Upset winners claim 5 of 8 spots in the Round of 16 at the 41st Lewis Drug IRT Pro-Am

The 41st Lewis Drug Pro-Am - a Tier 1 event on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) - began Thursday, and already there have been upsets, as five of the eight players qualifying for the Round of 16 on Friday are lower seeded players.

But they are not all surprises. Tony Carson is a former top 10 IRT player, and he’s through to the 16s after beatting 9th seed Mario Mercado, 15-4, 15-10. But Carson’s doubles partner - Charles Pratt - didn’t fare as well, as Sebastian Fernandez, still a junior, defeated Pratt, 15-14, 7-15, 11-6, and will play Samuel Murray in the Round of 16 Friday. Carson will play Alvaro Beltran.

Brothers Jake Bredenbeck and Sam Bredenbeck are into the 16s. Jake is the 11th seed, so his qualifying isn’t a surprise; he beat Brad Hansen, 15-6, 15-3, to get there. But Sam had to defeat two higher seeded players. He needed a tie-breaker to defeat 14th seed Thomas Carter, 8-15, 15-13, 11-9, in the first round of qualifying and then beat 19th seed Nicholas Riffel, 15-12, 15-13, in the second qualifying round. This is the first time brothers have made the Round of 16 since April 2017, when Jose and Marco Rojas played at the Florida Pro-Am.

In the Round of 16, Sam will play 3rd seed Kane Waselenchuk and Jake will play 6th seed Andree Parrilla. If they both win, they will meet in the quarterfinals.

There were also two upsets in the bottom bracket of the draw. John Goth - after getting a forfeit win over 10th seed Jansen Allen in round one of qualifying - beat 23rd seed Tim Landeryou, 15-13, 15-7, in the second round, and will meet Jose Diaz in the Round of 16. Also, Gerardo Franco defeated 15th seed Felipe Camacho, 15-12, 15-7, to set up a showdown with IRT #2 Rocky Carson.

Top seed and IRT #1 Alejandro Landa will face Rodrigo Montoya, the current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion, in the 16s, which will be there 2nd meeting in as many tournaments. Landa defeated Montoya in a tie-breaker earlier this month at the 2019 California Open. In qualifying on Thursday, Montoya beat Robert Collins, 15-3, 15-9, to set up the rematch with Landa.

The Round of 16 should be available via the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT Network, the IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page beginning Friday afternoon at 1 and 2 PM Central with the quarterfinals at 7 and 8 PM Friday night. The semi-finals will be at 10 AM and 11 AM Saturday with the final at 11 AM Sunday. The doubles quarterfinals are Friday afternoon at 4 and 5 PM with the semi-finals Saturday at noon and 1 PM, and the final Saturday at 4:30 PM.

41st Lewis Drug IRT Pro-Am, January 17-20 2019
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Qualifying Round 1 - Thursday afternoon

Robert Collins d. Tanner Prentice, 15-10, 13-15, 11-2
Rodrigo Montoya d. Brent Walters, 15-7, 15-13

Mario Mercado - BYE
Tony Carson d. Erick Cuevas Fernandez, 15-1, 15-0

Sebastian Fernandez d. Ricardo Diaz, 15-12, 15-12
Charles Pratt d. Andrew Gleason, 15-7, 15-11

Adam Manilla d. Timmy Hansen, 15-6, 15-3
Mauro Rojas d. Christian Longoria, 15-12, 15-7

Nicholas Riffel d. Lee Connell, 15-13, 15-12
Sam Bredenbeck d. Thomas Carter, 8-15, 15-13, 11-9

Jake Bredenbeck d. Cesar Castillo, 15-1, 15-2
Brad Hansen d. Scott McClellan, 12-15, 15-8, 11-8

Tim Landeryou d. Michael Arterburn, 15-1, 15-1
John Goth d. Jansen Allen, forfeit

Felipe Camacho d. Matthew Majxner, 15-4, 15-8
Gerardo Franco d. Alejandro Herrera, 15-2, 10-15, 11-9

Qualifying Round 2 - Thursday night

Q8) Rodrigo Montoya d. Robert Collins, 15-3, 15-9
Q1) Tony Carson d. Mario Mercado, 15-4, 15-10

Q4) Sebastian Fernandez d. Charles Pratt, 15-14, 7-15, 11-6
Q5) Adam Manilla d. Mauro Rojas, 15-11, 15-14

Q6) Sam Bredenbeck d. Nicholas Riffel, 15-12, 15-13
Q3) Jake Bredenbeck d. Brad Hansen, 15-6, 15-3

Q2) John Goth d. Tim Landeryou, 15-13, 15-7
Q7) Gerardo Franco d. Felipe Camacho, 15-12, 15-7

Round of 16 - Friday

1) Alejandro Landa v. Rodrigo Montoya - 1 PM
8) Alvaro Beltran v. Tony Carson - 1 PM

5) Samuel Murray v. Sebastian Fernandez - 1 PM
4) Daniel De La Rosa v. Adam Manilla - 1 PM

3) Kane Waselenchuk v. Sam Bredenbeck - 2 PM
6) Andree Parrilla v. Jake Bredenbeck - 2 PM

7) Jose Diaz v. John Goth - 2 PM
2) Rocky Carson v. Gerardo Franco - 2 PM

IRT Doubles Round of 16 - Friday

1) Alvaro Beltran & Daniel De La Rosa - BYE
8) Tony Carson & Charles Pratt v. 9) Sam Bredenbeck & Robert Collins - 10 AM

5) Rodrigo Montoya & Andree Parrilla - BYE
4) Jake Bredenbeck & Jose Diaz - BYE

3) Jansen Allen & Felipe Camacho - BYE
6) Mario Mercado & Mauro Rojas - BYE

7) Adam Manilla & Nicholas Riffel v. 10) Cesar Castillo & Alejandro Herrera - 10 AM
2) Alejandro Landa & Samuel Murray - BYE

Follow the bouncing ball….