De La Rosa wins twice at 2023 Tracktown Open IRT ProAM

Daniel De La Rosa was a double winner Sunday at the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) 2023 Tracktown Open ProAm in Eugene, Oregon Sunday, as he won both singles and doubles with partner Alejandro Landa. In singles, De La Rosa beat Rodrigo Montoya, 15-2, 15-11, in a battle of the #3 and #4 IRT players (De La Rosa and Montoya, respectively). In doubles, De La Rosa and Landa defeated top seeds Adam Manilla and Andree Parrilla, 15-4, 15-14.

The singles win is De La Rosa’s 12th on tour, and puts him into 12th place all time, breaking a tie with Dave Peck.

If you missed the finals, or would like to see any of the earlier action from Eugene, check out the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page.

The Tracktown Open ProAm
Eugene, Oregon, August 31-September 3, 2023

IRT Singles - Final - Sunday

3) Daniel De La Rosa d. 4) Rodrigo Montoya, 15-2, 15-11

IRT Doubles - Final - Sunday

2) Daniel De La Rosa & Alejandro Landa d. 1) Adam Manilla & Andree Parrilla, 15-4, 15-14

Follow the bouncing ball….

De La Rosa & Montoya into final at The 2023 Tracktown Open IRT ProAm

Daniel De La Rosa and Rodrigo Montoya - the #2 and #4 players on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) - will meet in the final of The 2023 Tracktown Open IRT ProAm in Eugene, Oregon on Sunday. In Saturday’s semi-finals, De La Rosa needed three games to defeat IRT #2 Jake Bredenbeck, 15-12, 9-15, 11-6, while Montoya beat IRT #9 Samuel Murray in two close games, 15-12, 15-9.

The matches in Eugene continued to be very competitive, as they were in the quarterfinals on Friday. Saturday’s games were decided by an average of 4.6 points, which is slightly higher than Friday’s average of 3 points across the 4 quarterfinals. Two of Friday’s quarters went to a tie-breaker, and the two that didn’t were decided by five points or fewer.

In doubles, the top two seeds will square off in Sunday’s final. Top seeds Adam Manilla and Andree Parrilla squeaked out a win over 4th seeds Montoya and Alan Natera, 15-7, 13-15, 11-10. They face 2nd seeds Daniel De La Rosa and Alejandro Landa in the final, as De La Rosa and Landa held on to defeat 6th seed Kadim Carrasco and Conrrado Moscoso, 15-14, 13-15, 11-4.

Thus, Sunday’s doubles final will be Manilla and Parrilla versus De La Rosa and Landa.

The singles final will be Sunday at 11 AM with the doubles final at noon. All times Pacific. You can see the action via the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page. T

The Tracktown Open ProAm
Eugene, Oregon, August 31-September 3, 2023

IRT Singles - Semi-finals - Saturday

4) Rodrigo Montoya d. 9) Samuel Murray, 15-12, 15-9
3) Daniel De La Rosa d. 2) Jake Bredenbeck, 15-12, 9-15, 11-6

IRT Singles - Final - Sunday

3) Daniel De La Rosa v. 4) Rodrigo Montoya - 11 AM

IRT Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Adam Manilla & Andree Parrilla d. 4) Rodrigo Montoya & Alan Natera, 15-7, 13-15, 11-10
2) Daniel De La Rosa & Alejandro Landa d. 6) Kadim Carrasco & Conrrado Moscoso, 15-14, 13-15, 11-4

IRT Doubles - Final - Sunday

1) Adam Manilla & Andree Parrilla v. 2) Daniel De La Rosa & Alejandro Landa - Noon

Follow the bouncing ball….

Murray into semi-finals at 2023 Tracktown Open IRT ProAm

Samuel Murray was the big winner Friday at the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Tracktown Open in Eugene, Oregon, as the IRT’s 9th ranked player got two upset wins, including taking out the IRT’s #1 player Conrrado Moscoso in the quarterfinals, 15-12, 15-13. Earlier in the day he defeated IRT #8 Alejandro Landa, 15-12, 15-13. In the semi-finals, Murray will play #4 Rodrigo Montoya, who held on to beat #5 Eduardo Portillo, 15-11, 10-15, 11-9, and that will be his first semi since Maryland last September, when Murray also defeated Moscoso in the quarters.

On the bottom of the draw, IRT #3 Daniel De La Rosa narrowly defeated #6 Andree Parrilla, 15-13, 15-14, and will play IRT #2 Jake Bredenbeck who also played a close match with #7 Adam Manilla, winning in a three games, 15-12, 14-15, 11-4.

In doubles, the top seeded team of Adam Manilla and Andree Parrilla came back to defeat veterans Alvaro Beltran and Kane Waselenchuk, 13-15, 15-14, 11-7. That win sets up a match with 4th seeds Rodrigo Montoya and Alan Natera, who won a see-saw battler with 5th seeds Andrés Acuña and Eduardo Portillo, 2-15, 15-2, 11-5.

While Murray defeated Moscoso in singles, in doubles the reverse happened, as Moscoso and Kadim Carrasco beat Murray and Jake Bredenbeck, 15-13, 10-15, 11-0. They’ll play either 2nd seeds Daniel De La Rosa and Alejandro Landa or 7th seeds Robert Collins and Erick Trujillo.

The singles semi-finals will be noon and 1 PM Saturday with the doubles semis at 5 and 6 PM. You can see the action via the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page. The singles final will be Sunday at 11 AM with the doubles final at noon. All times Pacific.

The Tracktown Open ProAm
Eugene, Oregon, August 31-September 3, 2023

IRT Singles - Round of 16 - Friday

1) Conrrado Moscoso d. 16) Kadim Carrasco, 15-5, 15-4
9) Samuel Murray d. 8) Alejandro Landa, 15-12, 15-13

5) Eduardo Portillo d. 12) Alan Natera, 7-15, 15-13, 11-3
4) Rodrigo Montoya d. 20) Alvaro Beltran, 15-5, 15-4

3) Daniel De La Rosa d. 14) Erick Cuevas Fernandez, 9-15, 15-13, 11-5
6) Andree Parrilla d. 11) Thomas Carter, 2-15, 15-5, 11-9

7) Adam Manilla d. 10) Andrés Acuña, 12-15, 15-9, 11-4
2) Jake Bredenbeck d. 15) Erick Trujillo, 15-9, 15-13

IRT Singles - Quarterfinals - Friday

9) Samuel Murray d. 1) Conrrado Moscoso, 15-12, 15-13
4) Rodrigo Montoya d. 5) Eduardo Portillo, 15-11, 10-15, 11-9

3) Daniel De La Rosa d. 6) Andree Parrilla, 15-13, 15-14
2) Jake Bredenbeck d. 7) Adam Manilla, 15-12, 14-15, 11-4

IRT Singles - Semi-finals - Saturday

4) Rodrigo Montoya v. 9) Samuel Murray - Noon
2) Jake Bredenbeck v. 3) Daniel De La Rosa - 1 PM

IRT Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Adam Manilla & Andree Parrilla d. 8) Alvaro Beltran & Kane Waselenchuk, 13-15, 15-14, 11-7
4) Rodrigo Montoya & Alan Natera d. 5) Andrés Acuña & Eduardo Portillo, 2-15, 15-2, 11-5

6) Kadim Carrasco & Conrrado Moscoso d. 3) Jake Bredenbeck & Samuel Murray, 15-13, 10-15, 11-0
2) Daniel De La Rosa & Alejandro Landa d. 7) Robert Collins & Erick Trujillo, 6-15, 15-9, 11-4

IRT Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Adam Manilla & Andree Parrilla v. 4) Rodrigo Montoya & Alan Natera - 5 PM
2) Daniel De La Rosa & Alejandro Landa v. 6) Kadim Carrasco & Conrrado Moscoso - 6 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….

The Tracktown Open IRT ProAm Round of 32

The International Racquetball Tour (IRT) is back in action this Labour Day weekend with The Tracktown Open IRT ProAm in Eugene, Oregon. Oregon is a hotbed of racquetball with great high school and university programs, but this is the first IRT tournament to be held in Eugene, although Portland has hosted many events. There’s a smaller field in Eugene with 24 players competing, but all the top 10 players are there, as well as veterans Alvaro Beltran and Kane Waselenchuk, who are playing doubles together.

Play began on Thursday, and Beltran had the only upset win in the Round of 32, as he beat 13th seed Robert Collins, 15-2, 15-11. He’ll face IRT #4 Rodrigo Montoya in the Round of 16 Friday.

In doubles, Beltran and Waselenchuk, seeded 8th, defeated 9th seeds Wayne Antone and Erick Cuevas Fernandez, 15-9, 15-7, on Thursday in the 16s, and will play top seeds Adam Manilla and Andree Parrilla in the quarterfinals on Friday. That’ll be two lefty-righty teams in a battle of youthful enthusiasm versus wily veterans.

The other doubles quarterfinals should be good too. Fourth seeds Montoya and Alan Natera face 5th seeds Andrés Acuña and Eduardo Portillo. Third seeds Jake Bredenbeck and Samuel Murray play 6th seeds Kadim Carrasco and Conrrado Moscoso, and Daniel De La Rosa and Alejandro Landa will play 7th seeds Robert Collins and Erick Trujillo.

The singles Round of 16 begins at 10 AM Friday with the doubles quarters starting at 1 PM. You can see some of the IRT action via the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page. The singles final will be Sunday at 11 AM with the doubles final at noon. All times Pacific.

The Tracktown Open IRT ProAm
Eugene, Oregon, August 31-September 3, 2023

IRT Singles - Round of 32 - Thursday

1) Conrrado Moscoso - BYE
16) Kadim Carrasco d. 17) Carlos Ramierez, 15-7, 15-9

9) Samuel Murray d. 24) Michael Lam, 15-0, 15-2
8) Alejandro Landa - BYE

5) Eduardo Portillo - BYE
12) Alan Natera d. 21) Cole Sendrey, 15-1, 15-0

20) Alvaro Beltran d. 13) Robert Collins, 15-2, 15-11
4) Rodrigo Montoya - BYE

3) Daniel De La Rosa - BYE
14) Erick Cuevas Fernandez d. 19) Cody Elkins, 15-11, 15-11

11) Thomas Carter d. 22) Rafael Gatica, 15-6, 15-9
6) Andree Parrilla - BYE

7) Adam Manilla - BYE
10) Andrés Acuña d. 23) Alexxander Purcell, 15-5, 15-3

15) Erick Trujillo d. 18) Jim Douglas, 15-1, 15-6
2) Jake Bredenbeck - BYE

IRT Singles - Round of 16 - Friday

1) Conrrado Moscoso v. 16) Kadim Carrasco - 10 AM
8) Alejandro Landa v. 9) Samuel Murray - 10 AM

5) Eduardo Portillo v. 12) Alan Natera - 10 AM
4) Rodrigo Montoya v. 20) Alvaro Beltran - 10 AM

3) Daniel De La Rosa v. 14) Erick Cuevas Fernandez - 11 AM
6) Andree Parrilla v. 11) Thomas Carter - 11 AM

7) Adam Manilla v. 10) Andrés Acuña - 11 AM
2) Jake Bredenbeck v. 15) Erick Trujillo - 11 AM

IRT Doubles - Round of 16 - Thursday

1) Adam Manilla & Andree Parrilla - BYE
8) Alvaro Beltran & Kane Waselenchuk d. 9) Wayne Antone & Erick Cuevas Fernandez, 15-9, 15-7

5) Andrés Acuña & Eduardo Portillo d. 12) Victor Camacho & Esteban Martinez, 15-3, 15-7
4) Rodrigo Montoya & Alan Natera d. 13) Steve Lewis & Israel Torres, 15-14, 15-10

3) Jake Bredenbeck & Samuel Murray - BYE
6) Kadim Carrasco & Conrrado Moscoso d. 11) Charles Pratt & Cole Sendrey, 15-6, 15-8

7) Robert Collins & Erick Trujillo d. 10) Iain Dunn & Paul Saraceno, 15-5, 15-7
2) Daniel De La Rosa & Alejandro Landa - BYE

IRT Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Adam Manilla & Andree Parrilla v. 8) Alvaro Beltran & Kane Waselenchuk - 1 PM
4) Rodrigo Montoya & Alan Natera v. 5) Andrés Acuña & Eduardo Portillo - 1 PM

3) Jake Bredenbeck & Samuel Murray v. 6) Kadim Carrasco & Conrrado Moscoso - 2 PM
2) Daniel De La Rosa & Alejandro Landa v. 7) Robert Collins & Erick Trujillo - 2 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….

Longoria & Moscoso win Mixed Doubles at KWM Gutterman World Singles & Doubles Open Championships

Paola Longoria and Conrrado Moscoso, who had won their respective singles divisions, defeated 8th seeds Alan Natera and Carla Muñoz, 15-11, 15-5, in the Mixed Doubles final at the 2023 KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Muñoz and Natera had a nice run in Colorado, but they met their match in Longoria and Moscoso.

Longoria is the #2 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) and Moscoso is #1 on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT). Moscoso took most of the shots for his side in the match, but Longoria certainly made contributions.

Longoria and Moscoso started well, going up 6-0 in game one. Technical difficulties interrupted the broadcast, but when the stream came back, Muñoz and Natera were ahead 10-8. That lead didn’t last, as Longoria and Moscoso tied the game at 11-11, and then went ahead 14-11.

They stalled there, as Muñoz and Natera got the serve back, but they couldn’t score, going two and out. Then on their third game point, Longoria and Moscoso closed it out with Moscoso hitting the game winning shot, a forehand pinch shot.

