Semi-final madness at 2015 Pan American Championships

More tie-breakers were needed Friday at the XXVIII Pan American Racquetball Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in the semi-finals of the Men's and Women's Singles and Doubles events. Mexico is in three of the four finals, and the other is an all-American affair.

In Men's Singles, Americans Jake Bredenbeck and Jose Diaz will battle it out in the final, as they beat their Bolivian opponents in the semi-finals. Bredenbeck defeated Carlos Keller in two close games, 15-13, 15-13, and Diaz beat Conrado Moscoso in a tie-breaker, 10-15, 15-13, 11-6.

Bredenbeck led the whole way in a close first game. He did have a 13-7 advantage in the middle of the game, but Keller closed it to a single point at 13-12 and 14-13, before Bredenbeck finished it off.

In game two, they were again close throughout with Bredenbeck holding a slight advantage, although they were tied at 7-7 and 10-10. Keller went ahead 13-12, and looked like he might force a tie-breaker. however, Bredenbeck held firm, and won it on his first match point opportunity with a forehand pinch winner to the front right corner. Keller appealed the shot, but one line-judge agreed with the referee that it was a good shot, so the call stood.

In the other semi, Moscoso won the first game relatively comfortably, as the 15-10 score flattered Diaz who scored most of his point late in the game. However, Diaz took the early advantage in game two going out to a 8-2 lead. Moscoso dug in and came back to tie it 10-10.

He then eked ahead to lead 13-11, but lost the serve on a called skip that he appealed and again one line-judge agreed with the referee that it skipped so the call stood. Diaz won out the game from there scoring four straight points to win it 15-13.

In game three, Diaz again went out to the early lead, going up 5-0, although it took fourteen rallies to get there with several sideouts and a couple of hinders along the way. Moscoso closed the gap to one point with three winners and a service return skip by Diaz, making it 5-4.

Diaz took a timeout, then hit a backhand pinch when play resumed to regain serve, and extended his lead to 7-4. A fault serve by Diaz, who was hitting backhand half lob serves to the left side - Moscoso's backhand, but this time hit one short, gave Moscoso back the serve, and he again cut Diaz's lead to one point at 7-6.

However, Diaz hit a winner to get the serve back, and then scored four straight points to finish the game and match. The last came when Moscoso skipped a service return.

The Women's Singles semis were not as dramatic, as both were straight game wins for Paola Longoria of Mexico and Veronica Sotomayor of Ecuador, although Sotomayor did need to come back in her second game with Cristina Amaya of Colombia to win it.

Longoria defeated María José Vargas of Argentina, 15-3, 15-8, while Sotomayor beat Amaya, 15-9, 15-14. Amaya was up 9-5 in game two versus Sotomayor, although Sotomayor came back and led 13-11. Yet it was Amaya who got to 14 first, leading 14-13.

However, Sotomayor got the serve back, and on her first match point opportunity, she drove the ball to the right side. Amaya hit a forehand cross court and Sotomayor finished the rally with a backhand pinch to the left corner.

In the doubles semi-finals, Longoria and partner Samantha Salas also won in two straight games, as they defeated Amaya and Carolina Gomez (Colombia), 15-6, 15-3. They will face Argentina in the final, as Vargas and Véronique Guillemette defeated Bolivians Carola Loma and Adriana Riveros, 15-11, 10-15, 11-6, in the other semi.

Argentina and Bolivia were close in game one, as they tied at 11-11. But Bolivia couldn't score another point, as Argentina got four unanswered to win the game, although they needed five tries to get the winning point.

Bolivia led throughout game two, although Argentina did tie the score at 9-9. But Bolivia was still able to win the game and force a tie-breaker.

In the breaker, Argentina led almost all the way. Bolivia made it close when Argentina led 4-3 and 6-4 but after that the gap was never less than three points. Guillemette hit the winning shot in three of the match's last four rallies, including a backhand that won it.

The Men's Doubles semi-finals were both dramatic, as both required tie-breakers to determine the winners. Mexico with Alvaro Beltran and Javier Moreno came out on top of the Dominican Republic's Luis Perez and Ramon De Leon, 14-15, 15-7, 11-6, and Costa Ricans Felipe Camacho and Teobaldo Fumero beat Venezuelans Cesar Castro and Cesar Castillo, 15-5, 13-15, 11-8, to put Costa Rica in the final for the first time ever.

