Longoria wins singles & doubles at 2016 LPRT Sweet Caroline Open

Paola Longoria won twice on Sunday at the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Sweet Caroline Open in Greenville, South Carolina, as she won both singles and doubles for a second week in a row. She defeated LPRT #3 Frédérique Lambert, 12-10, 11-1, 6-11, 11-4, in the singles final, and teamed up with Adriana Riveros to beat Lambert and Alexandra Herrera in the doubles finals, 15-14,15-12.

Early on it looked like it wasn’t going to be Longoria’s day, as Lambert was up 5-1 game one. Longoria came back and tied the game at 6-6. However, Lambert then scored four straight points to lead 10-6. But she couldn’t get the last point from two game point chances. It was an avoidable call that gave Longoria the lead at 11-10; Lambert appealed the call but it was upheld and seemed to be correct call. On Longoria’s first game point, she drove the ball to the left side, and Lambert hit a good return backhand pinch shot into the left corner, but Longoria was up front and repinched the ball with a forehand into the right corner.

Game two went by in the blink of an eye with Lambert only served a few times, as Longoria rolled to a 11-1 win. But Lambert didn’t roll over in game three. She got a big lead at 7-1, and stayed ahead to win the game 11-6 with a forehand that followed up a drive serve to the left side.

In game four, they were close early, and tied at 4-4. But Longoria scored seven unanswered points from there. Lambert did serve a few times, but was unable to put points on the board.

Longoria’s slow start in game one was not the only time she did that this weekend. She was behind early in her quarterfinal match against Riveros, and lost the first game of her semi-final against Herrera. Then in the doubles final she and Riveros were down 14-8 to Herrera and Lambert.

But Lambert skipped a makable backhand shot, and Longoria and Riveros took advantage by scoring seven unanswered points to win game one, 15-14. Herrera and Lambert had four other game point opportunities, but didn’t convert them.

The roles were reversed in game two, as Longoria and Riveros took the lead at 10-5 with Herrera and Lambert coming back to tie the game at 12-12. But Longoria, the #1 LPRT player, and Riveros were able to hold off their opponents and win the game 15-12, taking the final in two straight games.

If you missed any of the action from Greenville, check out the matches at the LPRT LiveStream channel. The next LPRT event is the 2016 US Open in Minneapolis October 5-9.

2016 Sweet Caroline Open, September 9-11, 2016
Greenville, South Carolina

Final - Singles

1) Paola Longoria d. 3) Frédérique Lambert, 12-10, 11-1, 6-11, 11-4

Final - Doubles

2) Paola Longoria & Adriana Riveros d. 1) Alexandra Herrera & Frédérique Lambert, 15-14, 15-12

Follow the bouncing ball….