Team Competition Day 1 at 2018 Central American & Caribbean Games

International racquetball competitions are long, and when they have two parts - the individual singles and doubles competitions followed by a team competition - it can be difficult to perform well in both. So it was Thursday at the 2018 Central American & Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia, where some players who did well in the first part of the week didn’t fare so well on Thursday. The top two seeds in the Men’s Team competition didn’t have problems. Mexico - the #1 seeds - defeated Honduras in two straight matches, and 2nd seeds Costa Rica did similarly with Venezuela.

However, the other matches could be described as upsets based on what happened earlier in the week. Cuba defeated Colombia two matches to one. Colombian Mario Mercado needed a tie-breaker to beat Cuban Enier Chacon, 15-6, 14-15, 11-9. But Cuba levelled the match with a win in doubles, as Chacon and Maykel Moyet beat Mercado and Set Cubillos, 15-13, 15-12. In the deciding match, Moyet defeated Hosman Gomez, 15-12, 15-1, to carry the day for Cuba, who will play Mexico in the semi-finals Friday.

Dominican Republic got two bronze medals in the Men’s Singles and Men’s Doubles competitions earlier in the week, but they won’t be on the podium in the Men’s Team event, as Guatemala defeated them, 2-1. First, Juan Salvatierra of Guatemala beat Ramón De León of Dominican Republic, 15-13, 15-13. The Dominicans won the doubles match with De León and Luis Pérez defeated Edwin Galicia and Christian Wer, 15-4, 15-12. Then Guatemalan Edwin Galicia got his team the win by defeating Pérez in two straight games, 15-13, 15-4.

The Women’s Team quarterfinal matches were all over in two matches. Costa Rica defeated the Dominican Republic. Colombia beat Venezuela, and Guatemala got the better of Cuba. In the semi-finals, Costa Rica will play Mexico, who had a bye in the quarters, with Colombia playing Guatemala.

The Men’s and Women’s Team finals will be on Saturday.

2018 Central American & Caribbean Games - July 20-29
Barranquilla, Colombia

Men’s Team - Quarterfinals

Mexico d. Honduras - 2-0

1. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. Marco Sarmiento (Honduras), 15-2, 15-3
2. Alvaro Beltran & Daniel De La Rosa (Mexico) d. Carlos Medrano & Marco Sarmiento (Honduras), 15-3, 15-4
3. Daniel De La Rosa (Mexico) v. Carlos Medrano & (Honduras), not played

Guatemala d. Dominican Republic - 2-1

1. Juan Salvatierra (Guatemala) d. Ramón De León (Dominican Republic), 15-13, 15-13
2. Ramón De León & Luis Pérez (Dominican Republic) d. Edwin Galicia & Christian Wer (Guatemala), 15-4, 15-12
3. Edwin Galicia (Guatemala) d. Luis Pérez (Dominican Republic), 15-13, 15-4

Cuba d. Colombia - 2-1

1. Mario Mercado (Colombia) d. Enier Chacon (Cuba), 15-6, 14-15, 11-9
2. Maykel Moyet & Enier Chacon (Cuba) d. Set Cubillos & Mario Mercado (Colombia), 15-13, 15-12
3. Maykel Moyet (Cuba) d. Hosman Gomez (Colombia), 15-12, 15-1

Costa Rica d. Venezuela - 2-0

1. Andrés Acuña (Costa Rica) d. Ricardo Gomez (Venezuela), 15-4, 15-6
2. Andrés Acuña & Felipe Camacho (Costa Rica) d. Cesar Castillo & Cesar Castro (Venezuela), 15-4, 15-3
3. Felipe Camacho (Costa Rica) v. Luis Zea (Venezuela), not played

Men’s Team - Semi-finals - Friday

Mexico v. Guatemala
Costa Rica v. Cuba

Women’s Team - Quarterfinals

Mexico - BYE

Costa Rica d. Dominican Republic - 2-0

1. Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica) d. Alejandra Jiménez (Dominican Republic), 15-5, 15-9
2. Maricruz Ortiz & Melania Sauma (Costa Rica) d. Merynanyelly Delgado & Alejandra Jiménez (Dominican Republic), 15-9, 13-15. 11–1
3. Melania Sauma (Costa Rica) v. Merynanyelly Delgado (Dominican Republic), not played

Colombia d. Venezuela, 2-0

1. Cristina Amaya (Colombia) d. Diana Rangel (Venezuela), 15-0, 15-1
2. Cristina Amaya & Adriana Riveros (Colombia) d. Marian Tobon & Lilian Zea (Venezuela), 15-9, 15-9
3. Adriana Riveros (Colombia) d. Marian Tobon (Venezuela), not played

Guatemala d. Cuba, 2-0

1. Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala) d. Yurisleidis Allue (Cuba), 15-2, 15-7
2. Gabriella Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala) d. Yurisleidis Allue & Maria Viera (Cuba), 15-4, 15-8
3. Gabriella Martinez (Guatemala) v. Maria Viera (Cuba), not played

Women’s Team - Semi-finals - Friday

Mexico v. Costa Rica
Guatemala v. Colombia

Follow the bouncing ball….