LPRT play at the 2021 World Singles & Doubles Racquetball Championships

The Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) is in action this weekend at the 2021 World Singles and Doubles Open Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, just outside Denver. It’s an unusual event, because they are playing Mixed Doubles with the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), but also the LPRT’s #1 player - Paola Longoria - isn’t in Colorado. She was in Tokyo as one of the hosts for Mexican television’s coverage of the Olympics, which just ended on Sunday, so she probably felt she wasn’t prepared for this event.

Thus, Alexandra Herrera is the top seed in a draw of 34 players with Montserrat Mejia as the #2 seed. Mejia won the last LPRT event in June, when she beat Longoria in the final of the TeamRoot.com Super Max Slam. Rounding out the top four seeds are Maria Jose Vargas at #3 and Samantha Salas #4.

Through two rounds of action, there’s only one upset. Nineteenth seed Micaela Meneses beat 14th seed Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-10, 15-2, in the Round of 32. She’ll play 3rd seed Maria Jose Vargas in the Round of 16 Friday, as Vargas defeated 30th seed Camila Rivero, 15-1, 15-1, in the 32s.

The LPRT matches began today with the Rounds of 64 and 32. The Round of 16 will begin Friday morning at 10:15 AM with the quarterfinals Friday afternoon from 3:30 PM. The semi-finals will be Saturday 9:15 AM and then 12:15 PM with the final Sunday at 11:15 AM. All times are Mountain. Look for the action via the LPRT YouTube channel, as well as the LPRT Facebook page.

World Singles and Doubles Open Racquetball Championships
August 12-15, 2021 - Denver, Colorado

LPRT Singles - Round of 64 - Thursday

32) Maria Muñoz d. 33) Kelly Mortensen, 15-2, 15-1
31) Ximena Gonzalez d. 34) Aisling Hickey, 15-6, 15-6

LPRT Singles - Round of 32 - Thursday

1) Alexandra Herrera d. 32) Maria Muñoz, 15-4, 15-3
16) Sheryl Lotts d. 17) Hollie Scott, forfeit

9) Rhonda Rajsich d. 24) Maria Riquelme, 15-4, 15-5
8) Valeria Centellas d. 25) Graci Wargo, 15-2, 15-0

5) Natalia Mendez d. 28) Erika Manilla, 15-9, 2-15, 11-10
12) Carla Muñoz d. 21) Jessica Chen, 15-4, 15-3

13) Cristina Amaya d. 20) Susana Acosta, 15-7, 15-9
4) Samantha Salas d. 29) Cassi Lee, 15-1, 15-3

3) Maria Jose Vargas d. 30) Camila Rivero, 15-1, 15-1
19) Micaela Meneses d. 14) Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-10, 15-2

11) Nancy Enriquez d. 22) Lucia Gonzalez, 15-4, 15-12
6) Jessica Parrilla d. 27) Montserrat Perez, 15-14, 15-9

7) Angelica Barrios d. 26) Annie Roberts, 15-5, 15-0
10) Gabriela Martinez d. 23) Erin Slutzky, 15-6, 15-6

15) Brenda Laime d. 17) Masiel Rivera, 15-9, 15-4
2) Monserrat Mejia d. 31) Ximena Gonzalez, 15-3, 15-8

LPRT Singles - Round of 16 - Friday

1) Alexandra Herrera v. 16) Sheryl Lotts - 1:15 PM
8) Valeria Centellas v. 9) Rhonda Rajsich - 1:15 PM

5) Natalia Mendez v. 12) Carla Muñoz - 10:15 AM
4) Samantha Salas v. 13) Cristina Amaya - 10:15 AM

3) Maria Jose Vargas v. 19) Micaela Meneses - 11:15 AM
6) Jessica Parrilla v. 11) Nancy Enriquez - 11:15 AM

7) Angelica Barrios v. 10) Gabriela Martinez - 12:15 PM
2) Monserrat Mejia v. 15) Brenda Laime - 12:15 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….

World Singles & Doubles Open Racquetball Championships - Mixed Doubles

The World Singles and Doubles Open Championships began today in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, just outside Denver, and it’s really a Grand Slam event as both the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) and International Racquetball Tour (IRT) are competing. Moreover, they are playing mixed doubles also, which gives a unique aspect to this event.

This is the second time they’ve played mixed doubles in Denver. The first was in 2018, when the event also had LPRT and IRT doubles divisions. But this time the other division is singles for the pro tour players.

Here we’ll run down the Mixed Doubles Division, and do the singles divisions in separate pieces. The 2018 winners were Daniel and Michelle De La Rosa, who defeated Mario Mercado and Adriana Riveros in the final. The De La Rosas are back, and seeded 1st this year, and Mercado is playing with Valeria Centellas, as Riveros isn’t in Denver. They are seeded 9th.

Rounding out the top seeds are Alvaro Beltran and Montserrat Mejia at #2, Conrrado Moscoso and Maria Jose Vargas #3 and the brother / sister team of Andree and Jessica Parrilla #4.

Although the seedings were difficult to sort out, only one of the top 8 seeds failed to make the quarterfinals. But that match was a veteran team overcoming a young team, as 11th seeds Cristina Amaya and Javier Mar beat 6th seeds Angelica Barrios and Eduardo Portillo, 15-9, 15-5. Amaya and Mar will face 3rd seeds Conrrado Moscoso and Maria Jose Vargas in the quarters, as Moscoso and Vargas won an all-Bolivia match with 19th seeds Roland Keller & Micaela Meneses, 15-0, 15-10.

