Another rankings release from the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) and more career highs. For one, Canadian Frédérique Lambert is up to 7th from 9th. Lambert's made two semi-finals this season - the first of her career - and was a quarter finalist at last weekend's Winter Classic in Overland Park, Kansas.
Others on career highs are Aubrey Kirch, who is 12th, Sofia Rascon up to 14th and Sharon Jackson 16th. Kirch and Jackson are both LPRT Scholarship awardees.
The top six players remain the same. Paola Longoria and Rhonda Rajsich are #1 and #2, respectively, and Maria Jose Vargas solidified her spot at #3 with her first career appearance in Overland Park.
Samantha Salas Solis, Cristina Amaya and Susana Acosta occupy the #4 through #6 spots.
Three Yankees
There are only three American players in the top 10: Rajsich, Da'monique Davis at #8, and Cheryl Gudinas at #9. Adrienne Haynes has slipped out of the top 10 to #11, which is the first time she's been out of the top 10 since 2007.
Gudinas is also in danger of slipping out of the top 10 by season's end, as she's 16th in the season to date points, because she missed three events early in the season due to her foot injury. Gudinas has been in the top 10 at the end of every women's pro season since 1993-94.
Kirch, Rascon and Veronica Sotomayor all have more season to date points than Gudinas. Sotomayor has missed a few events due to a shoulder injury, but we understand she's going to play the next three LPRT events.
The next LPRT event is the New Jersey Open in Warren, New Jersey, March 7-9, and 22 players have already registered to play, including Sotomayor and almost all of the top 20.
LPRT Rankings - February 24, 2014
Rank - Name - Country - Points
1 Paola Longoria (Mexico) 2380.00
2 Rhonda Rajsich (USA) 1241.00
3 Maria Jose Vargas (Bolivia) 827.50
4 Samantha Salas (Mexico) 722.50
5 Cristina Amaya (Colombia) 649.00
6 Susana Acosta (Mexico) 512.50
7 Frédérique Lambert (Canada) 426.50
8 Da'monique Davis (USA) 415.75
9 Cheryl Gudinas (USA) 355.00
10 Veronica Sotomayor (Ecuador) 338.00
11 Adrienne Haynes (USA) 304.00
12 Aubrey Kirch (USA) 292.50
13 Jennifer Saunders (Canada) 266.25
14 Sofia Rascon (Mexico) 244.75
15 Maria Paz Muñoz (Ecuador) 239.50
16 Sharon Jackson (USA) 209.00
17 Carla Muñoz (Chile) 207.50
18 Hailey Miller (USA) 201.75
19 T.J. Baumbaugh (USA) 194.75
20 Linda Scales (USA) 190.25
Follow the bouncing ball....
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Weekend Round Up - Jackson, De La Rosa & Garrow win & USA Team named
Sharon Jackson won the Women's Open Division at the 9th Annual Winter Classic in Overland Park, Kansas, as she beat Adrienne Haynes in the final, 15-3, 15-7.
In the semi-finals, Jackson defeated Da'monique Davis, 15-10, 15-9, and Haynes beat Carla Muñoz, 15-8, 6-15, 11-5.
Daniel De La Rosa won the Battle by the Bay - a Tier 5 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) event - in Corpus Cristi, Texas, as he defeated Danny Lavely in the final, 12-10, 13-11, 11-8. In the semi-finals, De La Rosa beat John Rhodes, 11-1, 11-1, 11-2, and Lavely - the 6th seed - defeated Joel Ernst, 11-1, 10-12, 11-2, 11-2.
Finally in Utica, Michigan, William Garrow won the Motor City Rollout - a Tier 5 IRT event - with a 13-11, 11-9, 11-7, win over Scott Young.
US Team Announced
USA Racquetball named its team for the 2014 Pan American Championships in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Veteran Rhonda Rajsich leads the four player team and each player will play both singles and doubles. Janel Tisinger is the other woman on the team, and the men are Jose Rojas and David Horn. Dave Ellis will coach the team with Cheryl Kirk as the team leader and Brent Huff will be the team trainer.
Rajsich will be wearing USA on her back for the 16th time. In contrast, David Horn is making his first appearance on Team USA. Rojas and Tisinger are making their 4th and 2nd international appearances.
It's been seven years since Tisinger was last on the team. She played doubles at the 2007 Pan American Championships with Rajsich, and they won the event. Rajsich is also the defending Pan American Champion, as she won the title with Sharon Jackson last year in Cali, Colombia.
9th Annual Winter Classic, Overland Park, Kansas
Women's Open Division
Final
Sharon Jackson d. Adrienne Haynes, 15-3, 15-7
Semi-finals
Sharon Jackson d. Da'monique Davis, 15-10, 15-9
Adrienne Haynes d. Carla Muñoz, 15-8, 6-15, 11-5
Battle by the Bay, Corpus Cristi, Texas
Final
Daniel De La Rosa d. Danny Lavely, 12-10, 13-11, 11-8
Semi-finals
Daniel De La Rosa d. John Rhodes, 11-1, 11-1, 11-2
Danny Lavely d. Joel Ernst, 11-1, 10-12, 11-2, 11-2
Follow the bouncing ball….
In the semi-finals, Jackson defeated Da'monique Davis, 15-10, 15-9, and Haynes beat Carla Muñoz, 15-8, 6-15, 11-5.
Daniel De La Rosa won the Battle by the Bay - a Tier 5 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) event - in Corpus Cristi, Texas, as he defeated Danny Lavely in the final, 12-10, 13-11, 11-8. In the semi-finals, De La Rosa beat John Rhodes, 11-1, 11-1, 11-2, and Lavely - the 6th seed - defeated Joel Ernst, 11-1, 10-12, 11-2, 11-2.
Finally in Utica, Michigan, William Garrow won the Motor City Rollout - a Tier 5 IRT event - with a 13-11, 11-9, 11-7, win over Scott Young.
US Team Announced
USA Racquetball named its team for the 2014 Pan American Championships in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Veteran Rhonda Rajsich leads the four player team and each player will play both singles and doubles. Janel Tisinger is the other woman on the team, and the men are Jose Rojas and David Horn. Dave Ellis will coach the team with Cheryl Kirk as the team leader and Brent Huff will be the team trainer.
Rajsich will be wearing USA on her back for the 16th time. In contrast, David Horn is making his first appearance on Team USA. Rojas and Tisinger are making their 4th and 2nd international appearances.
It's been seven years since Tisinger was last on the team. She played doubles at the 2007 Pan American Championships with Rajsich, and they won the event. Rajsich is also the defending Pan American Champion, as she won the title with Sharon Jackson last year in Cali, Colombia.
9th Annual Winter Classic, Overland Park, Kansas
Women's Open Division
Final
Sharon Jackson d. Adrienne Haynes, 15-3, 15-7
Semi-finals
Sharon Jackson d. Da'monique Davis, 15-10, 15-9
Adrienne Haynes d. Carla Muñoz, 15-8, 6-15, 11-5
Battle by the Bay, Corpus Cristi, Texas
Final
Daniel De La Rosa d. Danny Lavely, 12-10, 13-11, 11-8
Semi-finals
Daniel De La Rosa d. John Rhodes, 11-1, 11-1, 11-2
Danny Lavely d. Joel Ernst, 11-1, 10-12, 11-2, 11-2
Follow the bouncing ball….
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Longoria wins 9th Annual Winter Classic
Paola Longoria won again on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT), as she defeated Maria Jose Vargas in the final of the 9th Annual Winter Classic, 8-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-4. The win is the 40th in Longoria's career and keeps a streak going that began back in May 2011.
In the final, Vargas came out strong, going toe to toe with Longoria, as they went back and forth until Vargas opened a slight lead at 6-4. But Longoria won the next four points to lead 8-6.
But Vargas dug in and held Longoria at eight as she put together five unanswered points to take game one 11-8 on her second game point opportunity.
If anyone was thinking that this might be the day that Longoria's winning streak would end, she put a damper on such thoughts in game two, as she went out to a 5-1 lead. Vargas did respond by closing the gap to one point at 5-4, but Longoria kept the pressure on and reached game point with a drive serve ace to the right side. She drove serve to the right for the game, as Vargas skipped the serve return.
Longoria carried the momentum over to game three, as she stormed out to a 9-0 lead. Vargas got a few points back before Longoria finished it off at 11-4 on her first game point, as Vargas skipped a backhand shot.
Down two games to one against the LPRT's #1 player, Vargas didn't roll over in game four and took a 4-0 lead to start the game. She lost serve on a rally, where she successfully dove three times to keep the ball in play, but on her fourth dive, Vargas couldn't reach a Longoria forehand down the line shot on the right side.
Vargas took a timeout at that point, which probably wise having made such an effort on that rally. However, Vargas didn't get any more points, despite serving six more times and taking another timeout down 7-4.
Four of those serves occurred immediately following that timeout, as the players stayed at 7-4 for eight rallies. Then Longoria got three consecutive points by lob serving - something she rarely does - to Vargas's backhand. Two of those points were return skips by Vargas, the second of which gave Longoria her first match point.
But Longoria skipped a ball on that rally, which also began with a lob serve to the left. Longoria regained the serve with a forehand cross court serve return winner as Vargas drove serve to the right.
Longoria won the match with a backhand cross court kill shot, which was her eleventh unanswered point, as she won 11-4.
Longoria made some errors in the match, but not like she did in the semi-final against Samantha Salas Solis. Both players mostly drove serve in the match, and to both sides, as well as hitting some Z serves, including using that serve on first serve.
The next LPRT event is the New Jersey Open from March 7-9 in Warren, New Jersey.
LPRT 9th Annual Winter Classic
February 21-23, 2014 - Overland Park, Kansas
Final (seedings)
1 Paola Longoria d. 3 Maria Jose Vargas, 8-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-4
Follow the bouncing ball....
In the final, Vargas came out strong, going toe to toe with Longoria, as they went back and forth until Vargas opened a slight lead at 6-4. But Longoria won the next four points to lead 8-6.
But Vargas dug in and held Longoria at eight as she put together five unanswered points to take game one 11-8 on her second game point opportunity.
If anyone was thinking that this might be the day that Longoria's winning streak would end, she put a damper on such thoughts in game two, as she went out to a 5-1 lead. Vargas did respond by closing the gap to one point at 5-4, but Longoria kept the pressure on and reached game point with a drive serve ace to the right side. She drove serve to the right for the game, as Vargas skipped the serve return.
Longoria carried the momentum over to game three, as she stormed out to a 9-0 lead. Vargas got a few points back before Longoria finished it off at 11-4 on her first game point, as Vargas skipped a backhand shot.
