It’ll be #1 versus #2 in both singles and doubles finals on Sunday at the 38th Annual International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Papa Nicholas Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois. Both singles semi-finals were close. Top seed Conrrado Moscoso narrowly defeated Rodrigo Montoya in two games, 15-14, 15-14, and 2nd seed Jake Bredenbeck came back from a game down to defeat 3rd seed Eduardo Portillo, 9-15, 15-5, 11-7.
Moscoso’s win in doubles was a bit of revenge for losing to Montoya earlier in the day in the doubles semi-finals, as Montoya and Javier Mar, the top seeds, defeated Moscoso and Alejandro Landa, the 4th seeds, 15-10, 15-11. In the other doubles semi, 2nd seeds Adam Manilla and Andree Parrilla dropped the first game to 3rd seeds Bredenbeck and Samuel Murray, but won the match in three games, 13-15, 15-6, 11-4.
In the Moscoso-Montoya match, Montoya had significant leads in both games. He led 9-2 in game one, only to see Moscoso come back and tie it at 12-12. Montoya got to 14 first, but skipped a forehand shot for the game, which gave the serve back to Moscoso. Three Moscoso winners on consecutive rallies won him the game.
In game two, they were close early, but then Montoya took a 9-5 lead. As in game one, Moscoso came back and they were tied at 12-12, and then Montoya got to 14 first. His first game point ended in an avoidable call, which, of course, Montoya didn’t like, but it seemed like the right call.
Another avoidable call put Moscoso on match point at 14-14. However, he skipped a forehand pinch shot on that first match point. They were back and forth with Montoya on game point and Moscoso match point with each player having three opportunities to finish it (Montoya also had two at 14-13, so five game points overall). Moscoso finally finished it by hitting a drive serve that jammed off the left wall, so Montoya turned to take it with his forehand, but skipped the return.
”I’m so happy,” Moscoso said afterwards, and congratulated Montoya for playing a great match. Asked what was different today compared to two weeks ago, when Montoya defeated Moscoso in what wasn’t such a close match, Moscoso said “I don’t know.” Although Moscoso was “feeling tired” after the match, he said he’ll be ready for the final.
In contrast, the first two games of Bredenbeck and Portillo weren’t close. But the breaker was close. Bredenbeck took the early lead, 4-1. Portillo tied it 4-4, and led 5-4. They remained close until Bredenbeck was up 8-7. From there, Bredenbeck won three consecutive rallies to finish it off, 11-7.
Asked about how he bounced back from losing game one, Bredenbeck said “I always tell myself never quit, never give up,” and “all you need is a couple shots to change the momentum.” He added that “it feels awesome” to be in another final.
You can see the IRT finals from Lombard via the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page. The singles final is Sunday at 11 AM with doubles to follow at Noon. All times Central.
38th Annual IRT Papa Nicholas Shamrock Shootout
March 16-19, 2023 - Lombard, Illinois
IRT Singles - Semi-finals - Saturday
1) Conrrado Moscoso d. 5) Rodrigo Montoya, 15-14, 15-14
2) Jake Bredenbeck d. 3) Eduardo Portillo, 9-15, 15-5, 11-7
IRT Singles - Final - Sunday
1) Conrrado Moscoso v. 2) Jake Bredenbeck - 11 AM
IRT Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday
1) Javier Mar & Rodrigo Montoya d. 4) Alejandro Landa & Conrrado Moscoso, 15-10, 15-11
2) Adam Manilla & Andree Parrilla d. 3) Jake Bredenbeck & Samuel Murray, 13-15, 15-6, 11-4
IRT Doubles - Final - Sunday
1) Javier Mar & Rodrigo Montoya v. 2) Adam Manilla & Andree Parrilla - Noon
Follow the bouncing ball….
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