Round of 16 at 2020 LPRT Boston Open

Three upsets in the Round of 16 at the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) 2020 Boston Open in Marlborough, Massachusetts with the biggest being 13th seed Adriana Riveros’s win over 4th seed Natalia Mendez, 15-8, 15-10. Riveros will next play 5th seed Rhonda Rajsich in the quarterfinals Saturday, as Rajsich held off 12th seed Ana Laura Flores, 15-12, 6-15, 11-8, in the 16s.

Eleventh seed Carla Muñoz came back to upset 6th seed Nancy Enriquez, 10-15, 15-5, 11-7. She’ll play 3rd seed Samantha Salas in the quarters, as Salas battled back against young Valeria Centellas, the 14th seed, to win 3-15, 15-11, 11-4. The match was all Centellas until the middle of game two, when Salas tied the game at 10-10. Then momentum flipped, and it was all Salas.

While other higher seeds had trouble in the 16s, LPRT #1 Paola Longoria beat 16th seed Sheryl Lotts, 15-7, 15-2. She’ll play 9th seed Jessica Parrilla in the quarters, which will be a rematch of last weekend’s Mexico National Team Selection Event final that was won by Longoria. In the 16s, Parrilla outlasted 8th seed Masiel Rivera, 15-1, 13-15, 11-8.

Finally, LPRT #2 Maria Jose Vargas had little trouble in advancing, as she beat 18th seed Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-6, 15-2. Vargas will play 10th seed Brenda Laime in the quarters on Saturday, as Laime had a forfeit win over 7th seed Cristina Amaya. There was a photo on Instagram recently of Amaya in a hospital bed after she broke her left wrist in a bicycle accident. We were surprised to see her in the draw at all, actually, as the Instragram post suggests she needs 6 weeks recuperation. That could put her participation in next month's 2020 Pan American Championships in jeopardy.

We wish Amaya the best with her recovery.

In doubles, 9th seeds Gabriela Martinez and Maria Renee Rodriguez came out strong against top seeds Paola Longoria and Samantha Salas, going up 10-2 in game one. But it turned into a case of “Whatever you can do, we can do better” as Longoria and Salas stormed back to win the game 15-10, shutting their opponents out the rest of the way. Game two was close early, with Longoria and Salas leading until Martinez and Rodriguez tied it at 6-6.

But once again Longoria and Salas put the hammer down, and held Martinez and Rodriguez to just one more point, as they won the game 15-7, and match in two straight games. They’ll play either Nancy Enriquez and Ana Laura Flores or Jessica Parrilla and Erin Rivera in the semi-finals Saturday night.

The other semi-final will be 2nd seeds Natalia Mendez and Maria Jose Vargas versus 6th seeds Kelani Lawrence and Sheryl Lotts. In the quarterfinals, Mendez and Vargas defeated 7th seeds Valeria Centellas and Carla Muñoz, 15-8, 15-11, while Lawrence and Lotts upset 3rd seeds Brenda Laime and Masiel Rivera, 15-5, 15-12.

You can watch the Boston Open action live via the LPRT YouTube channel or the LPRT website (click “LPRT Live” at the top of the page). On Saturday, the singles quarterfinals will be at 10 AM and 11 AM, and the semi-finals at 4 and 5 PM. The doubles semis will be Saturday night at 6 and 7 PM. The singles final will be noon Sunday with the doubles final to follow at 1. All times eastern.

2020 LPRT Boston Open, March 6-8, 2020
Marlborough, Massachusetts

Round of 16 - Friday

1) Paola Longoria d. 16) Sheryl Lotts, 15-7, 15-2
9) Jessica Parrilla d. 8) Masiel Rivera, 15-1, 13-15, 11-8

5) Rhonda Rajsich d. 12) Ana Laura Flores, 15-12, 6-15, 11-8
13) Adriana Riveros d. 4) Natalia Mendez, 15-8, 15-10

3) Samantha Salas d. 14) Valeria Centellas, 3-15, 15-11, 11-4
11) Carla Muñoz d. 6) Nancy Enriquez, 10-15, 15-5, 11-7

10) Brenda Laime d. 7) Cristina Amaya, forfeit
2) Maria Jose Vargas d. 18) Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-6, 15-2

Quarterfinals - Saturday

1) Paola Longoria v. 9) Jessica Parrilla - 11 AM
5) Rhonda Rajsich v. 13) Adriana Riveros - 11 AM

3) Samantha Salas v. 11) Carla Muñoz - 10 AM
2) Maria Jose Vargas v. 10) Brenda Laime - 10 AM

Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas d. 9) Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-10, 15-7
4) Nancy Enriquez & Ana Laura Flores v. 5) Jessica Parrilla & Erin Rivera - 7 PM

6) Kelani Lawrence & Sheryl Lotts d. 3) Brenda Laime & Masiel Rivera, 15-5, 15-12
2) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas d. 7) Valeria Centellas & Carla Muñoz, 15-8, 15-11

Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas v. 4) Nancy Enriquez & Ana Laura Flores or 5) Jessica Parrilla & Erin Rivera - 7 PM
2) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas v. 6) Kelani Lawrence & Sheryl Lotts - 6 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….