Lambert & Murray win at Canadian National Team Selection Event

Racquetball Canada ran its National Team Selection Event in Calgary on the weekend with Samuel Murray and Frédérique Lambert winning the Men’s and Women’s titles, respectively. In the finals, Murray beat Coby Iwaasa, 15-8, 15-11, 15-14, and Lambert defeated Michèle Morissette, 8-15, 15-10, 15-6, 15-10. The rally point scoring system was used for the first time with matches a best of five games: four games to 15, win by 1, and a tie-breaker to 11 win by 2, as the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) will be using this system in its events this year.

These results will be combined with the results from the 2021 Canadian National Championships to select the players for the 2022 Pan American Championships in Santa Cruz, Bolivia in April. Murray and Lambert won at Nationals, so they will be selected for Pan Ams for sure. Iwaasa was 2nd at Nationals also, so he should be invited too. Racquetball Canada will send out invitations this week, and then announce the team later this month.

In the men’s semi-finals, Murray needed four games to get past 5th seed Kurtis Cullen, 15-2, 15-7, 11-15, 15-9, while Iwaasa took out 3rd seed Trevor Webb in three straight games, 15-8, 15-13, 15-7. Cullen then got a forfeit win over Webb in the 3rd place match to get his best ever finish at a selection event.

On the women’s side, Lambert beat 4th seed Juliette Parent, 15-3, 15-11, 15-13, in one semi with Morissette coming back from two games down to defeat 3rd seed Danielle Drury, 11-15, 11-15, 15-13, 15-12, 11-8. Drury was playing her first match in over two years, as she took time off for academic reasons. But she managed to finish 3rd by defeating Parent in another match that went to a breaker with Drury winning 11-15, 15-9, 15-11, 13-15, 11-6.

Racquetball Canada plans to have its National Championships the third week of May 23rd - Victoria Day in Canada - as usual, although a site for the event has yet to be chosen. The results from this weekend and the 2022 Nationals will be used to select the team for the 2022 IRF World Championships in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, August 19-27.

2022 Racquetball Canada National Team Selection Event February 25-26, 2022 - Calgary, Alberta

Men's Open

Final

1) Samuel Murray d. 2) Coby Iwaasa, 15-8, 15-11, 15-14

3rd Place

5) Kurtis Cullen d. 3) Trevor Webb, injury forfeit

Semi-finals

1) Samuel Murray d. 5) Kurtis Cullen, 15-2, 15-7, 11-15, 15-9
2) Coby Iwaasa d. 3) Trevor Webb, 15-8, 15-13, 15-7

Quarterfinals

1) Samuel Murray d. 9) Mitchell Brayley, 15-9, 15-6, 15-11
5) Kurtis Cullen d. 4) Lee Connell, 15-3, 15-13, 13-15, 15-13

3) Trevor Webb d. 6) Francis Guillemette, 15-8, 15-13, 15-7
2) Coby Iwaasa d. 10) Nathan Jauvin, 15-2, 15-10, 15-3

Women's Open

Final

1) Frédérique Lambert d. 2) Michèle Morissette, 8-15, 15-10, 15-6, 15-10

3rd place

3) Danielle Drury d. 4) Juliette Parent, 11-15, 15-9, 15-11, 13-15, 11-6

Semi-finals

1) Frédérique Lambert d. 4) Juliette Parent, 15-3, 15-11, 15-13
2) Michèle Morissette d. 3) Danielle Drury, 11-15, 11-15, 15-13, 15-12, 11-8

Quarterfinals

1) Frédérique Lambert d. 9) Marjolaine Parent, 15-7, 15-12, 15-2
4) Juliette Parent d. 5) Alexis Iwaasa, 15-14, 12-15, 15-6, 15-5

3) Danielle Drury d. 6) Cassie Prentice, 15-8, 15-9, 15-6
2) Michèle Morissette d. 7) Tamara Wilscam, 15-6, 15-6, 15-9

Follow the bouncing ball….

Herrera wins her 1st title at the 2022 LPRT Vero Beach Open

Alexandra Herrera won her 1st Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) event by defeating Paola Longoria, 15-14, 15-13, in the final of the 2022 LPRT Vero Beach Open in Vero Beach, Florida. It’s also the first time Herrera, the LPRT’s #2 player, has beaten Longoria, the LPRT’s #1 player. She also won doubles with Montserrat Mejia, as they defeated Longoria and Maria Renee Rodriguez in the doubles final, 15-7, 15-6.

