Weekend Round Up - Wins for Zelada, Bailey Lawrence, Portillo & Rodriguez

Mauricio Zelada won the 2020 Wintergreen Classic - a Tier 5 event on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) - in Laurel, Maryland on the weekend. Zelada defeated Maurice Miller in the final, 15-14, 10-15, 11-0. Zelada also needed three games to win his semi-final match against Troy Warigon, winning 15-4, 9-15, 11-4. Miller beat David Austin in the other semi, 15-5, 15-7.

There were three Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) players in the Wintergreen Classic, and Kelani Bailey Lawrence came out on top, defeating both Valeria Centellas, 15-5, 15-5, and Masiel Rivera, 15-4, 15-14.

But Centellas and Miller teamed up to win the Mixed Open Doubles title, as they defeated Bailey Lawrence and Warigon in the final, 15-10, 15-12. In the semi-finals, Centellas and Miller beat Rivera and Dylan Pruitt, 15-9, 15-14, and Bailey Lawrence and Warigon defeated Kristen Junkin and Ross Weinberg, 15-11, 15-6.

In Austin, Texas, Eduardo Portillo won Men’s Open at the 2020 Longhorn Open with a forfeit win over Mario Mercado in the final. In the semi-finals, Portillo beat Alan Natera, 8-15, 15-6, 11-6, and Mercado defeated a surprise semi-finalist, Juan Loreto, who was the 14th seed, 15-10, 4-15, 11-7.

Maria Renee Rodriguez won Women’s Open at the Longhorn Open, as she defeated Linda Tyler, 15-12, 6-15, 11-6, in the final. Rodriguez beat Shane Diaz in one semi-final, 15-2, 15-0, with Tyler defeating Annie Furr, 15-7, 15-3, in the other.

But Tyler got the better of Rodriguez in the Mixed Open Doubles final, as she and husband Garrett Tyler defeated Rodriguez and Richard Eisemann, 15-6, 15-12.

There are two pro events this coming weekend. The IRT is in action in Sioux Falls, South Dakota at the Lewis Drug Pro-Am, and the LPRT will play in Greenville, South Carolina for the Sweet Caroline Open.

2020 IRT Tier 5 Wintergreen Classic, January 17-19, 2020
Laurel, Maryland

Men’s Open Final

2) Mauricio Zelada d. 1) Maurice Miller, 15-14, 10-15, 11-0

Semi-finals

1) Maurice Miller d. 4) David Austin, 15-5, 15-7.
2) Mauricio Zelada d. 3) Troy Warigon, 15-4, 9-15, 11-4

Women’s Open

1. Kelani Bailey Lawrence
2. Valeria Centellas
3. Masiel Rivera

Mixed Open Doubles Final

2) Valeria Centellas & Maurice Miller d. 1) Kelani Bailey Lawrence & Troy Warigon, 15-10, 15-12

Semi-finals

1) Kelani Bailey Lawrence & Troy Warigon d. 5) Kristen Junkin & Ross Weinberg, 15-11, 15-6
2) Valeria Centellas & Maurice Miller d. 3) Masiel Rivera & Dylan Pruitt, 15-9, 15-14

2020 IRT Longhorn Open, January 16-19, 2020
Austin, Texas

Men’s Open Final

1) Eduardo Portillo d. 2) Mario Mercado, forfeit

Semi-finals

1) Eduardo Portillo d. 5) Alan Natera, 8-15, 15-6, 11-6
2) Mario Mercado d. 14) Juan Loreto, 15-10, 4-15, 11-7

Men’s Open Final

1) Maria Renee Rodriguez d. 2) Linda Tyler, 15-12, 6-15, 11-6

Semi-finals

1) Maria Renee Rodriguez d. 5) Shane Diaz, 15-2, 15-0
2) Linda Tyler d. 6) Annie Furr, 15-7, 15-3

Mixed Open Doubles Final

2) Linda Tyler & Garrett Tyler d. 1) Maria Renee Rodriguez & Richard Eisemann, 15-6, 15-12

Semi-finals

1) Maria Renee Rodriguez & Richard Eisemann d. 4) Kanesha Madison & Eddie Vann, 15-10, 15-1
2) Linda Tyler & Garrett Tyler d. 3) Karen Grisz & Mike Grisz, 15-6, 8-15, 11-1

Follow the bouncing ball….