2019 IRF World Junior Championships - Singles groups

The 31st edition of the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships begins today in San José, Costa Rica. As with other IRF events, there is a group stage of play followed by a medal round with the group stage results creating the seeding for the medal round.

We have the group stage singles matches for you below, and will post the doubles matches later today.

31st IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships
San José, Costa Rica - November 9-16, 2019

U18 Boy's Singles

Group A

Saturday - Emir Martinez (Mexico) v. Sean Sauvé (Canada)

Monday - Sean Sauvé (Canada) v. Jose Pablo Cardona (Guatemala)

Tuesday - Emir Martinez (Mexico) v. Jose Pablo Cardona (Guatemala)

Group B

Saturday - Gerson Miranda (Bolivia) v. Nathan Martinez (Guatemala)

Monday - Nathan Martinez (Guatemala) v. Kyle Dick (Canada)

Tuesday - Gerson Miranda (Bolivia) v. Kyle Dick (Canada)

Group C

Saturday - Jose Ramos (Mexico) v. Pablo Freer (Costa Rica)
Juan Segovia (Colombia) v. Diego Garcia (Argentina)

Sunday - Jose Ramos (Mexico) v. Diego Garcia (Argentina)
Pablo Freer (Costa Rica) v. Juan Segovia (Colombia)

Tuesday - Jose Ramos (Mexico) v. Juan Segovia (Colombia)
Pablo Freer (Costa Rica) v. Diego Garcia (Argentina)

Group D

Saturday - Charlie Chavez (Bolivia) v. Ben Baron (USA)
Johan Igor (Chile) v. Esteban De Janon (Ecuador)

Monday - Charlie Chavez (Bolivia) v. Esteban De Janon (Ecuador)
Johan Igor (Chile) v. Ben Baron (USA)

Tuesday - Charlie Chavez (Bolivia) v. Johan Igor (Chile)
Esteban De Janon (Ecuador) v. Ben Baron (USA)

Group E

Saturday - Juan Flores (Ecuador) v. Rafael Gatica (Chile)
Micah Farmer (USA) v. Tomas Sanchez (Costa Rica)

Monday - Micah Farmer (USA) v. Rafael Gatica (Chile)
Juan Flores (Ecuador) v. Tomas Sanchez (Costa Rica)

Tuesday - Juan Flores (Ecuador) v. Micah Farmer (USA)
Rafael Gatica (Chile) v. Tomas Sanchez (Costa Rica)

U16 Boy's Singles

Group A

Saturday - Sebastian Longoria (Mexico) v. Diego Gatica (Chile)

Monday - Diego Gatica (Chile) v. Victor Seguria (Costa Rica)

Tuesday - Sebastian Longoria (Mexico) v. Victor Seguria (Costa Rica)

Group B

Saturday - Hector Barrios (Bolivia) v. Felipe Guillen (Costa Rica)

Monday - Jaime Mansilla (Chile) v. Felipe Guillen (Costa Rica)

Tuesday - Hector Barrios (Bolivia) v. Jaime Mansilla (Chile)

Group C

Saturday - Juan Segovia (Colombia) v. Namwoo Lee (Korea)
Aldo Caraveo (Mexico) v. Andrew Gleason (USA)

Monday - Juan Segovia (Colombia) v. Andrew Gleason (USA)
Aldo Caraveo (Mexico) v. Namwoo Lee (Korea)

Tuesday - Juan Segovia (Colombia) v. Aldo Caraveo (Mexico)
Namwoo Lee (Korea) v. Andrew Gleason (USA)

Group D

Saturday - Nathan Jauvin (Canada) v. Tomas Oyhanart (Argentina)
Adrian Jaldin (Bolivia) v. Pablo Vera (Ecuador)

Monday - Nathan Jauvin (Canada) v. Pablo Vera (Ecuador)
Adrian Jaldin (Bolivia) v. Tomas Oyhanart (Argentina)

Tuesday - Nathan Jauvin (Canada) v. Adrian Jaldin (Bolivia)
Tomas Oyhanart (Argentina) v. Pablo Vera (Ecuador)

Group E

Saturday - Josue Bermeo (Ecuador) v. Timothy Hansen (USA)
Bayron Rosil (Guatemala) v. Naman Gauri (Canada)

