Longoria at double winner at 2018 LPRT Christmas Classic

Paola Longoria won twice on Sunday, as she won both singles and doubles at the 2018 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Christmas Classic in Laurel, Maryland, and provided more evidence of why she is the #1 player on the LPRT. In the singles final, Longoria defeated Alexandra Herrera, 11-8, 11-4, 11-7, and then teamed up with Kelani Bailey Lawrence to beat Herrera and Frédérique Lambert in the doubles final, 15-7, 15-10.

Longoria won each of her four singles matches en route to the title in three straight games giving up an average of 3.92 points per game, including handing out two doughnuts. The win maintains Longoria's undefeated season.

Longoria usually plays doubles with fellow Mexican Samantha Salas, but Salas wasn’t in Maryland reportedly due to travel difficulties. So she teamed up with Bailey Lawrence, who is only ranked 32nd in singles and 21st in doubles on the LPRT. But Bailey Lawrence is half of the current USA Racquetball National Doubles Champions, winning the title with Sharon Jackson last February. Her low LPRT ranking is mainly due to not playing many events.

At the start of the doubles final, it looked like 2nd seeds Herrera and Lambert, who were also playing together for the first time, would cause the upset as they put 6 points on the board before Longoria and Bailey Lawrence scored. Most of those points began with Lambert hitting a drive Z serve to Bailey Lawrence, as they were both playing on the right side. However, once the top seeds Longoria and Bailey Lawrence got going they held their lefty-righty opponents (Herrera is left handed & Lambert right handed) to only one more point while scoring 15 of their own, winning 15-7.

Longoria and Bailey Lawrence took an early lead at 4-1 in game two, and never trailed from there, as they went on to win it 15-10 and take the match in two straight games.

The LPRT will next be in action in 2019 at the Sweet Caroline Open in Greenville, South Carolina, January 25-27. If you missed any of the action from Maryland, check out the LPRT YouTube channel or the LPRT LiveStream channel.

2018 LPRT Christmas Classic Pro-Am, December 14-16, 2018
Laurel, Maryland

Final - Sunday

1) Paola Longoria d. 3) Alexandra Herrera, 11-8, 11-4, 11-7

Doubles - Final - Sunday

1) Paola Longoria & Kelani Bailey Lawrence d. 2) Alexandra Herrera & Frédérique Lambert, 15-7, 15-10

Follow the bouncing ball….