Garcia was a surprise semi-finalist, as he was seeded 31st. But he knocked off 2nd seed Mario Mercado in the Round of 32, 8-15, 15-11, 11-8, and then had convincing wins over 15th seed Dylan Pruitt, 15-4, 15-3, in the Round of 16 and 7th seed Majeed Shahin, 15-2, 15-7, in the quarterfinals, before falling to Natera.
Men’s Open Doubles
In the Men’s Open Doubles final, Kadim Carrasco and Conrrado Moscoso defeated Natera and Javier Estrada, 10-15, 15-13, 11-5. Much was made of Moscoso playing Open Doubles, as that was his 3rd division - along with International Racquetball Tour (IRT) singles and doubles, which he also played with Carrasco - and people questioned whether it would hamper his performance in IRT singles, which is the most prestigious division.
Maybe less would have been said if Moscoso had won singles, but, of course, he lost to Samual Murray in the final, 11-9 in the breaker. Yet can we blame him for playing Open Doubles? There was $1000 to the winner of Open Doubles, which undoubtedly helped out his pal Carrasco. They lost in the quarterfinals of IRT Doubles, as they were seeded 5th and drawn against 4th seeds Alejandro Landa and Sudsy Monchik, who won in a breaker, putting Moscoso and Carrasco out of the money.
So, the Open Doubles money may have been the only money Carrasco won on the weekend. He lost in the Round of 32 of singles, and usually only the Round of 16 pays out. But this was a Grand Slam event, so it might have been different.
Given that they travelled from Bolivia to be at the tournament - not an inexpensive trip we assume - it’s difficult to suggest that they shouldn’t have thrown their hats in the Open Doubles ring.
Meneses wins Men’s Elite
We don’t often mention Men’s Elite results on The Racquetball Blog, but this weekend’s Men’s Elite division wasn’t won by a man, or even a woman, as Micaela Meneses is still a junior. She was entered in U18, though lost to top seed Andrew Gleason in the quarters.
But in Elite, Meneses, a young player from Bolivia who was seeded 20th, defeated Chad Beacher, 15-10, 11-15, 11-2, in the final. In the semi-finals, Meneses beat top seed Benjamin Horner, 15-6, 15-8, in the semi-finals, and in the quarters squeaked by Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) regular Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-14, 15-14.
Meneses also won Mixed Open Doubles, as she and Landa defeated Rodriguez and Shane Karmelin, 8-15, 15-12, 11-1, in the last game of a three team round robin. Earlier, they’d beaten Aaron Booker and Kanesha Madison, 15-8, 15-5.
What's next?
When will we see pro racquetball next? The IRT hopes to play the 36th Annual Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois March 11-14, and the LPRT’s next event is the Sweet Caroline Open, April 29-May 2. But those both depend on COVID conditions, and who knows what that will be like in two or three months time?
Until then, we recommend checking out the matches from the Suivant Consulting Pro-Am. From the quarterfinals on, only one singles match didn’t go tie-breaker - and that was a 15-11, 15-13 result, and all the last three doubles matches - both semis and the final - went breaker. You can check all of that out at the IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page.
2021 Suivant Consulting Pro-Am, January 7-10, 2021
Lilburn, Georgia
Men’s Open Final
1) Andres Acuña d. 3) Alan Natera, 6-15, 15-12, 11-8
Semi-finals
1) Andres Acuña d. 5) Alejandro Herrera, 15-4, 15-12
3) Alan Natera d. 31) Gabriel Garcia, 15-11, 11-4
Quarterfinals
1) Andres Acuña d. 8) Joe Kelley, 15-14, 15-6
5) Alejandro Herrera d. 4) Set Cubillos, 15-6, 15-11
3) Alan Natera d. 11) Matt Fontana, 15-3, 15-9
31) Gabriel Garcia d. 7) Majeed Shahin, 15-2, 11-7
Men’s Open Doubles Final
1) Kadim Carrasco & Conrrado Moscoso d. 3) Javier Estrada & Alan Natera, 10-15, 15-13, 11-5
Semi-finals
1) Kadim Carrasco & Conrrado Moscoso d. Erick Cuevas Fernandez, 15-7, 7-15, 11-8
3) Javier Estrada & Alan Natera d. 2) Maurice Miller & Troy Warigon, 15-6, 15-9
Follow the bouncing ball….
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