2017 WRT Rocky Mountain Open Preview

The World Racquetball Tour (WRT) is in Utah for the 2017 Rocky Mountain Open in Taylorsville, Utah. David Horn is the top seed with Alejandro Cardona 2nd seed, Jake Bredenbeck 3rd and Gerardo Franco 4th. Also, the event will have a Saturday night finish.

But perhaps the biggest news ahead of this event is that Sudsy Monchik is in the draw. He’s seeded 11th, which we’re surprised at as it’s Monchik’s first WRT event, so he doesn’t have any ranking points.

Monchik, a former #1 professional men’s player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) and four time US Open winner, made the successful return to competitive racquetball earlier this month, when he made it to the US Open quarterfinals in his first pro appearance since 2012. In doing so, Monchik defeated two players who are in the draw this weekend: Felipe Camacho and Gerardo Franco.

Monchik likely has his eyes on winning this weekend, but his path to do it won’t be easy, as he’ll need to face the top three seeds to get the title (if there no upsets in the draw). Assuming he defeats his first round opponent, Steve Black, Monchik will likely face 6th seed Jose Diaz, then 3rd seed Jake Bredenbeck, 2nd seed Alejandro Cardona, and 1st seed David Horn. Not a clear path.

Monchik is also in the doubles draw, partnering with Sebastian Franco. They are the 3rd seeds with Cardona and Gerardo Franco the 1st seeds.

The Round of 32 is Thursday afternoon and evening with the Round of 16 on Friday morning and afternoon. The quarterfinals will be Friday from 4 PM. The semi-finals are Saturday at 11 AM and noon, and the final Saturday at 5 PM. You should be able to watch the action live Friday and Saturday via the WRT website.

2017 WRT Rocky Mountain Open
Taylorsville, Utah

Round of 32

1) David Horn - BYE
16) Garrett Tyler v. 17) Jesse Van Valkenburg

9) Nicolai Miramontes v. 24) Shane McDougal
8) Felipe Camacho v. 25) Sam Bredenbeck

5) Jaime Martell v. 28) Jacob Kingsford
12) Justus Benson v. 21) Gary Chun

13) Sebastian Franco v. 29) Steve Bohman
4) Gerardo Franco v. 29) Gavin Usher

3) Jake Bredenbeck v. 30) Christopher Ortiz
14) Erick Fernandez v. 19) Kevin Day

11) Sudsy Monchik v. 22) Steve Black
6) Jose Diaz v. 27) Andrew Clarke

7) Mauricio Zelada v. 26) Robert Collins
10) Erik Garcia v. 23) Devan Van Valkenburg

15) Andrew Gale v. 18) Alvaro Mejia
2) Alejandro Cardona - BYE

Doubles - Quarterfinals

1) Alejandro Cardona & Gerardo Franco - BYE
4) Felipe Camacho & Robert Collins v. 5) Andrew Clarke & Nicolai Miramontes

3) Sebastian Franco & Sudsy Monchik v. 6) Kevin Day & Garrett Tyler
2) Justus Benson & Erik Garcia v. 7) Erick Cuevas Fernandez & Christopher Ortiz

Follow the bouncing ball….