Down two games to one against the LPRT's #1 player, Vargas didn't roll over in game four and took a 4-0 lead to start the game. She lost serve on a rally, where she successfully dove three times to keep the ball in play, but on her fourth dive, Vargas couldn't reach a Longoria forehand down the line shot on the right side.
Vargas took a timeout at that point, which probably wise having made such an effort on that rally. However, Vargas didn't get any more points, despite serving six more times and taking another timeout down 7-4.
Four of those serves occurred immediately following that timeout, as the players stayed at 7-4 for eight rallies. Then Longoria got three consecutive points by lob serving - something she rarely does - to Vargas's backhand. Two of those points were return skips by Vargas, the second of which gave Longoria her first match point.
But Longoria skipped a ball on that rally, which also began with a lob serve to the left. Longoria regained the serve with a forehand cross court serve return winner as Vargas drove serve to the right.
Longoria won the match with a backhand cross court kill shot, which was her eleventh unanswered point, as she won 11-4.
Longoria made some errors in the match, but not like she did in the semi-final against Samantha Salas Solis. Both players mostly drove serve in the match, and to both sides, as well as hitting some Z serves, including using that serve on first serve.
The next LPRT event is the New Jersey Open from March 7-9 in Warren, New Jersey.
LPRT 9th Annual Winter Classic
February 21-23, 2014 - Overland Park, Kansas
Final (seedings)
1 Paola Longoria d. 3 Maria Jose Vargas, 8-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-4
Follow the bouncing ball....
Saturday, February 22, 2014
LPRT - Vargas reaches 1st ever final at the 9th Winter Classic
Maria Jose Vargas has reached the final of a Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) event for the first time in her career, as she won her semi-final match against LPRT #2 Rhonda Rajsich, 5-11, 11-0, 12-10, 11-6, at the 9th Annual Winter Classic in Overland Park, Kansas. She'll take on LPRT #1 Paola Longoria in the final on Sunday, as Longoria defeated Samantha Salas Solis, 11-2, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, in the other semi.
Vargas showed plenty of moxy in her win, as she fought off game point in game two, when Rajsich was serving at 10-8. Then on her first game point, Vargas dove to keep to ball in play three consecutive times and didn't need to do it a fourth time as Rajsich skipped her shot to give the game to Vargas.
Before this season, Vargas had reached the semi-finals once. Saturday was her sixth semi of the season, and now she's gone one better and reached her first final.
Longoria looked frustrated at time during her match with Salas Solis, and she made several unforced errors that seemed uncharacteristic for the LPRT's top player.
After splitting the first two games, Longoria led all the way in game three until Salas Solis tied it at 9-9. However, she couldn't finish it off as Longoria won the next two points with the game winner coming off a three shot rally that ended with a Longoria forehand kill shot after Salas Solis's cross court serve return didn't get fully across the court.
In game four, Salas Solis had the early lead at 4-1, but Longoria scored six straight points to go up 7-4. Longoria kept the advantage as she went on to win the game 11-6 and take the match in four games.
Both players primarily drove serve in the match. Salas Solis usually drove it to the right side - Longoria's forehand. But the match winning rally began with a half lob to the left side - Salas Solis's backhand. The rally was several shots and the last was a backhand by Salas Solis that skipped.
Vargas is the first new finalist in a LPRT event since Adrienne Haynes (Fisher) reached the final of the Puget Sound Challenge in November 2012.
The final can be viewed via the LPRT Network at noon CST on Sunday.
LPRT 9th Annual Winter Classic
February 21-23, 2014 - Overland Park, Kansas
Semi-finals (seedings)
1 Paola Longoria d. 4 Samantha Salas, 11-2, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6
3 Maria Jose Vargas d. 2 Rhonda Rajsich, 5-11, 11-0, 12-10, 11-6
Final (seedings)
1 Paola Longoria v. 3 Maria Jose Vargas
Follow the bouncing ball....
Vargas showed plenty of moxy in her win, as she fought off game point in game two, when Rajsich was serving at 10-8. Then on her first game point, Vargas dove to keep to ball in play three consecutive times and didn't need to do it a fourth time as Rajsich skipped her shot to give the game to Vargas.
Before this season, Vargas had reached the semi-finals once. Saturday was her sixth semi of the season, and now she's gone one better and reached her first final.
Longoria looked frustrated at time during her match with Salas Solis, and she made several unforced errors that seemed uncharacteristic for the LPRT's top player.
After splitting the first two games, Longoria led all the way in game three until Salas Solis tied it at 9-9. However, she couldn't finish it off as Longoria won the next two points with the game winner coming off a three shot rally that ended with a Longoria forehand kill shot after Salas Solis's cross court serve return didn't get fully across the court.
In game four, Salas Solis had the early lead at 4-1, but Longoria scored six straight points to go up 7-4. Longoria kept the advantage as she went on to win the game 11-6 and take the match in four games.
Both players primarily drove serve in the match. Salas Solis usually drove it to the right side - Longoria's forehand. But the match winning rally began with a half lob to the left side - Salas Solis's backhand. The rally was several shots and the last was a backhand by Salas Solis that skipped.
Vargas is the first new finalist in a LPRT event since Adrienne Haynes (Fisher) reached the final of the Puget Sound Challenge in November 2012.
The final can be viewed via the LPRT Network at noon CST on Sunday.
LPRT 9th Annual Winter Classic
February 21-23, 2014 - Overland Park, Kansas
Semi-finals (seedings)
1 Paola Longoria d. 4 Samantha Salas, 11-2, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6
3 Maria Jose Vargas d. 2 Rhonda Rajsich, 5-11, 11-0, 12-10, 11-6
Final (seedings)
1 Paola Longoria v. 3 Maria Jose Vargas
Follow the bouncing ball....
LPRT - 9th Winter Classic - Top four through to the semi-finals
The top four players will face off in the semi-finals of the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) 9th Annual Winter Classic in Overland Park, Kansas, as there were no upsets in the quarter-finals Saturday morning. But there were two matches that went five games.
Paola Longoria, the LPRT's #1 player, won in three straight games, though, as she defeated 9th seed Frédérique Lambert, 11-6, 11-4, 11-3. Longoria will meet fellow Mexican Samantha Salas Solis in the semis, as Salas Solis defeated Cristina Amaya, 11-7, 11-6, 11-5.
The tie-breakers happened in the two matches on the bottom of the draw. Rhonda Rajsich - the LPRT's #2 player - was cruising along against 7th seed Da'monique Davis after winning the first two games of their match. However, Davis turned it around in game three, winning that and game four to force a fifth game.
They were close in the fifth also, and Davis had a lead a 10-8. She served for the match twice, but could not get the last point. The first match point she was forced into an error and the second time Rajsich hit a winner to get the serve back.
Rajsich went on to win it, 11-6, 11-1, 7-11, 4-11, 12-10.
Maria Jose Vargas will be Rajsich's opponent in the semis, as she outlasted Aubrey Kirch in their quarter final match, 5-11, 11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 11-3. In the fifth, Vargas got nine straight points to win the game and match.
The semi-finals and final can be viewed via the LPRT Network with the semis at 5 PM and 6 PM Saturday and final at noon on Sunday. All times are CST.
LPRT 9th Annual Winter Classic
February 21-23, 2014 - Overland Park, Kansas
Quarter-finals (seedings)
1 Paola Longoria d. 9 Frédérique Lambert, 11-6, 11-4, 11-3
4 Samantha Salas d. 5 Cristina Amaya, 11-7, 11-6, 11-5
3 Maria Jose Vargas d. 11 Aubrey Kirch, 5-11, 11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 11-3
2 Rhonda Rajsich d. 7 Da'monique Davis, 11-6, 11-1, 7-11, 4-11, 12-10
Semi-finals (seedings)
1 Paola Longoria v. 4 Samantha Salas
2 Rhonda Rajsich v. 3 Maria Jose Vargas
Follow the bouncing ball....
Paola Longoria, the LPRT's #1 player, won in three straight games, though, as she defeated 9th seed Frédérique Lambert, 11-6, 11-4, 11-3. Longoria will meet fellow Mexican Samantha Salas Solis in the semis, as Salas Solis defeated Cristina Amaya, 11-7, 11-6, 11-5.
The tie-breakers happened in the two matches on the bottom of the draw. Rhonda Rajsich - the LPRT's #2 player - was cruising along against 7th seed Da'monique Davis after winning the first two games of their match. However, Davis turned it around in game three, winning that and game four to force a fifth game.
They were close in the fifth also, and Davis had a lead a 10-8. She served for the match twice, but could not get the last point. The first match point she was forced into an error and the second time Rajsich hit a winner to get the serve back.
Rajsich went on to win it, 11-6, 11-1, 7-11, 4-11, 12-10.
Maria Jose Vargas will be Rajsich's opponent in the semis, as she outlasted Aubrey Kirch in their quarter final match, 5-11, 11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 11-3. In the fifth, Vargas got nine straight points to win the game and match.
The semi-finals and final can be viewed via the LPRT Network with the semis at 5 PM and 6 PM Saturday and final at noon on Sunday. All times are CST.
LPRT 9th Annual Winter Classic
February 21-23, 2014 - Overland Park, Kansas
Quarter-finals (seedings)
1 Paola Longoria d. 9 Frédérique Lambert, 11-6, 11-4, 11-3
4 Samantha Salas d. 5 Cristina Amaya, 11-7, 11-6, 11-5
3 Maria Jose Vargas d. 11 Aubrey Kirch, 5-11, 11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 11-3
2 Rhonda Rajsich d. 7 Da'monique Davis, 11-6, 11-1, 7-11, 4-11, 12-10
Semi-finals (seedings)
1 Paola Longoria v. 4 Samantha Salas
2 Rhonda Rajsich v. 3 Maria Jose Vargas
Follow the bouncing ball....
Friday, February 21, 2014
LPRT - 9th Annual Winter Classic Round of 16
Two upsets in the Round of 16 at the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) 9th Annual Winter Classic in Overland Park, Kansas. Eleventh seed Aubrey Kirch beat 6th seed Susana Acosta, 11-7, 11-3, 12-10, and 9th seed Frédérique Lambert defeated 8th seed Cheryl Gudinas, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 11-0.
But the LPRT's #1 player, Paola Longoria, had little trouble with Maria Renee Rodriguez, winning 11-2, 11-2, 11-0. She'll face Lambert in the quarter finals on Saturday.
LPRT Rhonda Rajsich also won, although not as easily as she took four games to defeat Michelle Key, 11-1, 5-11, 11-4, 13-11. Rajsich will face Da'monique Davis in the quarters, as Davis beat Adrienne Fisher on Friday, 7-11, 11-3, 11-4, 11-7.
The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final can be viewed via the LPRT Network. The quarters are scheduled for 11 AM and Noon Saturday with the semis at 5 PM and 6 PM and final at noon on Sunday. All times are CST.
LPRT 9th Annual Winter Classic
February 21-23, 2014 - Overland Park, Kansas
First Round
Maria Renee Rodriguez d. Lucy Delsarto, 11-1, 11-2, 11-9
Round of 16 (seedings)
1 Paola Longoria d. Maria Renee Rodriguez, 11-2, 11-2, 11-0
9 Frédérique Lambert d. 8 Cheryl Gudinas, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 11-0
5 Cristina Amaya d, 12 Sofia Rascon, 12-10, 11-9, 7-11, 11-6
4 Samantha Salas d. 13 Sharon Jackson, 11-2, 11-7, 11-7
3 Maria Jose Vargas d. Carla Muñoz, 11-0, 11-4, 11-7
11 Aubrey Kirch d. 6 Susana Acosta, 11-7, 11-3, 12-10
7 Da'monique Davis d. 10 Adrienne Haynes, 7-11, 11-3, 11-4, 11-7
2 Rhonda Rajsich d. 15 Michelle Key, 11-1, 5-11, 11-4, 13-11
Quarter-finals
1 Paola Longoria v. 9 Frédérique Lambert
4 Samantha Salas v. 5 Cristina Amaya
3 Maria Jose Vargas v. 11 Aubrey Kirch
2 Rhonda Rajsich v. 7 Da'monique Davis
Follow the bouncing ball....
But the LPRT's #1 player, Paola Longoria, had little trouble with Maria Renee Rodriguez, winning 11-2, 11-2, 11-0. She'll face Lambert in the quarter finals on Saturday.
LPRT Rhonda Rajsich also won, although not as easily as she took four games to defeat Michelle Key, 11-1, 5-11, 11-4, 13-11. Rajsich will face Da'monique Davis in the quarters, as Davis beat Adrienne Fisher on Friday, 7-11, 11-3, 11-4, 11-7.
The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final can be viewed via the LPRT Network. The quarters are scheduled for 11 AM and Noon Saturday with the semis at 5 PM and 6 PM and final at noon on Sunday. All times are CST.
LPRT 9th Annual Winter Classic
February 21-23, 2014 - Overland Park, Kansas
First Round
Maria Renee Rodriguez d. Lucy Delsarto, 11-1, 11-2, 11-9
Round of 16 (seedings)
1 Paola Longoria d. Maria Renee Rodriguez, 11-2, 11-2, 11-0
9 Frédérique Lambert d. 8 Cheryl Gudinas, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 11-0
5 Cristina Amaya d, 12 Sofia Rascon, 12-10, 11-9, 7-11, 11-6
4 Samantha Salas d. 13 Sharon Jackson, 11-2, 11-7, 11-7
3 Maria Jose Vargas d. Carla Muñoz, 11-0, 11-4, 11-7
11 Aubrey Kirch d. 6 Susana Acosta, 11-7, 11-3, 12-10
7 Da'monique Davis d. 10 Adrienne Haynes, 7-11, 11-3, 11-4, 11-7
2 Rhonda Rajsich d. 15 Michelle Key, 11-1, 5-11, 11-4, 13-11
Quarter-finals
1 Paola Longoria v. 9 Frédérique Lambert
4 Samantha Salas v. 5 Cristina Amaya
3 Maria Jose Vargas v. 11 Aubrey Kirch
2 Rhonda Rajsich v. 7 Da'monique Davis
Follow the bouncing ball....
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
LPRT - 9th Annual Winter Classic Preview
The 9th Annual Winter Classic in Overland Park, Kansas is the site of this weekend's Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) event. It's a small draw with only 17 players, but several of the young up and coming players will be there, including Maria Jose Vargas, who's the 3rd seed.
Of course, it's another opportunity for the LPRT's #1 player, Paola Longoria, to extend her winning streak that began back in May 2011. Her principal rival - Rhonda Rajsich, the LPRT's #2 player - could have some difficulties in getting to the final, as she'll face Michelle Key in the 16s, Da'monique Davis or Adrienne Fisher in the quarters and then likely Vargas in the semi-finals.
Some of the interesting matches in the 16s will be veteran Cheryl Gudinas versus young Canadian Frédérique Lambert with the winner to likely face Longoria in the quarters, Cristina Amaya versus Sofia Rascon, Samantha Salas Solis versus Sharon Jackson and Susana Acosta versus Aubrey Kirch.
The action starts Friday afternoon and evening. Matches can be viewed via the LPRT Network.
LPRT 9th Annual Winter Classic
February 21-23, 2014 - Overland Park, Kansas
First Round
16 Maria Renee Rodriguez v. 17 Lucy Delsarto
Round of 16 (seedings)
1 Paola Longoria v. 16 Maria Renee Rodriguez or 17 Lucy Delsarto
8 Cheryl Gudinas v. 9 Frédérique Lambert
5 Cristina Amaya v, 12 Sofia Rascon
4 Samantha Salas v. 13 Sharon Jackson
3 Maria Jose Vargas v. Carla Muñoz
6 Susana Acosta v. 11 Aubrey Kirch
7 Da'monique Davis v. 10 Adrienne Haynes
2 Rhonda Rajsich v. 15 Michelle Key
Follow the bouncing ball....
Of course, it's another opportunity for the LPRT's #1 player, Paola Longoria, to extend her winning streak that began back in May 2011. Her principal rival - Rhonda Rajsich, the LPRT's #2 player - could have some difficulties in getting to the final, as she'll face Michelle Key in the 16s, Da'monique Davis or Adrienne Fisher in the quarters and then likely Vargas in the semi-finals.
Some of the interesting matches in the 16s will be veteran Cheryl Gudinas versus young Canadian Frédérique Lambert with the winner to likely face Longoria in the quarters, Cristina Amaya versus Sofia Rascon, Samantha Salas Solis versus Sharon Jackson and Susana Acosta versus Aubrey Kirch.
The action starts Friday afternoon and evening. Matches can be viewed via the LPRT Network.
LPRT 9th Annual Winter Classic
February 21-23, 2014 - Overland Park, Kansas
First Round
16 Maria Renee Rodriguez v. 17 Lucy Delsarto
Round of 16 (seedings)
1 Paola Longoria v. 16 Maria Renee Rodriguez or 17 Lucy Delsarto
8 Cheryl Gudinas v. 9 Frédérique Lambert
5 Cristina Amaya v, 12 Sofia Rascon
4 Samantha Salas v. 13 Sharon Jackson
3 Maria Jose Vargas v. Carla Muñoz
6 Susana Acosta v. 11 Aubrey Kirch
7 Da'monique Davis v. 10 Adrienne Haynes
2 Rhonda Rajsich v. 15 Michelle Key
Follow the bouncing ball....
Monday, February 17, 2014
Weekend Round Up - US Team members
The USA Racquetball Doubles Champions earned the right to represent the USA at the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships that will be held in Burlington, Ontario, Canada from June 14-21, 2014. All four of the men's and women's champions are US Team veterans, although two have competed many times and two not so much.
Rocky Carson will be making his 14th appearance for the USA, and Aimee Ruiz will be on the US team for the 9th time. In contrast, Jose Rojas will be making his 4th appearance and Janel Tisinger her 2nd.
All four have had success playing for their country. Carson is the three time defending IRF World Champion in Men's Singles. His three titles tie Carson with Jack Huczek for the most singles World Championships. A fourth title would put Carson alone at the top.
Ruiz has also been a IRF World Champion. Her titles came in doubles with Laura Fenton in 2006 and Jackie Paraiso in 2008. Ruiz has reached the podium each time she's been on the US Team, but she hasn't won gold this decade.
Rojas won gold in the team competition at the 2012 IRF World Championships, and was a bronze medalist in the individual part of that tournament.
Tisinger was a gold medalist in doubles with Rhonda Rajsich in 2007 at the Pan American Championships.
Carson and Rojas will likely be double qualifiers for the American team, as they will likely be two of the top three finishers on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), which is one of the qualifying criteria for the US Team. Whether Carson and Rojas will play singles and doubles or whether the US will choose to send some other players as well is still to be determined.
The US have usually sent four players to Worlds, although they did send three in 2006, when Carson went as only a doubles player (Huczek and Shane Vanderson were the singles players).
Who the US women's singles players will be is less clear. Or rather who the second US woman will be is less clear, as Rajsich will more than likely qualify for the team as the top ranked American woman on the Ladies Pro Racquetball Tour (LPRT). The second player would likely be the one who finishes best in the US Team Qualifying Division at the US National Singles Championship in Fullerton, California in May.
Live Streaming of IRF Events
On the weekend, the IRF announced an agreement with EnetLive.tv/IRT Network, which will create an IRF channel (the IRF Network) on the EnetLive.tv/IRT Network website. They agreement will have the three principal 2014 international events broadcast over the IRF Network: the 2014 Pan American Championships (April 12-19 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia), the 2014 World Junior Championships (October 19-25 in Cali, Colombia) and the 2014 Worlds as mentioned above.
This is very good news. The IRT Network does a good job at presenting racquetball coverage over the web, and has been continually improving its capacity and capability.
If you are not an IRT Network subscriber, you are missing out.
Follow the bouncing ball….
Rocky Carson will be making his 14th appearance for the USA, and Aimee Ruiz will be on the US team for the 9th time. In contrast, Jose Rojas will be making his 4th appearance and Janel Tisinger her 2nd.
All four have had success playing for their country. Carson is the three time defending IRF World Champion in Men's Singles. His three titles tie Carson with Jack Huczek for the most singles World Championships. A fourth title would put Carson alone at the top.
Ruiz has also been a IRF World Champion. Her titles came in doubles with Laura Fenton in 2006 and Jackie Paraiso in 2008. Ruiz has reached the podium each time she's been on the US Team, but she hasn't won gold this decade.
Rojas won gold in the team competition at the 2012 IRF World Championships, and was a bronze medalist in the individual part of that tournament.
Tisinger was a gold medalist in doubles with Rhonda Rajsich in 2007 at the Pan American Championships.
Carson and Rojas will likely be double qualifiers for the American team, as they will likely be two of the top three finishers on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), which is one of the qualifying criteria for the US Team. Whether Carson and Rojas will play singles and doubles or whether the US will choose to send some other players as well is still to be determined.
The US have usually sent four players to Worlds, although they did send three in 2006, when Carson went as only a doubles player (Huczek and Shane Vanderson were the singles players).
Who the US women's singles players will be is less clear. Or rather who the second US woman will be is less clear, as Rajsich will more than likely qualify for the team as the top ranked American woman on the Ladies Pro Racquetball Tour (LPRT). The second player would likely be the one who finishes best in the US Team Qualifying Division at the US National Singles Championship in Fullerton, California in May.
