Maria Jose Vargas, the #1 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT), held on to win the 2024 LPRT Turkey Shoot in Lombard, Illinois, Sunday, as she defeated LPRT #2 Paola Longoria in the final, 15-8, 5-15, 11-4. However, she didn’t win twice, as in the doubles final Michelle Key and Brenda Laime beat Vargas and Natalia Mendez, 15-13, 15-4. The win was Laime’s second in a row, as she won the first doubles title of the season in Colorado with Montserrat Mejia, and, perhaps surprisingly, it was Key’s first LPRT doubles title in her 8th final.
Vargas also won last year’s Turkey Shoot tournament, and including that tournament she has won six of the last nine LPRT events, which is why she’s the #1 player on tour. She’s now won 11 LPRT titles, and that’s the 11th most wins all time, and second most among active players (assuming Rhonda Rajsich is not active). Longoria’s 113 wins are the most in LPRT history.
In doubles, Key and Laime, the 4th seeds, were clearly the dark horses in the doubles draw, as the top three teams - top seeds Mejia and Alexandra Herrera, 2nd seeds Mendez and Vargas and 3rd seeds Longoria and Samantha Salas - have all won multiple LPRT titles, while Key and Laime had one win between them.
And that one win was Laime’s with Mejia last time out. But Mejia has won eight of the last nine LPRT events (all with Herrera except for the one with Laime), so it’s easy to think that Laime’s win with Mejia was due to Mejia rather than Laime.
However, this weekend’s results suggest that wouldn’t be giving Laime her due, as she and Key knocked off both Mejia and Herrera in the semi-finals and then Mendez and Vargas in the final. Furthermore, they won both matches in straight games. Laime’s game style includes rekilling balls, and that’s a great skill to have in doubles.
Can Laime win three in a row? We won’t have to wait long to find out, as it’s only two weeks until the next LPRT event: the 32nd Annual Christmas Classic in Millersville, Maryland, December 6-8.
If you missed any of the action from Lombard, and there were some great matches, check them out at the LPRT YouTube channel.
32nd Annual Glass Court & Fitness LPRT Turkey Shoot Racquetball Tournament
Lombard, Illinois - November 22-24, 2024
Singles Final - Sunday
1) Maria José Vargas d. 2) Paola Longoria, 15-8, 5-15, 11-4
Doubles - Final - Sunday
4) Michelle Key & Brenda Laime d. 2) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas, 15-13, 15-4
Follow the bouncing ball….
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