Upsets in Round of 16 at 2018 LPRT Sweet Caroline Open

Nancy Enriquez or Eleni Guzman will be in the semi-finals of the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Sweet Caroline Open in Greenville, South Carolina, as they both pulled off big upsets in the Round of 16 Friday and will play each other in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Guzman, the 15th seed, had the bigger win Friday, as she knocked off 2nd seed Rhonda Rajsich, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9, while 10th seed Enriquez upset 7th seed Natalia Mendez, 11-6, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6, 11-6 [sic].

The other higher seeds all won their matches, except for the 8/9 match, where 9th seed Carla Muñoz defeated 8th seed Cristina Amaya, 11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 12-10. Muñoz will play LPRT #1 Paola Longoria in the quarters, as Longoria beat 17th seed Cassandra Lee, 11-3, 11-2, 11-1, in the 16s.

In what might have been the match of the tournament, two LPRT event winners went toe-to-toe with Samantha Salas narrowly defeating Maria Vargas, 11-3, 12-10, 7-11, 11-13, 11-9. Salas will play 3rd seed Jessica Parrilla in the quarters as Parrilla beat Sheryl Lotts, 11-8, 11-8, 11-6, in a match that was closer than the scores indicate.

Vargas almost got revenge on Salas for the singles loss in their doubles match, as Vargas and Natalia Mendez went breaker with Salas and Frédérique Lambert, but Salas and Lambert squeaked it out, winning 5-15, 15-7, 11-10. Salas and Lambert got to match point first at 10-8, but two winners by Mendez - a forehand touch shot and a backhand roll out - denied them.

Vargas and Mendez called time out, and then cut the lead to one when Lambert skipped a shot, and tied it on a Vargas forehand roll out. But on the next rally - their first match point - Vargas hit a forehand into floor, which made it half down. Then Lambert made amends for her skip with a winner on the the next rally, so she and Salas were back in the service box.

On their 3rd match point, Vargas denied Lambert and Salas with a backhand kill shot. But the next rally ended when Salas rolled a forehand reverse pinch shot out of the left corner for the match winner.

In the semi-finals, Lambert and Salas will play 2nd seeds Carla Muñoz and Jessica Parrilla, who also needed a tie-breaker to advance against 7th seeds Susana Acosta and Eleni Guzman, 15-3, 9-15, 11-3.

The quarterfinals will be Saturday morning (10 AM & 11 AM EST) and semi-finals Saturday at 4 PM and 5 PM. The singles final will be Sunday at 11 AM with the doubles final scheduled for noon. Check out the LPRT YouTube channel for the action or its LiveStream channel.

2018 Sweet Caroline Open
Greenville, South Carolina - January 25-28, 2018

LPRT Singles - Round of 16 - Friday

1 Paola Longoria d. 17 Cassandra Lee, 11-3, 11-2, 11-1
9 Carla Muñoz d. 8 Cristina Amaya, 11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 12-10

5 Alexandra Herrera d. 12 Susana Acosta, 11-9, 11-1, 11-0
4 Frédérique Lambert d. 13 Maria Renee Rodriguez, 11-13, 11-8, 11-1, 11-1

3 Jessica Parrilla d. 14 Sheryl Lotts, 11-8, 11-8, 11-6
6 Samantha Salas d. 22 Maria Vargas, 11-3, 12-10, 7-11, 11-13, 11-9

10 Nancy Enriquez d. 7 Natalia Mendez, 11-6, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6, 11-6 [sic]
15 Eleni Guzman d. 2 Rhonda Rajsich, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9

LPRT Singles - Quarterfinals - Saturday

1 Paola Longoria v. 9 Carla Muñoz - 11 AM
4 Frédérique Lambert v. 5 Alexandra Herrera - 11 AM

3 Jessica Parrilla v. 6 Samantha Salas - 10 AM
10 Nancy Enriquez v. 15 Eleni Guzman - 10 AM

LPRT Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday

1 Alexandra Herrera & Paola Longoria v. 9 Kelani Bailey & Sharon Jackson, 15-4, 15-8
5 Sheryl Lotts & Rhonda Rajsich d. 4 Cristina Amaya & Cecilia Pratt, 15-3, 13-15, 11-2

3 Frédérique Lambert & Samantha Salas v. 6 Natalia Mendez & Maria Vargas, 15-5, 7-15, 11-10
2 Carla Muñoz & Jessica Parrilla d. 7 Susana Acosta & Eleni Guzman, 15-3, 9-15, 11-3

LPRT Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday

1 Alexandra Herrera & Paola Longoria v. 5 Sheryl Lotts & Rhonda Rajsich - 7 PM
2 Carla Muñoz & Jessica Parrilla v. 3 Frédérique Lambert & Samantha Salas - 6 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….