There were several racquetball events that wrapped on the weekend, and we want to do a run down of them. Fridley, Minnesota hosted the Minnesota Racquetball Hall of Fame Tournament - a Tier 3 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) event - which featured three top 15 IRT players: Samuel Murray, Jake Bredenbeck and Andres Acuña, and Acuña, the 15th ranked IRT player, who the event beating the two IRT top 10 players in the process.
Acuña defeated top seed Samuel Murray (IRT #5), 15-10, 15-7, in the final, after beating 2nd seed Jake Bredenbeck (IRT #9), 15-10, 15-8, in the semi-finals. Murray defeated Jordy Alonso, 15-10, 15-5, in the other semi.
The Bredenbeck brothers won doubles, as Jake and Sam defeated Murray and Michael Leduc, 15-2, 15-4, in the final. They had a closer win in the semi-finals over Acuña and Alonso, 15-11, 15-14, while Murray and Leduc beat John Goth and Blake Hansen, 15-5, 15-14.
Another IRT event took place in Pueblo, Colorado, where Andree Parrilla won the Pueblo Athletic Club Shootout - a Tier 4 event. Parrilla beat David Horn, 15-2, 15-5. In the semi-finals, Parrilla defeated Nicholas Riffel, 15-7, 15-7, and Horn had to come back from a game down to get past Adam Manilla, 6-15, 15-13, 11-9.
Finally, at the Boston Open in Marlborough, Massachusetts, 4th seed Micaela Meneses won the Women’s Open title by defeating 2nd seed Carla Muñoz, 8-11, 11-10, 11-5, in the final. She knocked off top seed Kelani Lawrence, 11-4, 11-8, in one semi-final, while Muñoz held on to defeat 3rd seed Jenny Daza, 11-6, 4-11, 11-3, in the other semi.
USA Racquetball National High School Championships
The largest event that happened last week was the USA Racquetball (USAR) High School Championships in St. Louis, Missouri, where 346 kids were hitting the ball around. It’s a fabulous total, although the vast majority of the players - 289 - were from Missouri. Add on 30 kids from Oregon, and you have 92% of the players from two states. Indeed, there were players from just 8 states overall.
Nonetheless, having kids playing racquetball is great. And having hundreds of kids doing so is astounding.
Josh Shea was the only player from New York state, but he won the Boy’s #1 Singles title living up to his top seeding, although he did need a tie-breaker to defeat 2nd seed Andrew Gleason of Iowa, 15-4, 13-15, 11-3. The Girl’s #1 Singles final was also between the top seeds, as 2nd seed Naomi Ros of Texas upset top seed Heather Mahoney from California, 15-9, 15-6.
However, Mahoney did win the Girl’s #1 Doubles title with partner Ava Naworski. They were the 3rd seeds, and defeated 4th seeds Avery Oppermann and Gabbie Roseman of Missouri, 15-3, 15-11, in the final. The Boy’s #1 Doubles title went to top seeds Gabe Collins and Jacob Schmidt of Missouri who beat fellow Missourians and 3rd seeds Will Shorey and Jared Thornberry in two close games, 15-13, 15-14.
On the horizon
Coming up on the racquetball calendar will be the IRT’s 37th Annual Papa Nicholas Coffee Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois, March 17-20; that’s a Tier 1 event. The next Tier 1 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) event is the Battle at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, April 29-May 1, but they’ll play outdoors in the 2022 Beach Bash in Hollywood, Florida March 24-27.
Internationally, the 33rd Pan American Championships will be in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, April 9-16, and racquetball is part of the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, July 7-22. Also, USA Racquetball (USAR) will have their 2022 National Doubles and Singles Championships in College Station, Texas on the campus of Texas A & M University May 25-29, and Racquetball Canada has announced its National Championships will happen in Brossard, Québec, May 24-28.
Thus, there are a lot of great events coming up over the next few months, and that will set the stage for the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in San Luis Potosi, Mexico in August.
