Monday, October 19, 2020

IRF postpones events & 2020 3 Wallball World Championships

Another day and another tournament delay. The International Racquetball Federation (IRF) announced Sunday the 2020 Pan American Championships and 2020 Junior World Championships that were scheduled for December in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia will be deferred to 2021. Santa Cruz will be the site for the Pan Am Championships from March 26 to April 4, while the World Junior Championships will be in November, 2021 in Guatemala City, Guatemala. 

They remain committed to having the XXX World Championships in San Luis Potosi, Mexico August 13-21, 2021. 

2020 3 Wallball World Championships

In a tournament that actually happened, over 340 players were in Las Vegas on the weekend for the 2020 3 Wallball World Championships in Las Vegas. Outdoor activities are safer in these pandemic times than indoor activities, so that was undoubtedly some of the appeal of going to Vegas.

In outdoor racquetball, doubles is often seen as more prestigious than singles, while indoors it’s the reverse. Thus, when Kane Waselenchuk - the #1 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) - played his first outdoor tournament in Vegas this weekend, he focussed on doubles with partner Ben Croft.

Waselenchuk and Croft reached the Men’s Pro Doubles final by defeating Alejandro Barcelo and Brandon Davis in the semi-finals, 15-3, 15-7. In the final, they faced familiar foes in Alvaro Beltran and Daniel De La Rosa, who had beat Emmett Coe and Rick Koll in the semis, 15-3, 15-5.

Indoors, Waselenchuk and Croft are 5-1 versus Beltran and De La Rosa, but in their first outdoor match, Beltran and De La Rosa carried the day, winning 12-15, 15-9, 11-8.

The Women’s Pro Doubles final also went to a tie-breaker, as Paola Longoria and Janel Tisinger-Ledkins won the title against Michelle De La Rosa and Carla Muñoz, 12-15, 15-9, 11-5. Longoria and Tisinger-Ledkins beat Rhonda Rajsich and Erica Williams in one semi-final, 15-7, 15-6, while De La Rosa and Muñoz defeated Jessica Parrilla and Adriana Riveros, 15-12, 15-6, in the other.

Andree Parrilla won Men’s Pro Singles by beating Marcelo Vargas Aguilar in the final, 15-5, 15-8. In the semis, Parrilla defeated Jose Diaz, 15-8, 15-14, and Vargas Aguilar beat Danny Lavely, 15-12, 15-11.

In Women’s Pro Singles, Longoria - the #1 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) - defeated outdoor veteran Rajsich, 4-15, 15-4, 11-4, in the final. Longoria also needed a tie-breaker to win her semi-final match against Parrilla, 15-8, 9-15, 11-4, while Rajsich defeated Muñoz in two straight games, 15-13, 15-6, in the other semi.

Given that Beltran and Longoria won their respective doubles matches, and Longoria also won singles, you’d think that they would be a successful team in mixed doubles. But that wasn’t the case, as they lost in the 1st round of Mixed Pro Doubles to Katie Neils and Nicholas Riffel, 15-14, 15-11. If that’s not a big upset, we’re not sure what is.

Unfortunately for Neils and Riffel, they lost in the semi-finals to eventual winners Daniel and Michelle De La Rosa, 15-7, 15-7. The De La Rosas beat Mario Mercado and Adriana Riveros, 15-8, 15-0, in the final. Mercado and Riveros reached the final with a win over Carla Muñoz and Robert Sostre, 15-5, 15-8.

2020 3 Wallball World Championships - Las Vegas, Nevada - October 14-18, 2020

Men’s Pro Doubles - Final

Alvaro Beltran & Daniel De La Rosa d. Ben Croft & Kane Waselenchuk, 12-15, 15-9, 11-8

Semi-finals

Alvaro Beltran & Daniel De La Rosa d. Emmett Coe & Rick Koll, 15-3, 15-5
Ben Croft & Kane Waselenchuk d. Alejandro Barcelo & Brandon Davis, 15-3, 15-7

Women’s Pro Doubles - Final

Paola Longoria & Janel Tisinger-Ledkins d. Michelle De La Rosa & Carla Muñoz, 12-15, 15-9, 11-5

Semi-finals

Michelle De La Rosa & Carla Muñoz d. Jessica Parrilla and Adriana Riveros, 15-12, 15-6
Paola Longoria & Janel Tisinger-Ledkins d. Rhonda Rajsich & Erica Williams, 15-7, 15-6

Men’s Pro Singles - Final

Andree Parrilla d. Marcelo Vargas Aguilar in the final, 15-5, 15-8

Semi-finals

Marcelo Vargas Aguilar d. Danny Lavely, 15-12, 15-11
Andree Parrilla d. Jose Diaz, 15-8, 15-14

Women’s Pro Singles - Final

Paola Longoria d. Rhonda Rajsich, 4-15, 15-4, 11-4

Semi-finals

Rhonda Rajsich d. Carla Muñoz, 15-13, 15-6
Paola Longoria d. Jessica Parrilla, 15-8, 9-15, 11-4

Mixed Pro Doubles - Final

Daniel De La Rosa & Michelle De La Rosa d. Mario Mercado & Adriana Riveros, 15-8, 15-0  

Semi-finals 

Daniel De La Rosa & Michelle De La Rosa d. Katie Neils and Nicholas Riffel, 15-7, 15-7 
Mario Mercado & Adriana Riveros d. Carla Muñoz & Robert Sostre, 15-5, 15-8 

 Follow the bouncing ball….

No comments: