There haven’t been many upsets in singles at the Arizona Open Racquetball Championships in Tempe, Arizona, but half of the Round of 16 matches in Mixed Doubles were upsets. Now, players from the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) and International Racquetball Tour (IRT) don’t play together very often, so trying to seed these teams can be awkward. Thus, the seeding is less tested than seedings for singles.
But the two top seeds won their matches. Top seeds Alejandro Landa and Paola Longoria beat 16th seeds Patrick Allin and Katie Neils, 15-4, 15-2, and 2nd seeds Alvaro Beltran and Natalia Mendez also won in two games, but those games against Sam Bredenbeck and Lexi York were much closer as Beltran and Mendez won, 15-10, 15-14. In the quarterfinals, Landa and Longoria will face 8th seeds Jake Bredenbeck and Kelani Lawrence, as they defeated 9th seeds Carla Muñoz and Alan Natera, 15-12, 3-15, 11-4. Beltran and Mendez face the 10th seeds Sebastian Fernandez and Alexandra Herrera, who defeated 7th seeds Cristina Amaya & Mario Mercado, 15-8, 15-8, and Fernandez and Herrera were runners up the last time they played pro mixed doubles, so that will be a tough test for the 2nd seeds.
The 3rd seeds Gabriela Martinez and Samuel Murray were upset by the brother/sister side of Adam and Erika Manilla, 15-11, 15-5. Adam - a lefthanded player - seemed to out play Murray on the left side, and Erika did what she’s done for the last month: play solid racquetball. It was a winning combination.
The 5th seeds also went down as 12th seeds Andres Acuña and Maria Jose Vargas hung on to defeat 5th seeds Eduardo Portillo and Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-10, 12-15, 11-4. Acuña and Vargas will play siblings Andree Parrilla and Jessica Parrilla, the 4th seeds, who were winners over 13th seeds Brenda Laime and Mauricio Zelada, 15-5, 15-9.
Also, 11th seeds (this is one seeding that’s perhaps too low) Daniel De La Rosa and Michelle De La Rosa beat 6th seeds Valeria Centellas and Carlos Keller, 15-10, 15-11, and will play the Manillas in the quarters.
The Mixed Doubles quarterfinals will be Friday at 8 and 9 PM with the semi-finals at 2 PM Saturday. The final will be 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.
Arizona Open Racquetball Championships
November 11-14, 2021 - Tempe, Arizona
Mixed Doubles - First Round - Friday
16) Patrick Allin & Katie Neils d. 17) Estefania Perez Picon & Will Reynolds, 8-15, 15-11, 11-9
Mixed Doubles - Round of 16 - Friday
1) Alejandro Landa & Paola Longoria d. 16) Patrick Allin & Katie Neils, 15-4, 15-2
8) Jake Bredenbeck & Kelani Lawrence d. 9) Carla Muñoz & Alan Natera, 15-12, 3-15, 11-4
12) Andres Acuña & Maria Jose Vargas d. 5) Eduardo Portillo & Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-10, 12-15, 11-4
4) Andree Parrilla & Jessica Parrilla d. 13) Brenda Laime & Mauricio Zelada, 15-5, 15-9
14) Adam Manilla & Erika Manilla d. 3) Gabriela Martinez & Samuel Murray, 15-11, 15-5
11) Daniel De La Rosa & Michelle De La Rosa d. 6) Valeria Centellas & Carlos Keller, 15-10, 15-11
10) Sebastian Fernandez & Alexandra Herrera d. 7) Cristina Amaya & Mario Mercado, 15-8, 15-8
2) Alvaro Beltran & Natalia Mendez v. 15) Sam Bredenbeck & Lexi York, 15-10, 15-14
Mixed Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday
1) Alejandro Landa & Paola Longoria v. 8) Jake Bredenbeck & Kelani Lawrence - 8 PM
4) Andree Parrilla & Jessica Parrilla v. 12) Andres Acuña & Maria Jose Vargas - 8 PM
11) Daniel De La Rosa & Michelle De La Rosa v. 14) Adam Manilla & Erika Manilla - 9 PM
2) Alvaro Beltran & Natalia Mendez v. 10) Sebastian Fernandez & Alexandra Herrera - 9 PM
Follow the bouncing ball….
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment