Top seeds advance at 2019 LPRT Sweet Caroline Open

The top six seeds all won their respective matches in the Round of 16 at the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Sweet Caroline Open in Greenville, South Carolina, including LPRT #1 Paola Longoria, who beat 17th seed Masiel Rivera, 11-1, 11-2, 11-4, as well as LPRT #2 Samantha Salas, who was an equally convincing winner over Ana Laura Flores, 11-6, 11-1, 11-5. In fact, six of the eight matches in the 16s were straight game victories.

One exception was 10th seed Adriana Riveros’s upset of 7th seed Natalia Mendez, which took five games, as Riveros prevented a Mendez comeback by winning 11-4, 12-10, 5-11, 10-12, 11-7. Riveros will play Salas in the quarterfinals on Saturday. The other exception was 3rd seed Alexandra Herrera’s win over Kelani Bailey Lawrence, as they traded zeroes in the games two and three of their match after Herrera came back to win first game. She took the match in four games, 11-8, 0-11, 11-0, 11-8, and will play Nancy Enriquez in the quarters after Enriquez beat Cassi Lee, 11-2, 11-0, 11-0.

Longoria’s win in the 16s sets up a rematch of last year’s International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championship final between her and Gabriela Martinez, which Martinez won. Martinez got to the quarters on Friday by defeating Hollie Scott, 11-3, 11-2, 11-2.

Only one small upset in doubles, as 5th seeds Sheryl Lotts and Rhonda Rajsich beat 4th seeds Cristina Amaya and Adriana Riveros, 15-12, 15-5. Lotts and Rajsich will play top seeds Longoria and Salas in the semi-finals Saturday, as Longoria and Salas defeated Nancy Enriquez and Ana Laura Flores, 15-6, 15-3, in the quarters.

The singles quarterfinals will be Saturday morning (11 AM & Noon) and semi-finals Saturday at 5 PM and 6 PM Eastern. The doubles semi-finals are Saturday night at 7 and 8 PM. The singles final will be Sunday at 1 PM with the doubles final scheduled for 2 PM. You can watch the action live via the LPRT website, or the LPRT YouTube channel or its LiveStream channel.

2019 Sweet Caroline Open
Greenville, South Carolina - January 25-27, 2019

LPRT Singles - Round of 16 - Friday

1 Paola Longoria d. 17 Masiel Rivera, 11-1, 11-2, 11-4
8 Gabriela Martinez d. 24 Hollie Scott, 11-3, 11-2, 11-2

5 Rhonda Rajsich d. 12 Sheryl Lotts, 11-4, 13-11, 11-9
4 Maria Jose Vargas d. 13 Adrienne Haynes, 11-7, 11-2, 11-1

3 Alexandra Herrera d. 19 Kelani Bailey Lawrence, 11-8, 0-11, 11-0, 11-8
6 Nancy Enriquez d. 11 Cassi Lee, 11-2, 11-0, 11-0

10 Adriana Riveros d. 7 Natalia Mendez, 11-4, 12-10, 5-11, 10-12, 11-7
2 Samantha Salas d. 18 Ana Laura Flores, 11-6, 11-1, 11-5

LPRT Singles - Quarterfinals - Saturday

1 Paola Longoria v. 8 Gabriela Martinez - Noon
4 Maria Jose Vargas v. 5 Rhonda Rajsich - Noon

3 Alexandra Herrera v. 6 Nancy Enriquez - 11 AM
2 Samantha Salas v. 10 Adriana Riveros - 11 AM

LPRT Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday

1 Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas d. 8 Nancy Enriquez & Ana Laura Flores, 15-6, 15-3
5 Sheryl Lotts & Rhonda Rajsich d. 4 Cristina Amaya & Adriana Riveros, 15-12, 15-5

3 Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas d. 6 Brenda Laime & Masiel Rivera, 15-12, 15-8
2 Alexandra Herrera & Maria Renee Rodriguez d. 7 Kelani Bailey Lawrence & Sharon Jackson, 15-11, 15-6

LPRT Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday

1 Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas v. 5 Sheryl Lotts & Rhonda Rajsich - 8 PM
2 Alexandra Herrera & Maria Renee Rodriguez v. 3 Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas - 7 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….