Waselenchuk to play Carson in final of 2019 IRT Shamrock Shootout

Once again on a Sunday, International Racquetball Tour (IRT) #1 Kane Waselenchuk and IRT #2 Rocky Carson will face off in an IRT final, as they won their respective semi-finals at the 34th Annual Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois. Waselenchuk beat 5th seed Andree Parrilla, who is the defending Shamrock Shootout champion, 15-5, 15-2, and Carson defeated Rodrigo Montoya, 15-12, 15-2.

Both semi-finals had similar story-lines, as the players were close early in the first games, but then the higher seed cruised through game two. Waselenchuk actually found himself down 5-2 against Parrilla, but turned the ship around, as he got 13 unanswered points to win 15-5. Parrilla only served three times during that run.

Montoya also led in game one against Carson at 9-7. But Carson got the next five points to lead 12-9, and though Montoya closed the gap to one point at 12-11, Carson never gave up the lead, winning 15-12.

Doubles Final

Ben Croft and Waselenchuk came back from a game down to defeat Alvaro Beltran and Daniel De La Rosa, 11-15, 15-9, 11-5. It was the third time these teams have faced off, as they met in the finals of the last two US Opens. Croft and Waselenchuk won in 2017, and Beltran and De La Rosa won in 2018. With today’s win Croft and Waselenchuk are up 2-1.

But early in game one, it looked like Beltran and De La Rosa would carry the day, as they took a 9-1 lead. But Croft and Waselenchuk came back and closed the difference to two at 13-11. There was a sense that Beltran and De La Rosa needed to win game one to win the match, as momentum had shifted. A De La Rosa backhand pinch shot get them back the serve, and they managed to get the two points they needed with the second coming off another De La Rosa backhand pinch winner.

In game two, they were close early with a tie at 2-2, but then Croft and Waselenchuk scored five points on as many rallies to lead 7-2. They stayed ahead by multiple points, although Beltran and De La Rosa made a push near the end that cut the deficit to two at 11-9. A Croft forehand pinch shot got his side the serve back, and they closed it out with four straight points. That forced a third game tie-breaker.

They were again close early in the breaker with ties at 2, 4, and 5. Croft hit a winner to break the 5-5 tie, and then Beltran made an unforced error by skipping a shot near the front wall that made it 7-5. Beltran redeemed himself with a pinch winner on the next rally that got his side the serve back, but they were unable to score as Waselenchuk hit a winner and then De La Rosa was assessed a penalty hinder.

When Waselenchuk made it 8-5 with a pinch winner, Beltran and De La Rosa called a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Croft extended his side’s advantage with a pinch shot from the deep court, 9-5. De La Rosa skipped a forehand reverse pinch to give his opponents match point at 10-5. The first match point wasn’t converted, as De La Rosa hit Waselenchuk’s racquet as he was going for a ball, so Waselenchuk was assessed a penalty hinder. But Waselenchuk still was to serve, and he got the match winning point by hitting a drive serve to the left side that De La Rosa could only get his racquet on as it cracked off the left side wall.

The matches have been streamed on the IRT Facebook page, so look for the singles final there at 1 PM Central Time on Sunday. And if you missed any of the action, you can see the matches on Facebook also.

2019 IRT Shamrock Shootout, March 14-17, 2019
Lombard, Illinois

Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Kane Waselenchuk v. 5) Andree Parrilla, 15-5, 15-2
2) Rocky Carson d. Rodrigo Montoya, 15-12, 15-2

Final - Sunday

1) Kane Waselenchuk v. 2) Rocky Carson - 1 PM

IRT Doubles - Final - Saturday

6) Ben Croft & Kane Waselenchuk d. 1) Alvaro Beltran & Daniel De La Rosa, 11-15, 15-9, 11-5

Follow the bouncing ball….