three US Opens.
After losing games one and two by wide margins, you could have excused Rajsich for giving in game three. But that's not the kind of player she is, and even when down 4-0 in game three kept working.
It paid off as she scored five straight points to lead 5-4. They then went back and forth to 7-7. They played a few rallies at that score before Longoria scored two points to make it 9-7. A timeout by Rajsich changed nothing, as Longoria scored again to bring up match point.
Rajsich stopped her first match point, but Longoria made good on match point #2.
The win gives Longoria 90 consecutive women's pro match victories in Tier 1 or Grand Slam events dating back to May 2011.
The next LPRT event will be the Christmas Classic in Arlington, Virginia December 6-8.
2013 United Healthcare US Open Championships, Minneapolis, Minnesota
LPRT Finals - Sunday (with seeding)
1 Paola Longoria d. 2 Rhonda Rajsich, 11-4, 11-1, 11-7
Follow the bouncing ball…
Longoria's now won the last three US Opens.
After losing games one and two by wide margins, you could have excused Rajsich for giving in game three. But that's not the kind of player she is, and even when down 4-0 in game three kept working.
It paid off as she scored five straight points to lead 5-4. They then went back and forth to 7-7. They played a few rallies at that score before Longoria scored two points to make it 9-7. A timeout by Rajsich changed nothing, as Longoria scored again to bring up match point.
Rajsich stopped her first match point, but Longoria made good on match point #2.
The win gives Longoria 90 consecutive women's pro match victories in Tier 1 or Grand Slam events dating back to May 2011.
The next LPRT event will be the Christmas Classic in Arlington, Virginia December 6-8.
2013 United Healthcare US Open Championships, Minneapolis, Minnesota
LPRT Finals - Sunday (with seeding)
1 Paola Longoria d. 2 Rhonda Rajsich, 11-4, 11-1, 11-7
Follow the bouncing ball…
2013 United Healthcare US Open - Lowe wins CPRT title
Jimmy Lowe won his second US Open Classic Pro Racquetball Tour (CPRT) title Sunday by defeating Corey Osborne in the final, 9-6, 9-5, 4-9, 9-7. Lowe's first title was in 2008. Osborne was also runner up in 2011.
The match started with a long first game, as the players traded points back and forth with ties at 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. But Lowe put together three straight points that Osborne had no answer for to take game one, 9-6.
Game two was similar, but much briefer, as it only lasted 10 min. They again traded points up to 5-5, when Lowe again put a run together that Osborne tried derail with a timeout at 8-5, but couldn't.
In game three, Osborne led all the way. Gaining a 3-1 advantage that he extended to 6-2 and 9-4.
Game four was all Lowe at the start, as he took a 7-1 lead and looked good to close it out easily. But Osborne fought back and tied the game at 7-7 making a tie-breaker a real possibility. However, Lowe got the serve back, called a timeout and then scored two straight points, the last coming on an ace drive serve that cracked out on the left side.
2013 United Healthcare US Open - Minneapolis, Minnesota
CPRT Final (with seeding)
2 Jimmy Lowe d. 8 Corey Osborne, 9-6, 9-5, 4-9, 9-7
Follow the bouncing ball….
The match started with a long first game, as the players traded points back and forth with ties at 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. But Lowe put together three straight points that Osborne had no answer for to take game one, 9-6.
Game two was similar, but much briefer, as it only lasted 10 min. They again traded points up to 5-5, when Lowe again put a run together that Osborne tried derail with a timeout at 8-5, but couldn't.
In game three, Osborne led all the way. Gaining a 3-1 advantage that he extended to 6-2 and 9-4.
Game four was all Lowe at the start, as he took a 7-1 lead and looked good to close it out easily. But Osborne fought back and tied the game at 7-7 making a tie-breaker a real possibility. However, Lowe got the serve back, called a timeout and then scored two straight points, the last coming on an ace drive serve that cracked out on the left side.
2013 United Healthcare US Open - Minneapolis, Minnesota
CPRT Final (with seeding)
2 Jimmy Lowe d. 8 Corey Osborne, 9-6, 9-5, 4-9, 9-7
Follow the bouncing ball….
Saturday, October 5, 2013
2013 US Open - Lowe & Osborne into CPRT final
Jimmy Lowe, the 2008 US Open Classic Pro Racquetball Tour (CPRT) Champion has a chance to win a second CPRT US Open title Sunday as he beat 3rd seed Keith Minor in the semi-finals, 8-9, 9-0, 7-9, 9-2, 9-0.
Lowe's opponent will be the 2011 runner-up Corey Osborne who was a winner against Aaron Metcalf, 8-9, 9-1, 9-2, 9-8.
2013 United Healthcare US Open - Minneapolis, Minnesota
CPRT Semi-finals (with seeding)
8 Corey Osborne d. 12 Aaron Metcalf, 8-9, 9-1, 9-2, 9-8
2 Jimmy Lowe d. 3 Keith Minor, 8-9, 9-0, 7-9, 9-2, 9-0
CPRT Final (with seeding)
2 Jimmy Lowe v. 8 Corey Osborne - 9:30 AM CDT Sunday
Follow the bouncing ball….
Lowe's opponent will be the 2011 runner-up Corey Osborne who was a winner against Aaron Metcalf, 8-9, 9-1, 9-2, 9-8.
2013 United Healthcare US Open - Minneapolis, Minnesota
CPRT Semi-finals (with seeding)
8 Corey Osborne d. 12 Aaron Metcalf, 8-9, 9-1, 9-2, 9-8
2 Jimmy Lowe d. 3 Keith Minor, 8-9, 9-0, 7-9, 9-2, 9-0
CPRT Final (with seeding)
2 Jimmy Lowe v. 8 Corey Osborne - 9:30 AM CDT Sunday
Follow the bouncing ball….
