Mejia's winning streak ends at the Alamo

Three tie-breakers in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Battle at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas Friday. The most significant result was 10th seed Samantha Salas upsetting LPRT #2 Montserrat Mejia, 15-9, 10-15, 11-6, which was Mejia’s first loss on tour since August. She’s won four consecutive LPRT tournaments, but that streak ends at the Alamo.

Eighth seed Carla Muñoz almost went one better than Salas, as she went to a tie-breaker with LPRT #1 Paola Longoria. But in the end Longoria prevailed, coming back from a game down to defeat Muñoz, 12-15, 15-10, 11-4. Longoria will play Maria Jose Vargas in the semi-finals later on Friday, as Vargas beat Erika Manilla, 15-3, 15-6.

Salas will play 11th seed Brenda Laime in the other semi-final, as Laime held on to defeat Valeria Centellas, 15-12, 1-15, 11-7, in the quarters.

In the Salas-Mejia tie-breaker, Salas got the first four points, but Mejia responded by winning the next four to tie it 4-4. Salas went up 7-4, helped by two drive serve aces to the right side. Again Mejia responded by getting within one at 7-6.

That was as close as she got, as Salas won the final four points on consecutive rallies - and despite Mejia taking a timeout at 10-6. In that streak, Mejia skipped two shots that were open chances to win those rallies, and the unforced errors killed her.

Muñoz started well against Longoria, leading for almost all of game one, although it did take her six game points to finish it off. Longoria got off to a good start in game two, with 5-2 and 7-4 leads, but Muñoz came back and tied it at 7-7 and 8–8. She took the lead at 10-8 with a drive serve ace to the left side, but Longoria came back and tied it 10-10.

When Longoria went ahead 11-10, Muñoz called a timeout, but that didn’t help her cause, as Longoria hit a drive serve ace to the left side when play resumed. She also won the next three rallies to close out game two, 15-10.

The breaker was all Longoria, as she took a 5-0 lead, so Muñoz called a timeout. That did lead to a sideout and a point when played resumed, but Longoria then took the serve back and five rallies later and it was 10-1. Although the writing was on the wall, Muñoz did get a few points before Longoria ended it at 11-4.

Muñoz will have another chance to beat Longoria, as they’ll face off in the Pro Mixed Doubles quarterfinals Friday night. Longoria and her brother Christian defeated Mejia and Diego Romano, 11-15, 15-4, 11-2, in the first round of mixed play, and will play Muñoz and Alan Natera in the quarters.

You can watch the action live from San Antonio via the LPRT YouTube channel. The semi-finals are 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

Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Paola Longoria d. 8) Carla Muñoz, 12-15, 15-10, 11-4
12) Maria Jose Vargas d. 4) Erika Manilla, 15-3, 15-6

11) Brenda Laime d. 14) Valeria Centellas, 15-12, 1-15, 11-7
10) Samantha Salas d. 2) Montserrat Mejia, 15-9, 10-15, 11-6

Semi-finals - Friday

1) Paola Longoria v. 12) Maria Jose Vargas - 5:45 PM
10) Samantha Salas v. 11) Brenda Laime - 4:40 PM

Mixed Doubles - Round of 16 - Friday

1) Maria Jose Vargas & Alejandro Landa - BYE
8) Alexandra Herrera & Diego Gastelum d. 9) Stephanie Synhorst & Brennen Jennings, 15-6, 15-7

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

3) Carla Muñoz & Alan Natera - BYE
11) Paola Longoria & Christian Longoria d. 6) Montserrat Mejia & Diego Romano, 11-15, 15-4, 11-2

10) Brenda Laime & Marcelo Vargas Aguilar d. 7) Natalia Mendez & Sam Hojat, 15-6, 15-10
2) Hollie Scott & Daniel De La Rosa - BYE

Mixed Doubles - Round of 16 - Friday

1) Maria Jose Vargas & Alejandro Landa v. 8) Alexandra Herrera & Diego Gastelum - 9 PM
4) Erika Manilla & Erik Garcia v. 5) Kelani Lawrence & Cole Sendrey - 7:55 PM

3) Carla Muñoz & Alan Natera v. 11) Paola Longoria & Christian Longoria - 7:55 PM
2) Hollie Scott & Daniel De La Rosa v. 10) Brenda Laime & Marcelo Vargas Aguilar - 9 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….