Murray tops top IRT qualifier at 2014 United Healthcare US Open Racquetball Championships

Samuel Murray upset Alex Ackermann, the #1 seed, in International Racquetball Tour (IRT) qualifying at the 2014 United Healthcare US Open Racquetball Championships in Minneapolis in a tie-breaker, 7-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 13-11. The win puts Murray into the Round of 32 on Thursday against former IRT #1 Cliff Swain.

There were two other five game matches in the Round of 64 on Thursday. In one, Danny Lavely needed a tie-breaker to beat Tim Landeryou, 11-7, 11-8, 5-11, 8-11, 11-2. It's the second consecutive tournament Lavely has defeated Landeryou, as they played last weekend in the World Racquetball Tour (WRT) Fall Brawl.

In the other, Thomas Carter came back from 2-1 down in games to defeat left-hander Robert Collins, 11-9, 10-12, 4-11, 11-2, 11-9.

In match between a wily veteran and a young up and comer, the younger player won, as Taylor Knoth beat Andy Hawthorne, 11-7, 3-11, 11-3, 12-10. Hawthorne had game point on his racquet in game four to force a fifth game, as the ball came high off the back wall, but Hawthorne skipped the shot on his forehand. Knoth took advantage by scoring four consecutive points to win the game and match.

Knoth's win puts him up against Jose Diaz in the Round of 32 on Thursday.

In a surprisingly lopsided match, Polo Gutierrez beat Alejandro Cardona in three straight games, 11-6, 11-4, 11-0. Cardona was runner up and Gutierrez lost in the quarterfinals of the WRT Fall Brawl last weekend, so we thought that would be a closer match.

Play will streamed live via the IRT Network from Wednesday at 7 PM CDT.

2014 United Healthcare US Open - IRT Singles Draw
Minneapolis, Minnesota - October 8-12, 2014

Qualifying Round 2

Q1: Samuel Murray d. Alex Ackermann, 7-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 13-11
Q16: Mike Green d. Gerardo Guevara, 13-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-9

Q9: Coby Iwaasa d. Jaime Martell, 12-10, 11-6, 11-0
Q8: Andree Parrilla d. Cesar Castillo, 11-6, 11-3, 11-7

Q5: Taylor Knoth d. Andy Hawthorne, 11-7, 3-11, 11-3, 12-10
Q12: Felipe Camacho d. Andrew Gale, 11-5, 11-1, 10-12, 11-4

Q13: Polo Gutierrez d. Alejandro Cardona, 11-6, 11-4, 11-0
Q4: Matthew Majxner d. Jose Daniel Alvarez, 8-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-9

Q3: David Horn d. Maurice Miller, 6-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-4
Q14: Fernando Rios d. Andres Ramirez, 11-8, 11-7, 11-4

Q11: Jake Bredenbeck d. Scott McClellan, 11-1, 11-3, 11-4
Q6: Javier Moreno d. Mauricio Zelada, 11-4, 11-4, 11-3

Q7: Thomas Carter d. Robert Collins, 11-9, 10-12, 4-11, 11-2, 11-9
Q10: Alejandro Herrera d. Eddie Sada, 11-0, 11-7, 11-0

Q15: Sebastian Franco d. Daeyong Kwon, 11-7, 11-1, 5-11, 13-11
Q2: Danny Lavely d. Tim Landeryou, 11-7, 11-8, 5-11, 8-11, 11-2

Round of 32 - Thursday

1 Kane Waselenchuk v. Mike Green
16 Cliff Swain v. Samuel Murray

9 Jansen Allen v. Andree Parrilla
8 Tony Carson v. Coby Iwaasa

5 Daniel De La Rosa v. Felipe Camacho
12 Jose Diaz v. Taylor Knoth

13 Alejandro Landa v. Matthew Majxner
4 Jose Rojas v. Polo Gutierrez

3 Alvaro Beltran v. Fernando Rios
14 Thomas Fuhrmann v. David Horn

11 Charlie Pratt v. Javier Moreno
6 Chris Crowther v. Jake Bredenbeck

7 Ben Croft v. Alejandro Herrera
10 Marco Rojas v. Thomas Carter

15 Hiroshi Shimizu v. Danny Lavely
2 Rocky Carson v. Sebastian Franco

Follow the bouncing ball….