Live Streaming of IRF Events
On the weekend, the IRF announced an agreement with EnetLive.tv/IRT Network, which will create an IRF channel (the IRF Network) on the EnetLive.tv/IRT Network website. They agreement will have the three principal 2014 international events broadcast over the IRF Network: the 2014 Pan American Championships (April 12-19 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia), the 2014 World Junior Championships (October 19-25 in Cali, Colombia) and the 2014 Worlds as mentioned above.
This is very good news. The IRT Network does a good job at presenting racquetball coverage over the web, and has been continually improving its capacity and capability.
If you are not an IRT Network subscriber, you are missing out.
Follow the bouncing ball….
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Carson & Rojas, Ruiz & Tisinger win 47th USA Doubles Championships
Rocky Carson and Jose Rojas won the 2014 Men's US Team event at the 47th USA Racquetball Doubles Championships at the Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona by defeating Ben Croft and Tom Fuhrmann, 12-15, 15-14, 11-3, in a final that had a little bit of everything.
On the women's side, Aimee Ruiz and Janell Tisinger successfully defended their title by defeating Rhonda Rajsich and Kim Russell-Waselenchuk, 15-9, 15-10, in the final.
The men were close early in game one, and tied at 5-5. But then Rojas got hot, which led to a 11-5 lead for Carson and Rojas. It looked like they were run away with the game.
However, that didn't happen, as Croft and Fuhrmann kept plucking away at the lead. They cut it to two points at 11-9, then tied it at 12-12. Croft and Fuhrmann proceeded to win the first game with some help from Rojas, who skipped a few shots at the end of that game.
Similar story unfolded in game two, as they were close early, including a tie at 4-4. Then Carson and Rojas went on a run and took a lead at 9-4 and then 12-6.
But Croft and Furhmann held off the first game point at 14-7, and then cut into the lead as Carson and Rojas again skipped a few shots, which made the score 14-11.
Carson and Rojas got a side out at that point but again failed to convert two more game points. Then Croft and Fuhrmann got three points to tie the game at 14-14, and serve for the match.
Fuhrmann, a left-handed player, hit a ball that was right on the left wall, and got a good part of the wall in the process, resulting in a skip. And then it got interesting.
On the next rally, Rojas, who was playing on the left side, was moving backward in the court as Fuhrmann was moving forward, and Rojas went down clutching at his ankle.
It did not look good, and Rojas was helped from the court. But he got his ankle throughly taped, and after several minutes of injury time went back on court.
Now, the contact happened away from the play - Rojas was not moving toward the ball to take a shot, so it wasn't clear whether a hinder had been called. Not all contact is a hinder, but one was called after the fact, as Rojas, who had been serving as his team's first server, served when play resumed.
On that rally, a shot was hit that Carson and Rojas thought was a carry, but they couldn't appeal that call, as they had run out of appeals back when the score was 2-1, and the referee indicated that carries aren't illegal regardless.
That put Rojas and Carson half down, and Croft hit a winner for his team to regain serve. But they failed to score as Rojas hit a return winner to put them half down, and then a wide angle pass on the next rally to make it side out. Three match points missed.
Croft saved another game point with a return winner, but then skipped his next return, to give game two to Carson and Rojas at 15-14.
The tie-breaker started slowly, as Croft and Fuhrmann score the first two points, and then there was a series of sideouts. Carson and Rojas didn't score until the third time they were in the service box.
They tied at 2-2, and then were sided-out. Croft and Fuhrmann got only one point, before giving the serve back to Carson and Rojas.
At that point Rojas got hot, as he hit winners to end the next five rallies. Croft and Fuhrmann called a timeout at 6-3 down to try to cool Rojas off after hit four of those winners, but Rojas hit another on the ensuing rally.
Then Carson contributed two winners, which made the score 9-3. The last two points came off skips by Fuhrmann, who played well throughout the match despite being lowest ranked player of the four.
Carson was very vocal during the match, especially so after they ran out of appeals in game two. Their strategy seemed to be very much having Carson play up front, as Rojas took most of the shots from the back.
Carson confirmed that impression after the match when he said he felt "pretty fresh" and "didn't hit too many balls."
Asked about his ankle injury, Rojas said he felt it "pop three times," but he was "glad it happened," because it "calmed me down" and made him focus on his shot making.
In the women's final, Ruiz and Tisinger were ahead in both games almost all the way though the match. Tisinger, playing on the right side with the left-handed Ruiz, was especially effective with a lob serve right to the right side glass wall, which Russell-Waselenchuk found difficult to return well.
Also, Ruiz and Tisinger made more winners than Russell-Waselenchuk and Rajsich, who made hardly any, which could have been due to Ruiz and Tisinger trying to keep the ball away from Rajsich, the #2 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT).
The victories are the 9th for Ruiz, 8th for Carson, 2nd for Tisinger and first for Rojas in the top level of USA Racquetball doubles competition.
Video of the doubles competition is archived on the USA Racquetball Network.
2014 47th USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships
Tempe, Arizona
US National Team Divisions
Men's Final
Rocky Carson & Jose Rojas d. Ben Croft & Thomas Fuhrmann, 12-15, 15-14, 11-3
3rd Place
Jansen Allen & Tony Carson d. Charlie Pratt & Jake Bredenbeck, 15-11, 12-15, 11-6
Women's Final
Aimee Ruiz & Janel Tisinger d. Rhonda Rajsich & Kim Russell-Waselenchuk, 15-9, 15-10
3rd Place
Cheryl Gudinas & Laura Fenton d. Hailey Miller & Jacqueline Paraiso, 15-4, 15-6
Follow the bouncing ball....
On the women's side, Aimee Ruiz and Janell Tisinger successfully defended their title by defeating Rhonda Rajsich and Kim Russell-Waselenchuk, 15-9, 15-10, in the final.
The men were close early in game one, and tied at 5-5. But then Rojas got hot, which led to a 11-5 lead for Carson and Rojas. It looked like they were run away with the game.
However, that didn't happen, as Croft and Fuhrmann kept plucking away at the lead. They cut it to two points at 11-9, then tied it at 12-12. Croft and Fuhrmann proceeded to win the first game with some help from Rojas, who skipped a few shots at the end of that game.
Similar story unfolded in game two, as they were close early, including a tie at 4-4. Then Carson and Rojas went on a run and took a lead at 9-4 and then 12-6.
But Croft and Furhmann held off the first game point at 14-7, and then cut into the lead as Carson and Rojas again skipped a few shots, which made the score 14-11.
Carson and Rojas got a side out at that point but again failed to convert two more game points. Then Croft and Fuhrmann got three points to tie the game at 14-14, and serve for the match.
Fuhrmann, a left-handed player, hit a ball that was right on the left wall, and got a good part of the wall in the process, resulting in a skip. And then it got interesting.
On the next rally, Rojas, who was playing on the left side, was moving backward in the court as Fuhrmann was moving forward, and Rojas went down clutching at his ankle.
It did not look good, and Rojas was helped from the court. But he got his ankle throughly taped, and after several minutes of injury time went back on court.
Now, the contact happened away from the play - Rojas was not moving toward the ball to take a shot, so it wasn't clear whether a hinder had been called. Not all contact is a hinder, but one was called after the fact, as Rojas, who had been serving as his team's first server, served when play resumed.
On that rally, a shot was hit that Carson and Rojas thought was a carry, but they couldn't appeal that call, as they had run out of appeals back when the score was 2-1, and the referee indicated that carries aren't illegal regardless.
That put Rojas and Carson half down, and Croft hit a winner for his team to regain serve. But they failed to score as Rojas hit a return winner to put them half down, and then a wide angle pass on the next rally to make it side out. Three match points missed.
Croft saved another game point with a return winner, but then skipped his next return, to give game two to Carson and Rojas at 15-14.
The tie-breaker started slowly, as Croft and Fuhrmann score the first two points, and then there was a series of sideouts. Carson and Rojas didn't score until the third time they were in the service box.
They tied at 2-2, and then were sided-out. Croft and Fuhrmann got only one point, before giving the serve back to Carson and Rojas.
At that point Rojas got hot, as he hit winners to end the next five rallies. Croft and Fuhrmann called a timeout at 6-3 down to try to cool Rojas off after hit four of those winners, but Rojas hit another on the ensuing rally.
Then Carson contributed two winners, which made the score 9-3. The last two points came off skips by Fuhrmann, who played well throughout the match despite being lowest ranked player of the four.
Carson was very vocal during the match, especially so after they ran out of appeals in game two. Their strategy seemed to be very much having Carson play up front, as Rojas took most of the shots from the back.
Carson confirmed that impression after the match when he said he felt "pretty fresh" and "didn't hit too many balls."
Asked about his ankle injury, Rojas said he felt it "pop three times," but he was "glad it happened," because it "calmed me down" and made him focus on his shot making.
In the women's final, Ruiz and Tisinger were ahead in both games almost all the way though the match. Tisinger, playing on the right side with the left-handed Ruiz, was especially effective with a lob serve right to the right side glass wall, which Russell-Waselenchuk found difficult to return well.
Also, Ruiz and Tisinger made more winners than Russell-Waselenchuk and Rajsich, who made hardly any, which could have been due to Ruiz and Tisinger trying to keep the ball away from Rajsich, the #2 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT).
The victories are the 9th for Ruiz, 8th for Carson, 2nd for Tisinger and first for Rojas in the top level of USA Racquetball doubles competition.
Video of the doubles competition is archived on the USA Racquetball Network.
2014 47th USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships
Tempe, Arizona
US National Team Divisions
Men's Final
Rocky Carson & Jose Rojas d. Ben Croft & Thomas Fuhrmann, 12-15, 15-14, 11-3
3rd Place
Jansen Allen & Tony Carson d. Charlie Pratt & Jake Bredenbeck, 15-11, 12-15, 11-6
Women's Final
Aimee Ruiz & Janel Tisinger d. Rhonda Rajsich & Kim Russell-Waselenchuk, 15-9, 15-10
3rd Place
Cheryl Gudinas & Laura Fenton d. Hailey Miller & Jacqueline Paraiso, 15-4, 15-6
Follow the bouncing ball....
Saturday, February 15, 2014
47th USA Racquetball Doubles Championships - Semi-finals
The 2013 women's US Team champions - Aimee Ruiz and Janell Tisinger - will have a chance to defend their title at the 47th USA Racquetball Doubles Championships at the Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, but last year's men's champions - Jansen Allen and Tony Carson - were upset in the semi-finals on Friday.
Ruiz and Tisinger defeated Jackie Paraiso and Hailey Miller, 15-10, 15-0. We're not sure if Paraiso and Miller served at all in the second game. They certainly didn't serve more than once each.