Game one between Mexico and the Dominican Republic was close all the way. Mexico got to 14 first, and had two chance to win game one, but failed to convert them. When the Dominican regained the serve, De Leon, who was playing on the right side with Beltran hit two drive Z serves to Beltran, who skipped the returns. Previously, all the serves had gone to Moreno.

Then at 14-14, De Leon hit a jam serve to Moreno, and on the ensuing rally Beltran again skipped a shot.

In game two, Mexico took an early lead at 7-1, and never let the Dominicans get closer than four points, as they won comfortably.

The teams were close in the tie-breaker with the Dominicans holding a slim lead at 6-5. Then Beltran hit a forehand volley that seemed like a low percentage shot, but it rolled out, putting Mexico back in the service box.

Mexico then hit four winners two by Moreno and two by Beltran, which put them on match point at 10-6. The Dominicans had called a timeout at 8-6, but to no avail. On the first match point, Moreno held up for a shot, and the referee called a hinder. Mexico appealed that the call should have been an avoidable, and the line-judges agreed, bringing a great match to an anti-climatic end.

The Costa Rica-Venezuela match was messier and more controversial, as the players were more argumentative, especially the Costa Ricans.

After winning the first game, Costa Rica was up 7-1 in game two, only to see Venezuela come back to tie it at 7-7. Costa Rica again went ahead, and got to 12-9, although their twelfth point was earned after an appeal that they somehow won, and that was not a popular decision with the crowd watching.

Despite that deficit and strange calls, Venezuela came back to win six of the next seven points and take game two, 15-13.

The strangeness continued early in game three, as two calls were overturned, one that we thought the referee got right, yet was reversed by the line-judges, and one we thought should have been overturned.

They were close the whole game with no more than a two point difference between them until 8-8. Then Castillo skipped a shot to give Costa Rica back the serve. They called timeout, and when play resumed Camacho hit a winning backhand pinch and Castillo skipped another ball to give Costa Rica its first match point.

On that rally, Castro had a set up and looked to be going for a pinch shot, but the ball broke. Castillo hit a winner on the next rally to put Costa Rica half down, then on match point number three, Fumero hit a winner down the line on the right side to put Costa Rica into their first ever men's final at the Pan Am Championships.

Predictions

We think the Men's Singles final is a toss up. Bredenbeck is a power player, but with the one serve rule in effect in Santo Domingo, he hardly drove serve at all in the semis, so that weapon's diminished. Diaz is great at keeping the ball in play; in one rally today he was on the floor four times, so we don't think he'll be overpowered by Bredenbeck. It will definitely be an interesting final.

In the Men's Doubles final, Mexico has to be favoured again. In fact, we think they had a tougher test against the Dominican Republic today in the semis than they will face from Costa Rica in the final. Although Costa Rica has surprised us in beating Canada and Venezuela to get to the final, so maybe they can do it again.

Longoria has to be favoured in the Women's Singles final, as she's the two time World Champion, and #1 professional women's player. But she's also a drive server, so she might not be as effective serving against Sotomayor, who is more of a control player.

The Women's Doubles final should also favour Mexico, as the three time World Champions Longoria and Salas are a tough team to beat. Vargas and Guillemette are a good team, and Guillemette has played well. She's playing the left side, and how she fares against Longoria's serve could be the key to the match.

You can see if we're right on our predictions live on Saturday by watching the streaming of the finals via the International Racquetball Federation website.

XXVIII Pan American Racquetball Championships
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic - March 28-April 4, 2015

Women's Singles - Semi-finals

1) Paola Longoria (Mexico) d. 4) María José Vargas (Argentina), 15-3, 15-8
7) Veronica Sotomayor (Ecuador) d. 11) Cristina Amaya (Colombia), 15-9, 15-14

Women's Singles - Final

1) Paola Longoria (Mexico) v. 7) Veronica Sotomayor (Ecuador) - 11 AM EDT

Men's Singles - Semi-finals

5) Jake Bredenbeck (USA) d. 8) Carlos Keller (Bolivia), 15-13, 15-13
7) Jose Diaz (USA) d. 6) Conrado Moscoso (Bolivia), 15-10, 13-15, 11-6

Men's Singles - Final

5) Jake Bredenbeck (USA) v. 7) Jose Diaz (USA) - Noon EDT

Women's Doubles - Semi-finals

1) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas (Mexico) d. 4) Cristina Amaya & Carolina Gomez (Colombia), 15-6, 15-
6) Maria Jose Vargas & Véronique Guillemette (Argentina) d. 2) Carola Loma & Adriana Riveros (Bolivia), 15-11, 10-15, 11-6

Women's Doubles - Final

1) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas (Mexico) v. 6) Maria Jose Vargas & Véronique Guillemette (Argentina) - 2 PM EDT

Men's Doubles - Semi-finals

1) Alvaro Beltran & Javier Moreno (Mexico) d. 5) Luis Perez & Ramon De Leon (Dominican Rep.), 14-15, 15-7, 11-6
3) Felipe Camacho & Teobaldo Fumero (Costa Rica) d. 2) Cesar Castro & Cesar Castillo (Venezuela), 15-5, 13-15, 11-8

Men's Doubles - Final

1) Alvaro Beltran & Javier Moreno (Mexico) v. 3) Felipe Camacho & Teobaldo Fumero (Costa Rica) - 3 PM EDT

Follow the bouncing ball....

LPRT 2015 Mercedes-Benz of Cincinnati Pro-Am Preview

The first Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) tournament of 2015 is this weekend in Cincinnati with the 2015 Mercedes-Benz of Cincinnati Pro-Am. There are 21 players in the draw, and the top 10 players will all be in Cincinnati.

For the first time since 2011, three different players have won the last three women's pro tour events. In the last three events, Rhonda Rajsich won in Stockton, Paola Longoria won in Monterrey, and Maria Jose Vargas won in Arlington. In 2011, it was Samantha Salas, Rajsich and Longoria who won in Olympia, WA, Arlington, and California, respectively.

To find a run of four different winners, you have to go back to the start of the 2007-08 season, when Longoria won her first tournament in Fayetteville, N.C. followed by wins by Christie Huczek (née Van Hees) in Toronto, Rajsich at the US Open and Cheryl Gudinas in Arlington.

Could there be a fourth different winner this weekend? Salas hasn't won since Olympia in 2011, and Gudinas's last win was in 2010. Frédérique Lambert and Cristina Amaya have the talent to do it, but have yet to win on tour, so if either did in Cincinnati, it would certainly be a surprise.

Thus, we have to think that LPRT #1 Longoria, #2 Vargas, or #3 Rajsich is going to come out on top in Cincinnati.

Matches will not be live streamed this weekend.

2015 Mercedes-Benz of Cincinnati LPRT Pro-Am
Cincinnati, January 23-25, 2015

Round of 32

1) Paola Longoria - BYE
16) Sharon Jackson v. 17) Lucia Gonzalez

9) Michelle Key - BYE
8) Da'monique Davis - BYE

5) Frédérique Lambert - BYE
12) Adrienne Haynes v. 21) Maria Delli-Santi

13) Jessica Parrilla v. 20) Kerri Wachtel
4) Samantha Salas - BYE

3) Rhonda Rajsich - BYE
14) Alexandra Herrera v. 19) Jennifer Saunders

11) Sheryl Lotts - BYE
6) Cristina Amaya - BYE

7) Cheryl Gudinas - BYE
10) Susana Acosta - BYE

15) Maria Renee Rodriguez v. 18) Kimberly Thomas
2) Maria Jose Vargas - BYE

Doubles - Round of 16

1) Rhonda Rajsich & Maria Jose Vargas - BYE
8) Maria Renee Rodriguez & Jennifer Saunders v. 9) Cheryl Gudinas & Laura Fenton Kovanda

5) Alexandra Herrera & Lucia Gonzalez - BYE
4) Susana Acosta & Jessica Parrilla - BYE

3) Michelle Key & Frédérique Lambert - BYE
6) Sheryl Lotts & Kimberly Thomas v. 11) Elaine Albrecht & Kerri Wachtel

7) Cristina Amaya & Da'monique Davis v. 10) Adrienne Haynes & Sharon Jackson
2) Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas - BYE

Follow the bouncing ball….

