2023 LPRT Battle at the Alamo begins

The 2023 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Battle at the Alamo has begun in San Antonio, Texas, and already there are some surprises, as there were four upsets in the Round of 16. Fourteenth seed Valeria Centellas had the biggest one, as she defeated 3rd seed Alexandra Herrera, 15-8, 13-15, 11-1. Centellas will play another upset winner in the quarterfinals on Friday, when she takes on 11th seed Brenda Laime, who beat 6th seed Natalia Mendez, 15-7, 15-6, in the 16s.

An upset of lesser proportions was the 10th seed Samantha Salas’s win over 7th seed Angelica Barrios, 15-6, 15-13. Salas will play LPRT #2 Montserrat Mejia, winner of the last four LPRT events, in the quarters, as Mejia beat 15th seed Cristina Amaya, 15-6, 15-5, Thursday.

Technically, Maria Jose Vargas’s win over Jessica Parrilla, 15-12, 15-11, was an upset, as it was the 12th seed defeating the 5th seed, but Vargas has been as high as #2 in the LPRT rankings. Her ranking has dropped, as she was inactive for much of the season being pregnant and then having her third child. Vargas will take on 4th seed Erika Manilla in the quarters, as Manilla beat 13th seed Hollie Scott, 15-13, 15-5, in the 16s.

Gabriela Martinez almost had the largest upset of all, as she came within a few points of knocking off LPRT #1 Paola Longoria. She led early in both games in what was a battle of the women who’ve met in the three of the last four Women’s Singles finals at the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships (Longoria winning two of those & Martinez one). But Longoria fought back, and eked out the victory, 15-13, 15-14.

Martinez was down 14-8 in game two, and came back to tie it, but couldn’t quite get the final point.

Longoria will play 8th seed Carla Muñoz in the quarterfinals, as Muñoz came back to defeat 9th seed Kelani Lawrence, 12-15, 15-9, 11-8, Thursday.

There isn’t an LPRT Doubles event in San Antonio, but there is a pro Mixed Doubles event. In that event, Longoria is on the lowest seeded team, as she’s playing with her younger brother Christian Longoria. Christian’s a good player, but hasn’t played a lot on the pro level, so it will be interesting to see how they do.

They’ll be starting off with a tough match, as they are going up against Mejia and Diego Romano. The winner will play 3rd seeds Muñoz and Alan Natera.

The top seeds in Mixed Doubles are Vargas and Alejandro Landa with Scott and Daniel De La Rosa as the 2nd seeds.

You can watch the action live from San Antonio via the LPRT YouTube channel. The quarterfinals begin at 11:15 AM Friday morning, with the semi-finals at 4:40 and 5:45 PM Friday and the final at 4:40 PM Saturday. All times Central.

2023 LPRT Battle at the Alamo
San Antonio, Texas - April 27-29, 2023

First Round - Thursday

32) Shane Diaz d. 33) Danna Portillo, 15-2, 15-0

Round of 32 - Thursday

1) Paola Longoria d. 32) Shane Diaz, 15-1, 15-1
17) Gabriela Martinez d. 16) Nancy Enriquez, 15-6, 15-11

9) Kelani Lawrence d. 24) Martina Katz, 15-9, 15-3
8) Carla Muñoz d. 25) Camila Rivero, 15-7, 15-8

5) Jessica Parrilla d. 28) Yanna Salazar, 12-15, 15-4, 11-6
12) Maria Jose Vargas d. 21) Linda Tyler, 15-1, 15-4

13) Hollie Scott d. 20) Stephanie Synhorst, 15-3, 15-6
4) Erika Manilla d. 29) Naomi Ros, 15-7, 9-15, 11-5

3) Alexandra Herrera d. Khyathi Velpuri, 15-0, 15-0
14) Valeria Centellas d. 19) Sunshine Arterburn, 15-0, 15-0

11) Brenda Laime d. 22) Annie Robers, 15-8, 15-9
6) Natalia Mendez d. 27) Paula Mansilla, 15-2, 15-2

7) Angelica Barrios - forfeit
10) Samantha Salas d. 23) Lexi York, 15-5, 15-8

15) Cristina Amaya d. 18) Maria Paz Riquelme, 15-2, 15-11
2) Montserrat Mejia d. 31) Leonela Osorio, 15-3, 15-1

Round of 16 - Thursday

1) Paola Longoria d. 17) Gabriela Martinez, 15-13, 15-14
8) Carla Muñoz d. 9) Kelani Lawrence, 12-15, 15-9, 11-8

12) Maria Jose Vargas d. 5) Jessica Parrilla, 15-12, 15-11
4) Erika Manilla d. 13) Hollie Scott, 15-13, 15-5

14) Valeria Centellas d. 3) Alexandra Herrera, 15-8, 13-15, 11-1
11) Brenda Laime d. 6) Natalia Mendez, 15-7, 15-6

10) Samantha Salas d. 7) Angelica Barrios, 15-6, 15-13
2) Montserrat Mejia d. 15) Cristina Amaya, 15-6, 15-5

Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Paola Longoria v. 8) Carla Muñoz - 12:20 PM
4) Erika Manilla v. 12) Maria Jose Vargas - 12:20 PM

11) Brenda Laime v. 14) Valeria Centellas - 11:15 AM
2) Montserrat Mejia v. 10) Samantha Salas - 11:15 AM

Mixed Doubles - Round of 16 - Friday

1) Maria Jose Vargas & Alejandro Landa - BYE
8) Alexandra Herrera & Diego Gastelum v. 9) Stephanie Synhorst & Brennen Jennings - 5:45 PM

5) Kelani Lawrence & Cole Sendrey - BYE
4) Erika Manilla & Erik Garcia - BYE

3) Carla Muñoz & Alan Natera - BYE
6) Montserrat Mejia & Diego Romano v. 11) Paola Longoria & Christian Longoria - 1:25 PM

7) Natalia Mendez & Sam Hojat v. 10) Brenda Laime & Marcelo Vargas Aguilar - 1:25 PM
2) Hollie Scott & Daniel De La Rosa - BYE

Follow the bouncing ball….