The defending champs will face Rhonda Rajsich and Kim Russell-Waselenchuk in the final, as Rajsich and Russell-Waselenchuk defeated veterans Cheryl Gudinas and Laura Fenton in the other semi, 15-7, 15-12.
Last year's men's champions were not as fortunate. Allen and Carson lost a tie-breaker to Ben Croft and Tom Fuhrmann, 15-9, 9-15, 11-8. In the other semi-final, Rocky Carson and Jose Rojas beat Charlie Pratt and Jake Bredenbeck, 15-4, 14-15, 11-7.
After the first game, it looked like Carson and Rojas were going to cruise against Pratt and Bredenbeck, but the lower seeded team dug in and kept plucking away in game two. Pratt and Bredenbeck were down the whole of game two, including 13-10, but then they put together a four point run to make it 14-13.
But they couldn't close it out, and Carson and Rojas got the serve back, tied it and had a chance to win the match in two straight, but couldn't take advantage.
On the next rally, Pratt, who played on the left side, won it with a backhand down the line.
That brought on game three. In the tie-breaker the teams went back and forth until they were tied at 6-6. Then Carson and Rojas put together four points to get to match point at 10-6.
However, they couldn't finish through four match points. But Pratt and Bredenbeck could only get one point closer, as they made it 10-7.
Then on the fifth match point, another long rally ensued and the ball came off the back wall and right at Pratt, who could only crouch down to get out of the way of the ball, but Rojas was standing right there to take the shot. An avoidable was called against Pratt and the match was over.
But it was a very entertaining match. Bredenbeck was the standout player, in part because of the four he's clearly the least experienced, but more than held his own.
The semi-final results set up a final which will pit two former partners against each other, as Croft and Rocky Carson played together the last two years. But they will be opponents in Saturday's final.
The men's and women's finals are going on Saturday evening Mountain time, and can be viewed for free via the USA Racquetball Network.
2014 47th USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships
Tempe, Arizona
US National Team Divisions
Men's
Quarter finals - Thursday
Jansen Allen & Tony Carson - BYE
Ben Croft & Thomas Fuhrmann d. Mike Harmon & Mitch Williams, 15-10, 15-6
Charlie Pratt & Jake Bredenbeck v. Chris Crowther & Nick Montalbano, 15-9, 15-10
Rocky Carson & Jose Rojas - BYE
Semi-finals - Friday
Ben Croft & Thomas Fuhrmann d. Jansen Allen & Tony Carson, 15-9, 9-15, 11-8
Rocky Carson & Jose Rojas d. Charlie Pratt & Jake Bredenbeck, 15-4, 14-15, 11-7
Final - Saturday 7:45 PM MST
Rocky Carson & Jose Rojas v. Ben Croft & Thomas Fuhrmann
Women's
Semi-finals - Friday
Aimee Ruiz & Janel Tisinger d. Hailey Miller & Jacqueline Paraiso, 15-10, 15-0
Rhonda Rajsich & Kim Russell-Waselenchuk d. Cheryl Gudinas & Laura Fenton, 15-7, 15-12
Final - Saturday - 6:30 MST
Aimee Ruiz & Janel Tisinger v. Rhonda Rajsich & Kim Russell-Waselenchuk
Follow the bouncing ball....
Ruiz and Tisinger defeated Jackie Paraiso and Hailey Miller, 15-10, 15-0. We're not sure if Paraiso and Miller served at all in the second game. They certainly didn't serve more than once each.
The defending champs will face Rhonda Rajsich and Kim Russell-Waselenchuk in the final, as Rajsich and Russell-Waselenchuk defeated veterans Cheryl Gudinas and Laura Fenton in the other semi, 15-7, 15-12.
Last year's men's champions were not as fortunate. Allen and Carson lost a tie-breaker to Ben Croft and Tom Fuhrmann, 15-9, 9-15, 11-8. In the other semi-final, Rocky Carson and Jose Rojas beat Charlie Pratt and Jake Bredenbeck, 15-4, 14-15, 11-7.
After the first game, it looked like Carson and Rojas were going to cruise against Pratt and Bredenbeck, but the lower seeded team dug in and kept plucking away in game two. Pratt and Bredenbeck were down the whole of game two, including 13-10, but then they put together a four point run to make it 14-13.
But they couldn't close it out, and Carson and Rojas got the serve back, tied it and had a chance to win the match in two straight, but couldn't take advantage.
On the next rally, Pratt, who played on the left side, won it with a backhand down the line.
That brought on game three. In the tie-breaker the teams went back and forth until they were tied at 6-6. Then Carson and Rojas put together four points to get to match point at 10-6.
However, they couldn't finish through four match points. But Pratt and Bredenbeck could only get one point closer, as they made it 10-7.
Then on the fifth match point, another long rally ensued and the ball came off the back wall and right at Pratt, who could only crouch down to get out of the way of the ball, but Rojas was standing right there to take the shot. An avoidable was called against Pratt and the match was over.
But it was a very entertaining match. Bredenbeck was the standout player, in part because of the four he's clearly the least experienced, but more than held his own.
The semi-final results set up a final which will pit two former partners against each other, as Croft and Rocky Carson played together the last two years. But they will be opponents in Saturday's final.
The men's and women's finals are going on Saturday evening Mountain time, and can be viewed for free via the USA Racquetball Network.
2014 47th USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships
Tempe, Arizona
US National Team Divisions
Men's
Quarter finals - Thursday
Jansen Allen & Tony Carson - BYE
Ben Croft & Thomas Fuhrmann d. Mike Harmon & Mitch Williams, 15-10, 15-6
Charlie Pratt & Jake Bredenbeck v. Chris Crowther & Nick Montalbano, 15-9, 15-10
Rocky Carson & Jose Rojas - BYE
Semi-finals - Friday
Ben Croft & Thomas Fuhrmann d. Jansen Allen & Tony Carson, 15-9, 9-15, 11-8
Rocky Carson & Jose Rojas d. Charlie Pratt & Jake Bredenbeck, 15-4, 14-15, 11-7
Final - Saturday 7:45 PM MST
Rocky Carson & Jose Rojas v. Ben Croft & Thomas Fuhrmann
Women's
Semi-finals - Friday
Aimee Ruiz & Janel Tisinger d. Hailey Miller & Jacqueline Paraiso, 15-10, 15-0
Rhonda Rajsich & Kim Russell-Waselenchuk d. Cheryl Gudinas & Laura Fenton, 15-7, 15-12
Final - Saturday - 6:30 MST
Aimee Ruiz & Janel Tisinger v. Rhonda Rajsich & Kim Russell-Waselenchuk
Follow the bouncing ball....
Thursday, February 13, 2014
47th USA Racquetball National Doubles Champions
Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona is once again hosting the USA Racquetball National Doubles Championship, and there are some new teams in action in the US National Team divisions, although last year's men's and women's champions are both back to defend their titles.
Last year's men's champions were Jansen Allen and Tony Carson and Aimee Ruiz and Janel Tisinger won the women's title.
Not among those in the competition are last year's runners-up. On women's side, Danielle and Michelle Key aren't they, and only half of the 3rd place team is there, as Cheryl Gudinas, who was 3rd last year with Kelani Bailey, has teamed up with another veteran Laura Fenton.
Chris Crowther and Cliff Swain were the men's runner-up last year and this year Crowther is playing with Nick Montalbano, as Swain isn't in the field.
But the biggest change on the men's side is the break-up of Rocky Carson and Ben Croft, who won two years ago but lost to Allen and Tony Carson last year in the semi-finals.
Rocky Carson is now playing with Jose Rojas and Croft is playing with Thomas Fuhrmann.
Mitch Williams, another former US doubles champion and US Team member, is in the field with Mike Harmon.
Where is everyone?
Only six men's teams and four women's teams are vying for the titles and the opportunities to be part of Team USA, which begs the question: where is everyone?
This year's champions will have the chance to represent the USA at the 2014 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in Burlington, Ontario, Canada in June. Yet the men's and women's fields are two of the smallest they've ever been.
The Winter Olympics are on in Sochi, Russia, where many are proudly representing the USA and displaying the Stars and Stripes. Don't more racquetball players want to do that?
We have often mentioned the dearth of young American women playing and that's all the more evident in Tempe with only players 8 (eight!) players in the draw. Of those eight, only two are under 30 and four - half the field - are 45 or older.
Those demographics are not a recipe for success. Those veteran players are have all been past champions, but Father Time guarantees that yesterday's glory becomes tomorrow's failure.
The excellence demonstrated by the young non-American players on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) this season are evidence that those failures are close, if not already at hand.
The USA hasn't won the last two World Championships in Women's Doubles, which both went to the Mexican team of Paola Longoria and Samantha Salas Solis.
However, the USA did win last year's Pan American Championships, when Rhonda Rajsich (35) and Sharon Jackson (24) beat Longoria and Salas Solis, but Jackson's not in this event and Rajsich is playing with Kim Russell-Waselenchuk, who's 45.
All in all, the evidence suggests elite level women's racquetball in the USA is trouble.
2014 47th USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships
Tempe, Arizona
US National Team Divisions
Men's
Quarter finals - Thursday
Jansen Allen & Tony Carson - BYE
Ben Croft & Thomas Fuhrmann v. Mike Harmon & Mitch Williams
Charlie Pratt & Jake Bredenbeck v. Chris Crowther & Nick Montalbano, 15-9, 15-10
Rocky Carson & Jose Rojas - BYE
Semi-finals - Friday
Jansen Allen & Tony Carson v. Ben Croft & Thomas Fuhrmann or Mike Harmon & Mitch Williams
Rocky Carson & Jose Rojas v. Charlie Pratt & Jake Bredenbeck
Women's
Semi-finals - Friday
Aimee Ruiz & Janel Tisinger v. Hailey Miller & Jacqueline Paraiso
Cheryl Gudinas & Laura Fenton v. Rhonda Rajsich & Kim Russell-Waselenchuk
Follow the bouncing ball....
Last year's men's champions were Jansen Allen and Tony Carson and Aimee Ruiz and Janel Tisinger won the women's title.
Not among those in the competition are last year's runners-up. On women's side, Danielle and Michelle Key aren't they, and only half of the 3rd place team is there, as Cheryl Gudinas, who was 3rd last year with Kelani Bailey, has teamed up with another veteran Laura Fenton.
Chris Crowther and Cliff Swain were the men's runner-up last year and this year Crowther is playing with Nick Montalbano, as Swain isn't in the field.
But the biggest change on the men's side is the break-up of Rocky Carson and Ben Croft, who won two years ago but lost to Allen and Tony Carson last year in the semi-finals.
Rocky Carson is now playing with Jose Rojas and Croft is playing with Thomas Fuhrmann.
Mitch Williams, another former US doubles champion and US Team member, is in the field with Mike Harmon.
Where is everyone?