Game two wasn’t close at all, as Longoria and Mosocso went out to a 10-1 lead, and pushed on to win 15-4. Moscoso hit the matching winning shot, as he made a great get and rekilled a Nantera shot.

If you missed it, or want to see it again, the Mixed doubles final was streamed on the LPRT YouTube channel.

KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Open Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado, August 10-13, 2023

Pro Mixed Doubles - Final - Sunday

2) Paola Longoria & Conrrado Moscoso d. 8) Alan Natera & Carla Muñoz, 15-11, 15-5

Follow the bouncing ball….

Longoria wins 2023 KWM Gutterman LPRT World Singles & Doubles Open Championships

Paola Longoria defeated Montserrat Mejia, 13-15, 15-3, 11-5, to win the 2023 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado: the first event of the 2023-24 LPRT season. It was a battle of the new #1 Mejia versus the former #1, now #2, Longoria with the #2 coming out on top. This is the same result as the first event of last season, so the rankings shouldn’t change.

The short story of the match was that Mejia didn’t have her A game, and no one’s B game is going to beat Longoria, not even Mejia’s. Mejia’s shots were too loose, so she gave Longoria several extra chances that Longoria took advantage of.

Longoria might have won in two straight games, as it looked like she would win game one, with an early 3-0 lead, and also at 7-4. But Mejia battled back, and tied it at 9-9, and then went up 13-9.

Longoria switched to a backhand drive serve, and that helped her come back to tie the game at 13-13. But Mejia hit a backhand winner off Longoria’s next serve to get the serve back.

She then won the next two rallies on three shots. Mejia drove serve to the left side on both, and also finished them both with forehand down the line winners.

Game two was all Longoria, as she went up 11-0, and closed it out at 15-3 to force a tie-breaker. In the breaker, they were close early. Mejia led 3-1, then Longoria led 4-3, and they were tied at 5-5.

Longoria broke that tie, as Mejia skipped a backhand cross court shot. That was the start of five unanswered points that made the score 10-5. Meija used both her timeouts during that run, but to no avail.

She did fight off Longoria’s first match point by returning a half lob serve to the right side with a forehand back down the line. However, Longoria got the serve right back with a return winner of her own: a backhand cross court shot off a Mejia drive serve to the left side.

On the next rally, Mejia played a shot into the back wall that Longoria moved up into the front court to take early, hitting a backhand winner to seal the victory.

The next LPRT event won’t be until October, when the Turkey Shoot Pro-Am happens in Lombard, Illinois. With no US Open this year, and the Pan American Games in October, there’s a bit of a break in the LPRT schedule. If you missed any of the action from Colorado, check out the LPRT YouTube channel for recordings of the matches.

KWM Gutterman LPRT World Singles and Doubles Open Racquetball Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado - August 8-13, 2023

Final - Sunday

2) Paola Longoria d. 1) Montserrat Mejia, 13-15, 15-3, 11-5

Follow the bouncing ball….

Moscoso wins 2023 KWM Gutterman IRT World Singles & Doubles Open Championships

Conrrado Moscoso defeated Daniel De La Rosa, 3-15, 15-4, 11-7, to win the 2023 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Open Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado Sunday. Moscoso came back from a poor performance in game one to get the “W,” and by the end De La Rosa was running on fumes. He injured his leg earlier in the tournament, and it hampered his play in the final.

Game one was the first game Moscoso lost in the tournament, as De La Rosa was hot and Moscoso not. The script flipped in game two, as Moscoso came back to force a tie-breaker.

In the breaker, they were back and forth early. De La Rosa led 3-0, and Moscoso tied it at 3-3. De La Rosa went up 5-3, and Moscoso again tied it. When Moscoso broke that tie, and went up 8-5, De La Rosa called a timeout.

When Moscoso got a point coming out of the timeout, making the score 9-5, you had the sense that it was over. Yet De La Rosa kept battling despite clearly not being 100% physically. He got two points over the next ten rallies to get within two of Moscoso at 9-7.

Moscoso rekilled a De La Rosa shot with his backhand to get the serve back, and at that point Moscoso called a timeout.

When play resumed, De La Rosa skipped a forehand shot that put Moscoso on match point. He only needed the one opportunity, as Moscoso hit a backhand pinch winner from deep on the left side of the court to end the game at 11-7, and the match 2-1.

Moscoso has now won two of the three matches with De La Rosa this season, and the win solidifies him as the IRT’s #1 player. De La Rosa’s runner up finish should keep him as the #3 player on tour.

The next IRT event will be the Tracktown Open in Eugene, Oregon, August 31-September 3. If you missed any of the action from Colorado, check out the IRT media outlets - the IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page to watch matches you may have missed.

KWM Gutterman IRT World Singles and Doubles Open Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado, August 10-13, 2023

IRT Singles - Final - Sunday

1) Conrrado Moscoso d. 3) Daniel De La Rosa, 3-15, 15-4, 11-7

Follow the bouncing ball….

Muñoz & Natera reach Mixed Doubles final at 2023 KWM Gutterman World Singles & Doubles Open Championships

Doubles racquetball is slightly different from singles, so two players who work well together can defeat a pair of seemingly stronger players. Moreover, mixed doubles can be different again in that there’s a cliché that a mixed doubles team is all about the gal on the team and how well she plays.

That’s all a prelude to saying that it’s impressive that 8th seeded team of Carla Muñoz and Alan Natera have made it into the Mixed Doubles final at the 2023 KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Moreover, Muñoz and Natera are married, so they are also breaking the cliché that it’s not a good idea to play doubles with your spouse / relationship partner.

Muñoz and Natera will face 2nd seeds Paola Longoria and Conrrado Moscoso in the final, which could be their stiffest test yet as Longoria is the #2 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) and Moscoso is #1 on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT). But both Longoria and Moscoso will have played in their respective singles finals Sunday prior to the mixed doubles final, while Muñoz and Natera will be fresh for the mixed final.

In the semi-finals, Muñoz and Natera defeated 4th seeds Javier Mar and Montserrat Mejia, 15-8, 6-9, injury forfeit, while Longoria and Moscoso beat 3rd seeds Alexandra Herrera and Eduardo Portillo, 15-10, 15-4.

Mar picked up an injury to his left leg, perhaps his ankle, and while he tried to play through it, in the middle of the second game, Mar decided it was best to withdraw. It was a sad end to an interesting match.

Both teams were playing in the standard mixed doubles formation with the man on the left side. But Mar and Mejia are both usually right side players, when they play men’s and women’s doubles, respectively: Mar with Rodrigo Montoya and Mejia with left-hander Alexandra Herrera.

It seemed that Mar and Mejia should have tried to switch it up and put Mejia on the left side. Mar is excellent on the right, as his re-kill ability helped make him a International Racquetball Federation World Champion in Men’s Doubles with Montoya in 2021.

Also, in the match there were times when Muñoz’s positioning put Mejia into an awkward spot that led her to not playing her best in game one, so moving Mar over to Muñoz’s side may have solved that. Muñoz’s variety of half lob serves to Mejia were also effective, as she was keeping them tight to the right wall. Mar, as a tall man, may have been able to take those serves early with overhead returns that could have decreased Muñoz’s service effectiveness.

In the tournament overall, Muñoz and Natera have given up slightly fewer points per game than Longoria and Moscoso. Muñoz and Natera’s average points per game against is 7.4 (67 points in 9 games), while Longoria and Moscoso’s is 8.7 (61 points in 7 games).

Mixed doubles final will be Sunday at 1:15 PM Mountain time (or shortly after the IRT final, which Moscoso is playing in), and will be streamed on the LPRT YouTube channel.

KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Open Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado, August 10-13, 2023

Pro Mixed Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday

8) Alan Natera & Carla Muñoz d. 4) Javier Mar & Montserrat Mejia, 15-8, 6-9, injury forfeit
2) Paola Longoria & Conrrado Moscoso d. 3) Alexandra Herrera & Eduardo Portillo, 15-10, 15-4

Pro Mixed Doubles - Final - Sunday

2) Paola Longoria & Conrrado Moscoso v. 8) Alan Natera & Carla Muñoz - 1:15 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….

Moscoso & De La Rosa reach final of 2023 KWM Gutterman IRT World Singles & Doubles Open Championships

Conrrado Moscoso and Daniel De La Rosa, the #1 and #3 players on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), will play off in the final of the 2023 KWM Gutterman IRT World Singles and Doubles Open Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado on Sunday. Moscoso has yet to drop a game in Colorado, winning 8 straight games over 4 matches yielding only 6.5 points per game.

They played the quarterfinals and semi-finals on Saturday, and in the quarters Moscoso beat Adam Manilla, 15-11, 15-3, and then defeated Rodrigo Montoya in the semis, 15-11, 15-6.

In contrast, De La Rosa needed tie-breakers to win both his matches Saturday. He came back from a game down against Andree Parrilla, 8-15, 15-11, 11-6, and then held on to fend off IRT #2 Jake Bredenbeck, 15-8, 7-15, 11-7.

Sunday will be the 3rd meeting between Moscoso and De La Rosa, but the first since January. In that month, they split two meetings with De La Rosa winning in Texas and Moscoso winning in South Dakota.

The final will be Sunday at 12:15 PM MDT, and you can see it via the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page.

KWM Gutterman IRT World Singles and Doubles Open Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado, August 10-13, 2023

IRT Singles - Quarterfinals - Saturday

1) Conrrado Moscoso d. 8) Adam Manilla, 15-11, 15-3

4) Rodrigo Montoya d. 21) Diego Garcia, 10-15, 15-4, 11-2

3) Daniel De La Rosa d. 6) Andree Parrilla, 8-15, 15-11, 11-6
2) Jake Bredenbeck d. 23) Carlos Keller, 15-13, 15-12

IRT Singles - Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Conrrado Moscoso d. 4) Rodrigo Montoya, 15-11, 15-6
3) Daniel De La Rosa d. 2) Jake Bredenbeck, 15-8, 7-15, 11-7

IRT Singles - Final - Sunday

1) Conrrado Moscoso v. 3) Daniel De La Rosa - 12:15 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….

Mejia & Longoria face off in final of 2023 LPRT KWM Gutterman World Singles & Doubles Open Championships

Montserrat Mejia and Paola Longoria will face off in the final of the 2023 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. It will be the first opportunity for Longoria to try to regain the #1 ranking that Mejia took from her after 11 consecutive seasons.

This will also be just their third match in the last 12 months, and the first in 2023. Longoria won in the first event of last season, and Mejia won last fall. They’ve yet to meet since then despite being the top two players for most of the past year.

Both won their respective semi-final matches in two straight games. Mejia beat LPRT #5 Brenda Laime, 15-6, 15-12, while Longoria defeated LPRT #3 Alexandra Herrera, 15-10, 15-14.

Neither Laime or Herrera were sharp in the first games of their respective semis, yet both looked like they would push their semi to a breaker only to fall short, as the LPRT #1 and #2 held off the challengers.

The final will be Sunday at 11:15 AM MDT, and you can watch it via the LPRT YouTube channel.

KWM Gutterman LPRT World Singles and Doubles Open Racquetball Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado - August 8-13, 2023

Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Montserrat Mejia d. 5) Brenda Laime, 15-6, 15-12
2) Paola Longoria d. 3) Alexandra Herrera, 15-10, 15-14

Final - Sunday

1) Montserrat Mejia v. 2) Paola Longoria - 11:15 AM

Follow the bouncing ball….

Seedings hold in Mixed Doubles at the 2023 KWM Gutterman World Singles & Doubles Open Championships

The seedings for Mixed Doubles at the KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado must be created with a bit of guess work, as it’s rare for players from the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) and International Racquetball Tour (IRT) to play together. Yet there were no upsets by the seedings in the quarterfinals Friday.

The 2nd seeds - Paola Longoria and Conrrado Moscoso - came back from a game down to defeat 7th seeds Daniel De La Rosa and Hollie Scott, 13-15, 15-4, 11-5. They’ll next face 3rd seeds Alexandra Herrera and Eduardo Portillo, who also needed three games to get past the brother-sister team of Andree and Jessica Parrilla, 11-15, 15-10, 11-7.

On the other side of the draw, 4th seeds Javier Mar and Montserrat Mejia defeated 5th seeds Adam Manilla and Erika Manilla, 15-6, 15-12, while 8th seeds Alan Natera and Carla Muñoz beat 16th seeds Edwin Galicia & Gabriela Martinez, 15-3, 15-7. Thus, Mar and Mejia will face off with Muñoz and Natera in the semi-finals.

Mixed doubles matches are being streamed on both the IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page, and the LPRT YouTube channel, so check them both out to try and find the match that you want to see. The final will be Sunday at 1:15 PM Mountain time.

KWM Gutterman IRT World Singles and Doubles Open Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado, August 10-13, 2023

Pro Mixed Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday

8) Alan Natera & Carla Muñoz d. 16) Edwin Galicia & Gabriela Martinez, 15-3, 15-7
4) Javier Mar & Montserrat Mejia d. 5) Adam Manilla & Erika Manilla, 15-6, 15-12

3) Alexandra Herrera & Eduardo Portillo d. 6) Andree Parrilla & Jessica Parrilla, 11-15, 15-10, 11-7
2) Paola Longoria & Conrrado Moscoso d. 7) Daniel De La Rosa & Hollie Scott, 13-15, 15-4, 11-5

Pro Mixed Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday

4) Javier Mar & Montserrat Mejia v. 8) Alan Natera & Carla Muñoz - 1:15 PM
2) Paola Longoria & Conrrado Moscoso v. 3) Alexandra Herrera & Eduardo Portillo - 1:15 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….

