Weekend Round Up - Wins for Waselenchuk, Portillo, Muñoz and Manilla & Riffel, Goth & Hansen

There were two Tier 4 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) events on the weekend. Kane Waselenchuk, the #1 player on the IRT, won the 2020 Pueblo Athletic Club Shootout in Pueblo, Colorado, where he defeated IRT #11 Rodrigo Montoya in the final, 15-9, 15-6. In the semi-finals, Waselenchuk beat Adam Manilla, 15-7, 15-6, and Montoya defeated Erik Garcia, 15-7, 15-5.

They played doubles in Pueblo also, as Manilla and Nicholas Riffel capturing the title with a win over Garcia and David Horn, 15-12, 15-9. In the semis, Manilla and Riffel defeated Luis Martinez and Montoya, 15-0, 15-4, and Garcia and Horn beat Nick Blanchard and C. J. Sanders, 15-12, 15-7.

The 2020 Arcsserve Series - Hall of Fame Tournament took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Eduardo Portillo defeated Jake Bredenbeck, 12-15, 15-8, 11-0. In the semi-finals, Portillo beat Justus Benson, 15-2, 15-3, and in all Bredenbeck battle, Jake Bredenbeck got the better of his younger brother Sam Bredenbeck, 15-5, 15-8.

The Bredenbecks teamed up in doubles, and were the top seeds. However, they lost to the veteran team of John Goth and Blake Hansen, 15-6, 15-11. In the semi-finals, Goth and Hansen needed a tie-breaker to get past Portillo and Andrew Gleason, 15-7, 9-15, 11-6, while the Bredenbecks beat Benson and Brad Hansen, 15-2, 15-9.

Finally, at the 2020 Boston Open, Carla Muñoz won Women’s Open by defeating Maria Renee Rodriguez, 11-2, 11-9, in the final. In the semis, Muñoz defeated Maria Riquelme, 11-3, 11-0, and Rodriguez defeated Sheryl Lotts, 11-9, 11-9.

This week, the IRT will be in action with one of their traditional events: the 35th Annual KWM Gutterman Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois. Thirty nine IRT players have registered, so it’s sure to be a great event.

2020 Pueblo Athletic Club Shootout, IRT Tier 4, March 6-8, 2020
Pueblo, Colorado

IRT Final

1) Kane Waselenchuk d. 2) Rodrigo Montoya, 15-9, 15-6

Semi-finals

1) Kane Waselenchuk d. 4) Adam Manilla, 15-7, 15-6
2) Rodrigo Montoya d. 6) Erik Garcia, 15-7, 15-5

Quarterfinals

1) Kane Waselenchuk d. 9) Matt Melster, 15-1, 15-4
4) Adam Manilla d. 5) Nicholas Riffel, 15-13, 15-3

6) Erik Garcia d. 3) David Horn, 14-15, 15-6, 3-0, injury forfeit
2) Rodrigo Montoya d. 10) Andrew Clarke, 15-3, 15-6

IRT Doubles Final

2) Adam Manilla & Nicholas Riffel d. 1) Erik Garcia & David Horn, 15-12, 15-9

Semi-finals

1) Erik Garcia & David Horn d. 4) Nick Blanchard & C. J. Sanders, 15-12, 15-7
2) Adam Manilla & Nicholas Riffel d. 3) Luis Martinez & Rodrigo Montoya, 15-0, 15-4

2020 Arcsserve Series - Hall of Fame Tournament, IRT Tier 4, March 6-8, 2020
Minneapolis, Minnesota

IRT Final

1) Eduardo Portillo d. 2) Jake Bredenbeck, 12-15, 15-8, 11-0

Semi-finals

1) Eduardo Portillo d. 4) Justus Benson, 15-2, 15-3
2) Jake Bredenbeck d. 3) Sam Bredenbeck, 15-5, 15-8

IRT Doubles Final

2) John Goth & Blake Hansen d. 1) Jake Bredenbeck & Sam Bredenbeck, 15-6, 15-11

Semi-finals

1) Jake Bredenbeck & Sam Bredenbeck d. 5) Justus Benson & Brad Hansen, 15-2, 15-9
2) John Goth & Blake Hansen d. 6) Andrew Gleason & Eduardo Portillo, 15-7, 9-15, 11-6

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

Women’s Open Final

1) Carla Muñoz d. 3) Maria Renee Rodriguez, 11-2, 11-9

Semi-finals

1) Carla Muñoz d. 4) Maria Riquelme, 11-3, 11-0
3) Maria Renee Rodriguez d. 2) Sheryl Lotts, 11-9, 11-9

Follow the bouncing ball….