WPRO - Terrapin Shootout Prediction

The Racquetball Blog has been pleased this week to see a little love from the TRB Readers to Rhonda Rajsich by picking her to win the Terrapin Shootout this weekend. Rajsich, the #1 player in the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO), won last weekend's Miller Lite Open, defeating #2 Paola Longoria in the final.

Nevertheless, most of you folks out there in cyber-land have pipped up for Longoria to win the Terrapin Shootout. However, Rajsich's draw looks easier than Longoria's, with her most difficult opponent prior to the finals likely to be Kerri Wachtel (WPRO #4) in the semis.

Longoria on the other hand will play veteran Susy Acosta or surprising newcomer Maiko Sato, then probably former #3 Angela Grisar in the quarters, before likely taking on either teen phenom Veronica Sotomayor or Cheryl Gudinas Holmes, a former #1 who had a two games to one advantage on Longoria in their match last weekend.

Furthermore, we hear that if Rajsich is to retain the #1 spot at season's end, she needs to win this weekend and next month's season ending tournament, the Ektelon WPRO World Championships in California. This is just the kind of situation that elite players, like Rajsich, thrive on, and we think she'll rise to the challenge.

Thus, The Racquetball Blog is predicting Rhonda Rajsich to win this weekend's Terrapin Shootout in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Follow the bouncing ball....

WPRO - Miller Lite Open - Predictions

The Racquetball Blog is a little surprised at the degree of support that Paola Longoria is getting on our little survey of "Who'll win the WPRO Miller Lite Open?" Or perhaps we not surprised at Longoria's support as the lack of support for the other players.

With only a couple of hours to go in the voting, Longoria has 13 votes and "Another player" (i.e., someone other than Longoria, Rhonda Rajsich, Cheryl Gudinas Holmes and Kerri Wachtel) has 4 votes.

But no one other than Longoria and Rajsich has won a Tier 1 WPRO event this season. Yes, Gudinas Holmes and Wachtel have both won satellite events, as has Veronica Sotomayor - twice, Doreen Fowler, Cristina Amaya, and Jennifer Saunders. But if you're putting your money on someone to win this weekend, it would be best placed on one of the two top seeds: #1 Rajsich or #2 Longoria.

We picked Longoria to win in Miami, because Rajsich had the more difficult draw. But this week, the situations are reversed, as Rajsich's draw looks easier. She'll likely have to face Wachtel in the semis, and perhaps Saunders in the quarters, who has been playing well of late defeating Kristen Bellows in Miami.

However, that doesn't seem as difficult as Longoria's potential match-ups with either Samantha Salas or Veronica Sotomayor and then Cheryl Gudinas Holmes.

Thus, The Racquetball Blog is picking Rhonda Rajsich to win the Miller Lite Open in York, Pennsylvania this weekend. And we got 14 of 16 correct in our NCAA men's basketball pool last night, so you know we're not just good looking.

Follow the bouncing ball....

IRT - Florida Spring Break Prediction

Time for The Racquetball Blog to make its prediction for this weekend's Florida Spring Break International Racquetball Tour (IRT) event. Kane Waslenechuk, winner of seven of the ten IRT main events this season (two of which he did not enter), is the clear favorite of The Racquetball Blog Readers.

Waselenchuk's now #3 on the IRT rankings, so he's on the same side of the draw as #2 Jack Huczek, who has been his opponent in the finals for the last three IRT events. If Waselenchuk again beats Huczek he'll likely face either IRT #1 Rocky Carson or #4 Alvaro Beltran.

Beltran is the only player to defeat Waselenchuk this season, but to have another chance at that he'll have to get past Carson. In their only meeting this season, Carson defeated Beltran in the final of the California Open.

Thus, The Racquetball Blog thinks it's looking good for Waselenchuk to win again. We know it's the obvious choice, and the other guys certainly aren't rolling over for him. But we think Waselenchuk is rolling, and will continue to do so in Sarasota.

Follow the bouncing ball....

Weekend Predictions

The Racquetball Blog is predicting Paola Longoria to win the Great Balls of Fire tournament on the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) tour. We think that Rajsich will have difficulty getting past Veronica Sotomayor in the quarters, and even if she does so will have another tough match in the semis.