Garcia into quarterfinals at 2023 IRT KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Open Championships

Diego Garcia had the first big upset Friday at the 2023 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) KWM Gutterman IRT World Singles and Doubles Open Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, as he defeated IRT #5 Eduardo Portillo, 7-15, 15-14, 11-5. Portillo had two chances to serve for the match in game two, but couldn’t finish it.

Garcia will play IRT #4 Rodrigo Montoya in the quarterfinals Saturday morning, as Montoya also needed three games to win on Friday, hanging on to defeat 20th seed Elias Nieto, 15-9, 13-15, 11-5.

All the other matches in the 16s were over in two straight games. IRT #1 Conrrado Moscoso defeated a former IRT #1 - Rocky Carson, 15-4, 15-5, and will play left-hander Adam Manilla in the quarters, as Manilla beat Samuel Murray, 15-7, 15-7.

On the bottom of the draw, there’ll be an all-Mexican batter between Daniel De La Rosa and Andree Parrilla, as De La Rosa beat Erick Trujillo, 15-8, 15-5, and Parrilla defeated Javier Mar, 15-14, 15-8.

Finally, IRT #2 Jake Bredenbeck, who won the last IRT event back in April, will take on Carlos Keller, a two time former Pan American Champion. Bredenbeck defeated Erick Cuevas Fernandez, 15-12, 15-3, and Keller beat Juan Francisco Cueva, 15-3, 15-6, in the Round of 16.

The quarterfinals will be Saturday morning at 10:15 and 11:15 AM with the semi-finals Saturday afternoon at 2:15 and 3:15 PM. You can see some of the IRT action via the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page. The final will be Sunday at 12:15 PM. All times Mountain.

KWM Gutterman IRT World Singles and Doubles Open Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado, August 10-13, 2023

IRT Singles - Round of 16 - Friday

1) Conrrado Moscoso d. 16) Rocky Carson, 15-4, 15-5
8) Adam Manilla d. 9) Samuel Murray, 15-7, 15-7

21) Diego Garcia d. 5) Eduardo Portillo, 7-15, 15-14, 11-5
4) Rodrigo Montoya d. 20) Elias Nieto, 15-9, 13-15, 11-5

3) Daniel De La Rosa d. 19) Erick Trujillo, 15-8, 15-5
6) Andree Parrilla d. 11) Javier Mar, 15-14, 15-8

23) Carlos Keller d. 26) Juan Francisco Cueva, 15-3, 15-6
2) Jake Bredenbeck d. 18) Erick Cuevas Fernandez, 15-12, 15-3

IRT Singles - Quarterfinals - Saturday

1) Conrrado Moscoso v. 8) Adam Manilla - 11:15 AM

4) Rodrigo Montoya v. 21) Diego Garcia - 11:15 AM

3) Daniel De La Rosa v. 6) Andree Parrilla - 10:15 AM
2) Jake Bredenbeck v. 23) Carlos Keller - 10:15 AM

Follow the bouncing ball….

Laime into semi-finals at 2023 LPRT KWM Gutterman World Singles & Doubles Championhips

The top three Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) players won their respective quarterfinal matches Friday at the 2023 LPRT KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, but LPRT #4 Erika Manilla lost to #5 Brenda Laime, 15-7, 15-10. Laime will play LPRT #1 Montserrat Mejia in the semi-finals Saturday, as Mejia came back to defeat LPRT #9 Natalia Mendez, 12-15, 15-3, 11-4.

LPRT #3 Alexandra Herrera ended the run of 11th seed Gabriela Martinez in two straight games, 15-13, 15-7, and will play LPRT #2 Paola Longoria in the other semi. Longoria beat Samantha Salas, the 10th seed, 15-1, 15-4.

The semi-finals will be at 10:15 AM and 12:15 AM Saturday, and you can watch the action via the LPRT YouTube channel. The final will be Sunday at 11:15 AM. All times Mountain.

KWM Gutterman LPRT World Singles and Doubles Open Racquetball Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado - August 8-13, 2023

Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Montserrat Mejia d. 9) Natalia Mendez, 12-15, 15-3, 11-4
5) Brenda Laime d. 4) Erika Manilla, 15-7, 15-10

3) Alexandra Herrera d. 11) Gabriela Martinez, 15-13, 15-7
2) Paola Longoria d. 10) Samantha Salas, 15-1, 15-4

Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Montserrat Mejia v. 5) Brenda Laime - 12:15 PM
2) Paola Longoria v. 3) Alexandra Herrera - 10:15 AM

Follow the bouncing ball….

Martinez wins in R16 at LPRT KWM Gutterman World Singles & Doubles Open Racquetball Championships

The top five seeds are into the quarterfinals at the 2023 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. The top seeds Montserrat Mejia and Paola Longoria both had straightforward wins in the Round of 16. LPRT #1 Mejia defeated 17th seed Nancy Enriquez, 15-8, 15-4, and LPRT #2 Longoria beat 15th seed Maria Paz Riquelme, 15-3, 15-0.

In the quarterfinals, Mejia will face 9th seed Natalia Mendez, who upset 8th seed Carla Muñoz, 15-9, 15-14, while Longoria faces a familiar foe in her long time doubles partner Samantha Salas, as the 10th seed got the better of 7th seed Jessica Parrilla, 15-11, 15-8.

In what we highlighted as the marquee match of the the 16s, 11th seed Gabriela Martinez upset 6th seed Maria Jose Vargas, 15-9, 15-12. Martinez won this event two years ago, when this event was last held. She’ll need to win three more matches to equal that feat, and her next opponent is 3rd seed Alexandra Herrera, who beat 14th seed Hollie Scott in two straight games, 15-3, 15-7.

The quarterfinals begin at 3 PM, and you can watch the action via the LPRT YouTube channel. The semi-finals will be at 10:15 AM and 12:15 AM Saturday, and the final Sunday at 11:15 AM. All times Mountain.

KWM Gutterman LPRT World Singles and Doubles Open Racquetball Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado - August 8-13, 2023

Round of 16 - Friday

1) Montserrat Mejia d. 17) Nancy Enriquez, 15-8, 15-4
9) Natalia Mendez d. 8) Carla Muñoz, 15-9, 15-14

5) Brenda Laime d. 12) Kelani Lawrence, 15-10, 15-5
4) Erika Manilla d. 13) Cristina Amaya, 15-5, 15-8

3) Alexandra Herrera d. 14) Hollie Scott, 15-3, 15-7
11) Gabriela Martinez d. 6) Maria Jose Vargas, 15-9, 15-12

10) Samantha Salas d. 7) Jessica Parrilla, 15-11, 15-8
2) Paola Longoria d. 15) Maria Paz Riquelme, 15-3, 15-0

Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Montserrat Mejia v. 9) Natalia Mendez - 6 PM
4) Erika Manilla v. 5) Brenda Laime - 3 PM

3) Alexandra Herrera v. 11) Gabriela Martinez - 4 PM
2) Paola Longoria v. 10) Samantha Salas - 5 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….

Early rounds at 2023 IRT KWM Gutterman World Singles & Doubles Open Championships

There were no big surprises on day one of the 2023 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) KWM Gutterman IRT World Singles and Doubles Open Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, but there was one disappointment. Kane Waselenchuk - the #1 player for 14 IRT seasons - forfeited his preliminary round match with DJ Mendoza. Thus, he won’t be playing in the main draw of 32.

We don’t know why Waselenchuk forfeited, although he did play two mixed doubles matches with Michelle Key, and this is his first tournament after his Achilles tendon injury last year. So perhaps that played a part in his decision to withdraw. It’s sad because many people would like to see him play again. “What’s happening with Kane?” has been one of the most frequent questions The Racquetball Blog staff have been asked over the past year.

The marquee match up in the Round of 32 on Friday should be 10th seed Andrés Acuña - the current World Games champion - versus 23rd seed Carlos Keller, who’s a two time Pan American Champion. But Thomas Carter, the veteran left hander, against young gun Diego Garcia should also be good.

The Round of 32 begins at 9 AM with the Round of 16 starting at 2 PM. You can see some of the IRT action via the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page. The quarterfinals will be Saturday morning at 10:15 and 11:15 AM with the semi-finals Saturday afternoon at 2:15 and 3:15 PM. The final will be Sunday at 12:15 PM. All times Mountain.

KWM Gutterman IRT World Singles and Doubles Open Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado, August 10-13, 2023

IRT Singles - Round of 128 - Thursday

Q1 - Kadim Carrasco - BYE
Q1 - Fernando Kurzbard d. Matias Arnez, 15-4, 15-5

Q16 - Jose Daniel Ugalde - BYE
Q16 - Mauricio Zelada - BYE

Q9 - Kane Waselenchuk - BYE
Q9 - DJ Mendoza - BYE

Q8 - Nicholas Riffel d. Ken Cheshire, 15-4, 15-2
Q8 - Juan Salvatierra - BYE

Q5 - Diego Garcia - BYE
Q5 - Esteban De Janon d. Ferd Samson, 15-10, 15-7

Q12 - Cole Sendrey - BYE
Q12 - Edwin Galicia - BYE

Q13 - Missing
Q13 - Cody Elkins - BYE

Q4 - Elias Neto d. Pedro Castro, 15-11, 15-1
Q4 - Sam Bredenbeck - BYE

Q3 - Erick Trujillo - BYE
Q3 - Roland Keller d. Jaime Mansilla, forfeit

Q14 - Diego Gatica - BYE
Q14 - Jim Douglas - BYE

Q11 - Anthony Martin - BYE
Q11 - Christian Wer - BYE

Q6 - Jacob Kingsford d. Sebastian Chevaile Sanchez, 15-6, 15-11
Q6 - Rodrigo Mendoza - BYE

Q7 - Carlos Keller - BYE
Q7 - Erik Garcia d. Kalyan Kosetty, forfeit

Q10 - Juan Francisco Cueva - BYE
Q10 - Carlos Ramirez - BYE

Q15 - Sebastian Fernandez - BYE
Q15 - Diego Gastelum - BYE

Q2 - Dylan Pruitt d. Naman Gauri, 15-1, 15-4
Q2 - Erick Cuevas Fernandez - BYE

IRT Singles - Round of 64 - Thursday

Q1 - Kadim Carrasco d. Fernando Kurzbard, 15-9, 14-15, 11-5
Q16 - Jose Daniel Ugalde d. Mauricio Zelada, forfeit

Q9 - DJ Mendoza d. Kane Waselenchuk, forfeit
Q8 - Nicholas Riffel d. Juan Salvatierra, 15-12, 7-15, 11-7

Q5 - Diego Garcia d. Ferd Samson, 15-3, 15-3
Q12 - Cole Sendrey d. Edwin Galicia, 15-8, 15-8

Q13 - Cody Elkins, forfeit winner
Q4 - Elias Neto d. Sam Bredenbeck, 12-15, 15-10, 11-1

Q3 - Erick Trujillo d. Roland Keller, 15-8, 15-14
Q14 - Jim Douglas d. Diego Gatica, forfeit

Q11 - Anthony Martin d. Christian Wer, 15-10, 15-8
Q6 - Jacob Kingsford d. Rodrigo Mendoza, 15-11, 15-4

Q7 - Carlos Keller d. Erik Garcia, 15-2, 15-14
Q10 - Juan Francisco Cueva d. Carlos Ramirez, 15-4, 15-2

Q15 - Diego Gastelum d. Sebastian Fernandez, forfeit
Q2 - Erick Cuevas Fernandez d. Dylan Pruitt, 15-11, 10-15, 11-4

IRT Singles - Round of 32 - Friday

1) Conrrado Moscoso v. 32) Jose Daniel Ugalde - Noon
16) Rocky Carson v. 17) Kadim Carrasco - Noon

9) Samuel Murray v. 24) Nicholas Riffel - 1 PM
8) Adam Manilla v. 25) DJ Mendoza - 1 PM

5) Eduardo Portillo v. 28) Cole Sendrey - 10 AM
12) Thomas Carter v. 21) Diego Garcia - 10 AM

13) Alan Natera v. 20) Elias Neto - 9 AM
4) Rodrigo Montoya v. 29) Cody Elkins - 9 AM

3) Daniel De La Rosa v. 30) Jim Douglas - 9 AM
14) Jaime Martell v. 19) Erick Trujillo - 9 AM

11) Javier Mar v. 22) Jacob Kingsford - 11 AM
4) Andree Parrilla v. 27) Anthony Martin - 11 AM

7) Alejandro Landa v. 26) Juan Francisco Cueva - Noon
10) Andrés Acuña v. 23) Carlos Keller - Noon

15) Robert Collins v. 18) Erick Cuevas Fernandez - 11 AM
2) Jake Bredenbeck v. 31) Diego Gastelum - 11 AM

Follow the bouncing ball….

Early round action at 2023 LPRT KWM Gutterman World Singles & Doubles Championships

There was only one upset in the Round of 32 at the 2023 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado on Thursday, as 17th seed Nancy Enriquez came back from a game down to defeat 16th seed Sheryl Lotts, 14-15, 15-10, 11-8.

Enriquez will play LPRT #1 Montserrat Mejia in the Round of 16 Friday, as Mejia beat 33rd seed Victoria Rodriguez, 15-2, 15-0, Thursday. Rodriguez got to the 32s by defeating 32nd seed Erica Williams, 5-15, 15-2, 15-2, in the only match in the Round of 64.

