Erick Trujillo continues to impress at the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) KWM Gutterman Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois, as he upset 15th seed Javier Mar in the Round of 32 Friday morning, 15-8, 15-7. But the task will get tougher with his next opponent: 2nd seed Daniel De La Rosa, who’s gunning for back to back IRT wins this weekend, as he won last month in Colorado.
Other upsets in the 32s were not very surprising. Qualifier Alan Natera defeated 14th seed Eduardo Garay, 15-7, 15-13, and in the 16/17 match, 17th seed Andres Acuña beat 16th seed Adam Manilla, 15-7, 15-14. Also, Jordy Alonso’s nice run in the tournament came to an end against Carlos Keller, although Alonso made a game of it, as he won the first game, but lost in a close tie-breaker, 10-15, 15-2, 11-8.
In doubles the new team of Sudsy Monchik and Kane Waselenchuk, who are only seeded 9th, got off to a successful start, as they won their first match, defeating 8th seeds Mario Mercado & Mauricio Zelada, 15-11, 15-5. That puts them into the quarterfinals against top seeds Daniel De La Rosa and Alvaro Beltran, which will happen tonight at 8 PM. A must watch match.
In other action, 7th seeds Jake Bredenbeck and Charlie Pratt, who will be the USA team in Men’s Doubles at the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships later this year, eked out a win over 10th seeds Andres Acuña and Alan Natera, 15-9, 9-15, 11-8. Bredenbeck and Pratt seemed in control of the match after winning game one and being up early in game two.
But then Acuña and Natera - playing together for the first time - switched sides: Acuña moving to the left and Natera to the right. The move worked, as they came back and won game two.
The tie-breaker was back and forth, and when the Americans were up 8-4, Acuña and Natera called a timeout. That led to them getting back in the service box, and cutting the lead to 8-7, when the Americans got the serve back.
They put together a run of two points to get to 10-7. But when Bredenbeck skipped a shot to hand the serve back to Acuña and Natera, you had a sense that might have cost his side the match.
However, Acuña and Natera were only able to score once before yielding the serve again. The Americans took advantage of their second match point opportunity to close it out.
Yet, the closeness of this match illustrates how competitive men’s doubles is now, and how making any sort of predictions for Worlds is a crapshoot. Bredenbeck and Pratt could win gold. And they lose in the first round.
Want more proof of that? Also in the 16s, Bolivians Kadim Carrasco and Carlos Keller eked out a tie-breaker win over Guatemalans Edwin Galicia and Christian Wer, 8-15, 15-11, 11-9. That could be a Worlds preview, and could easily have gone against the Bolivians.
In short, the bar for men’s doubles is really high, and it can be difficult to get over it.
The Shamrock Shootout action can be seen via the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page. The Round of 16 is Friday at 4 and 5 PM. The quarterfinals will be Saturday from 10 and 11 AM with the semi-finals at 5:30 and 6:30 PM. The singles final will be 1 PM Sunday. The doubles quarterfinals are Friday night with the semi-finals Saturday afternoon at 1 and 2 PM and the final Saturday night at 8:30 PM. All times Central.
2021 KWM Gutterman Shamrock Shootout
September 23-26, 2021 - Lombard, Illinois
Round of 32 - Friday
1) Alejandro Landa - BYE
16) Andres Acuña d. Adam Manilla, 15-7, 15-14
9) Mario Mercado d. Charlie Pratt, 15-12, 15-11
8) Jake Bredenbeck - BYE
5) Andree Parrilla - BYE
12) Rodrigo Montoya v. Kadim Carrasco, 10-15, 15-13, 11-8
13) Thomas Carter d. Edwin Galicia, 15-2, 15-14
4) Rocky Carson - BYE
3) Samuel Murray - BYE
Alan Natera d. 14) Eduardo Garay, 15-7, 15-13
11) Carlos Keller d. Jordy Alonso, 10-15, 15-2, 11-8
6) Alvaro Beltran - BYE
7) Eduardo Portillo - BYE
10) Sebastian Franco d. Mauricio Zelada, 12-15, 15-4, 11-9
Erick Trujillo d. 15) Javier Mar, 15-8, 15-7
2) Daniel De La Rosa - BYE
Round of 16 - Friday
1) Alejandro Landa v. Andres Acuña - 4 PM
8) Jake Bredenbeck v. 9) Mario Mercado - 4 PM
5) Andree Parrilla v. 12) Rodrigo Montoya - 4 PM
4) Rocky Carson v. 13) Thomas Carter - 4 PM
3) Samuel Murray v. Alan Natera - 5 PM
6) Alvaro Beltran v. 11) Carlos Keller - 5 PM
7) Eduardo Portillo v. 10) Sebastian Franco - 5 PM
2) Daniel De La Rosa v. Erick Trujillo - 5 PM
IRT Doubles - Round of 16 - Friday
1) Alvaro Beltran & Daniel De La Rosa - BYE
9) Sudsy Monchik & Kane Waselenchuk d. 8) Mario Mercado & Mauricio Zelada, 15-11, 15-5
5) Eduardo Garay & Sebastian Franco d. 12) Javier Martinez & Juan Salvatierra, 15-10, 15-2
4) Javier Mar & Rodrigo Montoya d. 13) Set Cubillos & Erick Cuevas, 15-10, 15-4
3) Andree Parrilla & Eduardo Portillo d. 14) Hector Barrios & Adrian Jaldin, 15-5, 15-3
6) Kadim Carrasco & Carlos Keller d. 11) Edwin Galicia & Christian Wer, 8-15, 15-11, 11-9
7) Jake Bredenbeck & Charlie Pratt d. 10) Andres Acuña & Alan Natera, 15-9, 9-15, 11-8
2) Alejandro Landa & Samuel Murray - BYE
IRT Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday
1) Alvaro Beltran & Daniel De La Rosa v. 9) Sudsy Monchik & Kane Waselenchuk - 8 PM
4) Javier Mar & Rodrigo Montoya v. 5) Eduardo Garay & Sebastian Franco - 8 PM
3) Andree Parrilla & Eduardo Portillo v. 6) Kadim Carrasco & Carlos Keller - 7 PM
2) Alejandro Landa & Samuel Murray v. 7) Jake Bredenbeck & Charlie Pratt - 7 PM
Follow the bouncing ball….
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