Minnesota Racquetball Hall of Fame Tournament - IRT Tier 3
March 3-6, 2022 - Fridley, Minnesota
IRT Singles - Final
3) Andres Acuña d. 1) Samuel Murray, 15-10, 15-7
IRT Singles - Semi-finals
1) Samuel Murray d. 5) Jordy Alonso, 15-10, 15-5
3) Andres Acuña d. 2) Jake Bredenbeck, 15-10, 15-8
IRT Singles - Quarterfinals
1) Samuel Murray d. 8) John Goth, 15-9, 15-4
5) Jordy Alonso d. 4) Sam Bredenbeck, 15-10, 15-1
3) Andres Acuña d. 6) Blake Hansen, 15-5, 15-6
2) Jake Bredenbeck d. 7) Lee Meinerz, 15-2, 15-3
IRT Doubles - Final
2) Jake Bredenbeck & Sam Bredenbeck d. 1) Samuel Murray & Michael Leduc, 15-2, 15-4
IRT Singles - Semi-finals
1) Samuel Murray & Michael Leduc d. 4) John Goth & Blake Hansen, 15-5, 15-14
2) Jake Bredenbeck & Sam Bredenbeck d. 3) Andres Acuña & Jordy Alonso, 15-11, 15-14
Pueblo Athletic Club Shootout - IRT Tier 4
March 4-6, 2022 - Pueblo, Colorado
IRT Singles - Final
1) Andree Parrilla d. 3) David Horn, 15-2, 15-5
IRT Singles - Semi-finals
1) Andree Parrilla d. 2) Adam Manilla, 6-15, 15-13, 11-9
3) David Horn 4) Nicholas Riffel, 15-7, 15-7
Boston Open
March 4-6, 2022 - Marlborough, Massachusetts
Women’s Open Singles - Final
4) Micaela Meneses d. 2) Carla Muñoz, 8-11, 11-10, 11-5
Women’s Open Singles - Semi-final
4) Micaela Meneses d. 1) Kelani Lawrence, 11-4, 11-8
2) Carla Muñoz d. 3) Jenny Daza, 11-6, 4-11, 11-3
Women’s Open Singles - Quarterfinals
1) Kelani Lawrence d. 9) Tasha Kay, 11-0, 11-1
4) Micaela Meneses d. 5) Sheryl Lotts, 5-11, 11-9, 11-3
3) Jenny Daza d. 6) Camila Rivero, 11-9, 11-10
2) Carla Muñoz d. 7) Annie Roberts, 11-1, 5-11, 11-6
2022 USA Racquetball National High School Championships
March 2-6, 2022 - St. Louis, Missouri
Boy’s Singles #1 - Final
1) Josh Shea (Hendrick Hudson) d. 2) Andrew Gleason (Johnston School District), 15-4, 13-15, 11-3
Boy’s Singles #1 - Semi-finals
1) Josh Shea (Hendrick Hudson) d. 4) DJ Mendoza (Douglas Macarthur High School), 15-10, 15-6
2) Andrew Gleason (Johnston School District) d. 3) Benjamin Horner (Ankeny Centennial), 15-2, 15-12
Girl’s Singles #1 - Final
2) Naomi Ros (Douglas Macarthur High School) d. 1) Heather Mahoney (Casa Grade High School), 15-9, 15-6
Girl’s Singles #1 - Semi-finals
1) Heather Mahoney (Casa Grade High School) d. 4) Brielle Fernando (Beaverton High School), 15-7, 15-6
2) Naomi Ros (Douglas Macarthur High School) d. 3) Gabbie Roseman (Kirkwood High School), 15-6, 15-0
Boy’s Doubles #1 - Final
1) Gabe Collins & Jacob Schmidt (Christian Brothers College High School) d. 3) Will Shorey & Jared Thornberry (St. Louis University High School), 15-13, 15-14
Boy’s Doubles #1 - Semi-finals
1) Gabe Collins & Jacob Schmidt (Christian Brothers College High School) d. 4) Riley Edwards & Drake Howard (Barlow), 15-4, 15-8
3) Will Shorey & Jared Thornberry (St. Louis University High School) d. 7) Charlie Buren & Jonathon Ruck (Lafayette High School), 15-9, 15-10
Girl’s Doubles #1 - Final
3) Heather Mahoney & Ava Naworski (Casa Grade High School) d. 4) Avery Oppermann & Gabbie Roseman (Kirkwood High School), 15-3, 15-11
Girl’s Doubles #1 - Semi-finals
4) Avery Oppermann & Gabbie Roseman (Kirkwood High School) d. 1) Brielle Fernando & Payton Lemke (Beaverton High School), 15-13, 13-15, 11-4
3) Heather Mahoney & Ava Naworski (Casa Grade High School) d. 2) Hailey Fitts & Hannah Werk (Lafayette High School), 13-15, 15-1, 11-4
Follow the bouncing ball….
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