2017 LPRT Torneo Milenio - Round of 16 & 32

There were a couple of upsets in the Round of 16 at the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Torneo Milenio in Tijuana, Mexico, but top seed and LPRT #1 Paola Longoria advanced to the quarterfinals with ease, as she defeated Angelica Barrios, 11-3, 11-0, 11-0, in the 16s. Longoria will play Adriana Riveros in the quarters, as 9th seeded Riveros caused one of those upsets by defeating 8th seed Susana Acosta, 10-12, 11-9, 11-2, 11-8.

Nancy Enriquez had the other upset, as the 11th seed defeated 6th seed Carla Muñoz, 12-10, 11-1, 11-8. Enriquez faces 3rd seed Alexandra Herrera in the quarters, as Herrera was a winner over Denise Maldonado, 11-5, 11-2, 11-3.

Second seed Jessica Parrilla needed four games to fend off Jenny Daza, 11-5, 4-11, 11-7, 11-5. Parrilla plays Natalia Mendez in the quarters after Mendez beat Adrienne Haynes, 11-2, 11-2, 6-11, 11-9. Finally, 4th seed Rhonda Rajsich defeated Montserrat Perez, 11-2, 11-8, 11-3, and meets 5th seed Cristina Amaya in the quarters, as Amaya beat Erin Rivera, 0-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-4.

The match of the day happened in doubles, as Longoria and Enriquez’s came back to defeat Barrios and Daza, 13-15, 15-14, 11-7. Barrios and Daza led throughout the second half of game one, and never trailed in game two until the end. And in the breaker it was Barrios and Daza who were ahead 5-0 only to come out on the losing end.

How do you prevent an upset? Hold your opponents off the scoreboard. That’s what Longoria and Enriquez did for 11 straight opportunities in game two, when they were down 10-5. However, in that period Longoria and Enriquez only scored five points, so they only tied the game at 10-10.

Barrios and Daza did get off 10, and managed to get to 14 first, as they led 14-12. But a Longoria forehand pinch put them half down, and they lost serve when Barrios was forced into a forehand skip shot. With the serve back, Longoria and Enriquez scored three straight points with the game winner coming when Longoria drove the ball cross court with her forehand.

In the match, Longoria played the left side, and Enriquez the right, although at the start of game two they did switch briefly, but when they found themselves down 4-0, they switched back. On the other side, Barrios played the left side with the more senior player Daza on the right side, and Barrios served to Longoria throughout the match, which one might have thought was not a good idea. But it was reasonably effective. Daza served high lob serves tight to the wall to Enriquez, and perhaps Barrios should have done the same, but that’s second guessing.

Barrios and Daza were close to causing the upset partly because they were more of a team than Longoria and Enriquez, who lost a few rallies because of miscommunication and getting in each other’s way. In the semi-finals, Longoria and Enriquez will play a lefty-righty team in Alexandra Herrera and Natalia Mendez, who defeated Susana Acosta and Brenda Laime, 15-8, 15-1, and they will want to eliminate any miscommunication during that match.

You can watch this weekend’s action live via the LPRT LiveStream channel or the LPRT YouTube channel. The quarterfinals are on Saturday at 10 and 11 AM and the semi-finals at 4 and 5 PM. The singles final will be noon Sunday with the doubles final to follow.

2017 LPRT Torneo Milenio, August 23-27, 2017
Tijuana, Mexico

Round of 32

1) Paola Longoria - BYE
17) Angelica Barrios d. 16) Maritza Franco, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5

9) Adriana Riveros - BYE
8) Susana Acosta - BYE

5) Cristina Amaya - BYE
12) Erin Rivera d. 21) Fernanda Ruiz, 11-1, 11-0, 11-3

13) Montserrat Perez d. 20) Victoria Orozco, 11-2, 11-1, 11-4
4) Rhonda Rajsich - BYE

3) Alexandra Herrera - BYE
14) Danisse Maldonado d. 19) Jocelyn Loredo, 11-9, 3-11, 11-2, 9-11, 11-0

11) Nancy Enriquez d. 22) Delia Aguilar, 11-0, 11-2, 11-2
6) Carla Muñoz - BYE

7) Natalia Mendez - BYE
10) Adrienne Haynes d. 23) Arantza Loredo, 11-6, 11-4, 11-3

15) Jenny Daza d. 18) Brenda Laime, 11-2, 11-6, 11-8
2) Jessica Parrilla - BYE

Round of 16 - Friday

1) Paola Longoria v. 17) Angelica Barrios, 11-3, 11-0, 11-0
9) Adriana Riveros d. 8) Susana Acosta, 10-12, 11-9, 11-2, 11-8

5) Cristina Amaya d. 12) Erin Rivera, 0-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-4
4) Rhonda Rajsich d. 13) Montserrat Perez, 11-2, 11-8, 11-3

3) Alexandra Herrera d. 14) Danisse Maldonado, 11-5, 11-2, 11-3
11) Nancy Enriquez d. 6) Carla Muñoz, 12-10, 11-1, 11-8

7) Natalia Mendez d. 10) Adrienne Haynes, 11-2, 11-2, 6-11, 11-9
2) Jessica Parrilla d. 15) Jenny Daza, 11-5, 4-11, 11-7, 11-5

Quarterfinals - Saturday

1) Paola Longoria v. 9) Adriana Riveros - 11 AM
4) Rhonda Rajsich v. 5) Cristina Amaya - 11 AM

3) Alexandra Herrera v. 11) Nancy Enriquez - 10 AM
2) Jessica Parrilla v. 7) Natalia Mendez - 10 AM

Doubles - Round of 16

1) Paola Longoria & Nancy Enriquez - BYE
8) Angelica Barrios & Jenny Daza d. 9) Arantza Loredo & Jocelyn Loredo, 15-1, 15-2

5) Susana Acosta & Brenda Laime - BYE
4) Alexandra Herrera & Natalia Mendez - BYE

3) Cristina Amaya & Adriana Riveros - BYE
6) Montserrat Perez & Erin Rivera - BYE

7) Maritza Franco & Danisse Maldonado d. 10) Delia Aguilar & Victoria Orozco, 15-13, 7-15, 11-7
2) Carla Muñoz & Jessica Parrilla - BYE

Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Paola Longoria & Nancy Enriquez d. 8) Angelica Barrios & Jenny Daza, 12-15, 15-14, 11-7
4) Alexandra Herrera & Natalia Mendez d. 5) Susana Acosta & Brenda Laime, 15-8, 15-1

6) Montserrat Perez & Erin Rivera d. 3) Cristina Amaya & Adriana Riveros, 15-7, 15-14
2) Carla Muñoz & Jessica Parrilla d. 7) Maritza Franco & Danisse Maldonado, 15-3, 15-9

Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Paola Longoria & Nancy Enriquez v. 4) Alexandra Herrera & Natalia Mendez - 7 PM
2) Carla Muñoz & Jessica Parrilla v. 6) Montserrat Perez & Erin Rivera - 6 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….