Carla Muñoz and Brenda Laime were the upset winners Friday in the Round of 16 in the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) draw at the 29th Annual Glass Court LPRT Turkey Shoot in Lombard, Illinois. Muñoz, the 11th seed, defeated 6th seed Samantha Salas in two straight games, 15-9, 15-11. Tenth seeded Laime came back from a game down and then held on by narrowest of margins to get past 7th seed Jessica Parrilla, 8-15, 15-9, 11-10. In Saturday’s quarterfinals, Muñoz will face 3rd seed Alexandra Herrera, who was a winner over 14th seed Ana Laura Flores, 15-2, 15-8, and Laime will play 2nd seed Maria Jose Vargas, a winner over 15th seed Adrienne Haynes, 15-1, 15-0, in the 16s.
Thus, Laime will have a chance to take out the 2nd seed in her second match of the tournament for the third straight chance (she didn’t have a chance last weekend at the Arizona Open, as she didn’t face the 2nd seed in her second match). She beat the 2nd seed in Colorado in August and at the US Open last month. However, those were Monserrat Mejia and Herrera, respectively, not Vargas. Still, Laime has a chance to keep this curious streak alive.
Elsewhere in the draw, Paola Longoria, the LPRT’s #1 player, continues to look like someone who wants to regain their International Racquetball Federation (IRF)) World Championship title, as she defeated Veronica Sotomayor in two straight games, 15-5, 15-5. Next up for Longoria will be her long time foe, Rhonda Rajsich, as Rajsich defeated Valeria Centellas, 15-11, 15-14, in the 16s. Longoria was challenged by Rajsich last weekend, when she won their first game 15-14, before Rajsich picked up an injury in game two, which wasn’t as close.
Finally, 4th seed Natalia Mendez needed a tie-breaker to defeat 13th seed Erika Manilla, 15-7, 12-15, 11-6. In the quarters, she’ll face 5th seed Angelica Barrios, who beat 12th seed Kelani Lawrence, 15-6, 15-11.
Doubles
There were two upsets in the doubles quarterfinals Friday night. Veronica Sotomayor and Maria Jose Vargas were seeded 7th, as Sotomayor - a former top 10 player - hasn’t played on the tour much in the last few years, so their seeding doesn’t really represent their real quality, especially considering Vargas is the #2 LPRT player in singles. They came back from a game down to defeat 2nd seeds Alexandra Herrera and Carla Muñoz, 8-15, 15-9, 11-6. Also, playing into that match is the fact that Herrera and Muñoz aren’t regular partners.
Sotomayor and Vargas will play 3rd seeds Valeria Centellas and Natalia Mendez in the semi-finals, as they defeated 6th seeds Brenda Laime and Erika Manilla, 15-11, 15-5.
The other upset was also accomplished in three games, as 5th seeds Ana Laura Flores and Kelani Lawrence defeated 4th seeds Jessica Parrilla and Montserrat Perez, 11-15, 15-7, 11-1, in a battle of two lefty-righty teams. In the breaker, Lawrence - a right-hander - was serving backhand drive jam type serves from the left side of the service box to the right wall, and Parrilla was having trouble handling it or letting it go over to Perez on the left side. In the semis, Flores and Lawrence will play top seeds Paola Longoria and Samantha Salas, who had a bye in the quarters.
The singles quarterfinals will be Saturday morning at 10 and 11 AM with the semi-finals Saturday afternoon at 5:30 and 6:30 and the final on Sunday at noon. The doubles semi-finals will be 1 and 2 PM with the final Saturday night at 7:30 PM. Look for the action via the LPRT YouTube channel, as well as the LPRT Facebook page.
29th Annual Glass Court LPRT Turkey Shoot
November 19-21, 2021 - Lombard, Illinois
LPRT Singles - First Round - Friday
17) Veronica Sotomayor d. 16) Montserrat Perez, 15-13, 15-3
LPRT Singles - Round of 16 - Friday
1) Paola Longoria d. 17) Veronica Sotomayor, 15-5, 15-5
8) Rhonda Rajsich d. 9) Valeria Centellas, 15-11, 15-14
5) Angelica Barrios d. 12) Kelani Lawrence, 15-6, 15-11
4) Natalia Mendez d. 13) Erika Manilla, 15-7, 12-15, 11-6
3) Alexandra Herrera d. 14) Ana Laura Flores, 15-2, 15-8
11) Carla Muñoz d. 6) Samantha Salas, 15-9, 15-11
10) Brenda Laime d. 7) Jessica Parrilla, 8-15, 15-9, 11-10
2) Maria Jose Vargas d. 15) Adrienne Haynes, 15-1, 15-0
LPRT Singles - Quarterfinals - Saturday
1) Paola Longoria v. 8) Rhonda Rajsich - 11 AM
4) Natalia Mendez v. 5) Angelica Barrios - 11 AM
3) Alexandra Herrera v. 11) Carla Muñoz - 10 AM
2) Maria Jose Vargas v. 10) Brenda Laime - 10 AM
LPRT Singles - Quarterfinals - Friday
1) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas - BYE
4) Jessica Parrilla & Montserrat Perez v. 5) Ana Laura Flores & Kelani Lawrence - 7 PM
3) Valeria Centellas & Natalia Mendez v. 6) Brenda Laime & Erika Manilla - 7 PM
2) Alexandra Herrera & Carla Muñoz v. 7) Veronica Sotomayor & Maria Jose Vargas - 8 PM
LPRT Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday
1) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas - BYE
5) Ana Laura Flores & Kelani Lawrence d. 4) Jessica Parrilla & Montserrat Perez, 11-15, 15-7, 11-1
3) Valeria Centellas & Natalia Mendez d. 6) Brenda Laime & Erika Manilla, 15-11, 15-5
7) Veronica Sotomayor & Maria Jose Vargas v. 2) Alexandra Herrera & Carla Muñoz, 8-15, 15-9, 11-6
LPRT Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday
1) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas v. 5) Ana Laura Flores & Kelani Lawrence - 2 PM
3) Valeria Centellas & Natalia Mendez v. 7) Veronica Sotomayor & Maria Jose Vargas - 1 PM
Follow the bouncing ball….
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