2014 WRT Fall Brawl - Round of 32

A few upsets in the first round of action at the World Racquetball Tour's (WRT's) Fall Brawl in Lombard, Illinois, but the top seeds all won easily. Second seed Polo Gutierrez defeated Zach Archer, 15-3, 15-2, Third seed David Horn was a winner against Jorge Ortiz, 15-0, 15-6, and fourth seed Jake Bredenbeck beat Fernando Javier Rivera, 15-3, 15-1. The top seed Alejandro Cardona had a bye in the first round.

Juan Herrera defeated Francisco Troncoso, 15-2, 15-8, which wasn't as close a match as we thought it might be, and that was an upset by the seedings, although Herrera has played few WRT events, so his WRT ranking is quite low.

Herrera will play Geoff Goldblatt in the Round of 16, as Goldblatt upset 8th seed Alexi David Cocco Hayes, 15-6, 15-9. Also, 21st seed Mauricio Zelada defeated 12th seed Robert Collins, 9-15, 15-11, 11-5.

Kurtis Cullen was also an upset winner, as he beat Rodrigo Salgado, Jr., 15-7, 15-7, and will now play Horn in the 16s tonight.

A match we thought would be good, but didn't happen was between Jaime Martell playing veteran Brian Simpson, as Simpson was a no show. Martell will play Zelada in the 16s.

Check for live streaming of the event via the WRT website.

2014 Fall Brawl
Lombard, Illinois

Round of 32

1) Alejandro Cardona - BYE
17) Fernando Kurzbard d. 16) Daeyong Kwon, 15-11, 15-10

24) Juan Herrera d. 9) Francisco Troncoso, 15-2, 15-8
25) Geoff Goldblatt d. 8) Alexi David Cocco Hayes, 15-6, 15-9

5) Jaime Martell d. 28) Brian Simpson, forfeit
21) Mauricio Zelada d. 12) Robert Collins, 9-15, 15-11, 11-5

13) Roland Keller d. 20) Andrew Clarke, 15-4, 15-0
4) Jake Bredenbeck d. 29) Fernando Javier Rivera, 15-3, 15-1

3) David Horn d. 30) Jorge Ortiz, 15-0, 15-6
19) Kurtis Cullen d. 14) Rodrigo Salgado Jr., 15-7, 15-7

11) Danny Lavely d. 22) Tim Landeryou, 15-5, 15-12
6) Gerardo Guevara d. 27) Juan Martinez III, 14-15, 15-11, 11-8

7) Coby Iwaasa d. 26) Roberto Santander, 15-6, 11-15, 11-2
10) Sebastian Franco d. 23) Cesar Castro, 15-11, 15-14

15) Pablo Kurzbard d. 18) Cesar Castillo, 15-11, 15-5
2) Polo Gutierrez d. 31) Zach Archer, 15-3, 15-2

Round of 16

1) Alejandro Cardona v. 17) Fernando Kurzbard
24) Juan Herrera v. 25) Geoff Goldblatt

5) Jaime Martell v. 21) Mauricio Zelada
4) Jake Bredenbeck v. 13) Roland Keller

3) David Horn v. 19) Kurtis Cullen
6) Gerardo Guevara v. 11) Danny Lavely

7) Coby Iwaasa v. 10) Sebastian Franco
2) Polo Gutierrez v. 18) Cesar Castillo

Follow the bouncing ball….