Longoria as the third seed faces her toughest competition from Cheryl Gudinas Holmes, the second seed, to get to the final, but Longoria's had success against Gudinas Holmes, so we think she's a good bet to get to the final. And if she gets there, we think she'll win it.

On the men's side, we'll again go for the favorite, Kane Waselenchuk to win this weekend at the San Diego Open on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT). He's in form, having won last weekend in Seattle. Moreover, Alvaro Beltran, who's the player who matches up best against Waselenchuk currently, will have a tough road to the final, as both Jason Mannino and Jack Huczek are on his side of draw.

Follow the bouncing ball....

IRT - Seattle Open - Prediction

Readers of The Racquetball Blog (RTRBs) are overwhelming in their prediction of a victory for Kane Waselenchuk at the International Racquetball Tour's (IRT's) Seattle Open, and why not? Waselenchuk has won all but one of the tournaments he has entered this year, and is well on the way regaining the IRT's #1 ranking.

Alvaro Beltran is RTRBs's second choice, and The Racquetball Blog has gone on record saying that we think Beltran's game style matches up best with Waselenchuk. However, Beltran likely needs to get through Jack Huczek to have an opportunity to play Waselenchuk, who's on the other side of the draw from Beltran. Beltran's career record versus Huczek of 5-24 is not good, although it's 1-1 this season.

A Waselenchuk-Huczek match-up would also only happen in the final, and Waselenchuk would be favored in that, as he's won all their meetings this season, including a three straight game victory in New York City, the most recent Tier 1 IRT event. You might like to see a Huczek upset, but we think there's a little more motivation for Waselenchuk against Huczek, who's often been talked about as his greatest rival. That motivation likely runs from Huczek also for similar reasons, and that Waselenchuk is positioning himself to take the top spot, which Huczek would surely like to have for himself.

Rocky Carson now has the top spot, and will potentially meet Waselenchuk in the semi-finals this weekend, if things go according to form in Seattle. Carson went tie breaker with Waselenchuk in Denver, but got crushed at the US Open and beaten in the New York City event. Thus, it's difficult to see Carson knocking off Waselenchuk at this time.

Thus, The Racquetball Blog has to agree with its reader on this one, and pick Kane Waselenchuk to win the Seattle Open.

Seattle Open
Main Draw - Round of 16

Rocky Carson v. Anthony Herrera
Mitch Williams v. Chris Crowther

Kane Waselenchuk v. Alejandro Landa
Jason Mannino v. Josh Tucker

Alvaro Beltran v. Tim Landeryou
Shane Vanderson v. Travis Woodbury

Ben Croft v. Kris Odegard
Jack Huczek v. Andy Hawthorne

Follow the bouncing ball....

IRT - California Open: Prediction

The Round of 16 in the International Racquetball Tour's (IRT) California Open in Canoga Park, California begins on Friday, so it's time that The Racquetball Blog chimes in with its opinion on who's going to win. Our readers have voted strongly for Kane Waselenchuk to continue his unbeaten streak this season, and win again in California.

It's difficult to argue against Waselenchuk, as he was very strong in his last time out when he won the US Open in October. However, his likely matches will be against Jack Huczek in the quarter finals and in the semi-finals, Alvaro Beltran, who we believe has the game style that best matches up against Waselenchuk.

Nonetheless, the smart money would be on Waselenchuk this weekend, and our prediction record hasn't been so great this season, so we going with the smart money (sure, sure, when you're behind you have to pick upsets, but you have to pick those upsets correctly) and are predicting Waselenchuk will win again this weekend.

If he does, it could start earnest talk about an undefeated season, which has never happened. A few years ago, Waselenchuk was close to an undefeated season, and many years ago Marty Hogan was also. But they still lost some matches.

It would be an amazing feat if Waselenchuk did pull it off, especially as this season is his first after serving a two year suspension for a positive drug test. Still there would have to be an asterisk beside the record, as Waselenchuk hasn't played in all the IRT events, missing the Canadian Classic and Juarez Open.

