Portillo into quarterfinals at 2019 IRT Arizona Pro-Am

Tenth seed Eduardo Portillo upset 7th seed Daniel De La Rosa, 15-13, 15-12, in the Round of 16 on Friday at the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Arizona IRT Pro-Am in Tempe, Arizona. The win puts Portillo - the current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Boy’s U18 Champion - into the quarterfinals for just the 2nd time in his young career. He’ll play IRT #2 Rocky Carson in the quarters, as Carson defeated Carlos Keller, 15-13, 15-8, in the 16s.

Kane Waselenchuk, IRT #1, had a tougher time that usual in the Round of 16, but still came through in two games, as he beat Andres Acuña, 15-8, 15-14. In game two, Waselenchuk had two match points that Acuña fought off, as he came back to tie it at 14-14. Acuña had a chance to end the game, but he let Waselenchuk off the hook. Then prior to serving his 3rd match point, Waselenchuk took a timeout. He finished off the match on the next rally, although to be fair to Acuña, he had a chance for a side out, but skipped a backhand. It seemed like one of those shots where he just had to hit the front wall, but failed to do so.

Waselenchuk will play fellow Canadian Samuel Murray in the quarters Saturday, as Murray beat David Horn, 15-12, 15-8, in the Round of 16.

The other quarterfinal matches will be 3rd seed Alejandro Landa versus 6th seed Andree Parrilla and 4th seed Alvaro Beltran versus 5th seed Conrrado Moscoso. In the 16s, Landa defeated Thomas Carter, 15-11, 15-11, and Parrilla took out Jake Bredenbeck, 15-9, 15-11. Also, Beltran beat Robert Collins, 15-7, 15-3, while Moscoso took care of Set Cubillos, 15-4, 15-6.

Look for all the action via the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page. The quarterfinals begin at 9 AM Saturday with the semi-finals at 5 & 6 PM Saturday, and the final at noon Sunday. All times Mountain Standard Time.

2019 Arizona IRT Pro-Am, October 24-27, 2019
Tempe, Arizona

Round of 16 - Friday

1) Kane Waselenchuk d. Andres Acuña, 15-8, 15-14
8) Samuel Murray d. 9) David Horn, 15-12, 15-8

5) Conrrado Moscoso d. Set Cubillos, 15-4, 15-6
4) Alvaro Beltran d. 13) Robert Collins, 15-7, 15-3

3) Alejandro Landa d. 14) Thomas Carter, 15-11, 15-11
6) Andree Parrilla d. 11) Jake Bredenbeck, 15-9, 15-11

10) Eduardo Portillo d. 7) Daniel De La Rosa, 15-13, 15-12
2) Rocky Carson v. 15) Carlos Keller, 15-13, 15-8

Quarterfinals - Saturday

1) Kane Waselenchuk v. 8) Samuel Murray - 11 AM
4) Alvaro Beltran v. 5) Conrrado Moscoso - Noon

3) Alejandro Landa v. 6) Andree Parrilla - 10 AM
2) Rocky Carson v. 10) Eduardo Portillo - 9 AM

Follow the bouncing ball….