2018 Pan American Championships - Elimination Round complete

The elimination rounds have begun at the XXXI Pan American Championships in Temuco, Chile, and in the Men’s Singles Round of 32 there was only one small upset as 17th seed Kadim Carrasco of Bolivia narrowly defeated 16th seed Thomas Carter of USA, 15-14, 15-12. Carrasco will play #1 seed Rodrigo Montoya of Mexico Wednesday afternoon.

The story is similar on the women’s side, as the only upset so far has come in the 16/17 match with 17th seed Maricruz Ortiz of Costa Rica beating 16th seed Yurisleidis Araujo of Cuba, 15-5, 15-10.

But in the Women’s Singles Round of 16, 15th seed Jasmine Sabja of Bolivia knocked off the 2nd seed Maria Paz Muñoz from Ecuador, 15-8, 15-5. That’s a great win for Sabja, but her reward is a match against Paola Longoria of Mexico, who lost to Maria Jose Vargas in the Group Stage so is seeded 10th in the elimination round, and beat Janel Tisinger of the USA, 15-5, 15-5.

Also winning by an upset was Natalia Mendez of Argentina, seeded 12th, defeating 5th seed Carla Muñoz of Chile, in two close games, 15-11, 15-13.

In other action, top seed Vargas (Argentina) beat Ortiz (Costa Rica), 15-2, 15-6, to set up a quarterfinal match with American veteran Rhonda Rajsich, who was a winner over Canadian Jen Saunders, 15-6, 15-8.

In the Men’s Singles Round of 16, the only upset came in the 8/9 match, as Costa Rican Andres Acuña beat Trevor Webb (Canada), 15-4, 15-4. Acuña will play top seed Rodrigo Montoya of Mexico in the quarterfinals. Montoya defeated Bolivian Kadim Carrasco, 15-7, 15-3, in the 16s.

There were three tie-breakers in the men’s 16s. Home country favourite Francisco Troncoso (Chile) came back from a game down to defeat Gabriel Garcia of Costa Rica, 8-15, 15-12, 11-4. Troncoso will play Andree Parrilla of Mexico in the quarters as Parrilla beat Christian Chavez (Ecuador), 15-2, 15-9.

Also, Carlos Keller of Bolivia needed three games to fend off Edwin Galicia of Guatemala, 15-7, 7-15, 11-5. Keller will now play Cuban sensation Maikel Mollet, who was a straight game winner over Andres Gomez of Colombia, 15-13, 15-4.

Finally, Canadian Pedro Castro won a close tie-breaker with Jose Daniel Ugalde of Ecuador, 15-8, 4-15, 11-9, to set up a showdown with 2nd seed David Horn of the USA, as Horn beat Set Cubillos of Colombia, 15-9, 15-6.

The quarterfinals will be Thursday with the semi-finals on Friday and finals on Saturday.

According to the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) Facebook page they have a tentative schedule to live stream three four singles matches: Longoria (Mexico) versus Sabja (Bolivia) in Women’s Singles at 8 AM; Vargas (Argentina) versus Rajsich (USA) in Women’s Singles at 9 AM; Keller (Bolivia) versus Mollet (Cuba) in Men’s Singles at 10 AM; and Horn (USA versus Castro (Canada) in Men’s Singles at 11 AM. All times are central.

XXXI Pan American Racquetball Championships
Temuco, Chile - March 24-31, 2018

Women's Singles - Round of 32 - Wednesday

1) Maria José Vargas (Argentina) - BYE
17) Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica) d. 16) Yurisleidis Araujo (Cuba), 15-5, 15-10

9) Jen Saunders (Canada) - BYE
8) Rhonda Rajsich (USA) - BYE

5) Carla Muñoz (Chile) - BYE
12) Natalia Mendez (Argentina) d. 21) Maria José Muñoz (Ecuador), 15-1, 15-3

13) Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala) d. 20) Josefa Parada (Chile), 15-2, 15-2
4) Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) - BYE

3) Samantha Salas (Mexico) - BYE
14) Valeria Centallas (Bolivia) v. 19) Maria Paz Riquelme (Colombia), 15-2, 15-6

11)Alexis Iwaasa (Canada) - BYE
6) Cristina Amaya (Colombia) - BYE

7) Janel Tisinger (USA) - BYE
10) Paola Longoria (Mexico) - BYE

15) Jasmine Sabja (Bolivia) d. 18) Maria Viera Gonzales (Cuba), 15-2, 15-6
2) Maria Paz Muñoz (Ecuador) - BYE

Women's Singles - Round of 16 - Wednesday

1) Maria José Vargas (Argentina) d. 17) Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica), 15-2, 15-6
8) Rhonda Rajsich (USA) d. 9) Jen Saunders (Canada), 15-6, 15-8

12) Natalia Mendez (Argentina) d. 5) Carla Muñoz (Chile), 15-11, 15-13
4) Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) d. 13) Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala), 15-4, 15-7

3) Samantha Salas (Mexico) d. 14) Valeria Centallas (Bolivia), 15-13, 14-15, 11-4
6) Cristina Amaya (Colombia) d. 11)Alexis Iwaasa (Canada), 15-7, 15-9

10) Paola Longoria (Mexico) d. 7) Janel Tisinger (USA), 15-5, 15-5
15) Jasmine Sabja (Bolivia) d. 2) Maria Paz Muñoz (Ecuador), 15-8, 15-5

Women's Singles - Quarterfinals - Thursday

1) Maria José Vargas (Argentina) v. 8) Rhonda Rajsich (USA) - 11 AM
4) Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) v. 12) Natalia Mendez (Argentina) - 11 AM

3) Samantha Salas (Mexico) v. 6) Cristina Amaya (Colombia) - 10 AM
10) Paola Longoria (Mexico) v. 15) Jasmine Sabja (Bolivia) - 10 AM

Men's Singles - Round of 32 - Wednesday

1) Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) - BYE
17) Kadim Carrasco (Bolivia) d. 16) Thomas Carter (USA), 15-14, 15-12

9) Andres Acuña (Costa Rica) d. 24) Enier Chacon Gomez (Cuba), 15-14, 15-7
8) Trevor Webb (Canada) - BYE

5) Carlos Keller (Bolivia) - BYE
12) Edwin Galicia (Guatemala) d. 21) Carlos Medrano (Honduras), 15-3, 4-15, 11-2

13) Andres Gomez (Colombia) d. 20) Shai Manzuri (Argentina), 15-7, 15-13
4) Maikel Mollet (Cuba) - BYE

3) Andree Parrilla (Mexico) - BYE
14) Christian Chavez (Ecuador) d. 19) Rodrigo Salgado (Chile), 15-8, 8-15, 11-7

11) Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica) d. 22) Juan Jose Salvatierra (Guatemala), 15-5, 15-8
6) Francisco Troncoso (Chile) - BYE

7) Pedro Castro (Canada) - BYE
10) Jose Daniel Ugalde (Ecuador) d. 23) Marco Sarmiento (Honduras), 15-2, 15-8

15) Set Cubillos (Colombia) d. 18) Fernando Kurzbard (Argentina), 15-4, 15-9
2) David Horn (USA) - BYE

Men's Singles - Round of 16 - Wednesday

1) Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 17) Kadim Carrasco (Bolivia), 15-7, 15-3
9) Andres Acuña (Costa Rica) d. 8) Trevor Webb (Canada), 15-4, 15-4

5) Carlos Keller (Bolivia) d. 12) Edwin Galicia (Guatemala), 15-7, 7-15, 11-5
4) Maikel Mollet (Cuba) d. 13) Andres Gomez (Colombia), 15-13, 15-4

3) Andree Parrilla (Mexico) d. 14) Christian Chavez (Ecuador), 15-2, 15-9
6) Francisco Troncoso (Chile) d. 11) Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica), 8-15, 15-12, 11-4

7) Pedro Castro (Canada) d. 10) Jose Daniel Ugalde (Ecuador), 15-8, 4-15, 11-9
2) David Horn (USA) d. 15) Set Cubillos (Colombia), 15-9, 15-6

Men's Singles - Quarterfinals - Thursday

1) Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) v. 9) Andres Acuña (Costa Rica) - Noon
4) Maikel Mollet (Cuba) v. 5) Carlos Keller (Bolivia) - Noon

3) Andree Parrilla (Mexico) v. 6) Francisco Troncoso (Chile) - 1 PM
2) David Horn (USA) v. 7) Pedro Castro (Canada) - 1 PM

* Note: Temuco is 1 hour ahead of Eastern time, so 4 PM above would be 3 PM eastern.

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