Also, the top seeded De La Rosas eked out a win over 16th seeds Erik Garcia and Masiel Rivera, 15-14, 15-13. They’ll face another stiff test in the quarters as they face the righty-lefty team of Sebastian Fernandez and Alexandra Herrera, who defeated Mercado and Centellas, 15-6, 15-10.

Two notable absences from the event are the #1 players from the respective tours. Paola Longoria, #1 on the LPRT, was in Tokyo as one of the hosts for Mexican television’s coverage of the Olympics, so she probably felt she wasn’t prepared for this event. Kane Waselenchuk, #1 on the IRT, isn’t in Denver either, and we’re not sure why. It is unusual for a tour event to happen in August, so perhaps that was a factor for Waselenchuk.

The Mixed Doubles matches began today with the Rounds of 32 and 16. The quarterfinals will be Friday at 8:30 and semi-finals at 1:15 PM Saturday and the final at 1:15 PM Sunday. All times are Mountain. Look for the action via the LPRT and IRT YouTube channels (LPRT YouTube channel & IRT YouTube.), as well as their respective Facebook pages.

World Singles and Doubles Open Racquetball Championships
August 12-15, 2021 - Denver, Colorado

Mixed Doubles - Round of 32 - Thursday

1) Daniel De La Rosa & Michelle De La Rosa - BYE
16) Erik Garcia & Masiel Rivera d. 17) Montserrat Perez & Nicholas RIffel, 15-9, 13-15, 11-6

9) Mario Mercado & Valeria Centellas - BYE
8) Sebastian Fernandez & Alexandra Herrera - BYE

5) Gabriela Martinez & Samuel Murray - BYE
12) Carla Muñoz & Alan Natera - BYE

13) Charlie Pratt & Rhonda Rajsich d. 20) Juan Francisco Cueva & Maria Muñoz, 15-7, 15-8
4) Andree Parrilla & Jessica Parrilla - BYE

3) Conrrado Moscoso & Maria Jose Vargas - BYE
19) Roland Keller & Micaela Meneses d. 14) Brenda Laime & Mauricio Zelada, 15-13, 9-15, 11-2

11) Cristina Amaya & Javier Mar - BYE
6) Angelica Barrios & Eduardo Portillo - BYE

7) Rodrigo Montoya & Samantha Salas - BYE
10) Andres Acuña & Natalia Mendez - BYE

15) Adam Manilla & Erika Manilla v. 18) Abraham Peña & Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-13, 15-12
2) Alvaro Beltran & Monserrat Mejia - BYE

Mixed Doubles - Round of 16 - Thursday

1) Daniel De La Rosa & Michelle De La Rosa d. 16) Erik Garcia & Masiel Rivera, 15-14, 15-13
8) Sebastian Fernandez & Alexandra Herrera d. 9) Mario Mercado & Valeria Centellas, 15-6, 15-10

5) Gabriela Martinez & Samuel Murray d. 12) Carla Muñoz & Alan Natera, 15-7, 15-12
4) Andree Parrilla & Jessica Parrilla d. 13) Charlie Pratt & Rhonda Rajsich, 15-8, 15-12

3) Conrrado Moscoso & Maria Jose Vargas d. 19) Roland Keller & Micaela Meneses, 15-0, 15-10
11) Cristina Amaya & Javier Mar d. 6) Angelica Barrios & Eduardo Portillo, 15-9, 15-5

7) Rodrigo Montoya & Samantha Salas d. 10) Andres Acuña & Natalia Mendez, 15-13, 15-9
2) Alvaro Beltran & Monserrat Mejia d. 15) Adam Manilla & Erika Manilla, 15-5, 14-15, 11-0

Mixed Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Daniel De La Rosa & Michelle De La Rosa v. 8) Sebastian Fernandez & Alexandra Herrera - 8:30 PM
4) Andree Parrilla & Jessica Parrilla v. 5) Gabriela Martinez & Samuel Murray - 8:30 PM

3) Conrrado Moscoso & Maria Jose Vargas v. 11) Cristina Amaya & Javier Mar - 8:30 PM
7) Rodrigo Montoya & Samantha Salas v. 2) Alvaro Beltran & Monserrat Mejia - 8:30 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….

USA will not be going to the Pan Am Championships

USA Racquetball (USAR) has announced that they will not be sending a team to the 2021 Pan American Championships in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, September 3-11. This is the first international racquetball event since the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

The announcement of this decision is oddly written, as it states “The USA Racquetball Board of Directors brings the disappointing news that the United States will not be sending our U.S. Team to participate in the Pan American Racquetball Championships,” which makes it sound like the United States has made this decision. But the USAR Board made the decision.

They did so after the USAR Team Committee analyzed the situation, and made a recommendation to the Board to not send a team to Bolivia given the current travel conditions that are still being effected by the coronavirus pandemic. The decision is entirely reasonable, but weirdly presented.

Racquetball Canada is not planning on sending a team to Bolivia either, and reached that decision some time ago. They have yet to hold a National Championships since the pandemic began, although are planning to do so next month: September 16-19 in Brossard, Québec.

USAR still hopes to send a team to the International Racquetball Federation World Championships in Guatemala, October 29-November 6, and Racquetball Canada is also planning to send a team to Worlds.

Hopefully, the pandemic conditions will not prevent that event from going ahead with a full compliment of participating countries.

Follow the bouncing ball…..