The marquee match in the 16s will be 6th seed Maria Jose Vargas - a former #2 player on tour - versus 11th seed Gabriela Martinez - a former International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion. Vargas beat 27th seed Veronica Sotomayor by perhaps a surprisingly wide margin, 15-3, 15-2, given Sotomayor is a former top 10 LPRT player, and Martinez was a winner over 22nd seed Maricruz Ortiz by forfeit.

The Round of 16 begins at 10 AM and you can watch some of the action via the LPRT YouTube channel. The quarterfinals will be Friday beginning at 3 PM with the semi-finals at 10:15 AM and 12:15 AM Saturday. The final will be Sunday at 11:15 AM. All times Mountain.

KWM Gutterman LPRT World Singles and Doubles Open Racquetball Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado - August 8-13, 2023

Round of 64 - Thursday

1) Montserrat Mejia - BYE
33) Victoria Rodriguez d. 32) Erica Williams, 5-15, 15-2, 11-2

17) Nancy Enriquez - BYE
16) Sheryl Lotts - BYE

9) Natalia Mendez - BYE
24) Shane Diaz - BYE

25) Khyathi Velpuri - BYE
8) Carla Muñoz - BYE

5) Brenda Laime - BYE
28) Adriana Riveros - BYE

21) Martina Katz - BYE
12) Kelani Lawrence - BYE

13) Cristina Amaya - BYE
20) Lexi York - BYE

29) Maria José Muñoz - BYE
4) Erika Manilla - BYE

3) Alexandra Herrera - BYE
30) Chanis Leon - BYE

19) Stephanie Synhorst - BYE
14) Hollie Scott - BYE

11) Gabriela Martinez - BYE
22) Maricruz Ortiz - BYE

27) Veronica Sotomayor - BYE
6) Maria Jose Vargas - BYE

7) Jessica Parrilla - BYE
26) Estephania Perez Picon - BYE

23) Naomi Ros - BYE
10) Samantha Salas - BYE

15) Maria Paz Riquelme - BYE
18) Sunshine Arterburn - BYE

31) Ana Sarmiento - BYE
2) Paola Longoria - BYE

Round of 32 - Thursday

1) Montserrat Mejia d. 33) Victoria Rodriguez, 15-2, 15-0
17) Nancy Enriquez d. 16) Sheryl Lotts, 14-15, 15-10, 11-8

9) Natalia Mendez d. 24) Shane Diaz, 15-9, 15-2
8) Carla Muñoz d. 25) Khyathi Velpuri, 15-3, 15-4

5) Brenda Laime d. 28) Adriana Riveros, 15-10, 15-7
12) Kelani Lawrence d. 21) Martina Katz, 15-5, 15-3

13) Cristina Amaya d. 20) Lexi York, 15-10, 15-9
4) Erika Manilla d. 29) Maria José Muñoz, 15-1, 15-9

3) Alexandra Herrera d. 30) Chanis Leon, 15-1, 15-1
14) Hollie Scott d. 19) Stephanie Synhorst, 15-1, 15-7

11) Gabriela Martinez d. 22) Maricruz Ortiz, forfeit
6) Maria Jose Vargas d. 27) Veronica Sotomayor, 15-3, 15-2

7) Jessica Parrilla d. 26) Estephania Perez Picon, 15-5, 15-0
10) Samantha Salas d. 23) Naomi Ros, 15-11, 15-10

15) Maria Paz Riquelme d. 18) Sunshine Arterburn, forfeit
2) Paola Longoria d. 31) Ana Sarmiento, 15-1, 15-1

Round of 16 - Friday

1) Montserrat Mejia v. 17) Nancy Enriquez - 1 PM
8) Carla Muñoz v. 9) Natalia Mendez - 1 PM

5) Brenda Laime v. 12) Kelani Lawrence - 10 AM
4) Erika Manilla v. 13) Cristina Amaya - 10 AM

3) Alexandra Herrera v. 14) Hollie Scott - 11 AM
6) Maria Jose Vargas v. 11) Gabriela Martinez - 11 AM

7) Jessica Parrilla v. 10) Samantha Salas - Noon
2) Paola Longoria v. 15) Maria Paz Riquelme - Noon

Follow the bouncing ball….

Mixed Doubles at the 2023 KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Open Championships

An interesting aspect of the KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado is the pro Mixed Doubles division that brings together the best players from the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) and International Racquetball Tour (IRT). There are 28 teams competing in the division.

Some of the teams are those we’ll see at the 2023 Pan American Games later this year in Santiago, Chile. Adam Manilla and Erika Manilla will be representing the USA in Chile, and Frédérique Lambert and Samuel Murray will play for Canada. Also, we expect that Guatemala will be represented by Edwin Galicia and Gabriela Martinez, but we’re not sure about Mexico.

Paola Longoria and Eduardo Portillo played for Mexico at the Central American and Caribbean Games in June, but they aren’t playing together in Colorado. Longoria is playing with Conrrado Moscoso (a Mexico-Bolivia team) and Portillo with Alexandra Herrera (all Mexico). Moreover, the current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) Mixed Doubles World Champions are Mexicans Rodrigo Montoya and Samantha Salas, who are the top seeds this weekend. Then there's also Javier Mar and Montserrat Mejia and the sibling team of Andree Parrilla and Jessica Parrilla. Thus, Mexico has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to picking a mixed doubles team for the Pan Am Games.

There are other fun teams competing this weekend, including Michelle Key and Kane Waselenchuk, Alvaro Beltran and Natalia Mendez, Veronica Sotomayor and Jose Daniel Ugalde, Daniel De La Rosa and Hollie Scott, Thomas Carter and Kelani Lawrence, and Andrés Acuña and Maricruz Ortiz.

Alan Natera and Carla Muñoz are doing what we’ve always been told not to do: play doubles with your spouse. Yet it’s working for them, as they’ve won both their matches so far, including a win over Key and Waselenchuk, 15-2, 11-15, 11-9.

Natera and Muñoz will face Galicia and Martinez in the quarterfinals Friday night, as the Guatemalans knocked off the top seeds of Montoya and Salas, 8-15, 15-14, 11-8, in the Round of 16 Thursday.

The Manillas also won in the 16s, as they held on to defeat 12th seeds Diego Garcia & Maria Jose Vargas, 15-2, 11-15, 11-9. They’ll play 4th seeds Mar and Mejia, who were winners over 13th seeds Cristina Amaya and Jaime Martell, 15-8, 15-1.

The Parrillas beat 11th seeds Jake Bredenbeck and Naomi Ros, 15-12, 15-5, and will play the winners of 3rd seeds Herrera and Portillo versus 19th seeds Veronica Sotomayor & Jose Daniel Ugalde. Also, Longoria and Moscoso defeated 15th seeds Beltran and Mendez, 15-14, 15-9. They’ll play one of 7th seeds Daniel De La Rosa and Hollie Scott, 10th seeds Thomas Carter and Kelani Lawrence or 23rd seeds Lambert and Murray.

Mixed doubles matches are being streamed on both the IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page, and the LPRT YouTube channel, so check them both out to try and find the match that you want to see. The final will be Sunday at 1:15 PM Mountain time.

KWM Gutterman IRT World Singles and Doubles Open Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado, August 10-13, 2023

Pro Mixed Doubles - Round of 32 - Thursday

1) Rodrigo Montoya & Samantha Salas - BYE
16) Edwin Galicia & Gabriela Martinez d. 17) Sam Bredenbeck & Lexi York, 15-8, 15-11

24) Michelle Key & Kane Waselenchuk d. 9) Kadim Carrasco & Brenda Laime, 15-10, 15-10
8) Alan Natera & Carla Muñoz d. 25) Nancy Enriquez & Jordan Walters, 15-5, 15-9

5) Adam Manilla & Erika Manilla d. 28) Esteban De Janon & Ana Sarmiento, 15-4, 15-2
12) Diego Garcia & Maria Jose Vargas d. 21) Iain Dunn & Estefania Perez Picon, 15-3, 15-0

13) Cristina Amaya & Jaime Martell d. 20) Erik Garcia & Adriana Riveros, 15-8, 12-15, 11-10
4) Javier Mar & Montserrat Mejia - BYE

3) Alexandra Herrera & Eduardo Portillo - BYE
19) Veronica Sotomayor & Jose Daniel Ugalde d. 14) Andrés Acuña & Maricruz Ortiz, 7-15, 15-8, 11-8

11) Jake Bredenbeck & Naomi Ros d. 22) Dylan Pruitt & Sheryl Lotts, 14-15, 15-3, 11-9
6) Andree Parrilla & Jessica Parrilla d. 27) Martine Katz & Fernando Kurzbard, 15-4, 15-7

7) Daniel De La Rosa & Hollie Scott d. 26) Juan Francisco Cueva & Maria José Muñoz, 15-11, 15-2
10) Thomas Carter & Kelani Lawrence v. 23) Frédérique Lambert & Samuel Murray - 7:45

15) Alvaro Beltran & Natalia Mendez d. 18) Destry Everhart & Erica Williams, 15-7, 15-8
2) Paola Longoria & Conrrado Moscoso - BYE

Pro Mixed Doubles - Round of 16 - Thursday

16) Edwin Galicia & Gabriela Martinez d. 1) Rodrigo Montoya & Samantha Salas, 8-15, 15-14, 11-8
8) Alan Natera & Carla Muñoz d. 24) Michelle Key & Kane Waselenchuk, 15-2, 11-15, 11-9

5) Adam Manilla & Erika Manilla d. 12) Diego Garcia & Maria Jose Vargas, 15-2, 11-15, 11-9
4) Javier Mar & Montserrat Mejia d. 13) Cristina Amaya & Jaime Martell, 15-8, 15-1

3) Alexandra Herrera & Eduardo Portillo d. 19) Veronica Sotomayor & Jose Daniel Ugalde, 15-4, 15-12
6) Andree Parrilla & Jessica Parrilla d. 11) Jake Bredenbeck & Naomi Ros, 15-12, 15-5

7) Daniel De La Rosa & Hollie Scott v. 10) Thomas Carter & Kelani Lawrence - 1 PM Friday
2) Paola Longoria & Conrrado Moscoso d. 15) Alvaro Beltran & Natalia Mendez, 15-14, 15-9

Pro Mixed Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday

16) Edwin Galicia & Gabriela Martinez v. 8) Alan Natera & Carla Muñoz - 8 PM
4) Javier Mar & Montserrat Mejia v. 5) Adam Manilla & Erika Manilla - 8 PM

3) Alexandra Herrera & Eduardo Portillo v. 6) Andree Parrilla & Jessica Parrilla - 8 PM
2) Paola Longoria & Conrrado Moscoso v. 7) Daniel De La Rosa & Hollie Scott or 10) Thomas Carter & Kelani Lawrence - 8 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….

2023 LPRT KWM Gutterman World Singles & Doubles Championships

The 2023-24 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) begins today with the LPRT KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. There are 33 players in the draw, led by LPRT #1 Montserrat Mejia, who dethroned Paola Longoria last season. Longoria is also in Colorado as the #2 seed, which is the first time she’s been in that position since 2011. Rounding out the top four are Alexandra Herrera at #3 and Erika Manilla at #4.

This event happens at an odd time of the year for racquetball, as it’s in the summer period that is traditionally the off season. Thus, there’s some question as to whether all the players are match fit this weekend, so it might be an opportunity for an unexpected player to win. That is what happened two years ago, when Gabriela Martinez, seeded 10th, won the event, defeating Herrera in the final, and Maria Jose Vargas in the semi-finals (note: Longoria wasn’t at that event).

The LPRT is coming off a season which saw four different winners: Mejia, Longoria, Herrera and Martinez. Will one of them capture the winner’s circle this weekend or will it be another player? Vargas, perhaps, who has five wins in her career but none since 2019? Or Brenda Laime, who was in more finals last year than anyone but Mejia and Longoria?

Last season was one of the most competitive and exciting ever, and the quality of the LPRT players means that this could be just as good, and potentially better. That’s a high bar, and we are excited to see if the standard that was set that season can be met, or surpassed.

It all kicks off in Colorado today.

You can watch the action live from Colorado via the LPRT YouTube channel. Play begins Thursday with the Round of 64 (one match) and Round of 32, and continues through to the final on Sunday at 11:15 AM. All times Mountain.

KWM Gutterman LPRT World Singles and Doubles Open Racquetball Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado - August 8-13, 2023

Round of 64 - Thursday

1) Montserrat Mejia - BYE
32) Erica Williams v. 33) Victoria Rodriguez - 11:35 AM

17) Nancy Enriquez - BYE
16) Sheryl Lotts - BYE

9) Natalia Mendez - BYE
24) Shane Diaz - BYE

25) Khyathi Velpuri - BYE
8) Carla Muñoz - BYE

5) Brenda Laime - BYE
28) Adriana Riveros - BYE

21) Martina Katz - BYE
12) Kelani Lawrence - BYE

13) Cristina Amaya - BYE
20) Lexi York - BYE

29) Maria José Muñoz - BYE
4) Erika Manilla - BYE

3) Alexandra Herrera - BYE
30) Chanis Leon - BYE

19) Stephanie Synhorst - BYE
14) Hollie Scott - BYE

11) Gabriela Martinez - BYE
22) Maricruz Ortiz - BYE

27) Veronica Sotomayor - BYE
6) Maria Jose Vargas - BYE

7) Jessica Parrilla - BYE
26) Estephania Perez Picon - BYE

23) Naomi Ros - BYE
10) Samantha Salas - BYE

15) Maria Paz Riquelme - BYE
18) Sunshine Arterburn - BYE

31) Ana Sarmiento - BYE
2) Paola Longoria - BYE

Round of 32 - Thursday

1) Montserrat Mejia v. 32) Erica Williams or 33) Victoria Rodriguez - 6:35 PM
16) Sheryl Lotts v. 17) Nancy Enriquez - 5:25 PM

9) Natalia Mendez v. 24) Shane Diaz - 12:45 PM
8) Carla Muñoz v. 25) Khyathi Velpuri - 5:25 PM

5) Brenda Laime v. 28) Adriana Riveros - 4:15 PM
12) Kelani Lawrence v. 21) Martina Katz - 6:35 PM

13) Cristina Amaya v. 20) Lexi York - 11:35 AM
4) Erika Manilla v. 29) Maria José Muñoz - 5:25 PM

3) Alexandra Herrera v. 30) Chanis Leon - 6:35 PM
14) Hollie Scott v. 19) Stephanie Synhorst - 4:15 PM

11) Gabriela Martinez v. 22) Maricruz Ortiz - 4:15 PM
6) Maria Jose Vargas v. 27) Veronica Sotomayor - 6:35 PM

7) Jessica Parrilla v. 26) Estephania Perez Picon - 5:25 PM
10) Samantha Salas v. 23) Naomi Ros - 12:45 PM

15) Maria Paz Riquelme d. 18) Sunshine Arterburn, forfeit
2) Paola Longoria v. 31) Ana Sarmiento - 5:25 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….