Herrera led 11-4 in game one, and looked like she was going to win it comfortably. But no match against Longoria is comfortable, and she scored seven straight points to tie the game at 11-11. Longoria then edged ahead, and got to game point first at 14-12. Herrera called a timeout.

When play resumed, Herrera got the serve back, and they went back and forth with Herrera fighting off two game points, and scoring two of her own to make it 14-14. They then exchanged sideouts twice, and on her third game point, Herrera won it with a backhand down the line shot.

Game two was similar, as Herrera took an early lead at 7-1, only to see Longoria tie it at 7-7. They remained close, and then tied at 12-12, when Herrera called a timeout. After an exchange of timeouts, Longoria made it 13-12 with a backhand pinch shot.

However, Herrera got the serve back on the next rally. Longoria appealed that Herrera’s serve return was an encroachment, but the line judges upheld the referee’s call of no encroachment. Herrera hit a winning backhand cross court shot to make it 13-13. A forehand pinch shot made it 14-13, and on the next rally the ball came into the service box area, and the lefthanded Herrera hit a forehand reverse pinch to the right corner for the match winning point.

The LPRT will be back in action next in two weeks at the Boston Open, March 4-6, 2022. If you missed any of the action from Vero Beach check out the LPRT YouTube channel, as well as the LPRT Facebook page.

LPRT Vero Beach Open
February 17-19, 2022 - Vero Beach, Florida

LPRT Singles - Final - Saturday

2) Alexandra Herrera d. 1) Paola Longoria, 15-14, 15-13

LPRT Doubles - Final - Saturday

1) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia v. 2) Paola Longoria & Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-7, 15-6

Follow the bouncing ball….

Longoria & Herrera to face off in final of 2022 LPRT Vero Beach Open

Number 1 will play number 2 in the final of the 2022 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Vero Beach Open in Vero Beach, Florida, as the top seeds won their respective semi-final matches Saturday morning. LPRT #1 Mexican Paola Longoria defeated 12th seed Erika Manilla, 15-11, 15-6, while LPRT #2 Alexandra Herrera of Mexico beat LPRT #3 Maria Jose Vargas of Argentina, 15-3, 15-8.

Longoria and Manilla were close in game one with momentum going back and forth with the Mexican edging it over the American in the end. They continued to be close in game two, and were tied at 6-6. However, Longoria didn’t drop a point from there, holding Manilla scoreless. Ceiling balls were a difference with Longoria hitting better ones than Manilla, who made a few ceiling ball errors - failing to get the ball to the front wall.

Herrera’s win over Vargas was fairly comprehensive. However, after dropping the first game, Vargas did have a good start in game two, going up 5-0. Herrera responded to that deficit by coming back to tie it at 6-6. From there, she pushed on to win the match in two straight games.

The last time Longoria and Herrera met in an LPRT final it went to a tie-breaker with Longoria winning 11-9. That was in November in Illinois. Herrera will take confidence from that result into the final today, as she seeks her first win over the player who has dominated women’s racquetball for more than a decade. They will also meet in the doubles final to be played immediately after the singles final, when Longoria and Maria Renee Rodriguez take on Herrera and Montserrat Mejia.

The Vero Beach Open concludes Saturday. The singles finals will be at 4 PM with the doubles final to follow at 5 PM. All times Eastern. Look for the action via the LPRT YouTube channel, as well as the LPRT Facebook page.

LPRT Vero Beach Open
February 17-19, 2022 - Vero Beach, Florida

LPRT Singles - Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Paola Longoria d. 12) Erika Manilla, 15-11, 15-6
2) Alexandra Herrera d. 3) Maria Jose Vargas, 15-3, 15-8

LPRT Singles - Final - Saturday

1) Paola Longoria v. 2) Alexandra Herrera - 4 PM

LPRT Doubles - Final - Saturday

1) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia v. 2) Paola Longoria & Maria Renee Rodriguez - 5 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….

Quarterfinal results from 2022 LPRT Vero Beach Open

After a few upsets in the early rounds of the 2022 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Vero Beach Open in Vero Beach, Florida, the quarterfinals were all won by the higher seeds. That included the LPRT’s #1 player - Mexican Paola Longoria - beating 9th seed Brenda Laime, 15-7, 15-0, and LPRT #2 Mexican Alexandra Herrera seeing off Bolivian Jenny Daza, 15-4, 15-2.

Maria Jose Vargas of Argentina, the LPRT’s #3 player, needed three games to defeat Mexican Montserrat Mejia, the 6th seed, 15-11, 14-15, 11-5. She’ll play Herrera in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Longoria will face 12th seed Erika Manilla, who defeated fellow American Kelani Lawrence, the 13th seed, in the quarters, 15-7, 15-13. It looked like Lawrence was going to win game two and force a tie-breaker with Manilla, as she had leads of 7-1 and 13-9. But Manilla dug in, and worked her way back into the game, and managed to finish the match in two straight games. Lawrence would likely have won that second game using rally scoring.

In the doubles semi-finals, top seeds Herrera and Mejia had to come back against 5th seeds Lawrence and Hollie Scott, who won the first game and were ahead midway through the tie-breaker, only to lose it, as Herrera and Mejia prevailed, 9-15, 15-8, 11-8. Lawrence and Scott were up 7-3 in game three, and looked like they were going to cause the upset, but it wasn’t to be as the lefty-righty team of Herrera and Mejia tied it at 7-7 and never trailed after that.

Longoria and Maria Renee Rodriguez will face Herrera and Mejia in the final Saturday, as they defeated 3rd seeds Natalia Mendez and Vargas, 15-11, 15-8. It’s the first time Longoria and Rodriguez have played together, but they compliment each other, as Longoria usually plays on the left side and Rodriguez the right, so the partnership has worked so far.

The Vero Beach Open concludes on Saturday. The singles semi-finals are in the morning with both the singles and doubles final in the afternoon. Look for the action via the LPRT YouTube channel, as well as the LPRT Facebook page.

LPRT Vero Beach Open
February 17-19, 2022 - Vero Beach, Florida

LPRT Singles - Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Paola Longoria d. 9) Brenda Laime, 15-7, 15-0
12) Erika Manilla d. 13) Kelani Lawrence, 15-7, 15-13

3) Maria Jose Vargas d. 6) Montserrat Mejia, 15-11, 14-15, 11-5
2) Alexandra Herrera d. 23) Jenny Daza, 15-4, 15-2

LPRT Singles - Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Paola Longoria v. 12) Erika Manilla - 11 AM
2) Alexandra Herrera v. 3) Maria Jose Vargas - 10 AM

LPRT Doubles - Semi-finals - Friday

1) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia d. 5) Kelani Lawrence & Hollie Scott, 9-15, 15-8, 11-8
2) Paola Longoria & Maria Renee Rodriguez d. 3) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas, 15-11, 15-8

LPRT Doubles - Final - Saturday

1) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia v. 2) Paola Longoria & Maria Renee Rodriguez - 5 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….

Early rounds at 2022 LPRT Vero Beach Open

The Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) began their first event of 2022 on Thursday in Vero Beach, Florida with a field of 24 players, and there have been some good matches already. Two upsets have created an all-American quarterfinal. In the Round of 16, Kelani Lawrence, the 13th seed, defeated 4th seed Natalia Mendez of Argentina, 15-6, 15-14, and will play 12th seed Erika Manilla, who was also a straight game winner over Bolivia’s Angelica Barrios, 15-12, 15-9. They’ll play at 5 PM Friday.

Mexican Paola Longoria, the LPRT’s #1 player, defeated 16th seed American Hollie Scott in the Round of 16, 14-5, 15-14, as Scott won the 16/17 match versus 17th seed Cristina Amaya of Colombia, 13-15, 15-11, 11-9, on Thursday. LPRT #2 Alexandra Herrera of Mexico got the better of 18th seed Micaela Meneses of Bolivia in the 16s, 15-8, 15-2, as Meneses was an upset winner over Sheryl Lotts, 15-6, 15-7, in the Round of 32.

Maria Jose Vargas of Argentina, the LPRT’s #3 player, defeated Guatemalan Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-8, 15-2, in the 16s, and will play Mexican Montserrat Mejia, the 6th seed, in the quarterfinals, as Mejia beat Ecuador's Veronica Sotomayor, 15-4, 15-9.

As per usual, they are also playing doubles, and for the first time Longoria and Rodriguez have teamed up, as neither of their regular partners are in Florida. Longoria usually plays with Samantha Salas and Rogriguez with Gabriela Martinez. They are seeded 2nd, and narrowly won their first match against 7th seeds Carla Muñoz and Sotomayor, 15-14, 15-13. Next up for them is a semi-final match with 3rd seeds Natalia Mendez and Maria Jose Vargas, who were winners over 11th seeds Barrios and Jenny Daza, 15-7, 15-14.

The other doubles semi will be top seeds Alexandra Herrera and Montserrat Mejia against 5th seeds Lawrence and Scott. In the quarters, Herrera and Mejia beat 9th seeds Sheryl Lotts and Rhonda Rajsich, 15-5, 15-5, while Lawrence and Scott got past 4th seeds Jessica Parrilla and Montserrat Perez when the latter forfeited their match, apparently due to Parrilla feeling unwell.

The Round of 16 and quarterfinals are set for Friday with the semi-finals and final on Saturday. Look for the action via the LPRT YouTube channel, as well as the LPRT Facebook page.

LPRT Vero Beach Open
February 17-19, 2022 - Vero Beach, Florida

LPRT Singles - Round of 32 - Thursday

1) Paola Longoria - BYE
16) Hollie Scott d. 17) Cristina Amaya, 13-15, 15-11, 11-9

9) Brenda Laime d. 24) Maricruz Ortiz, 15-7, 15-5
8) Rhonda Rajsich - BYE

5) Angelica Barrios - BYE
12) Erika Manilla d. 21) Susana Acosta, 15-10, 15-7

12) Kelani Lawrence d. 20) Daniela Rico, 15-6, 15-9
4) Natalia Mendez - BYE

3) Maria Jose Vargas - BYE
14) Maria Renee Rodriguez d. 19) Montserrat Perez, 15-7, 15-6

22) Veronica Sotomayor d. 11) Nancy Enriquez, 8-15, 15-12, 11-9
6) Montserrat Mejia - BYE

7) Jessica Parrilla - BYE
23) Jenny Daza d. 10) Carla Muñoz, 13-15, 15-10, 11-6

18) Micaela Meneses d. 15) Sheryl Lotts, 15-6, 15-7
2) Alexandra Herrera - BYE

LPRT Singles - Round of 16 - Friday

1) Paola Longoria d. 16) Hollie Scott, 15-4, 15-14
9) Brenda Laime d. 8) Rhonda Rajsich, 15-3, 15-12

12) Erika Manilla d. 5) Angelica Barrios, 15-12, 15-9
13) Kelani Lawrence d. 4) Natalia Mendez, 15-6, 15-14

3) Maria Jose Vargas d. 14) Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-8, 15-2
6) Montserrat Mejia d. 22) Veronica Sotomayor, 15-4, 15-9

23) Jenny Daza d. 7) Jessica Parrilla, forfeit
2) Alexandra Herrera d. 18) Micaela Meneses, 15-8, 15-2

LPRT Singles - Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Paola Longoria v. 9) Brenda Laime - 5 PM
12) Erika Manilla v. 13) Kelani Lawrence - 5 PM

3) Maria Jose Vargas v. 6) Montserrat Mejia - 4 PM
2) Alexandra Herrera v. 23) Jenny Daza - 4 PM

LPRT Doubles - Round of 16 - Thursday

1) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia - BYE
9) Sheryl Lotts & Rhonda Rajsich d. 8) Nancy Enriquez & Daniela Rico, 15-7, 15-4

5) Kelani Lawrence & Hollie Scott - BYE
4) Jessica Parrilla & Montserrat Perez - BYE

3) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas - BYE
11) Angelica Barrios & Jenny Daza d. 6) Brenda Laime & Erika Manilla, 15-12, 6-15, 11-10

7) Carla Muñoz & Veronica Sotomayor d. d. 10) Susana Acosta & Cristina Amaya, 15-13, 15-8
2) Paola Longoria & Maria Renee Rodriguez - BYE

LPRT Doubles - Quarterfinals - Thursday

1) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia d. 9) Sheryl Lotts & Rhonda Rajsich, 15-5, 15-5
5) Kelani Lawrence & Hollie Scott d. 4) Jessica Parrilla & Montserrat Perez, injury forfeit

3) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas d. 11) Angelica Barrios & Jenny Daza, 15-7, 15-14
2) Paola Longoria & Maria Renee Rodriguez d. 7) Carla Muñoz & Veronica Sotomayor, 15-14, 15-13

LPRT Doubles - Semi-finals - Friday

1) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia v. 5) Kelani Lawrence & Hollie Scott - 7 PM
2) Paola Longoria & Maria Renee Rodriguez v. 3) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas - 6 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….