2016 IRF World Junior Championships - Day 1 results

Play has begun at the 28th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and there are a few results of note on Day 1 of the group play, which pitted the closest seeds against each other. The results of group play will be used to seed players for an elimination round.

Three of the four matches in Girl’s U18 singles went tie-breaker, although all were won by the higher seeded player. In Group A, top seed Flavia Meneses of Bolivia defeated 4th seed Denisse Maldonado of Mexico, 1-15, 15-3, 11-2, and 5th seed Erika Manilla of the USA beat 8th seed Maria Jose Munoz of Ecuador, 15-6, 15-9, in the only match that didn’t go breaker.

In Group B of Girl’s U18, 2nd seed Erin Rivera of Mexico defeated 3rd seeded American Jordan Cooperrider, 14-15, 15-9, 11-4, while 6th seed Melania Sauma of Costa Rica beat 7th seed Andrea Martinez of Guatemala, 9-15, 15-9, 11-9.

In contrast, three of the four top seeds in Boy’s U18 were defeated on Sunday. Remember, the seedings for the group stage are based on each respective country’s performance in that division at last year’s World Junior Championship, rather than any assessment of the individual players.

Mexican Cristian Longoria is the top seed in Boy’s U18, and he won his match against Noe Rivera of Bolivia, 15-4, 15-13. However, Longoria’s team-mate, 3rd seed Victor Camacho lost to the other Bolivian Cristhian Miña, 15-7, 15-4. Thus, Miña could claim the 3rd seed if he wins his other group stage matches, which would advantageous for the elimination round.

Canadian players Trevor Webb and Devin Halko were the 2nd and 4th seeds, respectively, and their respective opponents were Americans Kevin Vazquez and Wayne Antone. Happily for the USA, both Vazquez and Antone won. Vazquez defeated Webb in a tie-breaker, 15-6, 9-15, 11-5, while Antone beat Halko, 15-1, 15-8. Thus, the Americans have the early advantage to claim the 2nd and 4th seeds for the elimination round.

Look for live streaming of matches from San Luis Potosi via the IRF YouTube channel.

28th IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
San Luis Potosi, Mexico

Girl's U18 Singles

Group A

Flavia Meneses (Bolivia) d. Denisse Maldonado (Mexico), 1-15, 15-3, 11-2
Erika Manilla (USA) d. Maria Jose Munoz (Ecuador), 15-6, 15-9

Group B

Erin Rivera (Mexico) d. Jordan Cooperrider (USA), 14-15, 15-9, 11-4
Melania Sauma (Costa Rica) d. Andrea Martinez (Guatemala), 9-15, 15-9, 11-9

Boy's U18 Singles

Group A

Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. Noe Rivera (Bolivia), 15-4, 15-13
Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica) d. Gun Hee Lee (Korea), 15-13, 15-12

Group B

Kevin Vazquez (USA) d. Trevor Webb (Canada), 15-6, 9-15, 11-5
Christian Chavez (Ecuador) d. Carlos Medrano (Honduras), 15-10, 15-10

Group C

Cristhian Miña (Bolivia) d. Victor Camacho (Mexico), 15-7, 15-4
Alexander Pirie (Costa Rica) d. Set Cubillos (Colombia), 15-13, 15-6

Group D

Wayne Antone (USA) d. Devin Halko (Canada), 15-1, 15-8
Juan Cueva (Ecuador) d. Julian Cruz (Guatemala), 15-5, 15-3

Girl's U16 Singles

Group A

Alexis Iwaasa (Canada) d. Ingrid Robledo (USA), 15-3, 15-7
Maria Jose Muñoz (Ecuador) - BYE

Group B

Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) d. Abril Prado (Bolivia), 15-2, 15-3
Marjolaine Parent (Canada) - BYE

Group C

Andrea Ramirez (Mexico) d. Briana Jacquet (USA), 15-2, 15-3
Frances Vazquez (Puerto Rico) - BYE

Group D

Monserrat Mejia (Mexico) d. Brenda Laime (Bolivia), 15-0, 15-0
Daniela Herrera (Colombia) d. Josefa Parada (Chile), 11-15, 15-12, 11-4

Boy's U16 Singles

Group A

Eduardo Portillo (Mexico) d. Dane Elkins (USA), 15-5, 15-12
Pablo Gallegos (Ecuador) - BYE

Group B

Gerson Miranda (Bolivia) d. Sergio Acuña (Costa Rica), 15-8, 15-2
Mitchell Turner (USA) - BYE

Group C

Sebastian Fernandez (Mexico) d. Spencer Bell (Canada), 15-1, 15-4
Javier Nathan (Guatemala) d. Rafael Gatica (Chile), 15-12, 15-5

Group D

Fernando Ruiz (Bolivia) d. Andres Montero (Costa Rica), 15-5, 14-15, 11-4
Sergio Ortega (Honduras) d. Johan Adasme (Chile), 15-13, 15-11

Group E

Kaleb Osborne (Canada) d. Felipe Cardona (Colombia), 15-4, 8-15, 11-5
Marco Sarmiento (Honduras) d. Geovani Mendoza (Guatemala), 15-12, 15-11