2023 IRT KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Open Championships

The 2023 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) season resumes this weekend with the 2023 KWM Gutterman IRT World Singles and Doubles Open Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. There’s a large field of 55 players, including the top 13 and 21 of the top 22. Leading the field is IRT #1 Conrrado Moscoso, along with IRT #2 Jake Bredenbeck, #3 Daniel De La Rosa, and #4 Rodrigo Montoya.

This is the first IRT event since the SoCal Open in April, when Bredenbeck defeated Moscoso in the final.

It is also the first IRT event Kane Waselenchuk has entered since he suffered an Achilles injury last September. He’ll be coming through qualifying, and could face 8th seed Adam Manilla in the Round of 32. The last time Waselenchuk had to qualify for an IRT event he won it.

But that was in 2008, when he was 26. Waselenchuk’s now 41, and coming off a major injury, so it would be a big ask for him to win the first time out now. Yet, he has won more IRT events than anyone else, so there’s certainly a chance Waselenchuk could do it. But it would be a surprise, and an impressive one.

It will be interesting to see what happens this weekend, not just for Waselenchuk, but in general, as August is not the prime time of the racquetball season, so we’re interested to see who is match fit and who isn’t.

You can see some of the IRT action via the usual IRT media outlets: The IRT YouTube channel or the IRT Facebook page. Singles play begins Thursday with two rounds, and then the Round of 32 will start on Friday morning. The final will be Sunday at 12:15 PM. All times Mountain.

KWM Gutterman IRT World Singles and Doubles Open Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado, August 10-13, 2023

IRT Singles - Round of 128 - Thursday

Q1 - Kadim Carrasco - BYE
Q1 - Matias Arnez v. Fernando Kurzbard - 12:45 PM

Q16 - Jose Daniel Ugalde - BYE
Q16 - Mauricio Zelada - BYE

Q9 - Kane Waselenchuk - BYE
Q9 - DJ Mendoza - BYE

Q8 - Nicholas Riffel d. Ken Cheshire, 15-4, 15-2
Q8 - Juan Salvatierra - BYE

Q5 - Diego Garcia - BYE
Q5 - Ferd Samson v. Esteban De Janon - 12:45 PM

Q12 - Cole Sendrey - BYE
Q12 - Edwin Galicia - BYE

Q13 - Missing
Q13 - Cody Elkins - BYE

Q4 - Elias Neto d. Pedro Castro, 15-11, 15-1
Q4 - Sam Bredenbeck - BYE

Q3 - Erick Trujillo - BYE
Q3 - Roland Keller d. Jaime Mansilla, forfeit

Q14 - Diego Gatica - BYE
Q14 - Jim Douglas - BYE

Q11 - Anthony Martin - BYE
Q11 - Christian Wer - BYE

Q6 - Jacob Kingsford d. Sebastian Chevaile Sanchez, 15-6, 15-11
Q6 - Rodrigo Mendoza - BYE

Q7 - Carlos Keller - BYE
Q7 - Erik Garcia d. Kalyan Kosetty, forfeit

Q10 - Juan Francisco Cueva - BYE
Q10 - Carlos Ramirez - BYE

Q15 - Sebastian Fernandez - BYE
Q15 - Diego Gastelum - BYE

Q2 - Dylan Pruitt v. Naman Gauri - 1:55 PM
Q2 - Erick Cuevas Fernandez - BYE

IRT Singles - Round of 64 - Thursday

Q1 - Kadim Carrasco v. Matias Arnez or Fernando Kurzbard - 12:45 PM
Q16 - Jose Daniel Ugalde d. Mauricio Zelada, forfeit

Q9 - Kane Waselenchuk v. DJ Mendoza - 4:15 PM
Q8 - Juan Salvatierra v. Nicholas Riffel - 6:35 PM

Q5 - Diego Garcia v. Ferd Samson v. Esteban De Janon - 6:35 PM
Q12 - Edwin Galicia v. Cole Sendrey - 4:15 PM

Q13 - Cody Elkins, forfeit winner
Q4 - Sam Bredenbeck v. Elias Neto - 5:25 PM

Q3 - Erick Trujillo v. Roland Keller - 5:25 PM
Q14 - Jim Douglas d. Diego Gatica, forfeit

Q11 - Anthony Martin v. Christian Wer - 3:05 PM
Q6 - Rodrigo Mendoza v. Jacob Kingsford - 3:05 PM

Q7 - Carlos Keller v. Erik Garcia - 6:35 PM
Q10 - Carlos Ramirez v. Juan Francisco Cueva - 5:25 PM

Q15 - Diego Gastelum d. Sebastian Fernandez, forfeit
Q2 - Erick Cuevas Fernandez v. Dylan Pruitt or Naman Gauri - 1:55 PM

IRT Singles - Round of 32 - Friday

1) Conrrado Moscoso v. 32) Jose Daniel Ugalde - Noon
16) Rocky Carson v. Q1 - Noon

9) Samuel Murray v. Q8 - 1 PM
8) Adam Manilla v. Q9 - 1 PM

5) Eduardo Portillo v. Q12 - 10 AM
12) Thomas Carter v. Q5 - 10 AM

13) Alan Natera v. Q4 - 9 AM
4) Rodrigo Montoya v. 29) Cody Elkins - 9 AM

3) Daniel De La Rosa v. 30) Jim Douglas - 9 AM
14) Jaime Martell v. Q3 - 9 AM

11) Javier Mar v. Q6 - 11 AM
4) Andree Parrilla v. Q11 - 11 AM

7) Alejandro Landa v. Q10 - Noon
10) Andrés Acuña v. Q7 - Noon

14) Robert Collins v. Q2 - 11 AM
2) Jake Bredenbeck v. 31) Diego Gastelum - 11 AM

Follow the bouncing ball….

LPRT 2022-23 Season Recap - What a year!

The 2023-24 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) kicks off Friday in Colorado with the KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Championships. But before that happens, let’s review the 2022-23 LPRT season, which was one of the most remarkable women’s pro seasons ever.

Remarkably, Montserrat Mejia finished as the #1 LPRT player for the first time. She dethroned Paola Longoria, who had been the #1 player for 11 consecutive seasons. Mejia did so by winning 5 of the 10 events last season, while Longoria won 3 with Alexandra Herrera and Gabriela Martinez winning one each.

Four different winners on tour hadn’t happened since 2007-08, when Cheryl Gudinas, Rhonda Rajsich, Christie Huczek (née Van Hees) and Longoria won. Moreover, four is the most winners there’s ever been in a women’s pro racquetball season.

Mejia and Longoria were in the most finals last season, six and four times, respectively. But the player with the third most finals was Brenda Laime, who was in three finals, more than either Herrera (two) or Martinez (one).

Yet if you count appearances in both the semi-finals and finals, Erika Manilla is 3rd (with 5), not Laime, Herrera or Martinez, and behind only Mejia (7) and Longoria (6).

Moreover, Maria Jose Vargas was in two finals and two semi-finals in the five events she played after returning to the tour following the birth of her 3rd child. She hasn’t won on tour since 2019, but almost did so in the last event of this past season.

All of this indicates how remarkable 2022-23 was, and we think 2023-24 could be even better. Longoria will want to regain the #1 ranking, and Mejia will want to show that winning that ranking was no fluke. Presumably, Vargas will play the whole season, so she’ll be a threat at every event, rather than just half of them.

Moreover, Herrera, Martinez, Laime and Manilla aren’t going away. Then there’s Angelica Barrios, Natalia Mendez, Jessica Parrilla and Carla Muñoz to contend with.

We never saw elite women’s racquetball in the 1980s and 1990s, but this could be the best it has ever been. The depth of the field is that great.

Thus, there is a lot to look forward to in the 2023-24 LPRT season, and we're excite to see how it’s all going to unfold.

You can watch the action live from Colorado via the LPRT YouTube channel. Play begins Thursday with the Round of 64 (one match) and Round of 32, and continues through to the final on Sunday at 11:15 AM. All times Mountain.

2022-23 LPRT Results Summary
Players who reached at least one quarterfinal

Montserrat Mejia - 5 wins, 1 final, 1 semi-final, 1 quarterfinal
Paola Longoria - 3 wins, 1 F, 2, SF, 2 QF, 2 Round of 16
Alexandra Herrera - 1 win, 1 F, 2 SF, 3 QF, 2 R16
Gabriela Martinez - 1 win, 5 R16

Brenda Laime - 3 F, 2 QF, 4 R16
Maria Jose Vargas - 2 F, 2 SF, 1 QF
Erika Manilla - 1 F, 4 SF, 2 QF, 3 R16
Angelica Barrios - 1 F, 3 SF, 1 QF, 3 R16

Jessica Parrilla - 2 SF, 3 QF, 5 R16
Natalia Mendez - 2 SF, 3 QF, 5 R16
Carla Muñoz - 1 SF, 5 QF, 4 R16
Samantha Salas - 1 SF, 4 QF, 3 R16

Kelani Lawrence - 5 QF, 4 R16
Valeria Centellas - 4 QF, 6 R16
Hollie Scott - 2 QF, 5 R16
Sheryl Lotts - 1 QF, 4 R16
Nancy Enriquez - 1 QF, 2 R16, 3 R32

2022-23 LPRT Final Rankings

Singles

1) Montserrat Mejia
2) Paola Longoria
3) Alexandra Herrera
4) Erika Manilla
5) Brenda Laime

6) Angelica Barrios
7) Maria Jose Vargas
8) Jessica Parrilla
9) Carla Muñoz
10) Natalia Mendez

11) Samantha Salas
12) Gabriela Martinez
13) Valeria Centellas
14) Kelani Lawrence
15) Cristina Amaya

16) Hollie Scott
17) Maria Paz Riquelme
18) Sheryl Lotts
19) Maria Renee Rodriguez
20) Nancy Enriquez

Doubles

1) Paola Longoria
2) Samantha Salas
3) Alexandra Herrera
4) Natalia Mendez
5) Montserrat Mejia

6) Erika Manilla
7) Valeria Centellas
8) Kelani Lawrence
9) Jessica Parrilla
10) Brenda Laime

11) Maria Renee Rodriguez
12) Carla Muñoz
13) Hollie Scott
14) Gabriela Martinez
15) Angelica Barrios

16) Maria Jose Vargas
17) Cristina Amaya
18) Maria Paz Riquelme
19) Rhonda Rajsich
20) Nancy Enriquez

Follow the bouncing ball….

Mexico wins Team Events at 2023 Central American & Caribbean Games

Mexico won both the Men’s and Women’s Team events on Saturday at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, so they remain undefeated in the team competition at the Central American and Caribbean Games going back to 1990. The Mexican men defeated Costa Rica, and the women beat Guatemalan athletes competing as Centro Caribe Sport (CCS) due to an International Olympic Committee ban of Guatemala’s National Olympic Committee from international competitions.

The team competition has countries going head to head over three matches: two singles matches and doubles. The order of the matches can vary, and for the final it was the singles matches played first and then doubles, if necessary. However, doubles wasn’t necessary as Mexico won both of the singles matches in the finals.

In the Men’s final, Eduardo Portillo of Mexico defeated Costa Rica’s Felipe Camacho, 11-3, 11-4, 11-5, in the first match, but in the second match Andrés Acuña of Costa Rica almost forced a tie-breaking third match, as he came back from two games down against Rodrigo Montoya only to narrowly lose in the tie-breaker. Montoya won 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 10-12, 12-10.

Montserrat Mejia won the first match of the Women’s Final for Mexico by defeating Anna Aguilar (CCS), 11-0, 11-4, 11-2. Then Paola Longoria clinched gold for Mexico with a close win over Gabriela Martinez (CCS), 14-12, 11-7, 8-11, 12-10. That was a repeat of the Women’s Singles final earlier in the week, which Longoria also won.

Mexico beat Cuba, 2 matches to 0, in the Men’s Team semi-finals, while Costa Rica needed three matches to see off the Centro Caribe Sports team, 2-1. In the Women’s Team semi-finals, Mexico defeated the Dominican Republic in two straight matches, and the Centro Caribe Sports team also won in two straight matches against Costa Rica.

