The Day After the 2016 UnitedHealthcare US Open

The US Open has come and gone for another year, and once again it was a great event. There are things to review from the week. First off, the Men’s Open and Women’s Open Champions from the 2016 UnitedHealthcare US Open in Minneapolis.

Mario Mercado won Men’s Open Singles by defeating Dylan Reid, 15-8, 15-10. Reid was trying to become just the second USA man to win Men’s Open at the US Open in the past 14 years, joining Adam Manilla, who won last year. In the semi-finals, Mercado beat Erik Garcia, 14-15, 15-1, 11-9, and Reid defeated Francisco Troncoso, 15-3, 15-3.

In Women’s Open, Cristina Amaya defeated Lucia Gonzalez, 15-13, 15-13. Amaya, a Colombian, continued a streak of non-USA women winning Women’s Open at the US Open that began in 2010, when Mexican Nancy Enriquez won the title. American Krystal Csuk won 2009, which was only the fifth time in US Open history that a USA woman won Women’s Open.

However, that could change in the future, as two American junior players - Erika Manilla and Jordan Cooperrider - were semi-finalists this year. Amaya defeated Manilla, 15-10, 15-9, in one semi-final, and Gonzalez beat Cooperrider, 8-15, 15-8, 11-5, in the other.

There were two firsts at this year’s US Open. One, Sebastian Franco, a Colombian, was the first South American to get to quarterfinals in the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) US Open division. We’d overlooked that during the week, because quite frankly, it hadn’t occurred to us that Franco had made a breakthrough.

Two, no USA woman was in the semi-finals of the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) US Open division for the first time ever. This isn’t as surprising, as Rhonda Rajsich has been the only USA woman in the LPRT semis or better since 2011, when both she and Kerri Wachtel were semi-finalists (Rajsich was finalist that year).

The 2017 UnitedHealthcare US Open will be October 4-8 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

2016 UnitedHealthcare US Open
Minneapolis, Minnesota - October 5-9, 2016

Men’s Open Singles

Final

Mario Mercado d. Dylan Reid, 15-8, 15-10

Semi-finals

Dylan Reid d. Francisco Troncoso, 15-3, 15-3
Mario Mercado d. Erik Garcia, 14-15, 15-1, 11-9

Quarterfinals

Dylan Reid d. Christian Longoria, 15-5, 15-13
Francisco Troncoso d. Brad Schopieray, 15-13, 15-13

Erik Garcia d. Samuel Murray, 15-10, 15-12
Mario Mercado d. Mike Harmon, 15-14, 15-1

Women’s Open Singles

Final

Cristina Amaya d. Lucia Gonzalez, 15-13, 15-13

Semi-finals

Cristina Amaya d. Erika Manilla, 15-10, 15-9
Lucia Gonzalez d. Jordan Cooperrider, 8-15, 15-8, 11-5

Quarterfinals

Cristina Amaya d. Adriana Riveros, 8-15, 15-3, 11-8
Erika Manilla d. Sharon Jackson, 14-15, 15-13, 11-8

Jordan Cooperrider d. Linda Tyler, 15-11, 15-8
Lucia Gonzalez d. Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-3, 15-4

Follow the bouncing ball….