Only six men's teams and four women's teams are vying for the titles and the opportunities to be part of Team USA, which begs the question: where is everyone?
This year's champions will have the chance to represent the USA at the 2014 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in Burlington, Ontario, Canada in June. Yet the men's and women's fields are two of the smallest they've ever been.
The Winter Olympics are on in Sochi, Russia, where many are proudly representing the USA and displaying the Stars and Stripes. Don't more racquetball players want to do that?
We have often mentioned the dearth of young American women playing and that's all the more evident in Tempe with only players 8 (eight!) players in the draw. Of those eight, only two are under 30 and four - half the field - are 45 or older.
Those demographics are not a recipe for success. Those veteran players are have all been past champions, but Father Time guarantees that yesterday's glory becomes tomorrow's failure.
The excellence demonstrated by the young non-American players on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) this season are evidence that those failures are close, if not already at hand.
The USA hasn't won the last two World Championships in Women's Doubles, which both went to the Mexican team of Paola Longoria and Samantha Salas Solis.
However, the USA did win last year's Pan American Championships, when Rhonda Rajsich (35) and Sharon Jackson (24) beat Longoria and Salas Solis, but Jackson's not in this event and Rajsich is playing with Kim Russell-Waselenchuk, who's 45.
All in all, the evidence suggests elite level women's racquetball in the USA is trouble.
2014 47th USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships
Tempe, Arizona
US National Team Divisions
Men's
Quarter finals - Thursday
Jansen Allen & Tony Carson - BYE
Ben Croft & Thomas Fuhrmann v. Mike Harmon & Mitch Williams
Charlie Pratt & Jake Bredenbeck v. Chris Crowther & Nick Montalbano, 15-9, 15-10
Rocky Carson & Jose Rojas - BYE
Semi-finals - Friday
Jansen Allen & Tony Carson v. Ben Croft & Thomas Fuhrmann or Mike Harmon & Mitch Williams
Rocky Carson & Jose Rojas v. Charlie Pratt & Jake Bredenbeck
Women's
Semi-finals - Friday
Aimee Ruiz & Janel Tisinger v. Hailey Miller & Jacqueline Paraiso
Cheryl Gudinas & Laura Fenton v. Rhonda Rajsich & Kim Russell-Waselenchuk
Follow the bouncing ball....
Monday, February 10, 2014
Weekend Round Up - Green, Rogers & Simpson win
Canadian Champion Mike Green defeated International Racquetball Tour (IRT) #9 Marco Rojas, 1-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-8, 11-8, to claim the Men's Open title at the 40th Annual Keystone Classic in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - a Tier 4 event on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT). In the semi-finals, Green defeated Kurtis Cullen, 11-0, 11-8, 11-0, and Rojas beat Tim Landeryou, 8-11, 14-12, 11-7, 11-4.
Green and Rojas teamed up in doubles to take the Men's Open title by defeating Cullen and Coby Iwaasa, 15-11, 15-6, in the final. Green and Rojas advanced to the final with a victory over Chris Exner and Dennis Oteyza, 15-5, 15-7, in one semi-final, while Cullen and Iwaasa beat Landeryou and Lee Connell, 15-11, 9-15, 11-9, in the other semi.
Bradly Rogers won the 6th Annual Wichita YMCA Open in Wichita, Kansas - a Tier 5 IRT event. Rogers defeated Daniel Pflaster, 11-3, 11-3, 11-9, in the final. In the semi-finals, Rogers beat Rosco Halsey, 11-7, 12-10, 11-1, while Pflaster needed five games to get by Scott Wolford, 4-11, 11-2, 11-7, 10-12, 11-5.
Over in Columbus, Ohio, Brian Simpson won the Sweetheart Racquetball Tournament - also a Tier 5 IRT event - with a default win over Filip Vesely in the final. In the semi-finals, Simpson beat James Scott, 11-1, 11-1, 11-9, and Vesely defeated Doug Ganim in a tie-breaker, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9.
The big event this weekend is the 47th USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships in Tempe, Arizona.
40th Annual Keystone Classic
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Men's Open
Final
Mike Green d. Marco Rojas, 1-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-8, 11-8
Semi-finals
Mike Green d. Kurtis Cullen, 11-0, 11-8, 11-0
Marco Rojas d. Tim Landeryou, 8-11, 14-12, 11-7, 11-4
Men's Open Doubles
Final
Mike Green & Marco Rojas d. Kurtis Cullen & Coby Iwaasa, 15-11, 15-6
Semi-finals
Mike Green & Marco Rojas d. Chris Exner & Dennis Oteyza, 15-5, 15-7
Kurtis Cullen & Coby Iwaasa d. Tim Landeryou & Lee Connell, 15-11, 9-15, 11-9
6th Annual Wichita YMCA Open
Wichita, Kansas
Final
Bradly Rogers d. Daniel Pflaster, 11-3, 11-3, 11-9
Semi-finals
Bradly Rogers d. Rosco Halsey, 11-7, 12-10, 11-1
Daniel Pflaster d. Scott Wolford, 4-11, 11-2, 11-7, 10-12, 11-5
Sweetheart Racquetball Tournament
Columbus, Ohio
Final
Brian Simpson d. Filip Vesely, forfeit
Semi-finals
Brian Simpson d. James Scott, 11-1, 11-1, 11-9
Filip Vesely d. Doug Ganim, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9.
Follow the bouncing ball….
Green and Rojas teamed up in doubles to take the Men's Open title by defeating Cullen and Coby Iwaasa, 15-11, 15-6, in the final. Green and Rojas advanced to the final with a victory over Chris Exner and Dennis Oteyza, 15-5, 15-7, in one semi-final, while Cullen and Iwaasa beat Landeryou and Lee Connell, 15-11, 9-15, 11-9, in the other semi.
Bradly Rogers won the 6th Annual Wichita YMCA Open in Wichita, Kansas - a Tier 5 IRT event. Rogers defeated Daniel Pflaster, 11-3, 11-3, 11-9, in the final. In the semi-finals, Rogers beat Rosco Halsey, 11-7, 12-10, 11-1, while Pflaster needed five games to get by Scott Wolford, 4-11, 11-2, 11-7, 10-12, 11-5.
Over in Columbus, Ohio, Brian Simpson won the Sweetheart Racquetball Tournament - also a Tier 5 IRT event - with a default win over Filip Vesely in the final. In the semi-finals, Simpson beat James Scott, 11-1, 11-1, 11-9, and Vesely defeated Doug Ganim in a tie-breaker, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9.
The big event this weekend is the 47th USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships in Tempe, Arizona.
40th Annual Keystone Classic
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Men's Open
Final
Mike Green d. Marco Rojas, 1-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-8, 11-8
Semi-finals
Mike Green d. Kurtis Cullen, 11-0, 11-8, 11-0
Marco Rojas d. Tim Landeryou, 8-11, 14-12, 11-7, 11-4
Men's Open Doubles
Final
Mike Green & Marco Rojas d. Kurtis Cullen & Coby Iwaasa, 15-11, 15-6
Semi-finals
Mike Green & Marco Rojas d. Chris Exner & Dennis Oteyza, 15-5, 15-7
Kurtis Cullen & Coby Iwaasa d. Tim Landeryou & Lee Connell, 15-11, 9-15, 11-9
6th Annual Wichita YMCA Open
Wichita, Kansas
Final
Bradly Rogers d. Daniel Pflaster, 11-3, 11-3, 11-9
Semi-finals
Bradly Rogers d. Rosco Halsey, 11-7, 12-10, 11-1
Daniel Pflaster d. Scott Wolford, 4-11, 11-2, 11-7, 10-12, 11-5
Sweetheart Racquetball Tournament
Columbus, Ohio
Final
Brian Simpson d. Filip Vesely, forfeit
Semi-finals
Brian Simpson d. James Scott, 11-1, 11-1, 11-9
Filip Vesely d. Doug Ganim, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9.
Follow the bouncing ball….
Longoria & Beltran win singles at Mexico National Team Event
Paola Longoria was a double winner at the Mexican Racquetball Federation National Team Selection event on the weekend in Tijuana, as she won singles and doubles. In the singles final, Longoria defeated Samantha Salas Solis, 15-7, 13-15, 11-4, and they teamed up to win the doubles title by beating Susana Acosta and Sofia Rascon, 15-6, 15-9.
On the men's side, Alvaro Beltran won the singles title but lost the doubles final. In the singles final, Beltran beat Polo Gutierrez, 15-10, 4-15, 11-2, while Daniel De La Rosa and Edson Martinez got the better of Beltran and Javier Moreno, 15-9, 15-8.
Cameonato Nacional Selectivo
Tijuana, Mexico - February 5-9, 2014
Women's Open
Round of 16
Paola Longoria - BYE
Ximena Gonzalez v. Fernanda Molina
Sofia Rascon d. Alexandra Herrera, 15-10, 15-10
Jessica Parrilla v. Carolina Luque
Susana Acosta v. Veronica Santillan
Lucia Gonzalez d. Jocelyn Loredo, 15-3, 15-7
Diana Aguilar v. Daniela Molina
Samantha Salas Solis - BYE
Quarter-finals
Paola Longoria d. Ximena Gonzalez
Sofia Rascon d. Jessica Parrilla
Susana Acosta d. Lucia Gonzalez
Samantha Salas Solis d. Diana Aguilar
Semi-finals
Paola Longoria d. Sofia Rascon
Samantha Salas Solis d. Susana Acosta
Final
Paola Longoria v. Samantha Salas Solis, 15-7, 13-15, 11-4
3rd Place
Susana Acosta d. Sofia Rascon, 14-15, 15-7, 11-7
Women's Open Doubles
Quarter finals
Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas Solis d. Jaqueline & Ana Karen or Itzel & Natalia Mariel
Ximena Gonzalez & Alexandra Herrera d. Jocelyn Loredo & Carolina Luque
Susana Acosta & Sofia Rascon d. Lucia Gonzalez & Daniela Molina
Jessica Parrilla & Diana Aguilar d. Mariel Moreles & Ana Sofia Gasca
Semi-finals
Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas Solis d. Ximena Gonzalez & Alexandra Herrera
Susana Acosta & Sofia Rascon d. Jessica Parrilla & Diana Aguilar
Final
Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas Solis d. Susana Acosta & Sofia Rascon, 15-6, 15-9
Men's Open
Round of 16
Polo Gutierrez d. Emmanuel Balderrama, 15-7, 15-2
Andre Parrilla d. Rafael Morales, 13-15, 15-7, 11-4
Alejandro Cardona d. Erick Sandoval, 5-15, 15-10, 11-7
Daniel De La Rosa d. Allan Hernandez, 15-11, 15-6
Edson Martinez d. Alan Alonso
Javier Moreno d. Juan de los Rios
Erick Garcia d. Ruben Martinez
Alvaro Beltran d. Jose Reydesell
Quarter finals
Polo Gutierrez d. Andre Parrilla
Daniel De La Rosa d. Alejandro Cardona
Edson Martinez d. Javier Moreno
Alvaro Beltran d. Erick Garcia
Semi-finals
Polo Gutierrez d. Daniel De La Rosa
Alvaro Beltran d. Edson Martinez
Final
Alvaro Beltran d. Polo Gutierrez, 15-10, 4-15, 11-2
Men's Open Doubles
Quarter-finals
Alvaro Beltran & Javier Moreno d. Palomino & Almada
Gil Duarte & Erick Garcia d. Perez & Rodriguez
Alejandro & Erick d. Juan & Pepe Alvidrez
Daniel De La Rosa & Edson Martinez d. Andre & Fabian v. Alan & Jordy Alonso Vencio
Semi-finals
Alvaro Beltran & Javier Moreno d. Gil Duarte & Erick Garcia
Daniel De La Rosa & Edson Martinez d. Alejandro Cardona & Erick Sandoval
Final
Daniel De La Rosa & Edson Martinez d. Alvaro Beltran & Javier Moreno, 15-9, 15-8
Follow the bouncing ball….
