2014 USA Junior Olympics - Manilla wins at home in last year of juniors

Adam Manilla won his 2nd Boy's U18 USA Junior Olympic title Sunday at the 2014 Wilson USA Racquetball Junior Olympics in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, Manilla's home state. It was the left-hander's fifth consecutive junior title and his last, as he'll turn 19 this year.

However, for much of the first game it looked like Connor Laffey would deny Manilla the pleasure of winning at home, as Laffey led 9-2 and 14-8 in game one. Laffey was serving lobs and nick lobs to Manilla's backhand, and Manilla wasn't doing much with them. Moreover, during rallies Manilla, who has a shooter's game style, was not shooting well - skipping several shots.

But Laffey wasn't able to get that 15th point, and as the first game went on, Manilla found his shooting groove. Laffey had four opportunities to win game one, but couldn't convert any.

When Manilla - the #1 seed and favourite coming in - completed the comeback, you knew that game two was not going to be close. And it wasn't, as Manilla went up 14-0 on Laffey. But kudos to Laffey, as he kept fighting until the end, and Manilla had to serve six times for the match, even taking a timeout at 14-1 after being unsuccessful on his first five opportunities.

Like Manilla, Jordan Barth was also a repeat winner, but his U14 title was his 3rd consecutive title. This year he defeated Akul Ramayani in the final, 15-4, 15-10. Ramayani was the 7th seed, and won the Boy's U12 division.

In Boy's U16, Mauro Rojas defeated Wayne Antone, 15-6, 15-9, for the title, in what was the first year in U16 for both players.

Boy's Doubles

In Boy's Doubles, Diaz and Elkins teamed up to take the U14 title by defeating David Marsen and Sam Myers in the final, 15-12, 15-4. The U16 title went to Barth and Justus Benson, who beat Birnel and M. Rojas, 15-10, 15-8. And the U18 title went to Manilla and Sawyer Lloyd, who were 15-1, 15-10 winners over Laffey and Antone.

Girl's U18

Hollie Scott won the Girl's U18 title by defeating Hollee Hungerford in a closely contested final, 15-12, 9-15, 11-9. The play went back and forth between. Scott was the taller and younger player, as she was the 3rd place winner in Girl's U16 also. But Hungerford was very athletic on court, including diving for the ball several times to try to keep the rally going. Hungerford also had a good drive serve that she maybe should have used more in the match.

The top finishers in the 2014 Wilson USA Racquetball Junior Olympics at the Highlands Ranch Recreation Center in Highlands Ranch, Colorado qualified for the 2014 US Junior National Team that will compete at the International Racquetball Federation World Junior Championships in Cali, Colombia October 19-25.

Also announced: the 2015 USA Racquetball Junior Olympics will be in Stockton, California.

2014 Wilson USA Racquetball Junior Olympics
Highlands Ranch, Colorado

Boy's U18

Final

Adam Manilla (Centennial, Col.) d. Connor Laffey (Salem, Ore.), 15-14, 15-2

3rd Place

Sam Bredenbeck (Marine On St Croix, Minn.) d. Joshua Lebow (Salem, Ore.), 15-10, 15-7

Boy's U16

Final

Mauro Rojas (Stockton, Calif.) d. Wayne Antone IV (Eugene, Ore.), 15-6, 15-9

3rd Place

Jake Birnel (Bellingham, Wash.) d. Jordan Barth (Cold Spring, Minn.), 15-7, 14-15, 11-9

Boy's U14

Final

Jordan Barth (Cold Spring, Minn.) d. Akul Ramayani (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), 15-4, 15-10

3rd Place

Ricardo Diaz (Stockton, Calif.) d. Dane Elkins (Los Angeles), 15-7, 15-7

Boy's U18 Doubles

Final

Adam Manilla (Centennial, Col.) & Sawyer Lloyd (Pentaluma, Calif.) d. Wayne Antone IV (Junction City, Ore.) & Connor Laffey (Salem, Ore.), 15-1, 15-10

3rd Place

Thomas Carter (Murrysville, Penn.) & Kyle Ulliman (Westerville, Ohio) d. Sam Bredenbeck (Marine On St Croix, Minn.) & Dima Wert (Pentaluma, Calif.), 15-2, 15-10

Boy's U16 Doubles

Final

Jordan Barth (Cold Spring, Minn.) & Justus Benson (Sun Prairie, Wisc.) d.
Jake Birnel (Bellingham, Wash.) & Mauro Rojas (Stockton, CA), 15-10, 15-8

3rd Place

Kevin Vazquez (Miami, Fla.) & Evan Wargo (Clearwater, Fla.) d. Ellis Syke (Coon Rapids, Minn.) & Eric Loiselle (Clive, Iowa), 15-3, 15-11

Boy's U14 Doubles

Final

Ricardo Diaz (Stockton, Calif.) & Dane Elkins (Los Angeles) d. David Marsen (Arlington, Tex.) & Sam Myers (Springdale, Ark.), 15-12, 15-4

3rd Place

Krish Thakur (Tracy, Calif.) & Sahil Thakur (Tracy, Calif.) d. Jonathan Maupin (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) & Timmy Hansen (Wellington, Fla.), 15-12, 5-15, 11-10

Girl's U18

Final

Hollie Scott (Bellingham, Wash.) d. Hollee Hungerford (Milwakie, Ore.), 15-12, 9-15, 11-9

3rd Place

Emily Stanton (Littleton, Col.) d. Danielle Falvey (Sussex, Wis.), 15-8, 15-10

Follow the bouncing ball….