Horn & Gudinas win Open titles at Shamrock Shootout

David Horn won the Men’s Open division at the 32nd Annual Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois Sunday. He survived a field of 36 players to come out on top. In the final, Horn defeated Mario Mercado, 15-14, 15-8, in what was their second meeting in a final in as many weekends. Horn and Mercado faced off in the final of the World Racquetball Tour (WRT) Midwest Championships on the previous weekend, when Horn also won. That win was 15-14, 15-14, so together with Sunday’s result, Horn and Mercado have played four games to 15 and three of them have ended 15-14.

In the semi-finals, Horn beat Gerardo Franco, 15-11, 15-9, while Mercado took out Samuel Murray, 15-9, 15-7.

Veteran Cheryl Gudinas won the Women’s Open division in Lombard, as she outlasted Masiel Rivera in the final, 7-15, 15-6, 11-8. Gudinas beat Rebecca Bowman in one semi-final, 15-4, 15-4, while Rivera defeated Samantha Simmons, 15-8, 15-4, in the other.

Finally, Jake Bredenbeck and Bryan Crosser defeated Thomas Carter and Kyle Ulliman, 15-12, 15-10, to win the Men’s Open Doubles title.

Looking ahead, the IRT will be back in action this coming weekend in Dayton, Ohio for the Raising Some Racquet for Kids Pro-Am, March 23-36. But the field will be much smaller than this past weekend at the Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois, as only 17 players are currently registered to play in Dayton compared with 37 in Lombard.

2017 IRT Shamrock Shootout, March 16-19
Lombard, Illinois

Men’s Open Final

David Horn d. Mario Mercado, 15-14, 15-8

Semi-finals

David Horn d. Gerardo Franco, 15-11, 15-9
Mario Mercado d. Samuel Murray, 15-9, 15-7

Quarterfinals

Gerardo Franco d. Felipe Camacho, 15-11, 15-6
David Horn d. Andres Gómez, 15-2, 15-6
Samuel Murray d. Sebastian Franco, 15-11, 15-8
Mario Mercado d. Andres Acuña

Women’s Open Final

Cheryl Gudinas d. Masiel Rivera, 7-15, 15-6, 11-8

Semi-finals

Cheryl Gudinas d. Rebecca Bowman, 15-4, 15-4
Masiel Rivera d. Samantha Simmons, 15-8, 15-4

Men’s Open Doubles Final

Jake Bredenbeck & Bryan Crosser d. Thomas Carter & Kyle Ulliman, 15-12, 15-10

Semi-finals

Jake Bredenbeck & Bryan Crosser d. Marco Rojas & Bruce Young, 15-2, 15-7
Thomas Carter & Kyle Ulliman d. Jorge Ortiz & Fernando Javier Rivera, 15-6, 15-11

Follow the bouncing ball….