On the men's side, Alvaro Beltran won the singles title but lost the doubles final. In the singles final, Beltran beat Polo Gutierrez, 15-10, 4-15, 11-2, while Daniel De La Rosa and Edson Martinez got the better of Beltran and Javier Moreno, 15-9, 15-8.
Cameonato Nacional Selectivo
Tijuana, Mexico - February 5-9, 2014
Women's Open
Round of 16
Paola Longoria - BYE
Ximena Gonzalez v. Fernanda Molina
Sofia Rascon d. Alexandra Herrera, 15-10, 15-10
Jessica Parrilla v. Carolina Luque
Susana Acosta v. Veronica Santillan
Lucia Gonzalez d. Jocelyn Loredo, 15-3, 15-7
Diana Aguilar v. Daniela Molina
Samantha Salas Solis - BYE
Quarter-finals
Paola Longoria d. Ximena Gonzalez
Sofia Rascon d. Jessica Parrilla
Susana Acosta d. Lucia Gonzalez
Samantha Salas Solis d. Diana Aguilar
Semi-finals
Paola Longoria d. Sofia Rascon
Samantha Salas Solis d. Susana Acosta
Final
Paola Longoria v. Samantha Salas Solis, 15-7, 13-15, 11-4
3rd Place
Susana Acosta d. Sofia Rascon, 14-15, 15-7, 11-7
Women's Open Doubles
Quarter finals
Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas Solis d. Jaqueline & Ana Karen or Itzel & Natalia Mariel
Ximena Gonzalez & Alexandra Herrera d. Jocelyn Loredo & Carolina Luque
Susana Acosta & Sofia Rascon d. Lucia Gonzalez & Daniela Molina
Jessica Parrilla & Diana Aguilar d. Mariel Moreles & Ana Sofia Gasca
Semi-finals
Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas Solis d. Ximena Gonzalez & Alexandra Herrera
Susana Acosta & Sofia Rascon d. Jessica Parrilla & Diana Aguilar
Final
Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas Solis d. Susana Acosta & Sofia Rascon, 15-6, 15-9
Men's Open
Round of 16
Polo Gutierrez d. Emmanuel Balderrama, 15-7, 15-2
Andre Parrilla d. Rafael Morales, 13-15, 15-7, 11-4
Alejandro Cardona d. Erick Sandoval, 5-15, 15-10, 11-7
Daniel De La Rosa d. Allan Hernandez, 15-11, 15-6
Edson Martinez d. Alan Alonso
Javier Moreno d. Juan de los Rios
Erick Garcia d. Ruben Martinez
Alvaro Beltran d. Jose Reydesell
Quarter finals
Polo Gutierrez d. Andre Parrilla
Daniel De La Rosa d. Alejandro Cardona
Edson Martinez d. Javier Moreno
Alvaro Beltran d. Erick Garcia
Semi-finals
Polo Gutierrez d. Daniel De La Rosa
Alvaro Beltran d. Edson Martinez
Final
Alvaro Beltran d. Polo Gutierrez, 15-10, 4-15, 11-2
Men's Open Doubles
Quarter-finals
Alvaro Beltran & Javier Moreno d. Palomino & Almada
Gil Duarte & Erick Garcia d. Perez & Rodriguez
Alejandro & Erick d. Juan & Pepe Alvidrez
Daniel De La Rosa & Edson Martinez d. Andre & Fabian v. Alan & Jordy Alonso Vencio
Semi-finals
Alvaro Beltran & Javier Moreno d. Gil Duarte & Erick Garcia
Daniel De La Rosa & Edson Martinez d. Alejandro Cardona & Erick Sandoval
Final
Daniel De La Rosa & Edson Martinez d. Alvaro Beltran & Javier Moreno, 15-9, 15-8
Follow the bouncing ball….
Friday, February 7, 2014
Mexican National Team Selection Event - Early results
The Mexican Racquetball Federation is having their National Team Selection event this weekend in Tijuana, and we've got the draws for you.
Apologies for missing some of the names. We're taking this from what FMR have posted on their Facebook page.
Cameonato Nacional Selectivo
Tijuana, Mexico - February 5-9, 2014
Women's Open
Round of 16
Paola Longoria - BYE
Ximena Gonzalez v. Fernanda Molina
Sofia Rascon d. Alexandra Herrera, 15-10, 15-10
Jessica Parrilla v. Carolina Luque
Susana Acosta v. Veronica Santillan
Lucia Gonzalez d. Jocelyn Loredo, 15-3, 15-7
Diana Aguilar v. Daniela Molina
Samantha Salas Solis - BYE
Women's Open Doubles
First Round
Jaqueline & Ana Karen v. Itzel & Natalia Mariel
Mariel Moreles & Ana Sofia Gasca d. Veronica Santillan & Mariem, 15-2, 15-4
Quarter finals
Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas Solis v. Jaqueline & Ana Karen or Itzel & Natalia Mariel
Ximena Gonzalez & Alexandra Herrera v. Jocelyn Loredo & Carolina Luque
Susana Acosta & Sofia Rascon v. Lucia Gonzalez & Daniela Molina
Jessica Parrilla & Diana Aguilar v. Mariel Moreles & Ana Sofia Gasca
Men's Open
Round of 32
Polo Gutierrez - BYE
Emmanuel Balderrama d. Ernesto J.
Rafael Morales d. Alejandro R.
Andre Parrilla d. Luis Avila
Alejandro Cardona - BYE
Erick Sandoval d. Alfonso Luna
Daniel De La Rosa - BYE
Allan Hernandez d. Daniel Rodriguez
Edson Martinez - BYE
Alan Alonso d. Luis Felipe Muñoz
Javier Moreno - BYE
Juan de los Rios d. Cocco Hayes
Erick Garcia - BYE
Ruben Martinez d. Jose Alvidrez
Alvaro Beltran - BYE
Jose Reydesell d. Luis G. Jaquez
Round of 16
Polo Gutierrez d. Emmanuel Balderrama, 15-7, 15-2
Andre Parrilla d. Rafael Morales, 13-15, 15-7, 11-4
Alejandro Cardona d. Erick Sandoval, 5-15, 15-10, 11-7
Daniel De La Rosa d. Allan Hernandez, 15-11, 15-6
Edson Martinez v. Alan Alonso
Javier Moreno v. Juan de los Rios
Erick Garcia v. Ruben Martinez
Alvaro Beltran v. Jose Reydesell
Men's Open Doubles
Round of 16
Alvaro Beltran & Javier Moreno - BYE
Alan & Alex v. Cocco & Eduardo
Daniel & Miguel Perea v. Ala & Luis Gerardo
Ruben & Alejandro v. Gil Duarte & Erick
Alejandro & Erick - BYE
Juan & Pepe Alvidrez v. Rafael & Felipe
Andre & Fabian v. Alan & Jordy
Daniel De La Rosa & Edson Martinez - BYE
Follow the bouncing ball….
Apologies for missing some of the names. We're taking this from what FMR have posted on their Facebook page.
Cameonato Nacional Selectivo
Tijuana, Mexico - February 5-9, 2014
Women's Open
Round of 16
Paola Longoria - BYE
Ximena Gonzalez v. Fernanda Molina
Sofia Rascon d. Alexandra Herrera, 15-10, 15-10
Jessica Parrilla v. Carolina Luque
Susana Acosta v. Veronica Santillan
Lucia Gonzalez d. Jocelyn Loredo, 15-3, 15-7
Diana Aguilar v. Daniela Molina
Samantha Salas Solis - BYE
Women's Open Doubles
First Round
Jaqueline & Ana Karen v. Itzel & Natalia Mariel
Mariel Moreles & Ana Sofia Gasca d. Veronica Santillan & Mariem, 15-2, 15-4
Quarter finals
Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas Solis v. Jaqueline & Ana Karen or Itzel & Natalia Mariel
Ximena Gonzalez & Alexandra Herrera v. Jocelyn Loredo & Carolina Luque
Susana Acosta & Sofia Rascon v. Lucia Gonzalez & Daniela Molina
Jessica Parrilla & Diana Aguilar v. Mariel Moreles & Ana Sofia Gasca
Men's Open
Round of 32
Polo Gutierrez - BYE
Emmanuel Balderrama d. Ernesto J.
Rafael Morales d. Alejandro R.
Andre Parrilla d. Luis Avila
Alejandro Cardona - BYE
Erick Sandoval d. Alfonso Luna
Daniel De La Rosa - BYE
Allan Hernandez d. Daniel Rodriguez
Edson Martinez - BYE
Alan Alonso d. Luis Felipe Muñoz
Javier Moreno - BYE
Juan de los Rios d. Cocco Hayes
Erick Garcia - BYE
Ruben Martinez d. Jose Alvidrez
Alvaro Beltran - BYE
Jose Reydesell d. Luis G. Jaquez
Round of 16
Polo Gutierrez d. Emmanuel Balderrama, 15-7, 15-2
Andre Parrilla d. Rafael Morales, 13-15, 15-7, 11-4
Alejandro Cardona d. Erick Sandoval, 5-15, 15-10, 11-7
Daniel De La Rosa d. Allan Hernandez, 15-11, 15-6
Edson Martinez v. Alan Alonso
Javier Moreno v. Juan de los Rios
Erick Garcia v. Ruben Martinez
Alvaro Beltran v. Jose Reydesell
Men's Open Doubles
Round of 16
Alvaro Beltran & Javier Moreno - BYE
Alan & Alex v. Cocco & Eduardo
Daniel & Miguel Perea v. Ala & Luis Gerardo
Ruben & Alejandro v. Gil Duarte & Erick
Alejandro & Erick - BYE
Juan & Pepe Alvidrez v. Rafael & Felipe
Andre & Fabian v. Alan & Jordy
Daniel De La Rosa & Edson Martinez - BYE
Follow the bouncing ball….
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
LPRT Rankings - January 27, 2014
Three career highs in the latest Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT). Maria Jose Vargas has hit the highest mark, as she's now the #3 LPRT player. Word is that Vargas is training with former International Racquetball Tour (IRT) #1 Cliff Swain, so she might be threatening Paola Longoria and Rhonda Rajsich, the #1 and #2 players respectively, before long.
Also hitting career highs in the top 10 are Da'monique Davis, who's 7th, and Frédérique Lambert, who at 9th is in the top 10 for the first time in her career.
In the next ten, Aubrey Kirch and Sofia Rascon are also on a career highs at #14 and #16, respectively, and Sharon Jackson is back in the top 20 at #20.
The Winter Classic in Overland Park, Kansas from February 21-23, 2014 is the next LPRT event of the season.
LPRT Rankings - January 27, 2014
Rank - Name - Country - Points
1 Paola Longoria (Mexico) 2420.00
2 Rhonda Rajsich (USA) 1302.00
3 Maria Jose Vargas (Bolivia) 682.50
4 Samantha Salas (Mexico) 643.50
5 Cristina Amaya (Colombia) 628.00
6 Susana Acosta (Mexico) 562.50
7 Da'monique Davis (USA) 384.75
8 Cheryl Gudinas (USA) 384.00
9 Frédérique Lambert (Canada) 376.50
10 Adrienne Haynes (USA) 352.00
11 Veronica Sotomayor (Ecuador) 338.00
12 Jennifer Saunders (Canada) 316.25
13 Maria Paz Muñoz (Ecuador) 239.50
14 Aubrey Kirch (USA) 236.50
15 T.J. Baumbaugh (USA) 219.75
16 Sofia Rascon (Mexico) 217.75
17 Hailey Miller (USA) 201.75
18 Grace Hughes (USA) 192.00
19 Linda Scales (USA) 190.25
20 Sharon Jackson (USA) 184.00
Follow the bouncing ball....
Also hitting career highs in the top 10 are Da'monique Davis, who's 7th, and Frédérique Lambert, who at 9th is in the top 10 for the first time in her career.
In the next ten, Aubrey Kirch and Sofia Rascon are also on a career highs at #14 and #16, respectively, and Sharon Jackson is back in the top 20 at #20.
The Winter Classic in Overland Park, Kansas from February 21-23, 2014 is the next LPRT event of the season.
LPRT Rankings - January 27, 2014
Rank - Name - Country - Points
1 Paola Longoria (Mexico) 2420.00
2 Rhonda Rajsich (USA) 1302.00
3 Maria Jose Vargas (Bolivia) 682.50
4 Samantha Salas (Mexico) 643.50
5 Cristina Amaya (Colombia) 628.00
6 Susana Acosta (Mexico) 562.50
7 Da'monique Davis (USA) 384.75
8 Cheryl Gudinas (USA) 384.00
9 Frédérique Lambert (Canada) 376.50
10 Adrienne Haynes (USA) 352.00
11 Veronica Sotomayor (Ecuador) 338.00
12 Jennifer Saunders (Canada) 316.25
13 Maria Paz Muñoz (Ecuador) 239.50
14 Aubrey Kirch (USA) 236.50
15 T.J. Baumbaugh (USA) 219.75
16 Sofia Rascon (Mexico) 217.75
17 Hailey Miller (USA) 201.75
18 Grace Hughes (USA) 192.00
19 Linda Scales (USA) 190.25
20 Sharon Jackson (USA) 184.00
Follow the bouncing ball....
Monday, February 3, 2014
Racquetball Dominance: Waselenchuk & Longoria
The day after one of the most dominating displays in team sports it seems appropriate to address the dominance that two players have in racquetball.
Kane Waselenchuk and Paola Longoria have dominated the men's and women's racquetball scenes, respectively, over the last few seasons. Waselenchuk's only lost twice (in completed matches) since September 2008 and Longoria hasn't lost since May of 2011.
They have some similarities and some differences. Both Waselenchuk and Longoria are primarily drive servers, and their serves are phenomenal. It's something that you might not fully appreciate if you haven't seen it live, because on line their drive serves look exactly like drive serves should look: hard and low. Driven with precision to the back corners.
Live, especially if you happen to be on the court, the serves are coming at you really fast. No, REALLY fast.
You can see how important drive serving is from Ben Croft, who's developed his drive serves the past few seasons as the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) switched to a two serve rule, and has commented that he wished he'd done it sooner, and Alvaro Beltran, who primarily drove serve against Waselenchuk in the final of the most recent IRT event in Sioux Falls and got three times more points against Waselenchuk than the first three Sioux Falls opponents.
Also, some players' drive serves look tame in comparison, as Jansen Allen - a fine player and currently ranked 10th on the IRT - hit drive serves against Waselenchuk in Sioux Falls that seemed like they were in slow motion.
Waselenchuk and Longoria differ from other players in their respective game styles. Waselenchuk is so creative as a shot-maker, which is what puts him apart from all the other great racquetball players. Also, he always seems to trying to hit an offensive shot. Rarely does Waselenchuk hit a defensive shot (e.g., hit a ceiling ball).
Longoria's style can be hard to read, because of the unusual way she holds the racquet with her the palm of her hand on the flat part of the handle, as if she was holding it like a frying pan rather than a cleaver.
While we think that Waselenchuk is the best men's player ever, Longoria has clearly had the biggest impact outside of racquetball. She's been named female athlete of the year by the Mexican government, as well as one of the most influential women in Mexico by Forbes magazine, and she's got over 61,000 Twitter followers.
Further, Longoria had a tournament created in her name last December in Monterrey, Mexico. That event was broadcast live throughout Mexico and Latin America. According to Nick Irvine of the IRT Network, racquetball at the Paola Longoria Invitational "felt like a professional sport," and players "felt like celebrities." Furthermore, there were significant dignitaries at the opening ceremonies and sponsor dinner.
Thus, the Paola Longoria Invitational was an Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) event on the level of the US Open, if not higher. And it was all due to Longoria's prominence in Mexico.
Successors
People often speculate on who'll be the next IRT #1 player after Waselenchuk. That speculation seems idle to us, as it'll be some time before Waselenchuk gives up the crown to someone else - barring injury, of course, which did see him yield the #1 ranking briefly to Rocky Carson earlier this season.
A far more interesting question is who will succeed Longoria? Longoria's the best player currently, but she's also come along at at time when the best players were over a decade older (Cheryl Gudinas, Rhonda Rajsich & Kerri Wachtel) and some left the scene all together (Kristen Bellows & Christie Huczek).
A new crop of players has arrived on the scene (e.g., Maria Jose Vargas, Cristina Amaya, Frédérique Lambert, Maria Paz Muñoz & Aubrey Kirch) and are creating a threat to Longoria's dominance. It's likely that one of them will be the next player to defeat Longoria, although we also believe that Rajsich still has the ability to do so.
We think that will happen sooner than later, and hopefully it will be more than one, so that the competitiveness of LPRT is kicked up a notch and things, which have been interesting this season, become even more interesting.
Follow the bouncing ball….
Kane Waselenchuk and Paola Longoria have dominated the men's and women's racquetball scenes, respectively, over the last few seasons. Waselenchuk's only lost twice (in completed matches) since September 2008 and Longoria hasn't lost since May of 2011.
They have some similarities and some differences. Both Waselenchuk and Longoria are primarily drive servers, and their serves are phenomenal. It's something that you might not fully appreciate if you haven't seen it live, because on line their drive serves look exactly like drive serves should look: hard and low. Driven with precision to the back corners.
Live, especially if you happen to be on the court, the serves are coming at you really fast. No, REALLY fast.
You can see how important drive serving is from Ben Croft, who's developed his drive serves the past few seasons as the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) switched to a two serve rule, and has commented that he wished he'd done it sooner, and Alvaro Beltran, who primarily drove serve against Waselenchuk in the final of the most recent IRT event in Sioux Falls and got three times more points against Waselenchuk than the first three Sioux Falls opponents.
Also, some players' drive serves look tame in comparison, as Jansen Allen - a fine player and currently ranked 10th on the IRT - hit drive serves against Waselenchuk in Sioux Falls that seemed like they were in slow motion.
Waselenchuk and Longoria differ from other players in their respective game styles. Waselenchuk is so creative as a shot-maker, which is what puts him apart from all the other great racquetball players. Also, he always seems to trying to hit an offensive shot. Rarely does Waselenchuk hit a defensive shot (e.g., hit a ceiling ball).
Longoria's style can be hard to read, because of the unusual way she holds the racquet with her the palm of her hand on the flat part of the handle, as if she was holding it like a frying pan rather than a cleaver.
While we think that Waselenchuk is the best men's player ever, Longoria has clearly had the biggest impact outside of racquetball. She's been named female athlete of the year by the Mexican government, as well as one of the most influential women in Mexico by Forbes magazine, and she's got over 61,000 Twitter followers.
Further, Longoria had a tournament created in her name last December in Monterrey, Mexico. That event was broadcast live throughout Mexico and Latin America. According to Nick Irvine of the IRT Network, racquetball at the Paola Longoria Invitational "felt like a professional sport," and players "felt like celebrities." Furthermore, there were significant dignitaries at the opening ceremonies and sponsor dinner.
Thus, the Paola Longoria Invitational was an Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) event on the level of the US Open, if not higher. And it was all due to Longoria's prominence in Mexico.
Successors
People often speculate on who'll be the next IRT #1 player after Waselenchuk. That speculation seems idle to us, as it'll be some time before Waselenchuk gives up the crown to someone else - barring injury, of course, which did see him yield the #1 ranking briefly to Rocky Carson earlier this season.
A far more interesting question is who will succeed Longoria? Longoria's the best player currently, but she's also come along at at time when the best players were over a decade older (Cheryl Gudinas, Rhonda Rajsich & Kerri Wachtel) and some left the scene all together (Kristen Bellows & Christie Huczek).
A new crop of players has arrived on the scene (e.g., Maria Jose Vargas, Cristina Amaya, Frédérique Lambert, Maria Paz Muñoz & Aubrey Kirch) and are creating a threat to Longoria's dominance. It's likely that one of them will be the next player to defeat Longoria, although we also believe that Rajsich still has the ability to do so.
We think that will happen sooner than later, and hopefully it will be more than one, so that the competitiveness of LPRT is kicked up a notch and things, which have been interesting this season, become even more interesting.
Follow the bouncing ball….
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