Monday, August 13, 2018

Singles draws at 2018 IRF World Championships

The medal round in Men’s and Women’s Singles begins Wednesday at the 19th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in San José, Costa Rica. Mexicans and USA players dominate the top 4 seeds in both the women’s and men’s draws.

In Men’s Singles, David Horn is the #1 seed with team-mate Charlie Pratt #3. Mexicans Daniel De La Rosa and Rodrigo Montoya are the #2 and #4 seeds, so there can’t be either all USA or all Mexico match until the final. That is the reward the players have for winning all their Group Stage matches. But there should be plenty of good matches prior to the final, including a potential rematch between Colombian Mario Mercado, seeded 8th, and Canadian Coby Iwaasa, seeded 9th, who met in the Group Stage with Mercado winning by an 11-10 tie-breaker.

In Women’s Singles, Mexican Paola Longoria - the 3 time defending champion, is the #1 seed with her team-mate Samantha Salas #3. Rhonda Rajsich of the USA is 2nd seed with Guatemalan Maria Renee Rodriguez 4th seed. Rodriguez’s seeding gets her a bye in the Round of 32, but she’ll likely have to face Maria Jose Vargas of Argentina in the Round of 16. Vargas is a former #2 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) and won an LPRT event this past season, so it's not the most favourable draw for Rodriguez.

If you need to get a racquetball fix on Tuesday, watch some of the Group Stage matches you missed on the IRF Facebook page.

18th IRF World Championships
August 10-18, 2018
San José, Costa Rica

Men's Singles - Round of 64
- Wednesday

1) David Horn (USA) - BYE
32) Mark Murphy (Ireland) v. 33) Alberto Rojas (Switzerland)

17) Shai Manuzi (Argentina) - BYE
16) Edwin Galicia (Guatemala) - BYE

9) Coby Iwaasa (Canada) - BYE
24) Daeyong Kwon (South Korea) - BYE

25) Luis Felipe Zea (Venezuela) - BYE
8) Mario Mercado (Colombia) - BYE

5) Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia) - BYE
28) Christian Wer (Guatemala) - BYE

21) Christian Chavez (Ecuador) - BYE
12) Felipe Camacho (Costa Rica) - BYE

13) Ramon De Leon (Dominican Republic) - BYE
20) Kono Michimune (Japan) - BYE

29) Yash Doshi (India) - BYE
4) Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) - BYE

3) Charlie Pratt (USA) - BYE
30) Johan Igor (Chile) - BYE

19) Ricardo Gomez (Venezuela) - BYE
14) Fernando Kurzbard (Argentina) - BYE

11) Jose Daniel Ugalde (Ecuador) - BYE
22) Moon Gyun Kim (South Korea) - BYE

27) Aaron Booker (Puerto Rico) - BYE
6) Samuel Murray (Canada) - BYE

7) Carlos Keller (Bolivia) - BYE
26) Francisco Troncoso (Chile) - BYE

23) Ryoki Kamahara (Japan) - BYE
10) Sebastian Franco (Colombia) - BYE

15) Luis Perez (Dominican Republic) - BYE
18) Andres Acuña (Costa Rica) - BYE

31) Alok Mehta (India) v. 34) Johnny O’keeney (Ireland)
2) Daniel De La Rosa (Mexico) - BYE

Women's Singles - Round of 32 - Wednesday

1) Paola Longoria (Mexico) - BYE
16) Young Ock Lee (Korea) v. 17) Jenny Daza (Bolivia)

9) Adriana Riveros (Colombia) v. 24) Josefa Parada (Chile)
8) Cristina Amaya (Colombia) v. 25) Lilian Zea (Venezuela)

5) Yasmine Sabja (Bolivia) - BYE
12) Carla Muñoz (Chile) v. 21) Merynanyelly Delgado (Dominican Republic)

13) Naomi Wakimoto (Japan) v. 20) Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina)
4) Maria Renee Rodriguez (Guatemala) - BYE

3) Samantha Salas (Mexico) - BYE
14) Jin Seok (South Korea) v. 19) Alejandra Jiménez (Dominican Republic)

11) Sheryl Lotts (USA) v. 22) Jen Saunders (Canada)
6) Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) - BYE

7) Natalia Mendez (Argentina) v. 26) Donna Ryder (Ireland)
10) Frédérique Lambert (Canada) v. Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica)

15) Harumi Kajino (Japan) v. 18) Aisling Hickey (Ireland)
2) Rhonda Rajsich (USA) - BYE

Follow the bouncing ball....

No comments: