It was a day of successful defences Thursday at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, as the men’s and women’s team winners from four years ago in Lima, Peru, won gold again in Santiago. Bolivia won the Men’s Team title in two straight matches over Canada, and Mexico won the Women’s Team title over Argentina, although they needed three matches to do it. That was Mexico’s fourth straight Women’s Team title, and Argentina was runner up to them for a second consecutive time.
In the first match of the men’s final, Bolivian Carlos Keller and Canadian Coby Iwaasa went toe to toe over five games with Keller coming back from 2-1 down to eke out the victory by the smallest of margins: 7-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7, 13-11. Keller switched to lob serving to the left side - Iwaasa’s backhand - in game four, which changed the tempo of the match and helped him win that game.
In the breaker, Iwassa had the early lead at 5-2, but Keller tied it at 5-5. They were back and forth from there, tied at 6-6 and 7-7. Then Keller went ahead, and although Iwaasa tied it again at 10-10, fighting off match point at 10-9 and 11-10, he never got a chance to serve for match himself. Keller ended the match on the third time of asking with a backhand winner.
Conrrado Moscoso and Samuel Murray squared off in the second match of the final, and Moscoso carried most of the play, winning 11-5, 11-9, 11-2. Murray didn’t have his A game, which was partly due to Moscoso, but the Bolivian wasn’t really pressured by the Canadian.
The exception was late in game two, when Murray fought off three games points to go from 10-6 down to 10-9, with that last point coming from a Moscoso skipped shot. It seemed like Murray might pull out that game, but on the next rally the referee called an avoidable hinder against him, as Moscoso was trying to get position for a shot in centre court. Murray appealed the call, which seemed like a harsh but not wrong situation, and after reviewing the video of the play, the referee maintained his original call, which ended game two in Moscoso’s favour.
Game three wasn’t close. Moscoso got the first two points of the game. Murray tied it at 2-2, and then Moscoso scored nine unanswered points to end the game and win gold for Bolivia.
Despite the loss, Iwaasa and Murray earn a second Pan Am Games silver medal (their first was in Men's Doubles on Tuesday), which gives them more silver medals than any other Canadian male racquetball player. They are the first silver medals in the men's team event since 1995, and the first silver in any event since 2003, when Mike Green got silver in Men’s Singles.
Women’s Final
There’s a bit of a “what might have been?” question about the 3rd match of the women’s final. But first, Argentina’s Maria José Vargas came out strong in the opening match of the final ousting Mexican Montserrat Mejia in three straight games, 11-5, 11-9, 11-9. Vargas looked great in the match, clearly up for it, and had lots of energy. Mejia didn’t have as much energy as she usually does, but Vargas’s play likely had something to do with that.
Mexican Paola Longoria then evened the final by beating Natalia Mendez, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9, in the second match of the final. Mendez was ahead briefly in the middle of game two, and they were close throughout game three, but it always seemed like Longoria was going to win.
Her win forced a deciding third match, which was doubles: Mendez and Vargas versus Mejia and Alexandra Herrera. As in her singles match, Vargas looked up for it. She and Mendez stormed out to a 8-2 lead in game one.
But the Mexicans got some points, and then some more points, and fought off four games points to go from 10-6 down to tied at 10-10 following a Mejia forehand reverse pinch winner. Argentina had called their timeout just before that, but didn’t win ensuing rally.
Mexico pushed on to win 14-12 with their last four points coming from skipped shots by Argentina. It was a shocking comeback, as Mexico really had no business even being close in the game let alone winning it.
That turnaround seemed to take the air out of Argentina’s sails, and put it in Mexico’s, as Mexico took a 6-0 lead in game two. To their credit Argentina did get back to within one point at 7-6, but after Mexico took a timeout, they came back to win game two 11-7.
The teams were close early in game three, and tied at 4-4. Mexico took the lead at 8-4, which put the writing on the wall. They finished the saga by taking the game 11-5, the match in the three straight games, the final two matches to one, and with it the Women’s Team gold medal.
Yet one has to wonder what would have happened if Argentina had won that first game? That might have led to a different outcome.
Vargas was clearly upset about the actual outcome. When they came out for the medal ceremony, she had her hands in her pockets, had obviously been crying and looked like she would rather be anywhere else but on that podium. The contrast between that and the happy, energetic person who played the first game of the final could not be more stark.
Many racquetball players felt the thrill of victory during the 2023 Pan American Games, but some felt the agony of defeat.
2023 Pan American Games - Santiago, Chile
Men’s Team - Final - Thursday
2) Bolivia d. 4) Canada, 2-0
Carlos Keller d. Coby Iwaasa, 7-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7, 13-11
Conrrado Moscoso d. Samuel Murray, 11-5, 11-9, 11-2
Women’s Team - Final - Thursday
1) Mexico d. 2) Argentina, 2-1
Maria José Vargas d. Montserrat Mejia, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9
Paola Longoria d. Natalia Mendez, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9
Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia d. Natalia Mendez & Maria José Vargas, 14-12, 11-7, 11-5
Follow the bouncing ball....
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