Acuña & Mercado win in Round of 16 at 2019 IRT Valentine Open

Two upsets in the Round of 16 at the 2019 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Valentine Open in Laurel, Maryland, including Andres Acuña’s takedown of IRT #3 Andree Parrilla, 15-4, 7-15, 11-7. Parrilla was runner up at the Atlanta Open earlier this month, but he won’t even make the quarterfinals in Maryland. Acuña will play 6th seed Samuel Murray in the quarters, as Murray came back from a game down to defeat Eduardo Portillo, 14-15, 15-13, 11-5.

Mario Mercado had the other upset in the 16s, as he defeated current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion Rodrigo Montoya, 15-14, 15-11. Mercado will play IRT #1 Kane Waselenchuk in the quarters, as Waselenchuk beat Carlos Keller, 15-1, 15-4.

IRT #2 Rocky Carson, who defeated Parrilla in Atlanta, needed a tie-breaker to get past Thomas Carter, as Carter took the first game, but Carson came back to win the match, 5-15, 15-6, 11-3. Carson will play a familiar foe next, as he goes up against 7th seed Alvaro Beltran, who beat Jake Bredenbeck in two straight games, 15-8, 15-10. Their quarterfinal match will be the 50th time Carson and Beltran have faced off with Carson holding the edge, 27-22.

Finally, IRT #4 Alejandro Landa will take on 5th seed Sebastian Franco in the last quarterfinal tonight. Both needed tie-breakers to win their matches in the Round of 16. Landa defeated Robert Collins, 15-5, 7-15, 11-4, and Franco won the latest “Franco-Franco” showdown in beating Gerardo Franco, 15-6, 12-15, 11-9. Sebastian - from Colombia - and Gerardo - from Mexico - aren’t related.

Look for all the action via the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page. The quarterfinals start at 4 PM Friday. The singles semi-finals will be 11 AM and noon Saturday with the final at 7 PM Saturday. All times Eastern.

2019 IRT Valentine Open, September 19-21, 2019
Laurel, Maryland

Round of 16 - Friday

1) Kane Waselenchuk d. Carlos Keller, 15-1, 15-4
Mario Mercado d. 8) Rodrigo Montoya, 15-14, 15-11

5) Sebastian Franco d. Gerardo Franco, 15-6, 12-15, 11-9
4) Alejandro Landa d. Robert Collins, 15-5, 7-15, 11-4

Andres Acuña d. 3) Andree Parrilla, 15-4, 7-15, 11-7
6) Samuel Murray v. Eduardo Portillo, 14-15, 15-13, 11-5

7) Alvaro Beltran v. Jake Bredenbeck, 15-8, 15-10
2) Rocky Carson v. Thomas Carter, 5-15, 15-6, 11-3

Quarterfinals - Friday

Kane Waselenchuk v. Mario Mercado - 6 PM
Sebastian Franco v. Alejandro Landa - 7 PM

Samuel Murray v. Andres Acuña - 4 PM
Rocky Carson v. Alvaro Beltran - 5 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….