An interesting aspect of the KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado is the pro Mixed Doubles division that brings together the best players from the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) and International Racquetball Tour (IRT). There are 28 teams competing in the division.
Some of the teams are those we’ll see at the 2023 Pan American Games later this year in Santiago, Chile. Adam Manilla and Erika Manilla will be representing the USA in Chile, and Frédérique Lambert and Samuel Murray will play for Canada. Also, we expect that Guatemala will be represented by Edwin Galicia and Gabriela Martinez, but we’re not sure about Mexico.
Paola Longoria and Eduardo Portillo played for Mexico at the Central American and Caribbean Games in June, but they aren’t playing together in Colorado. Longoria is playing with Conrrado Moscoso (a Mexico-Bolivia team) and Portillo with Alexandra Herrera (all Mexico). Moreover, the current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) Mixed Doubles World Champions are Mexicans Rodrigo Montoya and Samantha Salas, who are the top seeds this weekend. Then there's also Javier Mar and Montserrat Mejia and the sibling team of Andree Parrilla and Jessica Parrilla. Thus, Mexico has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to picking a mixed doubles team for the Pan Am Games.
There are other fun teams competing this weekend, including Michelle Key and Kane Waselenchuk, Alvaro Beltran and Natalia Mendez, Veronica Sotomayor and Jose Daniel Ugalde, Daniel De La Rosa and Hollie Scott, Thomas Carter and Kelani Lawrence, and Andrés Acuña and Maricruz Ortiz.
Alan Natera and Carla Muñoz are doing what we’ve always been told not to do: play doubles with your spouse. Yet it’s working for them, as they’ve won both their matches so far, including a win over Key and Waselenchuk, 15-2, 11-15, 11-9.
Natera and Muñoz will face Galicia and Martinez in the quarterfinals Friday night, as the Guatemalans knocked off the top seeds of Montoya and Salas, 8-15, 15-14, 11-8, in the Round of 16 Thursday.
The Manillas also won in the 16s, as they held on to defeat 12th seeds Diego Garcia & Maria Jose Vargas, 15-2, 11-15, 11-9. They’ll play 4th seeds Mar and Mejia, who were winners over 13th seeds Cristina Amaya and Jaime Martell, 15-8, 15-1.
The Parrillas beat 11th seeds Jake Bredenbeck and Naomi Ros, 15-12, 15-5, and will play the winners of 3rd seeds Herrera and Portillo versus 19th seeds Veronica Sotomayor & Jose Daniel Ugalde. Also, Longoria and Moscoso defeated 15th seeds Beltran and Mendez, 15-14, 15-9. They’ll play one of 7th seeds Daniel De La Rosa and Hollie Scott, 10th seeds Thomas Carter and Kelani Lawrence or 23rd seeds Lambert and Murray.
Mixed doubles matches are being streamed on both the IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page, and the LPRT YouTube channel, so check them both out to try and find the match that you want to see. The final will be Sunday at 1:15 PM Mountain time.
KWM Gutterman IRT World Singles and Doubles Open Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado, August 10-13, 2023
Pro Mixed Doubles - Round of 32 - Thursday
1) Rodrigo Montoya & Samantha Salas - BYE
16) Edwin Galicia & Gabriela Martinez d. 17) Sam Bredenbeck & Lexi York, 15-8, 15-11
24) Michelle Key & Kane Waselenchuk d. 9) Kadim Carrasco & Brenda Laime, 15-10, 15-10
8) Alan Natera & Carla Muñoz d. 25) Nancy Enriquez & Jordan Walters, 15-5, 15-9
5) Adam Manilla & Erika Manilla d. 28) Esteban De Janon & Ana Sarmiento, 15-4, 15-2
12) Diego Garcia & Maria Jose Vargas d. 21) Iain Dunn & Estefania Perez Picon, 15-3, 15-0
13) Cristina Amaya & Jaime Martell d. 20) Erik Garcia & Adriana Riveros, 15-8, 12-15, 11-10
4) Javier Mar & Montserrat Mejia - BYE
3) Alexandra Herrera & Eduardo Portillo - BYE
19) Veronica Sotomayor & Jose Daniel Ugalde d. 14) Andrés Acuña & Maricruz Ortiz, 7-15, 15-8, 11-8
11) Jake Bredenbeck & Naomi Ros d. 22) Dylan Pruitt & Sheryl Lotts, 14-15, 15-3, 11-9
6) Andree Parrilla & Jessica Parrilla d. 27) Martine Katz & Fernando Kurzbard, 15-4, 15-7
7) Daniel De La Rosa & Hollie Scott d. 26) Juan Francisco Cueva & Maria José Muñoz, 15-11, 15-2
10) Thomas Carter & Kelani Lawrence v. 23) Frédérique Lambert & Samuel Murray - 7:45
15) Alvaro Beltran & Natalia Mendez d. 18) Destry Everhart & Erica Williams, 15-7, 15-8
2) Paola Longoria & Conrrado Moscoso - BYE
Pro Mixed Doubles - Round of 16 - Thursday
16) Edwin Galicia & Gabriela Martinez d. 1) Rodrigo Montoya & Samantha Salas, 8-15, 15-14, 11-8
8) Alan Natera & Carla Muñoz d. 24) Michelle Key & Kane Waselenchuk, 15-2, 11-15, 11-9
5) Adam Manilla & Erika Manilla d. 12) Diego Garcia & Maria Jose Vargas, 15-2, 11-15, 11-9
4) Javier Mar & Montserrat Mejia d. 13) Cristina Amaya & Jaime Martell, 15-8, 15-1
3) Alexandra Herrera & Eduardo Portillo d. 19) Veronica Sotomayor & Jose Daniel Ugalde, 15-4, 15-12
6) Andree Parrilla & Jessica Parrilla d. 11) Jake Bredenbeck & Naomi Ros, 15-12, 15-5
7) Daniel De La Rosa & Hollie Scott v. 10) Thomas Carter & Kelani Lawrence - 1 PM Friday
2) Paola Longoria & Conrrado Moscoso d. 15) Alvaro Beltran & Natalia Mendez, 15-14, 15-9
Pro Mixed Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday
16) Edwin Galicia & Gabriela Martinez v. 8) Alan Natera & Carla Muñoz - 8 PM
4) Javier Mar & Montserrat Mejia v. 5) Adam Manilla & Erika Manilla - 8 PM
3) Alexandra Herrera & Eduardo Portillo v. 6) Andree Parrilla & Jessica Parrilla - 8 PM
2) Paola Longoria & Conrrado Moscoso v. 7) Daniel De La Rosa & Hollie Scott or 10) Thomas Carter & Kelani Lawrence - 8 PM
Follow the bouncing ball….
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