17th IRF World Championships - Day 1

The 17th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships began Saturday in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. The format for Worlds this year is different from past years, as there is no team competition, and the individual competitions begin with a group stage the results of which will serve as the basis for an elimination draw that will begin on Tuesday.

There have been few surprises so far. Perhaps the most surprising group in Men's Singles is Group B, where Canadian Tim Landeryou was pushed to a tie-breaker by Anthony DeFusto of the Ukraine before winning 15-10, 10-15, 11-2.

Also in Group B, Victor Montserrat of Catalunya upset Venezuelan Ezequiel Paez, 6-15, 15-8, 11-7.

On the women's side, it was perhaps surprising how easily the American team of Aimee Ruiz and Janel Tisinger defeated Véronique Guillemette and Maria Jose Vargas of Argentina, as they won 15-8, 15-5. Vargas was the 3rd ranked player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) this past season.

Of note are a loss by Mexican Polo Gutierrez, as he had difficulty securing a visa to travel to Canada for Worlds. If he arrives in time for his Sunday match, then he will able to continue in the tournament, but if any player (or doubles team) has two forfeits in the group stage, the player will be dropped from the event.

Also, seeding for the World Championships is based on the best performances by countries in two of the last three World Championships, so, for example, the USA is ranked ahead of Mexico in Women's Singles, as the USA has finished 1st in women's singles in two of the last three Worlds, while Mexico has only finished 1st in the last Worlds and 3rd at the previous two. Thus, Rhonda Rajsich - the USA #1 woman - is seeded 1st, and Paola Longoria - Mexico's #1 woman - is seeded 2nd.

There will be live streaming of the semi-finals and finals on Friday and Saturday via the IRF Network.

17th IRF World Championships
June 14-21, 2014
Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Men's Singles

Group A

Rocky Carson (USA) d. Norlen Jimenez (Cuba), 15-6, 15-7
Fernando Kurzbard (Argentina) d. Jose Daniel Ugalde (Ecuador), 15-7, 15-7

Group B

Tim Landeryou (Canada) d. Anthony DeFusto (Ukraine), 15-10, 10-15, 11-2
Victor Montserrat (Catalunya) d. Ezequiel Paez (Venezuela), 6-15, 15-8, 11-7

Group C

Jose Rojas (USA) d. Peter Rakowski (Poland), 15-0, 15-2
Fernando Rios (Ecuador) d. Pablo Kurzbard (Argentina), 15-9, 15-6

Group D

Samuel Murray (Canada) d. Timothy Baghurst (England), forfeit
Roberto Santander (Venezuela) d. Dani Pascual (Catalunya), 15-1, 15-6

Group E

Alvaro Beltran (Mexico) d. Michael Barrett (Puerto Rico), 15-8, 15-5
Andres Aviles Solera (Costa Rica) d. Mingyu Kim (South Korea), 15-6, 15-11

Group F

Michimune Kono (Japan) d. Rajiv Varadarajan (India), 15-1, 15-0
Francisco Troncoso (Chile) d. Ramon De Leon (Dominican Republic), 4-15, 15-9, 11-6

Group G

Fernando Rivera (Puerto Rico) d. Polo Gutierrez (Mexico), forfeit
Felipe Camacho (Costa Rica) d. Daeyong Kwon (South Korea), 3-15, 15-11, 11-6

Group H

Takaaki Hirose (Japan) d. Alok Mehta (India), 15-6, 15-5
Junior Rodriguez (Dominican Republic) d. Rodrigo Salgado (Chile), 15-13, 15-5

Group I

Sebastian Franco (Colombia) d. Edwin Galicia (Guatamala), 15-5, 15-3
Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) d. Mark Murphy (Ireland), 15-7, 15-7

Group J

Carlos Keller (Bolivia) d. Patrick Hanley (Ireland), 15-11, 15-5
Alejandro Herrera (Colombia) d. Pedro Manolo Sandoval (Guatemala), forfeit

