Andree Parrilla defeated Jake Bredenbeck, 11-15, 15-11, 11-10, in the final of the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Rally for our Warriors tournament Saturday in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Parrilla hadn’t been past the quarterfinals since February, so this ended a drought for him, as he reached his first final since May of last year, and got his first win since January of 2022, which was over Kane Waselenchuk, and also went to 11-10 in the tie-breaker.
To be clear, Parrilla has plenty of power and Bredenbeck can shoot the ball. But like most players, their play is geared toward one thing more than the other (we wrote about player types a few years ago).
Game one was all Bredenbeck, as he led from 2-1 on, including at 14-6. Parrilla scored five straight points to get within four at 14-11, so Bredenbeck called a timeout.
On the ensuing rally, Bredenbeck hit a forehand reverse pinch winner to get back in the service box. On the next rally he hit a winning forehand down the left side to close out the game, 15-11.
The story was reversed in game two, as Parrilla led early, at 6-3, 8-4, and 9-6. But Bredenbeck came back and tied it at 9-9, and then went ahead to lead 11-9.
However, Parrilla tied it and then went ahead with two almost identical shots to the front right corner, which is Parrilla’s favourite place to hit the ball. He made an unforced error on the following rally, skipping a forehand shot that put Bredenbeck back in the service box.
Parrilla got the service right back, as Bredenbeck drove serve to the left side with Parrilla returning it with a backhand cross court winner. Bredenbeck put Parrilla on 13 when he skipped a forehand reverse pinch, which seems to be a shot Bredenbeck likes a lot, as he hit several of them in this match.
A great Parrilla backhand pinch shot got him to game point at 14-11. Bredenbeck fought off that first game point by jumping Parrilla’s Z serve to the left, positioning himself with his back close to the left side wall, so he could drive a forehand down the line for a winner.
Bredenbeck didn’t score any points, however, as Parrilla forced him into a backhand skip on the next rally. On his second game point, Parrilla hit a backhand pinch winner to end the game at 15-11.
Often when players split close games, the tie-breaker is not close. But not so in this match, as they were tied four times, and the largest lead was 3 points, which happened late, when Parrilla was up 10-7.
At 10-7, Parrilla had a chance at his favorite shot: a forehand to the right corner, but skipped it. He got the serve right back by hitting a forehand serve return winner off a Bredenbeck drive serve to the right side.
On Parrilla’s second match point, Bredenbeck hit the shot of the match. They’d exchanged five ceiling balls, but then Bredenbeck hit a forehand pinch shot from head high that flat rolled out of the front right corner. The crowd was amazed.
He followed that up with two more forehand winners, so Parrilla called timeout, leading 10-9. However, on the next rally Parrilla skipped a backhand shot, and that unforced error tied the game at 10-10. Parrilla stopped Bredenbeck’s first match point by hitting a forehand reverse pinch from his knees to the left corner.
This great match came to an end with a whimper, as Parrilla hit a lob serve to the left that nicked off the side wall, so Bredenbeck turned to take it with his forehand, and looked to be hitting a forehand pinch shot. But it skipped, giving Parrilla the game, 11-10, and the match, 2-1.
The win is Parrilla’s 3rd career IRT victory, and ties him with Alvaro Beltran. He’s the fourth different player to win this season, joining Daniel De La Rosa (3 wins), Conrrado Moscoso (3), Rodrigo Montoya (1) and Bredenbeck (1).
The IRT will next be in action at the end of the month when the Tournament of Champions happens in Portland, Oregon, November 30-December 2, and they’ll follow that up with the Golden State Open in Pleasanton, California, December 7-10, which will bring the 2023 season to an end.
If you missed any of the action from Marlborough or want to see it again, and it is worth another look, go to the IRT YouTube channel.
2023 IRT Rally for our Warriors
Marlborough, Massachusetts, November 9-11, 2023
IRT Singles - Final - Saturday
5) Andree Parrilla d. 2) Jake Bredenbeck, 11-15, 15-11, 11-10
Follow the bouncing ball….
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