It is rare for players to blank their opponents under rally scoring rules, but Canadian Samuel Murray blanked American Jake Bredenbeck in the second game of their semi-final Men's Singles match at the XXXV Pan American Championships in Guatemala City on Wednesday. That was part of a dominant performance by the Canadian, who didn’t skip a shot until he was up 8-0 in the third game. Murray won 11-3, 11-0, 11-3, which included a streak of 21 points in a row from 9-3 in game one to 8-0 in game three.
The win puts Murray into Thursday’s final, when he’ll play Mexican Rodrigo Montoya. Montoya beat Costa Rican Andrés Acuña, 11-9, 11-2, 11-3, in the other semi. The final will be a rematch of the International Racquetball Tour Louis Drug Pro-Am in January, when Murray defeated Montoya in three games to win the 2nd IRT title of his career.
On the women’s side, María José Vargas of Argentina is in the final, as expected. She beat Merynanyelly Delgado of the Dominican Republic, 11-3, 11-7, 11-5, in the semi-finals on Wednesday. Chilean Carla Muñoz prevented an All-Argentina final, as she defeated Vargas’s team-mate Natalia Mendez, 11-2, 7-11, 11-6, 11-7, in the other semi.
Argentina will also play for gold in Women’s Doubles, as Mendez and Vargas defeated Maria Cespedes and Delgado of the Dominican Republic, 11-6, 11-4, 11-5. They’ll play The USA team of Naomi Ros and Lexi York, who eked out a five game victory over Chileans Paula Mansilla and Carla Muñoz, 11-5, 9-11, 9-11, 14-12, 11-1.
In Men's Doubles, it’ll be Canada versus Costa Rica. Costa Ricans Acuña and Gabriel Garcia caused the first real surprise of the tournament, as they knocked off the top seeds Sebastian Hernandez and Rodrigo Montoya from Mexico, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-7, in one semi-final on Wednesday. In the other, Canadians Coby Iwaasa and Murray defeated the USA team of Jake and Sam Bredenbeck, 13-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-9.
Canada and the USA will also face off in the final of Mixed Doubles. In the semi-finals, Americans Sam Bredenbeck and Michelle Key defeated Chileans Jaime Mansilla and Carla Muñoz, 11-8, 11-13, 11-8, 11-5, while Canadians Iwaasa and Juliette Parent held on to beat Argentina’s Gerson Miranda and Natalia Mendez, 11-9, 13-11, 7-11, 7-11, 11-7, in what was a replay of a group stage match won by Argentina in five games.
Parent was really the player of the match, as the young Canadian more than held her own on the right side against Mendez, the #12 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour.
If Canada wins Men's Doubles, it will be the second time in three years that Iwaasa and Murray are Pan American Champions. The same goes for Argentina with Mendez and Vargas in Women's Doubles.
The finals start at 10 AM Thursday with the Women’s Singles final, followed by the Men’s Singles final at 10:45 AM. The first doubles final is the women’s final at 12:15 PM followed by the men’s and mixed finals. For draws, look to the R2 Sports website. Also, some of the matches are being streamed live, so check out the IRF Facebook page or the IRF YouTube channel for matches.
XXXV Pan American Racquetball Championships
Guatemala City, Guatemala - March 23-31, 2024
Women’s Singles Medal Round - Semi-finals Wednesday
5) Carla Muñoz (Chile) d. 1) Natalia Mendez (Argentina), 11-2, 7-11, 11-6, 11-7
3) María José Vargas (Argentina) d. 2) Merynanyelly Delgado (Dominican Republic), 11-3, 11-7, 11-5
Women’s Singles Medal Round - Final Thursday
3) María José Vargas (Argentina) v. 5) Carla Muñoz (Chile) - 10 AM
Women’s Singles Elite Draw - Semi-finals Wednesday
4) Maria Cespedes (Dominican Republic) d. 1) Paula Mansilla (Chile), 11-13, 11-7, 11-7, 11-8
2) Lexi York (USA) d. 7) Andrea Reyes (Guatemala), 11-5, 11-9, 11-9
Women’s Singles Elite Draw - Final Thursday
2) Lexi York (USA) v. 4) Maria Cespedes (Dominican Republic) - 10 AM
Men's Singles Medal Round - Semi-finals Wednesday
1) Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 5) Andres Acuña (Costa Rica), 11-9, 11-2, 11-3
3) Samuel Murray (Canada) d. 2) Jake Bredenbeck (USA), 11-3, 11-0, 11-3
Men’s Singles Elite Draw - Final Thursday
1) Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) v. 3) Samuel Murray (Canada) - 10:45 AM
Men’s Singles Elite Draw - Semi-finals Wednesday
1) Jose Caceres (Guatemala) d. 4) Rafael Gatica (Chile), 11-7, 11-7, 13-11
2) Jaime Mansilla (Chile) d. 3) Ramon De Leon (Dominican Republic), 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9
Men’s Singles Elite Draw - Final Thursday
1) Jose Caceres (Guatemala) v. 2) Jaime Mansilla (Chile) - 10:45 AM
Women's Doubles - Medal Round - Semi-finals Wednesday
1) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina) d. 4) Maria Cespedes & Merynanyelly Delgado (Dominican Republic), 11-6, 11-4, 11-5
2) Naomi Ros & Lexi York (USA) v. 6) Paula Mansilla & Carla Muñoz (Chile), 11-5, 9-11, 9-11, 14-12, 11-1
Women's Doubles - Medal Round - Final Thursday
1) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina) v. 2) Naomi Ros & Lexi York (USA) - 12:15 PM
Men's Doubles - Medal Round - Semi-finals Wednesday
4) Andrés Acuña & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica) d. 1) Sebastian Hernandez & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico), 7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-7
2) Coby Iwaasa & Samuel Murray (Canada) d. 3) Jake Bredenbeck & Sam Bredenbeck (USA), 13-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-9
Men's Doubles - Medal Round - Finals Thursday
2) Coby Iwaasa & Samuel Murray (Canada) v. 4) Andrés Acuña & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica) - 1 PM
Mixed Doubles - Medal Round - Semi-finals Wednesday
4) Coby Iwaasa & Juliette Parent (Canada) d. 1) Gerson Miranda & Natalia Mendez (Argentina), 11-9, 13-11, 7-11, 7-11, 11-7
3) Sam Bredenbeck & Michelle Key (USA) v. d. 2) Jaime Mansilla & Carla Muñoz (Chile), 11-8, 11-13, 11-8, 11-5
Mixed Doubles - Medal Round - Final Thursday
3) Sam Bredenbeck & Michelle Key (USA) v. 4) Coby Iwaasa & Juliette Parent (Canada) - 2:30 PM
Follow the bouncing ball….
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