2016 United Healthcare US Open IRT Round of 16

The International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Round of 16 at the 2016 United Healthcare US Open in Minneapolis has seen no upsets so far. But David Horn almost got the better of 4th seed Alvaro Beltran, as they went five games. However, the former US Open finalist came out on top, as Beltran defeated David Horn, 11-4, 1-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-7.

They were close early in the breaker, and tied 2-2. Then Beltran edged ahead with three consecutive points, including one of his smooth backhand pinch shots, to make it 5-2. Horn called timeout at that point, and he was able to get the serve back when play resumed, and scored two points to make it 5-4 in Beltran's favour.

However, Beltran maintained the lead through the breaker. Horn did draw within one again at 8-7, but he didn't get past seven, as Beltran closed it out with a backhand pinch shot, 11-7.

Beltran will face 5th seed Jose Rojas, who went through Alejandro Landa like a buzzsaw, winning 11-1, 11-7, 11-0. Rojas drove served very well, and kept Landa off balance. Landa clearly got frustrated in the match, and that didn't help his cause.

Also, you might think it's a typo, but it's not. IRT #1 Kane Waselenchuk did beat 16th seed Andree Parrilla, 11-0, 11-0, 11-0. That's quite the score line, and should concerning to anyone else in the draw, especially Sebastian Franco, who'll play Waselenchuk in the quarterfinals Friday.

The IRT quarterfinals are Friday, semi-finals Saturday, and the IRT final of the 2016 United Healthcare US Open will be Sunday October 9 at noon at the Life Time Athletic Target Center club in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. You can watch the action via the IRT Network.

2016 United Healthcare US Open
Minneapolis, Minnesota - October 5-9, 2016

IRT Men’s Singles - Round of 16 - Thursday

1 Kane Waselenchuk d. 16 Andree Parrilla, 11-0, 11-0, 11-0
8 Sebastian Franco d. 9 Felipe Camacho, 10-12, 11-8, 11-1, 11-4

5 Jose Rojas d. Alejandro Landa, 11-1, 11-7, 11-0
4 Alvaro Beltran d. David Horn, 11-4, 1-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-7

3 Daniel De La Rosa d. Jose Diaz, 11-3, 5-11, 11-5, 11-0
11 Jake Bredenbeck d. Javier Mar, 11-2, 11-5, 4-11, 12-10

7 Marco Rojas d. Eduardo Garay, 11-6, 11-2, 11-4
2 Rocky Carson d. Andres Acuña, 11-1, 11-1, 11-3

IRT Men’s Singles - Quarterfinals - Friday

1 Kane Waselenchuk v. 8 Sebastian Franco
4 Alvaro Beltran v. 5 Jose Rojas

3 Daniel De La Rosa v. 11 Jake Bredenbeck
2 Rocky Carson v. 7 Marco Rojas

Follow the bouncing ball….