The Central American and Caribbean Games are part of the Olympic cycle of games. They are smaller event that leads up to the Summer Olympics. The next event in the cycle is the Pan American Games, which will happen this year in Santiago, Chile from 20 October to 5 November 2023. Usually, the Central American and Caribbean Games happen the year prior to the Pan American Games, but they were pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2023 Central American & Caribbean Games
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic - June 24 - July 1

Women’s Team Event - Final

Mexico d. Centro Caribe Sport, 2-0

Match 1 - Montserrat Mejia (Mexico) d. Anna Aguilar (CCS), 11-0, 11-4, 11-2
Match 2 - Paola Longoria (Mexico) d. Gabriela Martinez (Centro Caribe Sport), 14-12, 11-7, 8-11, 12-10

Semi-finals

Mexico d. Dominican Republic, 2-0

Match 1 - Montserrat Mejia (Mexico) d. Maria Cespedes (Dominican Republic), 11-6, 11-5, 11-0
Match 2 - Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia (Mexico) d. Merynanyelly Delgado & Alejandra Jiménez (Dominican Republic), 11-5, 11-9, 11-5

Centro Caribe Sport d. Costa Rica, 2-0

Match 1 - Anna Aguilar (CCS) d. Jimena Gomez (Costa Rica), 11-8, 12-10, 11-3
Match 2 - Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Centro Caribe Sport) d. Jimena Gomez & Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica), 11-5, 11-9, 11-8

Men’s Team Event - Final

Mexico d. Costa Rica, 2-0

Match 1 - Eduardo Portillo (Mexico) d. Felipe Camacho (Costa Rica), 11-3, 11-4, 11-5
Match 2 - Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. Andrés Acuña (Costa Rica), 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 10-12, 12-10.

Semi-finals

Mexico d. Cuba, 2-0

Match 1 - Eduardo Portillo (Mexico) d. Maikel Moyet (Cuba), 11-8, 11-6, 11-8
Match 2 - Rodrigo Montoya & Eduardo Portillo (Mexico) d. Yandy Espinoza & Maikel Moyet (Cuba), 11-4, 11-7, 11-7

Costa Rica d. Caribe Centro Sports, 2-1

Match 1 - Edwin Galicia (Centro Caribe Sport) d. Felipe Camacho (Costa Rica), 11-4, 11-8, 11-3
Match 2 - Andrés Acuña & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica) d. Juan Salvatierra & Christian Wer (Centro Caribe Sport), 11-6, 11-9, 11-4
Match 3 - Andrés Acuña (Costa Rica) d. Juan Salvatierra (Centro Caribe Sport), 11-8, 11-5, 11-3

Follow the bouncing ball….

2023 Central American & Caribbean Games - Individual events

The 2023 Central American & Caribbean Games have being going on in San Salvador, El Salvador, but the racquetball competition is being held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (as were some other sports) due to facility availability. Six countries participated: Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, the host Dominican Republic and Guatemalan born athletes, but not Guatemala. That is, athletes from Guatemala are competing under the banner of Central Caribe Sport (CCS), as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned the Guatemalan National Olympic Committee due to government interference last October.

Mexican athletes swept the gold medals in the individual competitions. For the fifth time, Paola Longoria won gold in Women’s Singles, and Eduardo Portillo won gold in Men’s Singles, which is his first international gold medal. In doubles, Alexandra Herrera and Montserrat Mejia won Women’s Doubles with Javier Mar and Rodrigo Montoya winning Men’s Doubles. Longoria and Portillo teamed up to win the Mixed Doubles title.

The Women’s Singles final was the same as in 2018, as Longoria faced Gabriela Martinez (CCS), 6-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-4. That was the 3rd time the two have faced off in the last year, as they were also the Women's Singles finalists at World Games and the International Racquetball Federation World Championships last summer, and Longoria has won all three of the finals.

Mexican gold was guaranteed in Men’s Singles, as Portillo and team-mate Rodrigo Montoya faced off in the final. The games were close, but Portillo won three straight, 11-7, 13-11, 15-13.

Although Mexico won all three doubles titles, each of the finals went a full five games. In Women’s Doubles, Herrera and Mejia came back from two games down to defeat Martinez and Maria Renee Rodriguez (CCS), 9-11, 8-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-6. Martinez and Rodriguez were also runners-up in 2018, when Longoria and Samantha Salas won gold.

Mar and Montoya won the first two games against Costa Ricans Andrés Acuña and Gabriel Garcia, but then had to hang on to win the match in a tie-breaker, as the Costa Ricans won games three and four. Mexico prevailed, 11-6, 11-5, 10-12, 9-11, 11-6. In 2018, Mexico and Costa Rica also faced off in the Men’s Doubles final, as Daniel De La Rosa and Alvaro Beltran defeated Acuña and Felipe Camacho.

Longoria and Portillo went down 2 games to 1 against Martinez and Edwin Galicia (CCS), but then came back to win the match in five games: 11-6, 10-12, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6. This was the first time Mixed Doubles was part of the racquetball competition at the Central American and Caribbean Games.

Mexico has won gold in singles at all but two Central American and Caribbean Games. Fabian Balmori of Venezuela is the only non-Mexican man to win Men’s Singles, doing so In 1993 and 1998. Claudine Garcia of the Dominican Republic (1993) and Antia Maldonado of Puerto Rico (1998) are the two non-Mexican women to win gold in Women’s Singles at the Central American and Caribbean Games. Mexico has won gold in Men’s and Women’s Doubles at every Central American and Caribbean Games.

2023 Central American & Caribbean Games
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic - June 24 - July 1

Women’s Singles - Final

Paola Longoria (Mexico) d. Gabriela Martinez (Centro Caribe Sport), 6-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-4

Semi-finals

Paola Longoria (Mexico) d. Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica), 11-6, 11-6, 11-3
Gabriela Martinez (Centro Caribe Sport) d. Montserrat Mejia (Mexico), 11-9, 13-11, 7-11, 11-6

Women’s Doubles - Final

Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia (Mexico) d. Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Centro Caribe Sport), 9-11, 8-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-6

Semi-finals

Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia (Mexico) d. Merynanyelly Delgado & Alejandra Jiménez (Dominican Republic), 11-1, 11-3, 11-5
Gabriela Martinez & Maria Renee Rodriguez (Centro Caribe Sport) d. Jimena Gomez & Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica), 8-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-3

Men’s Singles - Final

Eduardo Portillo (Mexico) d. Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico), 11-7, 13-11, 15-13

Semi-finals

Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. Edwin Galicia (Centro Caribe Sport), 11-6, 11-6, 11-7
Eduardo Portillo (Mexico) d. Andrés Acuña (Costa Rica), 11-7, 11-3, 11-8

Men’s Doubles - Final

Javier Mar & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. Andrés Acuña & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica), 11-6, 11-5, 10-12, 9-11, 11-6

Semi-finals

Javier Mar & Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. Juan Salvatierra & Christian Wer (Centro Caribe Sport), 11-9, 11-4, 11-5
Andrés Acuña & Gabriel Garcia (Costa Rica) d. Yandy Espinoza & Maikel Moyet (Cuba), 11-4, 11-9, 11-8

Mixed Doubles - Final

Paola Longoria & Eduardo Portillo (Mexico) d. Edwin Galicia & Gabriela Martinez (Centro Caribe Sport), 11-6, 10-12, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6

Semi-finals

Paola Longoria & Eduardo Portillo (Mexico) d. Maria Cespedes & Ramón De Leon (Dominican Republic), 11-4, 11-8, 11-7
Edwin Galicia & Gabriela Martinez (Centro Caribe Sport) d. Andrés Acuña & Maricruz Ortiz (Costa Rica), 12-10, 7-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7

Follow the bouncing ball….

2023 USA Racquetball National Junior Festival & Championships

The USA Racquetball (USAR) National Junior Festival and Championships happened up last week in Pleasanton, California, and there were some fun results which will be used to select players for the 2023 International Racquetball Federation World Junior Championships in Tarija, Bolivia, November 10-18. One hundred and eleven players competed in California, which is more than in the last two post-pandemic events, but down from years before that. The boy-girl numbers were 70-41 this year, which is a lower ratio of girls than the last two years, but about the same in actual numbers (41 this year is the same as last year & there were 38 in 2021).

This was the second year with U21 divisions, as the IRF introduced U21 at World Junior Championships last year. Also, there were Mixed Doubles categories, as the World Juniors has those categories also. Interestingly, a best of 3 games match format was used with side-out scoring, rather than the IRF match format of best of 5 games with rally scoring, which will be used for the World Juniors. The IRF match format used at last year’s USAR Junior Championships.

The results in Boys U21 was crazy, as from the quarterfinals on the lower seeded player won every match, except the 3rd place match. Moreover, three of the last year’s top four U21 finishers were back: Cody Elkins (Los Angeles), Assuan Castaneda (Hialeah, FL) and Samuel Schulze (Ocala, FL), but none of them made it past the quarters.

Instead, 10th seed Krish Thakur of Tracy, CA won title, defeating 8th seed Iain Dunn (Simi Valley, CA), 10-15, 15-6, 11-6, in the final. Thakur won all four of his matches in tie-breakers, including an 11-10 breaker in his semi-final match against 6th seed Julius Ellis (Stockton, CA), 15-8, 4-15, 11-10. In the other semi, Dunn beat 5th seed Tucker Elkins (Salem, OR), 15-11, 15-10. Elkins defeated Ellis, 15-5, 15-11, in the 3rd place match.

In contrast, the Girls U21 division was as expected, with top seed and defending champion Annie Roberts (Gresham, OR) defeating last year’s runner up Shane Diaz (San Antonio), 15-7, 15-4, in the final. In the semi-finals, Roberts beat 4th seed Erin Slutzky (Chesterfield, MO), 15-5, 15-9, while Diaz, the 3rd seed, upset 2nd seed Graci Wargo (Clearwater, FL), 15-7, 15-11.

Roberts’s win was her sixth consecutive USA Junior Championship in singles going back to a U14 win in 2017. That’s more consecutive titles than any other girl except Adrienne Haynes (née Fisher), who won seven titles from 1998 to 2004 (the first was a U12 title), which we believe to be the girls’ record for consecutive titles.

Roberts and Thakur faced off in the finals of U21 Mixed Doubles with Roberts and DJ Mendoza (San Antonio) getting the better of Thakur and Heather Mahoney (Penngrove, CA) and Krish Thakur (Tracy, CA), 15-7, 15-8. In the semi-finals, Robert and Mendoza defeated Dunn and Estfania Perez Picon (Manteca, CA), 15-12, 15-11, while Thakur and Mahoney beat siblings Nikita and Vedant Chauhan (San Ramon, CA), 15-7, 15-7.

Dunn did get a win in Boy’s U21 Doubles with Paul Saraceno (Simi Valley, CA), as they came out on top of a six team round robin with Ellis and Assuan Castaneda (Hialeah, FL) coming 2nd. Both had 4-1 records, but in their head to head match, which was one of the first matches of the tournament, Dunn and Saraceno defeated Ellis and Castaneda, 15-10, 15-14.

Diaz and Wargo won Girl’s U21 Doubles, as they defeated runners up Roberts and Khyathi Velpuri (Castle Rock, CO), 6-15, 15-14, 11-9. They also needed a breaker to beat Perez Picon and Erin Slutzky, 15-1, 13-15, 11-10.

Maybe the Boy’s U18 Doubles title should be renamed the Shea Cup, because for the fourth (4th!) consecutive time Josh Shea of Cortlandt Manor, New York won it and for the 2nd time in three years he did it with Vedant Chauhan (San Ramon, CA), as they went undefeated in a six team round robin. But they did need a couple of tie-breakers to do it. They had to come back from a game down to defeat Mendoza and Cole Sendrey (Frisco, TX), 8-15, 15-10, 11-6, and they eked out a win over Saraceno - who was Shea’s U18 doubles partner last year - and Benjamin Horner (Ankeny, IA), 15-6, 14-15, 11-10.

However, Shea lost in the Boy’s U18 Singles final, as Nikhil Prasad (Fremont, CA) defeated him 15-12, 15-11. In the semi-finals, Prasad, the 3rd seed, came back to narrowly defeat 2nd seed Sendry, 10-15, 15-10, 11-10, and Shea beat Mendoza, 15-14, 15-4. Prasad’s win is his 4th consecutive USAR Junior Nationals singles title.

Heather Mahoney of Penngrove, California and Naomi Ros of San Antonio won Girl’s U18 Doubles with three wins and no defeats against the other three teams. Indeed, they only surrendered six points in their three matches. Ros was also dominant in winning Girl’s U18 Singles as her opponents only got 8 points against her across four matches, and no more than 3 points in any one match.

Eshan Ali of Union City, CA was also impressive in winning Boy’s U16 Singles, as he won his matches in two straight games and didn’t give up more than 9 points in a game en route to the title, defeating Grant Williams (Wildwood, MO), 15-5, 15-6, in the final. In the semi-finals, Ali, the 3rd seed, upset 2nd seed London Townsend (Sherman Oaks, CA), 15-4, 15-5, while Williams knocked off top seed Juan Herrera II (Freeport, IL), 15-12, 8-15, 11-5. Of note, Williams was playing up in U16, as he came 3rd in Boy’s U14.

Ali also won Boy's U16 Doubles with Townsend, as they won a three team round robin, but they did need a tie-breaker to defeat Preston Anderson (Salem, OR) and Herrera, 14-15, 15-3, 11-6.

