Paola Longoria, the #1 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT), survived her Round of 16 match, in which she battled both 16th seed Monserrat Mejia and difficult court conditions that required multiple breaks to wipe down the floor and sometimes the walls at the 2019 Syosset Open in Syosset, New York. She eked out the W over Mejia in five games, winning 4-11, 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-1.
It looked like Longoria was going to win it in four games, but Mejia - the current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) Girls U18 World Junior Champion who defeated Longoria two months ago at the Mexican National Team Selection Event - wasn’t going to go quietly, as she came back from 9-1 down to win game four 11-9.
But in the breaker, Longoria took a big lead, and didn’t give it up. But credit to Mejia for not quitting, which given her game four comeback she should never do. Indeed, the rally of the match happened with Mejia serving at 1-6, because during that rally she made two shots from her knees and made two diving gets to keep the ball in play. It was her third dive that was unsuccessful, and ended the rally.
The end was a bit of a whimper for such a great match, as Longoria drove the ball in the center of the court, which was right where Mejia was standing. It handcuffed her, so Mejia wasn’t able to keep the rally going, and game five ended at 11-1.
Fifth seed Rhonda Rajsich also played five games, as she came back from two games down to defeat 12th seed Brenda Laime, 6-11, 5-11, 11-0, 11-8, 11-4. Rajsich will play 4th seed Alexandra Herrera in the quarterfinals, as Herrera was a straight game winner over 20th seed Maricruz Ortiz, 11-3, 11-2, 11-6.
The quarterfinals will be Saturday morning (11 AM & Noon) and semi-finals Saturday at 5 PM and 6 PM. The singles final will be Sunday at noon. You can watch the action live via the LPRT website, or the LPRT YouTube channel or the LPRT LiveStream channel.
2019 Syosset Open
Syosset, New York - May 2-5, 2019
LPRT Singles - Round of 16 - Friday
1 Paola Longoria d. 16 Monserrat Mejia, 4-11, 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-1
8 Frédérique Lambert d. 9 Adriana Riveros, 12-10, 9-11, 8-11 [sic]
5 Rhonda Rajsich d. 12 Brenda Laime, 6-11, 5-11, 11-0, 11-8, 11-4
4 Alexandra Herrera d. 20 Maricruz Ortiz, 11-3, 11-2, 11-6
3 Maria Jose Vargas d. 14 Yazmine Sabja, 12-10, 11-2, 11-9
6 Natalia Mendez d. 11 Masiel Rivera, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9
10 Cristina Amaya d. 7 Nancy Enriquez, 11-5, 11-6, 6-11 [sic]
2 Samantha Salas d. 15 Ana Laura Flores, 11-4, 11-4, 11-8
LPRT Singles - Quarterfinals - Saturday
1 Paola Longoria v. 8 Frédérique Lambert - Noon
4 Alexandra Herrera v. 5 Rhonda Rajsich - Noon
3 Maria Jose Vargas v. 6 Natalia Mendez - 11 AM
2 Samantha Salas v. 10 Cristina Amaya - 11 AM
Follow the bouncing ball….
Friday, May 3, 2019
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