Mar beats Parrilla in Round of 16 at 2022 IRT Capitol Classic

Javier Mar knocked off the top seed, Andree Parrilla, 15-10, 15-11, in the Round of 16 Friday at the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Capitol Classic in Millersville, Maryland to set up a quarterfinal match with Jake Bredenbeck on Saturday morning. Bredenbeck, the 8th seed, defeated 9th seed Sebastian Franco, 15-14, 15-7, on Friday.

The closest match in the 16s was between two former International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champions, as the 2021 champion, Alejandro Landa, took on the 2018 champion, Rodrigo Montoya. They split the first two games, and then played a very close tie-breaker that had match point opportunities for each player. Eventually, Landa closed it out, winning 15-7, 8-15, 11-10, on his 6th match point chance.

Landa will play 6th seed Eduardo Portillo in the quarters, as Portillo defeated Mauricio Zelada, 15-8, 15-14, in the 16s.

Elsewhere, current IRF World Champion Conrrado Moscoso defeated fellow Bolivian Carlos Keller, 15-10, 15-14, and will play Canadian Samuel Murray in the quarterfinals, as Murray beat veteran Alvaro Beltran, 15-2, 15-0, in the Round of 16.

Finally, 2nd seed Kane Waselenchuk will face another lefthander in the quarterfinals, when he takes on 10th seed Adam Manilla. Waselenchuk - a lefthand player, beat a fellow lefty Thomas Carter, 15-10, 15-2, in the 16s, while Manilla defeated 7th seed Mario Mercado, 15-9, 15-6.

Upsets were the order of the day in doubles, as three of the quarterfinal matches were won by the lower seeded team, and the top two seeds went out. The giant killers were 9th seeds Mario Mercado and Mauricio Zelada, who held off the top seeds Alvaro Beltran and Alejandro Landa, 15-11, 9-15, 11-4. They’ll play the 5th seeds Andrés Acuña and Eduardo Portillo, who also won in a tie-breaker against 4th seeds Roland Keller and Conrrado Moscoso, 1-15, 15-14, 11-9. Beltran, Keller and Moscoso were in the Men’s Doubles final at the IRF World Championships last month, but they won’t even be in the semi-finals this weekend.

Of the top four seeds only 3rd seeds Samuel Murray and Andree Parrilla, who are a new team, avoided upset by beating 6th seeds Sebastian Franco and Eduardo Garay, 15-11, 15-2. Murray and Parrilla will face the righty-lefty team of Jake Bredenbeck and Adam Manilla in the semis Saturday, as Bredenbeck and Manilla, the 8th seeds, came back from a game down to defeat the 2nd seeds and former IRF Men’s Doubles World Champions Javier Mar and Rodrigo Montoya, 9-15, 15-10, 11-1.

You can see the 2022 IRT Capitol Classic matches via the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page. The singles quarterfinals begin at 10 AM Saturday morning with the semi-finals at 6 and 7 Saturday night. The final will be at noon Sunday. The doubles semi-finals will be at 3 & 4 PM Saturday, and the final Saturday night at 8 PM. All times Eastern.

2022 IRT Capital Classic, September 15-18, 2022
Millersville, Maryland

Round of 16 - Friday

Javier Mar d. 1) Andree Parrilla, 15-10, 15-11
8) Jake Bredenbeck d. 9) Sebastian Franco, 15-14, 15-7

5) Conrrado Moscoso d. 12) Carlos Keller, 15-10, 15-14
4) Samuel Murray d. 13) Alvaro Beltran, 15-2, 15-0

3) Alejandro Landa d. 14) Rodrigo Montoya, 15-7, 8-15, 11-10
6) Eduardo Portillo d. Mauricio Zelada, 15-8, 15-14

10) Adam Manilla d. 7) Mario Mercado, 15-9, 15-6
2) Kane Waselenchuk d. 15) Thomas Carter, 15-10, 15-2

Quarterfinals - Saturday

8) Jake Bredenbeck v. Javier Mar - 11 AM
4) Samuel Murray v. 5) Conrrado Moscoso - 10 AM

3) Alejandro Landa v. 6) Eduardo Portillo - 1 PM
2) Kane Waselenchuk v. 10) Adam Manilla - Noon

Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday

9) Mario Mercado & Mauricio Zelada d. 1) Alvaro Beltran & Alejandro Landa, 15-11, 9-15, 11-4
5) Andres Acuña & Eduardo Portillo d. 4) Roland Keller & Conrrado Moscoso, 1-15, 15-14, 11-9

3) Samuel Murray & Andree Parrilla d. 6) Sebastian Franco & Eduardo Garay, 15-11, 15-2
8) Jake Bredenbeck & Adam Manilla d. 2) Javier Mar & Rodrigo Montoya, 9-15, 15-10, 11-1

Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday

5) Andres Acuña & Eduardo Portillo v. 9) Mario Mercado & Mauricio Zelada - 4 PM
3) Samuel Murray & Andree Parrilla v. 8) Jake Bredenbeck & Adam Manilla - 5 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….