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….
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