Top seed Sonya Shetty (Fremont, CA) won Girl’s U16 Singles by beating 2nd seed Thea Mattfeldt (Glendale, AZ), 15-4, 15-11. Shetty needed three games to defeat 4th seed Victoria Rodriguez (Anaheim, CA), 15-2, 11-15, 11-7, in the semis, while Mattfeldt beat 6th seed Alexus DeDios (Tyler, TX), 15-14, 15-5. Shetty and Rodriguez won Girl’s U16 Doubles, which was a three team round robin.

Given those boys and girls U16 results, you won’t be surprised that Ali and Shetty won U16 Mixed Doubles, beating Herrera and Mattfeldt, 15-4, 15-6, in the final. In the semis, Ali and Shetty defeated Alexus DeDios and Townsend, 15-3, 15-4, and Herrera and Mattfeldt beat Preston Anderson (Salem, OR) and Natalee DeDios (Tyler, TX), 15-13, 15-9.

Finally, the 2023 USAR National Junior Championships had some great matches. If you want to look back on some of the action, check out the USA Racquetball YouTube channel for a playlist of matches from Pleasanton.

2023 USA Racquetball National Junior Festival and Championships
June 21-25, 2023 - Pleasanton, California

Boy's U21 Singles - Final

10) Krish Thakur (Tracy, CA) d. 8) Iain Dunn (Simi Valley, CA), 10-15, 15-6, 11-6

3rd Place

5) Tucker Elkins (Salem, OR) d. 6) Julius Ellis (Stockton, CA), 15-5, 15-11

Semi-finals

8) Iain Dunn (Simi Valley, CA) d. 5) Tucker Elkins (Salem, OR), 15-11, 15-10
10) Krish Thakur (Tracy, CA) d. 6) Julius Ellis (Stockton, CA), 15-8, 4-15, 11-10

Boy's U18 Singles - Final

3) Nikhil Prasad (Fremont, CA) d. 1) Josh Shea (Cortlandt Manor, NY), 15-12, 15-11

3rd Place

2) Cole Sendrey (Frisco, TX) d. 4) DJ Mendoza (San Antonio, TX), 15-8, 15-8

Semi-finals

3) Nikhil Prasad (Fremont, CA) d. 2) Cole Sendrey (Frisco, TX), 10-15, 15-10, 11-10
1) Josh Shea (Cortlandt Manor, NY) d. 4) DJ Mendoza (San Antonio, TX), 15-4, 15-4

Boy's U16 Singles - Final

3) Eshan Ali (Union City, CA) d. 5) Grant Williams (Wildwood, MO), 15-5, 15-6

3rd Place

1) Juan Herrera II (Freeport, IL) d. 2) London Townsend (Sherman Oaks, CA), 15-10, 15-14

Semi-finals

5) Grant Williams (Wildwood, MO) d. 1) Juan Herrera II (Freeport, IL), 15-12, 8-15, 11-5
3) Eshan Ali (Union City, CA) d. 2) London Townsend (Sherman Oaks, CA), 15-4, 15-5

Boy's U14 Singles - Final

1) Nathan Rykhus (Stockton, CA) d. 2) Vaishant Mangalampalli (Fremont, CA), 15-7, 15-11

3rd Place

5) Grant Williams (Wildwood, MO) d. 3) Paul Delaney (Wildwood, MO), 15-14, 15-9

Semi-finals

1) Nathan Rykhus (Stockton, CA) d. 5) Grant Williams (Wildwood, MO), 15-7, 15-1
2) Vaishant Mangalampalli (Fremont, CA) d. 3) Paul Delaney (Wildwood, MO), 15-6, 15-1

Girl's U21 Singles - Final

1) Annie Roberts (Gresham, OR) d. 3) Shane Diaz (San Antonio), 15-7, 15-4

3rd Place

4) Erin Slutzky (Chesterfield, MO) d. 2) Graci Wargo (Clearwater, FL), forfeit

Semi-finals

1) Annie Roberts (Gresham, OR) d. 4) Erin Slutzky (Chesterfield, MO), 15-5, 15-9
3) Shane Diaz (San Antonio) d. 2) Graci Wargo (Clearwater, FL), 15-7, 15-11

Girl's U18 Singles - Round Robin

1. Naomi Ros (San Antonio) - 4-0
2. Brielle Fernando (Wheaton, IL) - 3-1
3. Gabbie Roseman (Des Peres, MO) - 2-2

Girl's U16 Singles - Final

1) Sonya Shetty (Fremont, CA) d. 2) Thea Mattfeldt (Glendale, AZ), 15-4, 15-11

3rd Place

4) Victoria Rodriguez (Anaheim, CA) d. 6) Alexus DeDios (Tyler, TX), 15-6, 15-13

Semi-finals

1) Sonya Shetty (Fremont, CA) d. 4) Victoria Rodriguez (Anaheim, CA), 15-2, 11-15, 11-7
2) Thea Mattfeldt (Glendale, AZ) d. 6) Alexus DeDios (Tyler, TX), 15-14, 15-5

Girl's U14 Singles - Final

1) Andrea Perez-Picon (Manteca, CA) d. 3) Aanshi Thakur (Tracy, CA), 15-1, 15-13

3rd Place

2) Elizabeth Denier (Champlin, MN) d. 4) Aarya Shetty (Fremont, CA), 15-14, 14-15, 11-7

Semi-finals

1) Andrea Perez-Picon (Manteca, CA) d. 4) Aarya Shetty (Fremont, CA), 15-2, 15-6
3) Aanshi Thakur (Tracy, CA) d. 2) Elizabeth Denier (Champlin, MN), 15-11, 15-9

Boy's U21 Doubles - Round Robin

1) Iain Dunn (Simi Valley, CA) & Paul Saraceno (Simi Valley, CA) - 4-1
2) Julius Ellis (Stockton, CA) & Assuan Castaneda (Hialeah, FL) - 4-1
3) Josh Shea (Cortlandt Manor, NY) & Krish Thakur (Tracy, CA) - 3-2

Boy's U18 Doubles - Round Robin

1) Vedant Chauhan (San Ramon, CA) & Josh Shea (Cortlandt Manor, NY) - 5-0
2) Nikhil Prasad (Fremont, CA) & Gatlin Sutherland (Great Falls, MT) - 4-1
3) DJ Mendoza (San Antonio) & Cole Sendrey (Frisco, TX) - 3-2

Boy's U16 Doubles - Round Robin

1) Eshan Ali (Union City, CA) & London Townsend (Sherman Oaks, CA) - 2-0
2) Preston Anderson (Salem, OR) & Juan Herrera II (Freeport, IL) - 1-1
3) Dominik Berghof (Irvine, CA) & Riley Edwards (Gresham, OR) - 0-2

Girl's U21 Doubles - Round Robin

1) Shane Diaz (San Antonio) & Graci Wargo (Clearwater, FL) 2-0
2) Annie Roberts (Gresham, OR) & Khyathi Velpuri (Castle Rock, CO) - 1-1
3) Estfania Perez Picon (Manteca, CA) & Erin Slutzky (Chesterfield, MO) - 0-2

Girl's U18 Doubles - Round Robin

1) Heather Mahoney (Penngrove, CA) & Naomi Ros (San Antonio) - 3-0
2) Brielle Fernando (Wheaton, IL) & Gabbie Roseman (Des Peres, MO) - 2-1
3) Kyla Davis (Wildwood, MO) & Thea Mattfeldt (Glendale, AZ) - 1-2

Girl's U16 Doubles - Round Robin

1) Victoria Rodriguez (Anaheim, CA) & Sonya Shetty (Fremont, CA) - 2-0
2) Alexus DeDios (Tyler, TX) & Natalee DeDios (Tyler, TX) - 1-1
3) Elizabeth Denier (Champlin, MN) & Montserrat Torres (Bellwood, IL) - 0-2

Mixed U21 Doubles - Final

2) DJ Mendoza (San Antonio) & Annie Roberts (Gresham, OR) d. 5) Heather Mahoney (Penngrove, CA) & Krish Thakur (Tracy, CA), 15-7, 15-8

3rd Place

8) Nikita Chauhan (San Ramon, CA) & Vedant Chauhan (San Ramon, CA) d. 3) Iain Dunn (Simi Valley, CA) & 3) Estfania Perez Picon (Manteca, CA), forfeit

Semi-finals

5) Heather Mahoney (Penngrove, CA) & Krish Thakur (Tracy, CA) d. 8) Nikita Chauhan (San Ramon, CA) & Vedant Chauhan (San Ramon, CA), 15-7, 15-7
2) DJ Mendoza (San Antonio) & Annie Roberts (Gresham, OR) d. 3) Iain Dunn (Simi Valley, CA) & Estfania Perez Picon (Manteca, CA), 15-12, 15-11

Mixed U18 Doubles - Round Robin

1) Naomi Ros (San Antonio) & Cole Sendrey (Frisco, TX) - 2-0
2) Vedant Chauhan (San Ramon, CA) & Heather Mahoney (Penngrove, CA) - 1-1
3) Brielle Fernando (Wheaton, IL) & Benjamin Horner (Ankeny, IA) - 0-2

Mixed U16 Doubles - Final

1) Eshan Ali (Union City, CA) & Sonya Shetty (Fremont, CA) d. 2) Juan Herrera II (Freeport, IL) & Thea Mattfeldt (Glendale, AZ), 15-4, 15-6

3rd Place

5) Alexus DeDios (Tyler, TX) & London Townsend (Sherman Oaks, CA) d. 3) Preston Anderson (Salem, OR) & Natalee DeDios (Tyler, TX), 9-15, 15-12, 11-10

Semi-finals

1) Eshan Ali (Union City, CA) & Sonya Shetty (Fremont, CA) d. 5) Alexus DeDios (Tyler, TX) & London Townsend (Sherman Oaks, CA), 15-3, 15-4
2) Juan Herrera II (Freeport, IL) & Thea Mattfeldt (Glendale, AZ) d. 3) Preston Anderson (Salem, OR) & Natalee DeDios (Tyler, TX), 15-13, 15-9

Follow the bouncing ball….

Mejia wins twice in 2023 LPRT Battle at the Beach Season Finale

Montserrat Mejia was a double winner Saturday at the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) 2023 Battle at the Beach Season Finale in Norfolk, Virginia, as she won both the singles and the doubles finals. Both required a tie-breaker, so her path to victory was not easy, but the woman who will be the new #1 LPRT player come next week got it done.

Mejia defeated Maria Jose Vargas, 15-7, 3-15, 11-3, in what was a see-saw singles final, and together with Alexandra Herrera came back from a game down to beat Vargas and Natalia Mendez, 11-15, 15-14, 11-1, to take the doubles title.

Although the singles final went three games, they played it in less than 50 min, as both Mejia and Vargas like to play quickly. Also, serving was on showcase with Mejia hitting 7 aces in game one and 6 more in game three, including on the last two points.

She didn’t have many chances for aces in game two, because Vargas was lights out, serving up aces of her own.

They were actually tied in game one at 7-7, and then Mejia won 8 straight points to close it out. Yet game two was all Vargas.

Often when a match goes to a tie-breaker after two lopsided games, it’s usually close. It was close early in game three, as Vargas got the first two points, but then Mejia took a 5-2 lead, resulting in a Vargas timeout.

That break didn’t help Vargas, as Mejia continued to pile up the points, helped by Vargas errors, although as mentioned, it was back to back Mejia aces that closed it out.

The win is Mejia’s 5th of the season, and that after winning only once prior to this season. She has really broken through in a way that few people saw coming. Mejia has clearly been a good player for awhile, but to be this good is remarkable. Congratulations to her.

If you missed any of the action from Norfolk, check out the matches on the LPRT YouTube channel or their Facebook page.

2023 LPRT Battle at the Beach Season Finale
Norfolk, Virginia - June 15-17, 2023

LPRT Singles - Final - Saturday

2) Montserrat Mejia d. 12) Maria Jose Vargas, 15-7, 3-15, 11-3

LPRT Doubles - Final - Saturday

2) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia d. 5) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas, 11-15, 15-14, 11-1

Follow the bouncing ball…..

Mejia and Vargas to face off in doubles final also at 2023 LPRT Battle at the Beach Season Finale

Both Montserrat Mejia and Maria Jose Vargas will have a chance to be double winners Saturday at the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) 2023 Battle at the Beach Season Finale in Norfolk, Virginia, as each of them won their respective semi-finals in doubles Saturday morning, and were already set to face off in the singles final Saturday afternoon.

Mejia and Alexandra Herrera - the 2nd seeds - had the more straightforward time of it, as they beat Kelani Lawrence and Erika Manilla, 15-5, 15-7, in the semis, while Vargas and Natalia Mendez also won in two games, but it was much closer, as they defeated top seeds Paola Longoria and Samantha Salas, 15-13, 15-11. It was the second consecutive day Vargas got the best of Longoria in a semi-final, as she did so in singles on Friday.

The Mendez and Vargas versus Longoria and Salas was an interesting one, because generally with two right handed players you’d put the stronger player on the left side. That’s how Longoria and Salas play, but Mendez played the left side with Vargas, although Vargas is the stronger player. Over the years, they’ve tried it the other way, but generally it seems they fit better when Mendez is on the left.

Early in game one, Mendez was on fire, as she and Vargas took a 6-2 lead. Longoria and Salas called a timeout, and afterwards they got back in the game getting within two at 8-6. Thus, Mendez and Vargas called a timeout.

When play resumed, Mendez and Vargas switched sides putting Vargas on the left and Mendez on the right. That seemed to be a rash decision, and it did not lead to good results, as Longoria and Salas tied the game at 9-9, and then went up 13-9, despite Mendez and Vargas switching back to their original positions.

