Weekend Update: Wins for Mendez, Waselenchuk and Natera & Trujillo

Natalia Mendez and Kane Waselenchuk won Women’s and Men’s Open at the 2024 Battle at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, on the weekend.

Mendez beat Carla Muñoz in the final, 15-5, 15-3, after needing a tie-breaker to get by Naomi Ros in the semi-finals, 14-15, 15-11, 11-3. Carla Muñoz beat Ana Laura Flores, 15-1, 15-2, in the other semi.

Waselenchuk beat Alan Natera in the Men’s Open final, 15-5, 15-9. In the semi-finals, he defeated Elias Nieto, 15-5, 15-4, and Natera needed a tie-breaker to beat Erick Trujillo, 12-15, 15-9, 11-3.

However, Natera and Trujillo teamed up to win the Men’s Open Doubles division. They defeated DJ Mendoza and Cole Sendrey in the final, 15-9, 15-6. In the semi-finals, Natera and Trujillo beat Matthew Barron and Waselenchuk, 15-9, 15-9, and Mendoza and Sendrey defeated Daniel De La Rosa and David Mendoza, 15-9, 15-7.

May events

In May, there will be men’s and women’s pro tournaments. The International Racquetball Tour will be in California for the SoCal Open May 23-26 in Canoga Park. The Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour will be in action at the Sweet Caroline Open in Greenville, South Carolina, May 17-19.

Also, the Canadian National and Junior National Championships will happen in Calgary, Alberta, May 20-25.

2024 Battle at the Alamo
San Antonio, Texas - April 25-28, 2024

Women’s Open Final

1) Natalia Mendez d. 2) Carla Muñoz, 15-5, 15-3

Semi-finals

1) Natalia Mendez d. 5) Naomi Ros, 14-15, 15-11, 11-3
2) Carla Muñoz d. 3) Ana Laura Flores, 15-1, 15-2

Quarterfinals

1) Natalia Mendez d. 8) Estefania Perez Picon, 15-0, 15-2
5) Naomi Ros d. 4) Annie Roberts, 15-10, 15-5

3) Ana Laura Flores d. 6) Stephanie Synhorst, 15-5, 6-15, 11-4
2) Carla Muñoz d. 7) Chanis Leon, 15-2, 15-8

Men’s Open Final

1) Kane Waselenchuk d. 2) Alan Natera, 15-5, 15-9

Semi-finals

1) Kane Waselenchuk d. 5) Elias Nieto, 15-5, 15-4
2) Alan Natera d. 3) Erick Trujillo, 12-15, 15-9, 11-3

Quarterfinals

1) Kane Waselenchuk d. 8) DJ Mendoza, 15-0, 15-3
5) Elias Nieto d. 13) Jimmy Fernandez, 15-7, 15-5

3) Erick Trujillo d. 6) Cole Sendrey, 15-12, 15-0
2) Alan Natera d. 7) Brennen Jennings, 15-3, 15-5

Men’s Doubles Final

1) Alan Natera & Erick Trujillo d. 3) DJ Mendoza & Cole Sendry, 15-9, 15-6

Semi-finals

1) Alan Natera & Erick Trujillo d. 4) Matthew Barron & Kane Waselenchuk, 15-9, 15-9
3) DJ Mendoza & Cole Sendry d. 2) Daniel De La Rosa and David Mendoza, 15-9, 15-7

Quarterfinals

1) Alan Natera & Erick Trujillo d. 9) Elias Nieto & Christian Longoria, 14-15, 15-5, 11-4
4) Matthew Barron & Kane Waselenchuk d. 5) Sam Hojat & Brennen Jennings, 15-9, 15-9

3) DJ Mendoza & Cole Sendry d. 6) Allan Kristensen & Joey Limonciello, 15-1, 15-8
2) Daniel De La Rosa and David Mendoza d. 10) Alejandro Bear & Ruben Martinez, 15-5, 15-11

Follow the bouncing ball….

Vargas wins singles, Herrera & Mejia doubles at 2024 LPRT Battle at the Alamo

Maria José Vargas confirmed her position as the #1 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) by winning the 2024 LPRT Battle at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday. She defeated LPRT #3 Montserrat Mejia in the final, 15-12, 8-15, 11-7, for her fourth win of the season.

But Mejia did win doubles, as she and Alexandra Herrera beat 7th seed surprise finalists Michelle Key and Carla Muñoz, 15-7, 15-10.

In the singles final, Vargas took a 9-1 lead in game one, yet Mejia almost came all the way back, getting within two at 9-7, 13-11, and 14-12, before Vargas finished it off with a three shot rally that she ended with a backhand pinch shot.

They were close early in game two, but after being tied at 8-8, Mejia scored seven unanswered points to win it, 15-8. Vargas only served twice in that stretch.

Mejia carried that momentum over into the tie-breaker, going up 4-0 and and 7-3. But that would all the points Mejia would score, as Vargas came back and tied the game at 7-7 with an ace drive serve that she jammed off the left wall, so it travelled through the encroachment zone making it difficult to return. That was one of four such aces Vargas hit in the breaker.

Mejia tried to halt Vargas’s momentum by calling a timeout when she was still up 7-5, and another when she was down 9-7. But after that second timeout, Vargas hit another of those ace serves to bring up match point.

On that point, Vargas drove the ball to the left side, so Mejia hit a backhand return that came off the left wall a bit. That allowed Vargas to hit a backhand cross court shot to the right side. Mejia stepped over and hit a good forehand down the line shot, but Vargas was able to reach it, and from a crouch hit an even better forehand down the line that won the rally, the game and the match.

The doubles final was close early in game one, as they were tied at 3-3, 5-5, and 6-6. However, after that Herrera and Mejia outscored Key and Muñoz 9-1 from there to win game one, 15-7.

That momentum carried over into game two, as Herrera and Mejia went out to a 12-0 lead. Curiously, Key and Muñoz didn’t call any timeouts during that stretch. Nonetheless, they did come back to get to 13-7 at which point Herrera and Mejia called a timeout.

Two rallies later and they had the serve back. Herrera put them on match point with a forehand down the line, but Muñoz fended that off with a forehand down the line shot of her own.

Muñoz hit two more winners, as she and Key got three points to make the score 14-10. But Herrera then hit a pinch winner off a Key lob to the left that put her and Mejia back in the service box.

Herrera hit the winning shot, as she hit a drive Z to the left side, and Key let it go thinking that the score hadn’t been called, so it would be a fault. However, the referee had called the score, so Herrera’s serve was an ace, ending the game at 15-10, and the match in two straight games.

Key and Muñoz reached the final with a semi-final win earlier on Saturday over Vargas and Natalia Mendez, 15-12, 14-15, 11-4. Vargas and Mendez led for much of the first game, only to see Key and Muñoz come back and take the game away from them.

It looked like they would win in two straight games, as Key and Muñoz were up 11-3 on Mendez and Vargas in game two. However, Mendez and Vargas were able to turn the tables in part by switching their formation from having Mendez on the left to the right and vice versa for Vargas.

That led them to a game point at 14-11. However, Key hit a backhand pinch winner off a Z serve to left to get her side back in the service box. Once there, they scored three points to tie it at 14-14. At that point, Vargas hit a forehand to the left side that was called good, although look like it may have skipped. Key and Muñoz appealed the good shot call, but the line judges upheld the referee’s call. On the next rally, Key skipped a backhand shot, so a tie-breaker was needed.

In the breaker, they were close early, and tied at 4-4. However from there it was all Key and Muñoz, who scored seven unanswered points and only gave up the serve once. Two Muñoz winners got them the serve right back. They forced their opponents into skips on three straight rallies at the end.

The other doubles semi-final was straight forward, as Herrera and Mejia only trailed Kelani Lawrence and Hollie Scott at the start of game one, 2-0. After tying it at 2-2, they never trailed again, going on to win 15-9, 15-5.

The LPRT will next be in action at the Sweet Caroline Open in Greenville, South Carolina, May 17-19. That will be the penultimate event of the season, and the last event will be the LPRT Battle at the Beach in Chesapeake, Virginia, June 6-9.

If you missed any of the action from San Antonio - and there were several tie-breaker matches, including the singles final, check out the LPRT YouTube channel.

2024 LPRT Battle at the Alamo
San Antonio, Texas - April 25-28, 2024

Singles Final - Saturday

1) Maria José Vargas d. 3) Montserrat Mejia, 15-12, 8-15, 11-7

Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia d. 4) Kelani Lawrence & Hollie Scott, 15-9, 15-5
7) Michelle Key & Carla Muñoz d. 3) Natalia Mendez & Maria José Vargas, 15-12, 14-15, 11-4

Doubles - Final - Saturday

1) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia d. 7) Michelle Key & Carla Muñoz, 15-7, 15-10

Follow the bouncing ball….

Mejia & Vargas to face off at 2024 LPRT Battle at the Alamo

Maria José Vargas, the #1 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT), will have a chance to win her fourth tournament of the season Saturday, as she defeated 5th seed Alexandra Herrera, 3-15, 15-10, 11-10, in the semi-finals of the 2024 Battle at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, Friday. Vargas will play LPRT #3 Montserrat Mejia in the final, as Mejia defeated LPRT #2 Paola Longoria in the other semi-final, 12-15, 15-5, 11-6.

Vargas unseated Mejia as the #1 player after last month’s Boston Open, so Mejia will want a win in hopes of getting back to #1 this season.

Vargas almost didn’t make the final, as Herrera was on fire early in their semi-final. Even after winning game two to force a tie-breaker, Vargas was up against it, as they were close down the stretch of the breaker with ties at 6-6, 7-7, 9-9 and 10-10.

Herrera took a timeout after Vargas tied the game at 9-9, and there were nine rallies to score the last three points. The winner came as Vargas hit a half lob serve down the right side to the left-handed Herrera’s backhand, and she hit a cross court shot that came off the back wall allowing Vargas to hit a backhand up the right side.

Vargas’s shot was behind where Herrera was looking, so she was only able to make a weak shot that went off the left wall and back into the middle allowing Vargas to step up and slam the ball down the right side for the match winner.

The big surprise of Friday night came in doubles, as the 7th seeds Michelle Key and Carla Muñoz beat 2nd seeds Longoria and Samantha Salas, 3-15, 15-10, 11-2. It was a win that didn’t look to be coming after the first game, which Longoria and Salas dominated.

But after it was 6-6 in game two, Key and Muñoz outscored Longoria and Salas 20-6. They did it with Muñoz hitting a lob serve tight to the left side wall to Salas, and Key hitting a serve mix, including ones that came off the left side wall into the middle between her opponents.

Then during rallies they hit winners. Key especially put several balls away. She finished game two with a forehand shot to the front right corner that hit low on the front wall and cracked off the right side wall.

Then in game three, Muñoz hit four winners, and Key hit nine (9!), including an ace serve that cracked off the left wall to put her side on match point, and then a backhand down the line winner that finished it off.

It was a most impressive performance.

It was really a case of Key and Muñoz winning it, rather than Longoria and Salas losing it with errors.

The other doubles quarterfinals were all won in two straight games by the higher seeded team. Key and Muñoz will play 3rd seeds Natalia Mendez and Maria Jose Vargas - the current Pan American Women’s Doubles Champions - as Mendez and Vargas beat 6th seeds Cristina Amaya and Maria Paz Riquelme, 15-10, 15-3, in the quarters.

The doubles semi-finals will be Saturday morning at 10:45 and 11:50 AM with the finals to follow at 5:15 PM (singles) and 6:20 (doubles). You can watch the action live from San Antonio via the LPRT YouTube channel. All times Central.

2024 LPRT Battle at the Alamo
San Antonio, Texas - April 25-28, 2024

Singles Semi-finals - Friday

1) Maria José Vargas d. 5) Alexandra Herrera, 3-15, 15-10, 11-10
3) Montserrat Mejia d. 2) Paola Longoria, 12-15, 15-5, 11-6

Singles Final - Saturday

1) Maria José Vargas v. 3) Montserrat Mejia - 5:15

Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia d. 9) Frédérique Lambert & Gabriela Martinez, 15-8, 15-6
4) Kelani Lawrence & Hollie Scott d. 5) Angelica Barrios & Brenda Laime, 15-10, 15-12

3) Natalia Mendez & Maria José Vargas d. 6) Cristina Amaya & Maria Paz Riquelme, 15-10, 15-3
7) Michelle Key & Carla Muñoz d. 2) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas, 3-15, 15-10, 11-2

Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia v. 4) Kelani Lawrence & Hollie Scott - 11:50 AM
3) Natalia Mendez & Maria José Vargas v. 7) Michelle Key & Carla Muñoz - 10:45 AM

Follow the bouncing ball….