2013 US Open - Waselenchuk & Carson win IRT semi-finals
Kane Waselenchuk could win his 9th International Racquetball Tour (IRT) US Open title Sunday at the 2013 United Healthcare US Open, as he defeated Ben Croft in the semi-finals on Saturday, 11-7, 11-1, 11-7.
Waselenchuk's opponent in the final will be a familiar one as Rocky Carson beat Alvaro Beltran in the other semi-final, 3-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-2, to set up a rematch of the last two US Open finals, which Waselenchuk has both won.
But in their semi, Croft scored the first six points of the match before Waselenchuk even had a chance to serve. When Waselenchuk did serve, he scored three straight points before Croft got the serve back and scored another to make it 7-3.
That's as much as Croft got though in game one, as Waselenchuk stepped up the pressure forcing errors on four serve returns from Croft, although the last point happened as Waselenchuk hit a deep ball that Croft could do nothing with as he ended up sprawled on the ground at the back wall and banged his head against it three times, perhaps in punishment for losing the game.
Game two was all Waselenchuk, and he started game three with three straight points. But Croft is a never say die player, and he fought back, tied the game at 3-3 and then led 5-4.
Waselenchuk again responded to the challenge and ran the score to 9-5. After Croft made it 9-6, Waselenchuk had his first match point at 10-6, but Croft held him there, and scored another point to make it 10-7.
Waselenchuk got the serve back and called a time out. When play resumed, Waselenchuk drove the ball to the left, Croft returned it down the left line, and Waselenchuk leaned over for it, and hit a winning pinch shot to the left corner as he was falling to the floor.
Afterwards, Croft said it was "disappointing" but the "number one player makes you look bad," and "forces you to make mistakes."
Waselenchuk said that he was "on a mission" and losing in Stockton brought a "whole new motivation" to him. But with the past great players in attendance - there's a celebration of Charlie Brumfield at this US Open - Waselenchuk wants to show them that he's the best ever, which is what the record suggests.
A win Sunday will break the record for IRT victories that Waselenchuk currently holds with Cliff Swain at 70.
For first game and a half of the other semi, it looked like Beltran would reach his second US Open final, as he comfortably won game one and was up 8-4 in game two. But Carson held Beltran at eight in game two, and scored seven unanswered points to level the match at a game a piece.
Carson followed that up with another close victory in game three, 11-8, and that seemed to take the wind out of Beltran's sails as Carson won game four going away, 11-2.
US Open matches are available via the IRT Network throughout the week.
2013 IRT US Open, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Semi-finals - Saturday (with seedings)
1 Kane Waselenchuk d. 5 Ben Croft, 11-7, 11-1, 11-7
2 Rocky Carson d. 3 Alvaro Beltran, 3-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-2
Final - Sunday (with seedings)
1 Kane Waselenchuk v. 2 Rocky Carson
Follow the bouncing ball….
Waselenchuk's opponent in the final will be a familiar one as Rocky Carson beat Alvaro Beltran in the other semi-final, 3-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-2, to set up a rematch of the last two US Open finals, which Waselenchuk has both won.
But in their semi, Croft scored the first six points of the match before Waselenchuk even had a chance to serve. When Waselenchuk did serve, he scored three straight points before Croft got the serve back and scored another to make it 7-3.
That's as much as Croft got though in game one, as Waselenchuk stepped up the pressure forcing errors on four serve returns from Croft, although the last point happened as Waselenchuk hit a deep ball that Croft could do nothing with as he ended up sprawled on the ground at the back wall and banged his head against it three times, perhaps in punishment for losing the game.
Game two was all Waselenchuk, and he started game three with three straight points. But Croft is a never say die player, and he fought back, tied the game at 3-3 and then led 5-4.
Waselenchuk again responded to the challenge and ran the score to 9-5. After Croft made it 9-6, Waselenchuk had his first match point at 10-6, but Croft held him there, and scored another point to make it 10-7.
Waselenchuk got the serve back and called a time out. When play resumed, Waselenchuk drove the ball to the left, Croft returned it down the left line, and Waselenchuk leaned over for it, and hit a winning pinch shot to the left corner as he was falling to the floor.
Afterwards, Croft said it was "disappointing" but the "number one player makes you look bad," and "forces you to make mistakes."
Waselenchuk said that he was "on a mission" and losing in Stockton brought a "whole new motivation" to him. But with the past great players in attendance - there's a celebration of Charlie Brumfield at this US Open - Waselenchuk wants to show them that he's the best ever, which is what the record suggests.
A win Sunday will break the record for IRT victories that Waselenchuk currently holds with Cliff Swain at 70.
For first game and a half of the other semi, it looked like Beltran would reach his second US Open final, as he comfortably won game one and was up 8-4 in game two. But Carson held Beltran at eight in game two, and scored seven unanswered points to level the match at a game a piece.
Carson followed that up with another close victory in game three, 11-8, and that seemed to take the wind out of Beltran's sails as Carson won game four going away, 11-2.
US Open matches are available via the IRT Network throughout the week.
2013 IRT US Open, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Semi-finals - Saturday (with seedings)
1 Kane Waselenchuk d. 5 Ben Croft, 11-7, 11-1, 11-7
2 Rocky Carson d. 3 Alvaro Beltran, 3-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-2
Final - Sunday (with seedings)
1 Kane Waselenchuk v. 2 Rocky Carson
Follow the bouncing ball….
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