On Friday they determined who would play for gold, as it was semi-final day at the 33rd International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The winners go to the finals on Saturday, while the losers settle for bronze, which is still a significant achievement. Let’s high-light some players who will be playing for gold tomorrow.
Although they weren’t highest seeds, the expected players are in the Boy’s U21 final, as Argentine Diego Garcia will face Mexico’s Erick Trujillo. In the semi-finals, Garcia defeated the top seed Pepe Ramos of Mexico, 14-12, 11-8, 11-6, while Trujillo beat Ecuador’s Josue Bermeo, 11-7, 11-4, 11-8.
Bolivian Angelica Barrios was also expected to be in the final, and she got there by defeating Costa Rican Maricruz Ortiz, 12-10, 11-5, 11-8. Barrios, the current Women’s Singles Pan American Champion, will play Mexican Mafer Gutierrez in the final. Mafer was the 5th seed, but upset #1 seed American Shane Diaz in the other semi, 11-8, 11-6, 11-13, 11-2.
Trujillo is the 7th seed, so he’s the highest seed to make a final, and Mafer as the 5th is the 3rd highest seed in a final. The 2nd highest seed in a final is the USA’s Naomi Ros, as the 6th seed in Girls U16 upset 2nd seed Krystin Salinas Vasquez of Bolivia, 12-10, 11-9, 7-11, 11-0. Ros will face top seed Yanna Salazar of Mexico in the final, as the leftie beat Ros’s team-mate Ava Kaiser (USA) in the other semi, 11-3, 11-9, 12-10.
Salazar is in all three U16 finals - singles, doubles and mixed doubles - and so is her team-mate Jorge Gutierrez. Gutierrez is the top seed in Boys U16 and reached the final by defeating Guatemalan Jose Caceras, 11-1, 11-9, 6-11, 11-5. In the final, he’ll play team-mate Eder Renteria, who came back from down 0-2 to win in five games against Bolivia’s Nicolás Iglesias, 9-11, 7-11, 15-13, 13-11, 11-8.
Finalists
Here’s a rundown of the finals by countries involved. There are 15 divisions (singles and doubles for boys and girls and a mixed doubles division) across the World Cup age categories: U16, U18, and U21.
Countries - Finals
Bolivia v. Mexico - 7
Argentina v. Mexico - 2
Guatemala v. Mexico - 2
Argentina v. Bolivia - 1
Bolivia v. USA - 1
USA v. Mexico - 1
Mexico v. Mexico - 1
So, a Mexican player (or players) is (are) in 13 of the 15 finals. Bolivia is in 9, Argentina in 3, USA in 2, and Guatemala in 2. The three Argentina finals are all in U21 and all involve Diego Garcia. The USA finals are both girls divisions: U18 doubles and U16 singles. Similarly, the Guatemala finals are both doubles: Boys U18 and Girls U16.
The live streaming of matches from Guatemala, so check out the IRF YouTube channel or the IRF Facebook page for the action.
33rd IRF World Junior Championships
December 3-10 - Guatemala City, Guatemala
Girls U21 Singles - Medal Round
Semi-finals - Friday
5) Mafer Gutierrez (Mexico) d. 1) Shane Diaz (USA), 11-8, 11-6, 11-13, 11-2
2) Angelica Barrios (Bolivia) d. 3) Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica), 12-10, 11-5, 11-8
Final - Saturday
2) Angelica Barrios (Bolivia) v. 5) Mafer Gutierrez (Mexico)
Girls U21 Doubles - Medal Round
Semi-finals - Friday
1) Mafer Gutierrez & Valeria Hernandez (Mexico) d. 4) Aranxa Anguizola & Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica), 7-11, 9-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-2
2) Angelica Barrios & Natalia Mita (Bolivia) d. 3) Shane Diaz & Graci Wargo (USA), 11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 11-4
Final - Saturday
1) Mafer Gutierrez & Valeria Hernandez (Mexico) v. 2) Angelica Barrios & Natalia Mita (Bolivia)
Boys U21 Singles - Medal Round
Semi-finals - Friday
4) Diego Garcia (Argentina) d. 1) Pepe Ramos (Mexico), 14-12, 11-8, 11-6
7) Erick Trujillo (Mexico) d. 3) Josue Bermeo (Ecuador), 11-7, 11-4, 11-8
Final - Saturday
4) Diego Garcia (Argentina) v. 7) Erick Trujillo (Mexico)
Boys U21 Doubles - Medal Round
Semi-finals - Friday
1) Pepe Ramos & Erick Trujillo (Mexico) d. 4) Hector Barrios & Adrian Jaldin (Bolivia), 11-3, 11-3, 11-3
