Weekend Round Up - Wins for Manilla & Portillo

Erika Manilla and Eduardo Portillo won the Women’s and Men’s Open divisions, respectively, on Sunday at the 34th Annual Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois. In the Women’s Open final, Manilla beat Masiel Rivera, 15-14, 15-6, while Portillo need a tie-breaker to defeat surprise finalist Maurice Miller, 15-11, 13-15, 11-3.

In the women’s semi-finals, Manilla beat top seed Brenda Laime, 15-11, 15-11, while Rivera defeated veteran Adrienne Haynes, 15-7, 15-3.

In the men’s semi-finals, Portillo defeated Eduardo Garay, 15-9, 15-7, while Miller, the 6th seed, upset 2nd seed Gerardo Franco, 15-11, 15-9. In the quarterfinals, Miller knocked off Mario Mercado in two straight games, 15-11, 15-13. So, although Miller didn’t win the event, he had a very good tournament.

Coming up on the racquetball schedule is the Bolivia Grand Slam in Cochabamba, Bolivia, March 27-31, which is both an International Racquetball Tour (IRT) event and a Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) event, so, like the US Open, it will be a true pro Grand Slam event. Following that, the focus remains in South America, as the 2019 Pan American Championships will be in Barranquilla, Colombia, April 12-20. The defending Pan American Champions in are Carlos Keller of Bolivia and Rhonda Rajsich of the USA in Men’s and Women’s Singles.

34th Annual Shamrock Shootout, March 14-17, 2019
Lombard, Illinois

Women’s Open Final

Erika Manilla d. Masiel Rivera, 15-14, 15-6

Semi-finals

Erika Manilla d. Brenda Laime, 15-11, 15-11
Masiel Rivera d. Adrienne Haynes, 15-7, 15-3

Men’s Open Final

Eduardo Portillo d. Maurice Miller, 15-11, 13-15, 11-3

Semi-finals

Eduardo Portillo d. Eduardo Garay, 15-9, 15-7
Maurice Miller d. Gerardo Franco, 15-11, 15-9

Quarterfinals

Eduardo Portillo d. Edwin Galicia, 15-10, 15-2
Eduardo Garay d. Felipe Camacho, 15-8, 15-8
Maurice Miller d. Mario Mercado, 15-11, 15-13
Gerardo Franco d. Kyle Ulliman, 15-4, 15-3

Follow the bouncing ball….