Girl's U14 Singles

Group A

Valeria Centellas (Bolivia) d. Ana Lucia Sarmiento (Ecuador), 15-1, 15-4
Sofia Freer (Costa Rica) d. Cassie Prentice (Canada), 11-15, 15-12, 11-1

Group B

Guadalupe Griffin (Mexico) d. Elena Dent (USA), 15-8, 15-8
Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica) d. Daniela Herrera (Colombia), 15-0, 15-0

Group C

Romina Rivero (Bolivia) d. Nathalia Pinero (Ecuador), 15-1, 15-2
Juliette Parent (Canada) d. Yun Chaeen (Korea), 15-2, 15-1

Group D

Delia Aguiar (Mexico) d. Nikita Chauhan (USA), 15-3, 15-3
Jazmin Aguilar (Guatemala) d. Josefino Tora (Chile), 15-3, 1-15, 11-7

Boy's U14 Singles

Group A

Diego Garcia (Bolivia) d. Juan Flores (Ecuador), 15-2, 15-5
Jose Cardona (Guatemala) d. Rafael Gatica (Chile), 15-10, 15-11

Group B

Jose Ramos (Mexico) d. Ari Weissbrot (Chile), 15-5, 15-10
Josue Bermeo (Ecuador) d. Mingi Lee (Korea), 15-1, 15-2

Group C

Charly Chavez (Bolivia) d. Sahil Thakur (USA), 15-13, 13-15, 11-5
Ian Frattinger (Canada) d. Luis Perez (Guatemala), 15-6, 15-7

Group D

Sebastian Longoria (Mexico) d. Esteban Rodriguez (Costa Rica), 15-6, 15-6
Tomas Oyhanart (Argentina) d. Guillermo Gutierrez (Colombia), 15-8, 15-5

Group E

Antonio Rojas (USA) d. Tomas Sanchez (Costa Rica), 15-9, 9-15, 11-6
Sean Sauvé (Canada) d. Felipe Cardona (Colombia), 5-15, 15-10, 11-8

Girl's U18 Doubles - Round Robin

Gabriela Martinez & Andrea Martinez (Guatemala) v. Jordan Cooperrider & Erika Manilla (USA) - Monday
Brenda Laime & Flavia Meneses (Bolivia) v. Mariel Morales & Erin Rivera (Mexico) - Monday

Boy's U18 Doubles

Group A

Gerardo Franco & Cristian Longoria (Mexico) d. Devin Halko & Trevor Webb (Canada), 15-8, 15-4
Christian Chavez & Jorge Ochoa (Ecuador) - BYE

Group B

Jake Birnel & Mauro Rojas (USA) d. Alexander Pirie & Jose Ubilla (Costa Rica), 15-5, 15-9
Prado Mendoza & Cristhian Miña (Bolivia) - BYE

Girl's U16 Doubles - Round Robin

Briana Jacquet & Ingrid Robledo (USA) d. Alexis Iwaasa (Canada) & Marjolaine Parent (Canada), 15-4, 13-15, 11-9
Ana Laura Flores & Monserrat Mejia (Mexico) - BYE

Boy's U16 Doubles

Group A

Eduardo Portillo & Rodrigo Rodriguez (Mexico) d. Spencer Bell & Kaleb Osborne (Canada), 15-0, 15-5
Geovani Mendoza & Javier Nathan (Guatemala) - BYE

Group B

Fernando Ruiz & Bernardo Valencia (Bolivia) d. Ricardo Diaz & Dane Elkins (USA), 15-10, 8-15, 11-7
Sergio Ortega & Marco Sarmiento (Honduras) - BYE

Group C

Sergio Acuña & Pablo Freer (Costa Rica) d. Josue Bermeo & Esteban de Janon (Ecuador), 15-8, 15-11
Johan Adasme & Ari Weissbrot (Chile) - BYE

Girl's U14 Doubles

Group A

Guadalupe Griffin & Valeria Hernandez (Mexico) d. Juliette Parent & Cassie Prentice (Canada), 15-5, 15-3
Valeria Centellas & Romina Rivero (Bolivia) - BYE

Group B

Nathalia Pinero & Ana Lucia Sarmiento (Ecuador) d. Nikita Chauhan & Elena Dent (USA), 15-6, 15-13
Sofia Freer & Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica) d. Yun Chaeen & Cho Seungmin (Korea), 15-3, 15-2

Boy's U14 Doubles

Group A

Martin Martinez & Jose Ramos (Mexico) d. Diego Gatica & Jaime Mansilla (Chile), 15-3, 15-5
Ian Frattinger & Sean Sauvé (Canada) - BYE

Group B

Juan Flores & Esteban Jano (Ecuador) d. Esteban Rodriguez & Tomas Sanchez (Costa Rica), 15-5, 9-15, 11-6
Jose Cardona & Luis Perez (Guatemala) - BYE

Group C

Roberto Arellano & Diego Garcia (Bolivia) d. Antonio Rojas & Sahil Thakur (USA), 15-14, 15-5
Mingi Lee & Namwoo Lee (Korea) d. Manuel Oyhanart & Tomas Oyhanart (Argentina), 15-6, 15-10

Follow the bouncing ball....