Landa upsets Carson in quarterfinals of 2018 IRT Lewis Drug Pro-Am

Friday night was not a good night to be a #1 seed at the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) 40th annual Lewis Drug Pro/Am in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as the #1 seeds in both singles and doubles lost their semi-final matches. In singles, top seed Rocky Carson was upset by 8th seed Alejandro Landa in a long match that ended, 15-14, 11-15, 11-4, for Landa.

The first game was close the whole way with Carson always slightly ahead of Landa until the end, when Landa tied it at 12-12. Then he got to 14 first, leading 14-13. But Carson called a timeout, and then fought off game point, and tied it at 14-14 when Landa skipped a backhand shot.

But Landa made good with a backhand on the next rally, and Carson returned the favour as he skipped a backhand to end the game at 15-14 for Landa. Carson wanted to appeal the call, but was out of appeals, yet the call seemed correct.

In the second game, Landa seemed like he would win in two straight games, as he was up 10-4. But Carson is the IRT’s #2 player for a reason, and he outscored Landa 11-1 the rest of the game to win it 15-11 and force a breaker.

But that was a small consolation for Carson, as Landa won game three by a comfortable margin at 11-4.

In doubles, Alvaro Beltran and Daniel De La Rosa were the top seeds, but fell to fellow Mexicans Javier Mar and Rodrigo Montoya, 15-12, 15-8.

Yet Beltran and De La Rosa won their singles matches, and will play each other in the semi-finals Saturday. Beltran beat Sebastian Franco, 15-7, 15-4, and De La Rosa defeated David Horn, 15-12, 15-12.

The other semi will also be a match between doubles partners, as Landa will play Samuel Murray, who outlasted Montoya over three games, 15-10, 5-15, 11-5. In the breaker, Montoya had the early lead at 5-3, but Murray scored eight unanswered points to carry the day.

And also like Beltran and De La Rosa, Landa and Murray lost their quarterfinal doubles match, losing to Jansen Allen and Felipe Camacho, 15-13, 15-9. Allen and Camacho will play Mar and Montoya in the semis.

The other doubles semi-final will see 2nd seeds Jake Bredenbeck and Jose Diaz face off with 10th seeds David Horn and Mauro Rojas. Both teams survived close quarterfinal matches. Bredenbeck and Diaz needed three games to overcome Alejandro Cardona and Gerardo Franco, 13-15, 15-12, 11-8, while Horn and Rojas won two close games against Sebastian Franco and Mario Mercado, 15-14, 15-12.

The semi-finals will be on the IRT Network at noon and 1 PM Saturday with the final at 10 AM Sunday. The doubles semi-finals are Saturday afternoon at 3 and 4 PM with the final Sunday at 11 AM.

2018 IRT Lewis Drug Pro-Am, January 18-21 2018
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Quarterfinals - Friday

8) Alejandro Landa d. 1) Rocky Carson, 15-14, 11-15, 11-4
5) Samuel Murray d. Rodrigo Montoya, 15-10, 5-15, 11-5

3) Alvaro Beltran d. 6) Sebastian Franco, 15-7, 15-4
2) Daniel De La Rosa d. David Horn, 15-12, 15-12

Semi-finals - Saturday

5) Samuel Murray v. 8) Alejandro Landa - Noon
2) Daniel De La Rosa v. 3) Alvaro Beltran - 1 PM

IRT Doubles Quarterfinals - Friday

8) Javier Mar & Rodrigo Montoya d. 1) Alvaro Beltran & Daniel De La Rosa, 15-12, 15-8
4) Jansen Allen & Felipe Camacho d. 5) Alejandro Landa & Samuel Murray, 15-13, 15-9

6) David Horn & Mauro Rojas d. 3) Sebastian Franco & Mario Mercado, 15-14, 15-12
2) Jake Bredenbeck & Jose Diaz d. 10) Alejandro Cardona & Gerardo Franco, 13-15, 15-12, 11-8

IRT Doubles Semi-finals - Saturday

4) Jansen Allen & Felipe Camacho v. 8) Javier Mar & Rodrigo Montoya - 3 PM
2) Jake Bredenbeck & Jose Diaz v. 6) David Horn & Mauro Rojas - 4 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….