But Mendez and Vargas did get the serve back trailing by four at 13-9. They made a three point run with the last coming from Longoria skipping a backhand pinch shot. Longoria and Salas called a timeout.

That timeout didn’t help, as Salas skipped a backhand shot on the next rally, which tied the game at 13-13. Vargas stepped up and hit a forehand reverse winner as she was falling over to her right to make it 14-13, and then she hit another forehand winner to end game one, 15-13.

Mendez and Vargas got off to a good start in game two with a 4-1 lead, but Longoria and Salas tied it at 4-4. Mendez and Vargas then won nine unanswered points to go up 13-4, despite Longoria and Salas taking a timeout at 8-4.

At that point, Longoria hit Vargas, as she was going for a forehand pinch shot from deep in the middle of the court. It was a hinder, and Vargas didn’t complain about it, but Longoria didn’t seem the least bit remorseful. It was an odd situation.

Longoria hit a backhand pinch winner on the next rally, which led to she and Salas going on a seven point scoring streak. Mendez and Vargas did serve during that run, but failed to score. They also took a timeout at 13-8, but that didn’t stop Longoria and Salas either.

Vargas got her side back in the service box with a winner over to the right side. A Salas winner put them half down immediately, but Mendez then ended a long rally with a forehand down the line shot as she was covering the right side that put her team on match point, 14-13. Vargas won it with a forehand pinch shot on the next rally.

Thus in a season ending LPRT event, Paola Longoria, who has been the LPRT's #1 player for 11 seasons, won’t be in either final. That hasn’t happened very often.

The singles final is Saturday at 4 PM with the doubles final to follow at 6 PM Saturday. All times EDT.

You can watch the LPRT Season Finale by going to the LPRT YouTube channel or their Facebook page.

2023 LPRT Battle at the Beach Season Finale
Norfolk, Virginia - June 15-17, 2023

LPRT Singles - Final - Saturday

2) Montserrat Mejia v. 12) Maria Jose Vargas - 4 PM

LPRT Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday

5) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas d. 1) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas, 15-13, 15-11
2) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia d. 3) Kelani Lawrence & Erika Manilla, 15-5, 15-7

LPRT Doubles - Final - Saturday

2) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia v. 5) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas - 6 PM

Follow the bouncing ball…..

There will be a new LPRT #1 for first time in 11 seasons

For the first time in 11 seasons, there will be a new #1 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT). Montserrat Mejia will be #1 after this weekend’s 2023 LPRT Battle at the Beach Season Finale in Norfolk, Virginia, as she won her semi-final match against Angelica Barrios, 15-3, 13-15, 11-1, and Paola Longoria, who has been #1 for 11 seasons, lost her semi-final match against Maria Jose Vargas, 15-14, 15-12. Those results mean Mejia will finish ahead of Longoria in the season ending rankings, regardless of whether she wins the final against Vargas on Saturday.

Longoria’s loss denies fans a Longoria-Mejia final, which would have been a showdown for the #1 ranking. However, full credit to Vargas, who has been ranked as high as #2 in previous seasons, but has only played the second half of the season after having her third child last year. It was Vargas's second win over Longoria on tour this season, and third in 2023, as she also defeated Longoria at the 2023 Pan American Championships in Guatemala.

If Vargas wins Saturday, she would be the fifth player to win on tour this season after Longoria, Mejia, Alexandra Herrera and Gabriela Martinez. This is the first season since 2007-08 with four winners (then Cheryl Gudinas, Rhonda Rajsich, Christie Van Hees & Longoria), which is why this season has been so interesting, and it speaks to the quality of the players on tour now.

There have never been five winners in a women’s pro racquetball season.

Mejia had two tough matches Friday to get to the final. She defeated Carla Muñoz in two straight games, but the match lasted almost 90 min. Then Mejia needed three games to fend off Barrios, as Barrios fought back to eke out the second game after Mejia was lights out in the first game. In the breaker, Mejia was again lights out, moving very well, and hitting unretrievable shots.

The Longoria-Vargas match was a slug fest with both players hitting great shots. Longoria was ahead 11-6 in game one, but Vargas got within two at 11-9 and then caught up at 12-12 and went ahead 13-12. Longoria hit a drive serve ace to the left side to tie it at 13-13.

But a couple rallies later, Longoria skipped a serve return that put Vargas on game point at 14-13. A Longoria backhand denied that game point. Vargas appealed that the shot skipped but the line judges upheld the good shot call.

A Longoria kiss lob serve went for a winner, as Vargas couldn’t return it, which tied the score 14-14. However, Vargas made no mistake with an opportunity on the next rally hitting a powerful forehand winner to the left side. She won it on the ensuing rally, as Longoria skipped a shot to end game one at 15-14.

Vargas stormed out to a 5-0 lead in game two, so Longoria called a timeout. Longoria did comeback and tie it at 7-7, which resulted in a Vargas timeout. That led to Vargas regaining the lead at 8-7, and she held that lead for the rest of the game.

Indeed, Longoria didn’t get within two of Vargas after that. A drive serve ace to the left side - Longoria’s backhand - put Vargas on match point at 14-11. A Longoria backhand winner kept the match going, and then she hit a nice forehand rekill to make it 14-12.

On the next rally, Vargas hit a backhand cross court winner to get herself a second match point opportunity, and she converted it. Vargas drove serve to the left, and Longoria hit a backhand pinch return that Vargas crouched down to get to, hitting a forehand winner from one knee to win game two, 15-12, and defeat Longoria in two straight games, which denies her the #1 LPRT ranking.

The singles final is Saturday at 4 PM, but there are doubles semi-finals Saturday morning at 10 and 11 with the doubles final at 6 PM Saturday. All time EDT.

You can watch the LPRT Season Finale by going to the LPRT YouTube channel or their Facebook page.

2023 LPRT Battle at the Beach Season Finale
Norfolk, Virginia - June 15-17, 2023

LPRT Singles - Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Paola Longoria d. 9) Jessica Parrilla, 15-4, 15-8
12) Maria Jose Vargas d. 13) Kelani Lawrence, 15-7, 15-1

6) Angelica Barrios d. 14) Valeria Centellas, 15-13, 15-8
2) Montserrat Mejia d. 7) Carla Muñoz, 15-12, 15-12

LPRT Singles - Semi-finals - Friday

12) Maria Jose Vargas d. 1) Paola Longoria, 15-14, 15-12
2) Montserrat Mejia d. 6) Angelica Barrios, 15-3, 13-15, 11-1

LPRT Singles - Final - Saturday

2) Montserrat Mejia v. 12) Maria Jose Vargas - 4 PM

LPRT Doubles - Round of 16 - Friday

1) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas - BYE
8) Gabriela Martinez & Maricruz Ortiz d. 9) Cristina Amaya & Maria Paz Riquelme, 15-4, 15-4

5) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas - BYE
4) Carla Muñoz & Jessica Parrilla - BYE

3) Kelani Lawrence & Erika Manilla - BYE
6) Angelica Barrios & Brenda Laime - BYE

7) Susana Acosta & Valeria Centellas d. Sunshine Arterburn & Grace Ratley, 15-2, 15-3
2) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia - BYE

LPRT Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas d. 8) Gabriela Martinez & Maricruz Ortiz, 15-7, 0-15, 11-1
5) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas d. 4) Carla Muñoz & Jessica Parrilla, 15-13, 15-0

3) Kelani Lawrence & Erika Manilla d. 6) Angelica Barrios & Brenda Laime, 15-6, 15-14
2) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia d. 7) Susana Acosta & Valeria Centellas, 15-9, 15-11

LPRT Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas v. 5) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas - 11 AM
2) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia v. 3) Kelani Lawrence & Erika Manilla - 10 AM

Follow the bouncing ball…..

2023 LPRT Battle at the Beach Season Finale begins

One of the most interesting Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) seasons winds up this weekend in Norfolk, Virginia where 22 players - including the top 14 players - are competing in the 2023 LPRT Battle at the Beach Season Finale. This season is so interesting, because Montserrat Mejia has raised her game, and won 4 events, having only won once previously. Four wins is one more than Paola Longoria has won this season. Longoria has been the #1 LPRT player for 11 consecutive seasons, yet may not be next week.

Longoria is still #1 currently, but she’s only 70 ranking points ahead of Mejia in #2. Moreover, Mejia is actually ahead in season to date ranking points by 26, so Longoria needs to finish better than Mejia this weekend, if she is going to be #1 yet again.

The season has also been interesting, because Longoria and Mejia haven’t been the only two winners on tour. Alexandra Herrera and Gabriela Martinez have also won titles. In fact, Martinez won the last LPRT event in South Carolina.

So, while there is a race for #1, which there really hasn’t been for over a decade, the players in that race have only met three times this season. Longoria defeated Mejia in the first event of the season last August, but it was an 11-10 tie-breaker win. Then in the fall, Mejia beat Longoria in a breaker in Lombard, Illinois. Mejia followed that up by defeating Longoria in two straight games at the Christmas Classic.

That was their last meeting, so they haven’t met in over six months. If they meet in the final on Saturday, it will be for for #1.

Play began on Thursday, and already there is intrigue, as half of the top eight seeds failed to make the quarterfinals. But both Longoria and Mejia won their Round of 16 matches by comfortable margins. Longoria beat 16th seed Maria Paz Riquelme, 15-0, 15-0, and Mejia defeated veteran Cristina Amaya, 15-2, 15-4.

Next up for Longoria will be 9th seed Jessica Parrilla, who won the 8/9 match with 8th seed Natalia Mendez, 15-10,15-8. If Longoria wins that, then she’ll face either Maria Jose Vargas, who has beaten her this season, or Kelani Lawrence, who had an impressive win over LPRT #4 Erika Manilla, 15-3, 15-7. Vargas advanced by coming back to defeat LPRT #5 Brenda Laime, 10-15, 15-8, 11-5.

Mejia plays LPRT #7 Carla Muñoz in the quarterfinals, as Muñoz defeated LPRT #10 Samantha Salas, 14-15, 15-5, 11-9. A win there, and then Mejia would face either #6 Angelica Barrios or #14 Valeria Centellas, who took out LPRT #3 Alexandra Herrera in two straight games, 15-13, 15-10. Barrios denied Martinez’s chance for back to back LPRT wins with a 15-14, 7-15, 11-5, victory.

Thus, while a Longoria v. Mejia final would a fitting end to the 2022-23 LPRT season, that is by no means guaranteed.

The singles quarterfinals are Friday morning with the semi-finals Friday afternoon and final Saturday at 4 PM. The doubles starts Friday at noon with two Round of 16 matches, and then the quarters will be Friday evening. The doubles semis will be Saturday morning at 10 and 11 with the final Saturday night at 6 PM.

You can watch the LPRT Season Finale by going to the LPRT YouTube channel or their Facebook page.

2023 LPRT Battle at the Beach Season Finale - Norfolk, Virginia
June 15-17, 2023

LPRT Singles - Round of 32 - Thursday

1) Paola Longoria - BYE
16) Maria Paz Riquelme d. 17) Sunshine Arterburn, 15-0, 15-0

9) Jessica Parrilla - BYE
8) Natalia Mendez - BYE

5) Brenda Laime - BYE
12) Maria Jose Vargas d. 21) Jazmin Aguilar, 15-0, 15-2

13) Kelani Lawrence d. 20) Maricruz Ortiz, 15-9, 15-2
4) Erika Manilla - BYE

3) Alexandra Herrera - BYE
14) Valeria Centellas d. 14) Susana Acosta, 15-5, 15-2

11) Gabriela Martinez d. 22) Anna Aguilar, 15-1, 15-4
6) Angelica Barrios - BYE

7) Carla Muñoz - BYE
10) Samantha Salas - BYE

15) Cristina Amaya d. 18) Stephanie Synhorst, 15-8, 15-11
2) Montserrat Mejia - BYE

LPRT Singles - Round of 16 - Thursday

1) Paola Longoria d. 16) Maria Paz Riquelme, 15-0, 15-0
9) Jessica Parrilla d. 8) Natalia Mendez, 15-10,15-8

12) Maria Jose Vargas d. 5) Brenda Laime, 10-15, 15-8, 11-5
13) Kelani Lawrence d. 4) Erika Manilla, 15-3, 15-7

14) Valeria Centellas d. 3) Alexandra Herrera, 15-13, 15-10
6) Angelica Barrios d. 11) Gabriela Martinez, 15-14, 7-15, 11-5

7) Carla Muñoz d. 10) Samantha Salas, 14-15, 15-5, 11-9
2) Montserrat Mejia d. 15) Cristina Amaya, 15-2, 15-4

LPRT Singles - Quarterfinals - Friday

1) Paola Longoria v. 9) Jessica Parrilla - 11 AM
12) Maria Jose Vargas v. 13) Kelani Lawrence - 11 AM

6) Angelica Barrios v. 14) Valeria Centellas - 10 AM
2) Montserrat Mejia v. 7) Carla Muñoz - 10 AM

LPRT Doubles - Round of 16 - Friday

1) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas - BYE
8) Gabriela Martinez & Maricruz Ortiz v. 9) Cristina Amaya & Maria Paz Riquelme - Noon

5) Natalia Mendez & Maria Jose Vargas - BYE
4) Carla Muñoz & Jessica Parrilla - BYE

3) Kelani Lawrence & Erika Manilla - BYE
6) Angelica Barrios & Brenda Laime - BYE

7) Susana Acosta & Valeria Centellas v. Sunshine Arterburn & Grace Ratley - Noon
2) Alexandra Herrera & Montserrat Mejia - BYE

Follow the bouncing ball…..