Monday - Josue Bermeo (Ecuador) v. Naman Gauri (Canada)
Timothy Hansen (USA) v. Bayron Rosil (Guatemala)

Tuesday - Josue Bermeo (Ecuador) v. Bayron Rosil (Guatemala)
Timothy Hansen (USA) v. Naman Gauri (Canada)

U14 Boy's Singles

Group A

Saturday - Nikhil Prasad (USA) v. Santiago Gamboa (Costa Rica)

Monday - Santiago Gamboa (Costa Rica) v. Hector Sierra (Guatemala)

Tuesday - Nikhil Prasad (USA) v. Hector Sierra (Guatemala)

Group B

Saturday - Jhonatan Flores (Bolivia) v. Jose Pablo Caseres (Guatemala)

Monday - Juan Rodriguez (Colombia) v. Jose Pablo Caseres (Guatemala)

Tuesday - Jhonatan Flores (Bolivia) v. Juan Rodriguez (Colombia)

Group C

Saturday - Vedant Chauhan (USA) v. Antonio Sanchez (Costa Rica)

Monday - Antonio Sanchez (Costa Rica) v. Christian Pocsai (Canada)

Tuesday - Vedant Chauhan (USA) v. Christian Pocsai (Canada)

Group D

Saturday - Ezequiel Subieta (Bolivia) v. Matias Guzman (Chile)
Duvan Torres (Colombia) v. Seunghwan Hong (Korea)

Monday - Ezequiel Subieta (Bolivia) v. Seunghwan Hong (Korea)
Matias Guzman (Chile) v. Duvan Torres (Colombia)

Tuesday - Ezequiel Subieta (Bolivia) v. Duvan Torres (Colombia)
Matias Guzman (Chile) v. Seunghwan Hong (Korea)

Group E

Saturday - Asher Pocsai (Canada) v. Keelan O’Gorman (Ireland)
Luis Renteria (Mexico) v. Adrian Carchi (Ecuador)

Monday - Luis Renteria (Mexico) v. Keelan O’Gorman (Ireland)
Asher Pocsai (Canada) v. Adrian Carchi (Ecuador)

Tuesday - Asher Pocsai (Canada) v. Luis Renteria (Mexico)
Keelan O’Gorman (Ireland) v. Adrian Carchi (Ecuador)

Group F

Saturday - Bruno Vasquez (Ecuador) v. Jorge Gutierrez (Mexico)
Daniel Hanrahan (Ireland) v. Manuel Oyhanart (Argentina)

Monday - Bruno Vasquez (Ecuador) v. Manuel Oyhanart (Argentina)
Jorge Gutierrez (Mexico) v. Daniel Hanrahan (Ireland)

Tuesday - Bruno Vasquez (Ecuador) v. Daniel Hanrahan (Ireland)
Jorge Gutierrez (Mexico) v. Manuel Oyhanart (Argentina)

U18 Girl's Singles

Group A

Saturday - Marifer Gutierrez (Mexico) v. Camila Wilscam (Canada)

Monday - Camila Wilscam (Canada) v. Ana Sarmiento (Ecuador)

Tuesday - Marifer Gutierrez (Mexico) v. Ana Sarmiento (Ecuador)

Group B

Saturday - Valeria Centellas (Bolivia) v. Nikita Chauhan (USA)

Monday - Valeria Centellas (Bolivia) v. Aranxa Anguizola (Costa Rica)

Tuesday - Nikita Chauhan (USA) v. Aranxa Anguizola (Costa Rica)

Group C

Saturday - Anna Rivera (Mexico) v. Cassie Prentice (Canada)

Monday - Cassie Prentice (Canada) v. Martina Katz (Argentina)

Tuesday - Anna Rivera (Mexico) v. Martina Katz (Argentina)

Group D

Saturday - Graciana Wargo (USA) v. Angelica Barrios (Bolivia)
Abigail Solana (Costa Rica) v. Josefina Toro (Chile)

Monday - Graciana Wargo (USA) v. Josefina Toro (Chile)
Angelica Barrios (Bolivia) v. Abigail Solana (Costa Rica)

Tuesday - Graciana Wargo (USA) v. Abigail Solana (Costa Rica)
Angelica Barrios (Bolivia) v. Josefina Toro (Chile)

U16 Girl's Singles

Group A

Saturday - Guadalupe Griffin (Mexico) v. Fabiana Landi (Ecuador)