2) Diego Garcia & Tomás Oyhanart (Argentina) d. 3) Diego Gatica & Jaime Mansilla (Chile), 11-9, 11-3, 11-8
Final - Saturday
1) Pepe Ramos & Erick Trujillo (Mexico) v. 2) Diego Garcia & Tomás Oyhanart (Argentina)
Mixed Doubles U21 - Medal Round
Semi-finals - Friday
1) Angelica Barrios & Hector Barrios (Bolivia) d. 4) Mafer Gutierrez & Pepe Ramos (Mexico), 11-4, 5-11, 11-5, 11-3
2) Diego Garcia & Martina Katz (Argentina) d. 3) Shane Diaz & Micah Farmer (USA), 9-11, 11-4, 11-6, 8-11, 11-2
Final - Saturday
1) Angelica Barrios & Hector Barrios (Bolivia) v. 2) Diego Garcia & Martina Katz (Argentina)
Girls U18 Singles - Medal Round
Semi-finals - Friday
4) Ivanna Valderrama (Mexico) d. 1) Paula Manilla (Chile), 11-4, 10-12, 11-6, 11-2
2) Micaela Meneses (Bolivia) d. 6) Angela Ortega (Mexico), 12-10, 12-9 [sic], 11-5
Final - Saturday
2) Micaela Meneses (Bolivia) v. 4) Ivanna Valderrama (Mexico)
Girls U18 Doubles - Medal Round
Final
1) Rebecca Amaya & Valeria Martinez (Bolivia) v. 3) Heather Mahoney & Julia Stein (USA)
Boys U18 Singles - Medal Round
Semi-finals - Friday
1) Sebastian Hernández (Mexico) d. 4) Juan Tapia (Bolivia), 11-9, 12-10, 11-6
2) Luis Aguilar (Bolivia) v. 6) Jaime Mansilla (Chile), 11-5, 11-7, 11-4
Final - Saturday
1) Sebastian Hernández (Mexico) v. 2) Luis Aguilar (Bolivia)
Boys U18 Doubles - Medal Round
Semi-finals - Friday
1) Luis Renteria & Sebastian Hernández (Mexico) d. 4) Jose Subieta & Luis Aguilar (Bolivia), 11-7, 11-4, 11-7
3) Jose Caceras & Alex Sierra (Guatemala) d. 2) Oscar Montejo & Antonio Sanchez (Costa Rica), 11-6, 11-9, 11-8
Final - Saturday
1) Luis Renteria & Sebastian Hernández (Mexico) v. 3) Jose Caceras & Alex Sierra (Guatemala)
Mixed Doubles U18 - Medal Round
Semi-finals - Friday
1) Luis Aguilar & Rebecca Amaya (Bolivia) d. 5) Christian Pocsai & Ofelia Wilscam (Canada), 11-4, 11-7, 11-6
2) Sebastian Hernández & Angela Ortega (Mexico) d. 6) Anna Aguilar Salvatierra & Alex Sierra (Guatemala), 4-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-6
Final - Saturday
1) Luis Aguilar & Rebecca Amaya (Bolivia) v. 2) Sebastian Hernández & Angela Ortega (Mexico)
Girls U16 Singles - Medal Round
Semi-finals - Friday
1) Yanna Salazar (Mexico) d. 12) Ava Kaiser (USA), 11-3, 11-9, 12-10
6) Naomi Ros (USA) d. 2) Krystin Salinas Vasquez (Bolivia), 12-10, 11-9, 7-11, 11-0
Final - Saturday
1) Yanna Salazar (Mexico) v. 6) Naomi Ros (USA)
Girls U16 Doubles - Medal Round
Semi-finals - Friday
1) Andrea Reyes & Anna Paul Augilar Salvatierra (Guatemala) d. 5) Ashly Arce & Jimena Gomez (Costa Rica), 11-8, 11-7, 11-5
3) Cynthia Gutierrez & Yanna Salazar (Mexico) d. 2) Ava Kaiser & Naomi Ros (USA), 11-5, 11-6, 10-12, 2-11, 11-8
Final - Saturday
1) Andrea Reyes & Anna Paul Augilar Salvatierra (Guatemala) 3) Cynthia Gutierrez & Yanna Salazar (Mexico)
Boys U16 Singles - Medal Round
Semi-finals - Friday
1) Jorge Gutierrez (Mexico) d. 5) Jose Caceras (Guatemala), 11-1, 11-9, 6-11, 11-5
3) Eder Renteria (Mexico) d. 2) Nicolás Iglesias (Bolivia), 9-11, 7-11, 15-13, 13-11, 11-8
Semi-finals - Friday
1) Jorge Gutierrez (Mexico) v. 3) Eder Renteria (Mexico)
Boys U16 Doubles - Medal Round
Semi-finals - Friday
1) Jorge Gutierrez & Eder Renteria (Mexico) d. 4) DJ Mendoza & Cole Sendrey (USA), 11-7, 11-8, 11-6
2) Nicolás Iglesias & Hernán Ruiz (Bolivia) d. 6) Leyton Gouldie & Asher Pocsai (Canada), 11-4, 11-9, 11-3
Final - Saturday
1) Jorge Gutierrez & Eder Renteria (Mexico) v. 2) Nicolás Iglesias & Hernán Ruiz (Bolivia)
Mixed Doubles U16 - Medal Round
Semi-finals - Friday
1) Jorge Gutierrez & Yanna Salazar (Mexico) d. 5) Andrea Reyes & Jose Caceras (Guatemala), 4-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-8
2) Hernán Ruiz & Krystin Salinas (Bolivia) d. 6) Martin Carchi & María Angela Villacreses (Ecuador), 11-8, 11-4, 11-8
Final - Saturday
1) Jorge Gutierrez & Yanna Salazar (Mexico) v. 2) Hernán Ruiz & Krystin Salinas (Bolivia)
Follow the bouncing ball....
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