Weekend Round Up - Jackson, Mercado, Cullen & Varadarajan win

Sharon Jackson won Women’s Open at the 2016 Mercedes-Benz of Cincinnati Pro-Am in Cincinnati, Ohio on the weekend by defeating Carla Muñoz, 15-7, 3-15, 11-9, in the final. In the semi-finals, Jackson defeated Adriana Riveros, and Muñoz beat Lucia Gonzalez, 15-13, 10-15, 11-9.

Also in Cincinnati, Mario Mercado won the Men’s Open division with a win over Mauricio Zelada, 15-10, 15-9, in the final. In the semi-finals, Mercado beat Christian Longoria, 15-10, 15-2, and Zelada defeated Troy Warigon, 15-12, 15-2.

In Brandon, Manitoba, Kurtis Cullen won Grumpy Garry’s Racquetball Extravaganza 2 - Still Grumpy, which is a Tier 5 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) event - by defeating Lee Connell, 12-10, 11-5, 11-9, in the final. Cameron Wachs finished 3rd with a win over Samuel Morrissette, 12-10, 11-8, 11-9, and Pat Madill was 5th, defeating Jay Cadman, 11-4, 11-5, 5-11, 11-5.

A shout out to the 37 players in the Lanco Hills India Open Racquetball Championships in Hyderabad, India. Rajiv Varadarajan won the Men’s Open / Team Qualifying division by going undefeated through a five player round robin. Arun Baskaran narrowly came second by defeating Pavan Kumar Kora, 11-15, 15-10, 11-10 to finish with a 3-1 record with Kora at 2-2.

Upcoming events

Coming up this week is Racquetball Canada’s National Team Selection Event in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Then next week the 2016 USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships happen in Tempe, Arizona, and the Campeonato Nacional Mexicano de Racquetbol Selectivo 2016 happens in Chihuahua, Mexico for the selection of the Mexican National Team.

The next professional racquetball events are the LPRT 2016 Winter Classic in Overland Park, Kansas, February 19-21. The next IRT Tier 1 event is the Shamrock Shootout Pro/Am in Lombard, Illinois, March 10-13. The World Racquetball Tour (WRT) will be in action February 18-21 at the Mt Rainier Open in Seattle.

2016 Mercedes-Benz of Cincinnati Pro-Am, January 29-31
Cincinnati, Ohio

Women’s Open Final

Sharon Jackson d. Carla Muñoz, 15-7, 3-15, 11-9

Semi-finals

Sharon Jackson d. Adriana Riveros
Carla Muñoz d. Lucia Gonzalez, 15-13, 10-15, 11-9

Quarterfinals

Sharon Jackson d. Natalie Domelle, 15-7, 15-4
Adriana Riveros Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-3, 15-11

Carla Muñoz d. Andrea Martinez Gonzalez, 15-6, 15-6
Lucia Gonzalez d. Sofia Soley, 4-15, 15-13, 11-1

Men’s Open Final

Mario Mercado d. Mauricio Zelada, 15-10, 15-9

Semi-finals

Mauricio Zelada d. Troy Warigon, 15-12, 15-2
Mario Mercado d. Christian Longoria, 15-10, 15-2

Grumpy Garry’s Racquetball Extravaganza 2: Still Grumpy - IRT Tier 5
Brandon, Manitoba - January 29-31, 2016

1st Place - Kurtis Cullen d. Lee Connell, 12-10, 11-5, 11-9
3rd Place - Cameron Wachs d. Samuel Morrissette, 12-10, 11-8, 11-9
5th Place - Pat Madill d. Jay Cadman, 11-4, 11-5, 5-11, 11-5

Lanco Hills India Open Racquetball Championships
Hyderabad, India - January 29-31, 2016

Men’s Open / Team Qualifying

1st - Rajiv Varadarajan
2nd - Arun Baskaran
3rd - Pavan Kumar Kora
4th - Srikaran Kandadai
5th - Joshua Fonseca

Follow the bouncing ball….