Fumero & Montoya win WRT 2016 Long Beach Open

Teobaldo Fumero and Rodrigo Montoya were the surprise winners on the weekend at the 2016 World Racquetball Tour (WRT) Long Beach Open in Long Beach, California, as they were seeded 8th, but knocked off the #1, #3 and #5 seeds en route to victory in a tournament that some players were using as a tune-up for next month's International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships to be held in Cali, Colombia.

Fumero and Montoya won't be playing together at Worlds, as Fumero is Costa Rican and Montoya is Mexican, but they beat the Bolivian brother team of Carlos Keller and Roland Keller, 15-5, 15-13, in the final.

In the semi-finals, Fumero and Montoya beat David Horn and Andree Parrilla, 5-15, 15-7, 11-9, while Keller and Keller beat the Ecuador team of Fernando Rios and Jose Daniel Ugalde, 15-6, 13-15, 11-8.

There were great matches in the quarterfinals also, as Fumero and Montoya knocked off the top seeded American team of Jake Bredenbeck and Jose Diaz, 11-15, 15-3, 11-6, and Rios and Ugalde took down the #2 seeded Mexican team of Alejandro Landa and Javier Moreno, 12-15, 15-5, 11-10, in what was a rematch of this year's Pan American Championship final that Landa and Moreno won.

Also in the quarters, Keller and Keller beat the reigning World Champion Men's Doubles team of Sebastian Franco and Alejandro Herrera by injury default, and hopefully the injury isn't serious, so that the Colombians are healthy to defend their title next month. Finally, Horn and Parrilla defeated the 4th seeds Alejandro Cardona and Jaime Martell by a surprisingly comfortable margin, 15-6, 15-5.

These results are very curious, and perhaps highlight the competitiveness of Men's Doubles going into the World Championships in Cali, where the field could be very open.

WRT 2016 Long Beach Open - Doubles

Final

8) Teobaldo Fumero & Rodrigo Montoya d. 3) Carlos Keller & Roland Keller, 15-5, 15-13

Semi-finals

8) Teobaldo Fumero & Rodrigo Montoya d. 5) David Horn & Andree Parrilla, 5-15, 15-7, 11-9
3) Carlos Keller & Roland Keller d. 7) Fernando Rios & Jose Daniel Ugalde, 15-6, 13-15, 11-8

Quarterfinals

8) Teobaldo Fumero & Rodrigo Montoya d. 1) Jake Bredenbeck & Jose Diaz, 11-15, 15-3, 11-6
5) David Horn & Andree Parrilla d. 4) Alejandro Cardona & Jaime Martell, 15-6, 15-5

3) Carlos Keller & Roland Keller d. 6) Sebastian Franco & Alejandro Herrera, injury forfeit
7) Fernando Rios & Jose Daniel Ugalde d. 2) Alejandro Landa & Javier Moreno, 12-15, 15-5, 11-10

Round of 16

1) Jake Bredenbeck & Jose Diaz d. 17) Rafael Filippini & Gerardo Franco, 15-4, 15-12
8) Teobaldo Fumero & Rodrigo Montoya d. 9) Nicolai Miramontes & Francisco Troncoso, 15-2, 15-9

5) David Horn & Andree Parrilla d. 12) Pedro Castro & Luis Felipe Muñoz, 15-13, 15-7
4) Alejandro Cardona & Jaime Martell d. 13) Greg Solis & Brandon Davis, 14-15, 15-13, 11-6

3) Carlos Keller & Roland Keller d. 14) Mike Orr & Shawn Royster, 15-5, 15-3
6) Sebastian Franco & Alejandro Herrera d. 11) Javier Mar & Alan Natera, 7-15, 15-8, 11-7

7) Fernando Rios & Jose Daniel Ugalde d. 10) Brian Pineda & Mauro Rojas, 15-14, 14-15, 11-7
2) Alejandro Landa & Javier Moreno d. 15) Tim Prigo & Charlie Pratt, 7-15, 15-5, 11-6

Round of 32

1) Jake Bredenbeck & Jose Diaz - BYE
17) Rafael Filippini & Gerardo Franco d. 16) Sebastian Fernandez & Miguel Rodriguez Jr., 15-13, 15-12

9) Nicolai Miramontes & Francisco Troncoso - BYE
8) Teobaldo Fumero & Rodrigo Montoya - BYE

5) David Horn & Andree Parrilla - BYE
12) Pedro Castro & Luis Felipe Muñoz d. 21) Joe Lara & Philip Varela Jr., 15-10, 15-8

13) Greg Solis & Brandon Davis d. 20) Patrick Allin & Alexi David Cocco Hayes, 15-5, 15-7
4) Alejandro Cardona & Jaime Martell - BYE

3) Carlos Keller & Roland Keller - BYE
14) Mike Orr & Shawn Royster d. 19) Ricardo Diaz & Dane Elkins, 15-4, 15-0

11) Javier Mar & Alan Natera d. 22) Victor Rodriguez & Ramon Valerio, 15-4, 15-7
6) Sebastian Franco & Alejandro Herrera - BYE

7) Fernando Rios & Jose Daniel Ugalde - BYE
10) Brian Pineda & Mauro Rojas - BYE

15) Tim Prigo & Charlie Pratt d. 18) Emmett Coe & Justin Ivers, 15-8, 15-7
2) Alejandro Landa & Javier Moreno - BYE

Follow the bouncing ball….