Andres Acuña won Men’s Open at the 2021 KWM Gutterman Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois on Sunday, as he defeated Mario Mercado in the final, 15-11, 15-6. To reach the final, Acuña, who was seeded #1, beat 4th seed Alan Natera, 15-13, 15-12, in one semi-final, while 2nd seed Mercado defeated 3rd seed Adam Manilla, 15-8, 15-8.
In Women’s Open, Angelica Barrios, the top seed, needed a tie-breaker to fend off 3rd seed Erika Manilla, 15-12, 8-15, 11-8. In the semi-finals, Barrios beat 5th seed Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-1, 15-10, and Manilla was an upset winner over 2nd seed Micaela Meneses, 3-15, 15-6, 11-6.
US Open Preview
T minus 9 days until the 2021 UnitedHealthcare US Open in Minneapolis, October 6-10. It’ll be the first US Open since 2019, because — reasons, and the 25th overall. In 2019, Doug Ganim announced he would be retiring as US Open Director, and he’s the only person to hold that position going back to 1996. But Ganim stayed on to oversee the US Open one last time.
Kane Waselenchuk and Paola Longoria also have two impressive streaks. Waselenchuk is the 12 time defending International Racquetball Tour (IRT) US Open champion, while Paola Longoria is the 9 time defending Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Will those streaks continue this year? We don’t advise betting against it.
But - did you see that coming? - Waselenchuk, who turns 40 in November, hasn’t played singles in a over a year, although he did play doubles this past weekend with Sudsy Monchik in Illinois. He looked pretty good on the weekend, but maybe not at his best. Also, the US Open is a longer tournament than the usual weekend event - especially as we expect him to play singles and doubles with Monchik, so will that be an issue?
Regardless, we look forward to seeing him in action, playing on a court where he's never lost.
As for Longoria, she is long past being the young up and comer taking on all the women’s pro veterans. Now, she is the veteran and there are a cadre of young up and coming players looking to take her on. That cadre includes Gabriela Martinez and Montserrat Mejia who are the most recent winners on the LPRT. Martinez won last month in Colorado, when Longoria wasn’t there, while Mejia won in Kansas in June, when she beat Longoria in the final.
Thus, the US Open is the first LPRT event after two wins by players not named Longoria since March/April 2018, when Maria Jose Vargas and Samantha Salas won back to back. Before that you have to go back to December 2010 for a time when there were back to back wins by players other than Longoria. That’s how dominant she’s been, and why you shouldn’t bet against her. Yet, perhaps other players have a reason for optimism.
We are certainly optimistic about how good the US Open will be this year, and we are looking forward to it.
2021 KWM Gutterman Shamrock Shootout
September 23-26, 2021 - Lombard, Illinois
Men’s Open Final
1) Andres Acuña d. 2) Mario Mercado, 15-11, 15-6
Men’s Open Semi-finals
1) Andres Acuña d. 4) Alan Natera, 15-13, 15-12
2) Mario Mercado d. 3) Adam Manilla, 15-8, 15-8
Men’s Open Quarterfinals
1) Andres Acuña d. 9) Erick Trujillo, 15-10, 15-8
4) Alan Natera d. 5) Set Cubillos, 15-4, 15-10
3) Adam Manilla d. 6) Victor Migliore, 15-1, 15-8
2) Mario Mercado d. 7) Abraham Peña, 14-15, 15-5, 11-10
Women’s Open Final
1) Angelica Barrios d. 3) Erika Manilla, 15-12, 8-15, 11-8.
Women’s Open Semi-finals
1) Angelica Barrios d. 5) Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-1, 15-10
3) Erika Manilla d. 2) Micaela Meneses, 3-15, 15-6, 11-6
Follow the bouncing ball….
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