Women's Singles

Group A

Rhonda Rajsich (USA) d. Mariana Paredes (Venezuela), 15-6, 15-2

Group B

Paola Longoria (Mexico) d. Sofia Soley Saborio (Costa Rica), 15-0, 15-2

Group C

Aubrey Kirch (USA) d. Aisling Hickey (Ireland), 15-7, 15-12

Group D

Samantha Salas (Mexico) d. Disney Linares Barreras (Cuba), 15-1, 15-4
Jenny Daza (Bolivia) d. Maria Cespedes (Dominican Republic), 15-10, 15-6

Group E

Christine Richardson (Canada) d. Anna Ventura (Catalunya), 15-0, 15-1
Veronica Sotomayor (Ecuador) d. Donna Ryder (Ireland), 15-0, 15-2

Group F

Veronique Guillemette (Argentina) d. Harumi Kajino (Japan), 15-5, 15-11
Natalia Mendez (Bolivia) d. Merynaanyelly Delgado Araujo (Dominican Republic), 15-2, 15-2

Group G

Michèle Morissette (Canada) d. Bat Consegal (Catalunya), 15-7, 15-10
Maria Rene Rodriguez (Guatemala) d. Maria Paz Riquelme (Chile), 15-0, 15-3

Group H

Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina) d. Maiko Satoh (Japan), 15-3, 15-4
Cristina Amaya (Colombia) d. Jung Eun Ane (Korea), 15-6, 16-8

Group I

Jin Seok (South Korea) d. Claudia Andreade (Columbia), 15-7, 15-3
Carla Muñoz (Chile) d. Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala), 5-15, 15-7, 11-1

Men's Doubles

Group A

Ben Croft & Thomas Fuhrmann (USA) d. Rodrigo Salgado & Francisco Troncoso (Chile), 15-1, 15-9

Group B

Luis Perez & Junior Rodriguez (Dominican Republic) d. Edwin Galicia & Pedro Manolo Sandoval (Guatemala), forfeit

Group C

Cesar Castillo & Cesar Castro (Venezuela) d. Victor Montserrat & Dani Pascual (Catalunya), 15-8, 15-3
Fernando Rios & Jose Daniel Alvarez (Ecoador) d. Mingyu Kim & Daeyong Kwon (South Korea), 15-2, 13-15, 11-7

Group D

Mike Green & Vincent Gagnon (Canada) d. Michael Barrett & Fernando Rivera (Puerto Rico), 15-1, 15-2
Alejandro Herrera & Sebastian Franco (Colombia) d. Hiroshi Shimizu & Michimune Kono (Japan), 15-2, 15-14

Group E

Daniel Maggi & Shai Manzuri (Argentina) d. Pratap Ballalasamudra & Sumeet Kamat (india), 15-5, 15-4
Conrado Moscos & Mario Mercado (Bolivia) d. Pat O'Donnell & Conor Skehan (Ireland), 15-6, 15-9

Women's Doubles

Group A

Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas Solis (Mexico) d. Anna Ventura & Bet Consegal (Catalunya), 15-0, 15-0
Jin Seok & Jung Eun Ane (South Korea) v. Mariana Paredes & Mariana Tobon (Venezuela)

Group B

Aimee Ruiz & Janel Tisinger (USA) d. Véronique Guillemette & Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina), 15-8, 15-5
Maria Paz Muñoz & Veronica Sotomayor (Ecuador) d. Maria Renee Rodriguez & Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala), 15-8, 15-13

Group C

Frédérique Lambert & Jennifer Saunders (Canada) d. Maria Cespedes & Merynanyelly Delgado Araujo (Dominican Republic), 15-2, 15-1
Natalia Mendez & Adriana Riveros (Bolivia) d. Majella Haventry & Katie Kenny (Ireland), 15- 2, 15-9

Group D

Angela Grisar & Carla Muñoz (Chile) d. Cristina Amaya & Claudia Andrade (Colombia), 15-11, 15-7
Maiko Satoh & Naomi Wakimoto (Japan) d. Melania Sauma Masis & Sofia Soley Saborio (Costa Rica), 15-5, 15-6

Follow the bouncing ball....