IRT 2009 California Open, Canoga Park, Calif.
Main Draw - Round of 16

(1) Rocky Carson - Gil Mejia
(5) Ben Croft - Chris Crowther

(6) Shane Vanderson - Alejandro Herrera
(4) Jason Mannino - Jose Rojas

(3) Alvaro Beltran - David Horn
(7) Mitch Williams - Andy Hawthorne

(8) Kane Waselenchuk - Juan Herrera
(2) Jack Huczek - Andres Herrera

Follow the bouncing ball....

WPRO : Christmas Classic Prediction

The Christmas Classic, the last event of the year on the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization's (WPRO's) schedule, run by fabulous tournament director Karen Denu begins today in Arlington, Virginia. Time for The Racquetball Blog to predict the winner. Which player will have a very merry Christmas?

The hot racquet is being held by Paola Longoria, who's won the last two WPRO Tier 1 tournaments in Memphis and Edmonton, so perhaps she's the obvious choice. TRB readers seem to think so.

But Longoria's not the WPRO's #1 player or even #2. Those players are Rhonda Rajsich and Cheryl Gudinas Holmes, respectively. We've picked against the top seed before, and it hasn't really worked for us.

Moreover, Rajsich should be motivated by her recent shock loss to Veronica Sotomayor, another up and coming player, in the final of the New Jersey Open. Top players don't like losing. That's one of the reasons they are top players. And their rare losses are motivation for working even harder to ensure that never happens again. Never. Again.

Yet the up and comers have time on their side. A lot of time. Rajsich, 30, is giving up over a decade to Longoria, 19, and Sotomayor, 16, and Gudinas Holmes at 41 is giving up more than two decades.

Nevertheless, we gotta pick someone, so we picking Rhonda Rajsich to bring her athleticism, unorthodox serving style and determination to Virginia and ruin everyone else's Christmas. Longoria will have to console herself with a World Junior Championship next week.

Follow the bouncing ball....

This week's winner will be....

Kane Waselenchuk has won all the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) events that he has entered this season. Thus, picking him to win this weekend's Juarez Open seems like a no brainer.

We here at The Racquetball Blog could overthink this though, as Mexican Alvaro Beltran, one of our favorites to defeat Waselenchuk, will be playing on home soil. It would be great to see Beltran win his first Tier 1 event in Mexico.

(note: on the Boss Consulting IRT stats site, it lists Beltran as winning a pro stop in McLean, Virginia in 2002. However, Boss informs TRB that "the courts were so wet [at the tournament] that the top pros all got together and voted to split the points evenly for the event so that nobody would get hurt badly while competing for the title" so Beltran has "never won a pro stop that was competitively played.")

But Waselenchuk has to be the heavy favorite for Juarez, and given our unflattering record at selecting tournament winners so far this season, we're not going to go against a heavy favorite.

At least not this time.

You can make your prediction on the right side of the blog. Make sure to vote before Friday morning.

Follow the bouncing ball....

US Open : Our predictions

Time to make our predictions for the US Open. You readers have voted for Kane Waselenchuk to win the men's side, and it's hard to argue against a player who has won every International Racquetball Tour (IRT) tournament he's played in this season.

So, we won't.

Your votes suggest there's more uncertainty on the women's side, as you split your votes between defending champion, Rhonda Rajsich, Christie Van Hees, who's won more US Open titles than any other woman, and the catchall "Another player" category.

Probably some of you were thinking of Paola Longoria as the other player, as she was the most recent victor on the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) tour, taking the Canadian Racquetball Classic two weeks ago in Edmonton. However, maybe some of you were wishfully thinking of another teenageer, Veronica Sotomayor, believing that she could make her breakthrough to the WPRO winner's circle on racquetball's biggest stage.

We're predicting Rhonda Rajsich will defend her title. We think the loss to Longoria will be the extra motivation that Rajsich will need to raise her game and take another US Open title, which would tie her with Van Hees with three career US Open titles.

However, Rajsich will need to get off to better starts in her matches this week. Two weeks ago in Edmonton she lost game one in each of her matches. Always getting yourself in a hole is difficult to recover from, and though she did it three times in Edmonton she wasn't able to recover the fourth time, as Longoria beat her in the final.

As we like to say, dear readers, when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

Follow the bouncing ball....