Monday - Fabiana Landi (Ecuador) v. Erin Slutzky (USA)

Tuesday - Guadalupe Griffin (Mexico) v. Erin Slutzky (USA)

Group B

Saturday - Micaela Meneses (Bolivia) v. Annie Roberts (USA)

Monday - Annie Roberts (USA) v. Adriana Valdez (Ecuador)

Tuesday - Micaela Meneses (Bolivia) v. Adriana Valdez (Ecuador)

Group C

Saturday - Ximena Martinez (Mexico) v. Sofia Freer (Costa Rica)

Monday - Sofia Freer (Costa Rica) v. Jasmin Aguilar (Guatemala)

Tuesday - Ximena Martinez (Mexico) v. Jasmin Aguilar (Guatemala)

Group D

Saturday - Martina Katz (Argentina) v. Suniaris Rodriguez (Cuba)
Fernanda Mendez (Bolivia) v. Kelly-Marie Barrett (Canada)

Monday - Martina Katz (Argentina) v. Kelly-Marie Barrett (Canada)
Fernanda Mendez (Bolivia) v. Suniaris Rodriguez (Cuba)

Tuesday - Fernanda Mendez (Bolivia) v. Martina Katz (Argentina)
Suniaris Rodriguez (Cuba) v. Kelly-Marie Barrett (Canada)

Group E

Saturday - Juliette Parent (Canada) v. Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica)
Andrea Reyes (Guatemala) v. Loraine Felipe (Cuba)

Monday - Juliette Parent (Canada) v. Loraine Felipe (Cuba)
Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica) v. Andrea Reyes (Guatemala)

Tuesday - Juliette Parent (Canada) v. Andrea Reyes (Guatemala)
Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica) v. Loraine Felipe (Cuba)

U14 Girl's Singles

Group A

Saturday - Heather Mahoney (USA) v. Ofelia Wilscam (Canada)
Anna Aguilar (Guatemala) v. Angela Villacreses (Ecuador)

Monday - Heather Mahoney (USA) v. Angela Villacreses (Ecuador)
Ofelia Wilscam (Canada) v. Anna Aguilar (Guatemala)

Tuesday - Heather Mahoney (USA) v. Anna Aguilar (Guatemala)
Ofelia Wilscam (Canada) v. Angela Villacreses (Ecuador)

Group B

Saturday - Natalia Mita (Bolivia) v. Angela Ortega (Mexico)
Paula Mansilla (Chile) v. Sarah Ainsworth (Ireland)

Monday - Natalia Mita (Bolivia) v. Paula Mansilla (Chile)
Angela Ortega (Mexico) v. Sarah Ainsworth (Ireland)

Tuesday - Natalia Mita (Bolivia) v. Sarah Ainsworth (Ireland)
Angela Ortega (Mexico) v. Paula Mansilla (Chile)

Group C

Saturday - Ava Kaiser (USA) v. Tamara Wilscam (Canada)
Jasmin Aguilar (Guatemala) v. Kenia Brenes (Costa Rica)

Monday - Ava Kaiser (USA) v. Kenia Brenes (Costa Rica)
Tamara Wilscam (Canada) v. Jasmin Aguilar (Guatemala)

Tuesday - Ava Kaiser (USA) v. Jasmin Aguilar (Guatemala)
Tamara Wilscam (Canada) v. Kenia Brenes (Costa Rica)

Group D

Saturday - Gisele Nieto (Mexico) v. Camila Rivero (Bolivia)
Jimena Gomez (Costa Rica) v. Thea Coleman (Ireland)

Monday - Gisele Nieto (Mexico) v. Thea Coleman (Ireland)
Camila Rivero (Bolivia) v. Jimena Gomez (Costa Rica)

Tuesday - Gisele Nieto (Mexico) v. Jimena Gomez (Costa Rica)
Camila Rivero (Bolivia) v. Thea Coleman (Ireland)

Follow the bouncing ball….

Weekend Round Up - Wins for Ortega Jr. and Estrada & Natera

Guillermo Jesus Ortega Jr., the 10th seed, won Men’s Open on Sunday at the Los Compadres Auto Sales Open in Fullerton, California, as he defeated 8th seed Manuel Moncada, 15-12, 4-15, 11-5, in the final. It’s rare to see an 8th or 10th seed in a final, but to have an 8 v 10 final is very rare.

In the semi-finals, Ortega defeated 3rd seed Majeed Shahin, 9-15, 15-4, 11-5, while Moncada beat 4th seed Lee Connell, 15-3, 15-3.

In Men’s Open Doubles, top seeds Javier Estrada and Alan Natera came back from a game down to defeat 2nd seeds Oscar Elias Nieto Valadez and Erick Cuevas Fernandez, 7-15, 15-6, 11-1. In the semis, Estrada and Natera beat 4th seeds Darrin Heinz and Devin Stout, 15-12, 15-2, while Valadez and Fernandez squeaked by Ortega and Moncada, 9-15, 15-12, 11-10.

The International Racquetball Federation (IRF) 2019 World Junior Championships begin this weekend in San José, Costa Rica, and will run through next week ending November 16. Later in the month the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT’s) will play in Chicago at the LPRT Pro Am Turkey Shoot, November 22-24. The next International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Tier 1 event will be the 2019 SPC John A. Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions in Portland, Oregon, December 5-8.

2019 Los Compadres Auto Sales Open, October 31-November 3, 2019
Fullerton, California

Men’s Open Singles Final

10) Guillermo Jesus Ortega Jr. d. 8) Manuel Moncada, 15-12, 4-15, 11-5

Semi-finals

8) Manuel Moncada d. 4) Lee Connell, 15-3, 15-3
10) Guillermo Jesus Ortega Jr. d. 3) Majeed Shahin, 9-15, 15-4, 11-5

Quarterfinals

8) Manuel Moncada d. 1) Francisco Troncoso, 11-15, 15-5, 11-2
4) Lee Connell d. 5) Joel Adler, 15-8, 15-8

3) Majeed Shahin d. 6) Philip Varela Jr., 15-8, 15-3
10) Guillermo Jesus Ortega Jr. d. 2) Set Cubillos, 15-9, 15-5

Men’s Open Doubles - Final

1) Javier Estrada & Alan Natera d. 2) Oscar Elias Nieto Valadez & Erick Cuevas Fernandez, 7-15, 15-6, 11-1

Semi-finals

1) Javier Estrada & Alan Natera d. 4) Darrin Heinz & Devin Stout, 15-12, 15-2
2) Oscar Elias Nieto Valadez & Erick Cuevas Fernandez d. 3) Guillermo Jesus Ortega Jr. & Manuel Moncada, 9-15, 15-12, 11-10

Follow the bouncing ball….

Landa defeats Carson to win 2019 IRT Los Compadres Auto Sales Open

Alejandro Landa defeated Rocky Carson, 9-15, 15-14, 11-10, to win the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Los Compadres Auto Sales Open in Fullerton, California on Sunday. Landa’s win makes him the winningest Mexican player on the IRT, as it’s his 4th victory, one more than compatriots Alvaro Beltran and Daniel De La Rosa. Landa is now tied for 19th on the all time IRT wins list with Steve Keeley, Gregg Peck and Steve Serot.

Landa got the win despite getting a blister on his racquet hand at 3-3 in game three that made it “hard to make contact,” he said afterwards, but added that win or lose the “blister was not [going to be] the excuse.” However, he was “really happy” with the win.

It was the first time playing Carson in a final, and Landa knew it would be difficult. “Rocky is really tough,” he said, “it’s amazing how many balls [Carson] can get.”

In the IRT doubles final, Alvaro Beltran and Daniel De La Rosa came back from 10-0 down in game one to defeat Carlos Keller and Conrrado Moscoso in two straight games, 15-12, 15-8. After that first game deficit, Beltran and De La Rosa outscored their opponents 30-10.

Early on in the singles final it didn’t look like it was going to be Landa’s day, as his shots were loose, and Carson was taking advantage of that. Also, Carson, 40, came out wearing knee pads and he made full use of them, throwing himself around the court like a player half his age.

After winning game one, 15-9, Carson had the lead early in game two, 4-1. But it was very slow going. Landa caught up to Carson at 4-4 and 5-5, then Landa pulled ahead. He got up 10-6 and 13-9.

But Landa stalled at 13. He called a timeout when Carson got within one at 13-12. Carson tied the game coming out of the timeout, when Landa skipped a ball that got jammed in the back left corner.

A Landa forehand winner did get him the serve back at 13-13, but Carson made a great backhand pinch return to deny Landa any points. Carson got to 14 first with a flat backhand cross court shot.

Landa hit the shot of the match on the next rally, as Carson hit a ceiling ball to the right side that Landa took with his forehand, hitting an overhead pinch shot for a great winner. He tied the game 14-14 on the next rally, when a ball bounced into the front court and Landa killed down the line with his forehand. He forced game three with a backhand cross court on the following rally to win game two 15-14.

Game two took 56 min to play. Whew.

A big talking point came on the first serve of the breaker, as Carson’s drive serve was called short. He appealed, and lost, which meant that Carson was without an appeal for the rest of the game, as IRT rules allow players only one unsuccessful appeal in game three. Landa was asked about it after the match, saying “you have to know when to use it [the appeal]. If you use it early in the tie-breaker, you take the risk” of not having it later.

Landa benefited from Carson’s lack of appeals at 2-2, when he drove serve to the right side, and it was called an ace by the referee, who was on the left side of the court, so perhaps the referee’s vision was blocked by Carson. A replay showed the serve was clearly short, but Carson couldn’t appeal it, because he had no appeals left.

That ace made it 3-2, ending a run of 9 sideouts at 2-2. But they continued to be close with score tied at 3, 4, 5, and 6. Then Landa scored four points to get to match point at 10-6.

That run ended when a Landa ceiling ball failed to get to the front wall. Oops. With the serve back, Carson scored three points to make it 9-10. Landa called timeout, but it didn’t stop Carson’s momentum, as he tied it at 10-10 with backhand down the right side.

But Landa held off Carson’s match point by hitting a flat forehand down the right side. He did the same thing on his second match point, ending another long rally in a match that had many long rallies, and winning the game 11-10.

Game three took 37.5 min, so the match took well over two hours.

In the doubles final, Bolivians Keller and Moscoso’s 10-0 lead in game one got Mexicans Beltran and De La Rosa to do something they’ve never done before: they switched sides to return serve. Beltran went to the left and De La Rosa to the right, and it worked, as they got a sideout on the next rally.

Interestingly, the Bolivians were double serving De La Rosa on the left side. It was curious strategy for a couple reasons. One, why are they picking on the younger player? And two, double serving an opponent means you are switching sides, which could be fine with two players who have played a lot together. But Keller and Moscoso haven’t.

They are the best two Bolivian players right now, but usually Keller plays with Kadim Carrasco and Moscoso with Keller’s brother Roland. That's what they did at the US Open last month. On Sunday, there were a few times that a lack of familiarity seemed to cause them to lose a rally. Even a few rallies are too many to give up to Beltran and De La Rosa.

After being down, 10-0, the Mexicans came back to tie it at 11-11, and then go ahead 12-11, when De La Rosa hit a backhand pinch winner. The Bolivians did get a sideout then, and tied the game 12-12 on a Keller backhand pinch shot. But they lost the next two rallies to put the Mexicans back in the service box.

That’s all they needed as Beltran and De La Rosa won the next three rallies with each of them hitting a pinch shot for the last two points and a 15-12 win.

Game two was a bit like game one, but in reverse, as Beltran and De La Rosa took a 5-0 lead with Keller and Moscoso coming back to tie it at 5-5. They actually went ahead 7–5, but that was short lived, as the Mexicans again took the lead at 11-7.

De La Rosa cut himself at 11-8, when he played a ball in the front court and, in doing so, reached out to the front wall cutting himself on the camera box installed a few feet off the floor on the front wall. That led to an injury timeout, but it just delayed the inevitable, as the Mexicans held off the Bolivians to win game two, 15-8, and the match in two straight games.

If you missed the finals, check out the IRT media outlets - the IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page - to see them.

The next IRT Tier 1 event will be the 2019 SPC John A. Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions in Portland, Oregon, December 5-8.

2019 IRT Los Compadres Auto Sales Open, October 31-November 3, 2019
Fullerton, California

Final - Sunday

2) Alejandro Landa d. 1) Rocky Carson, 9-15, 15-14, 11-10

IRT Doubles - Final - Sunday

2) Alvaro Beltran & Daniel De La Rosa d. 8) Carlos Keller & Conrrado Moscoso, 15-12, 15-8

Follow the bouncing ball….