Conrrado Moscoso won his 2nd event of the year by defeating Jake Bredenbeck, 13-15, 15-14, 11-7, in the final of the 38th Annual International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Papa Nicholas Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois. Moscoso is 2-1 in finals this season, while Bredenbeck is 0-2.
But the doubles final was surprising, as 2nd seeds Adam Manilla and Andree Parrilla defeated top seeds Javier Mar and Rodrigo Montoya, 15-10, 15-10. It’s first loss in a doubles match this season for Mar and Montoya, who’ve won twice together and once each with other partners. They are the class of IRT doubles now, yet the lefty-righty team of Manilla and Parrilla, who were playing together for the first time, beat them. Impressive.
Bredenbeck led early in game one of the singles final at 4-1, but Moscoso tied it 4-4 and they were back and forth until 9-9. Moscoso then won four rallies in a row - even with a Bredenbeck timeout in the middle of that run - to lead 13-9, so it seemed he was going to take game one.
But Bredenbeck laid out to hit a great backhand shot that got him back in the service box, where he then hit back to back ace serves: a drive to the right followed by a drive to the left. A backhand rekill put Bredenbeck within one of Moscoso at 13-12.
Moscoso stopped the run with a backhand cross court shot, but was then called for an avoidable hinder on the next rally. When he skipped a forehand serve return of a Bredenbeck lob to the right side that made it 13-13, Moscoso called a timeout.
However, that didn’t change things, as he skipped another forehand shot on the next rally making it 14-13. Bredenbeck only needed one chance to win it, as he hit a backhand winner to close out game one, 15-9, on a run of six unanswered points.
Bredenbeck’s point streak continued in game two, as he went up 8-0: fourteen consecutive points! Bredenbeck maintained the lead, as he got to 14 first, leading 14-9. The match was virtually in hand.
Moscoso had other plans, though, and he fought off that match point with a winning backhand pinch shot. That proved to be Bredenbeck’s only match point, as Moscoso did what had been done to him in game one: score the last six points to win the game.
Moscoso ended it in spectacular fashion, as he hit a shot between his legs while facing the back wall that was a pinch shot winner out of the right front corner.
That forced a tie-breaker, and they were close early in the breaker, including being tied at 4-4 and 5-5. But Moscoso edged ahead from there, as he pushed out to a 9-5 lead. Bredenbeck cut the lead to 9-7 with a drive serve ace, but never got closer than that.
The last point was a classic racquetball rally: Moscoso drove serve to the left side, and Bredenbeck returned it to the ceiling. Moscoso moved to the back left corner, and hit a great backhand splat shot from 37 feet for the winner.
Moscoso said afterwards “only focus” was the difference between games one and two. He complimented his opponent: “Jake is very strong” and his “game is very fast,” so Moscoso was very happy to win their match.
Moscoso’s win was the 6th of his career, tying him with Ruben Gonzalez, Drew Kachtik and Jerry Hilecher, and putting him just one behind Mike Ray and two off John Ellis.
Doubles
Mar and Montoya started well in the doubles final, as they went out to an 8-1 lead in game one. But Manilla and Parrilla caught up at 9-9, and they pushed on to win 15-10, as Manilla hit a forehand winner down the left side.
Mar and Montoya led early in game two also at 4-1. Again, Manilla and Parrilla caught up, tying at 4-4. The teams were back and forth from there, but when Mar and Montoya got ahead 10-8, you had a feeling that they were going to force a breaker.
That feeling proved to be false, as a Mar skip put Manilla and Parrilla back in the service box, and they wouldn’t leave it, scoring seven unanswered points to win 15-10. Parrilla started the run with a great forehand pinch shot from the back left corner.
Interestingly, Parrilla was serving lob nicks over to Montoya, rather than serving to Mar, who was the player on his side of the court. The end came when Manilla hit a Z serve to the left side where Montoya returned it with a forehand down the left, but in doing so, Montoya was trapped against the left wall. The ball was well up as it came to him, so Manilla held up. Despite jumping up to avoid contact from Manilla, Montoya was called for an avoidable hinder. He appealed the call, but the line judges upheld the call, so the match was over.
Parrilla has had success in Lombard over the years, and afterwards was asked whether that helped today, but he said rather than the court he felt “comfortable playing with Adam.” That it was “an advantage to play with a smart guy like him and because he’s a lefty that helps in doubles too.” But Parrilla “didn’t feel that comfortable playing in the court, because it’s hard to play in a fish bowl” like that.
”I’m happy that we won,” said Parrilla, “and played smart.” He thought the key was “we were choosing the right shots to take.”
Manilla thanked Andree afterwards, saying he’s “such an incredible doubles partner, so smooth, so patient, and it’s easy to play with a guy,” when you know if he has “a set up he just puts it away.”
Perhaps this could be the start of a beautiful partnership.
If you missed any of the finals from Lombard check out the IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page.
38th Annual IRT Papa Nicholas Shamrock Shootout
March 16-19, 2023 - Lombard, Illinois
IRT Singles - Final - Sunday
1) Conrrado Moscoso d. 2) Jake Bredenbeck, 13-15, 15-14, 11-7
IRT Doubles - Final - Sunday
2) Adam Manilla & Andree Parrilla d. 1) Javier Mar & Rodrigo Montoya, 15-10, 15-10
Follow the bouncing ball….
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