Weekend Round Up - Wins by Beltran, Allen, Jackson & Gutierrez

There were two International Racquetball Tour (IRT) minor events on the weekend. Alvaro Beltran won the Tier 3 16th Annual Lou Bradley Memorial Pro-Am in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and Jansen Allen won the Christmas Classic in Boise, Idaho.

Daniel De La Rosa could be excused for having had enough of Beltran, as he was the loser against Beltran for a 4th time in a little over a month. But it took a tie-breaker this time, as Beltran won 9-11, 11-3, 11-5, 8-11, 11-6.

Beltran defeated Tony Carson in one semi-final with De La Rosa beating Chris Crowther in the other.

Allen defeated Charlie Pratt in the Boise final. In the semis, Allen defeated Thomas Fuhrmann and Pratt beat Andrew Gale.

At the 22nd Christmas Classic in Arlington, Virginia, Sharon Jackson won the Women's Open division by defeating Mariana Tobon Gordon, 15-6, 15-10, in the final. Jackson defeated Da'monique Davis, 15-13, 15-12, in one semi-final with Gordon beating Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-2, 15-10, in the other.

Finally, the Fremont Open was a World Racquetball Tour (WRT) event in Fremont, California, and Polo Gutierrez came out on top, as he defeated Alejandro Cardona, 15-4, 15-3, in the final. Gutierrez beat Gilberto Meija, 5-15, 15-11, 11-2, and Cardona beat Anthony Herrera, 15-8, 15-14, in the semi-finals.

Jaime Martell and Joshua Hungerford won the WRT Men's Doubles by defeating Fernando Rios and Jose Daniel Alvarez, 14-15, 15-7, 11-8, in the final. Martell and Hungerford beat Gutierrez and Meija, 15-14, 15-13, in one semi-final with Rios and Alvarez defeated Coby Iwaasa and Anthony Schonberger, 15-9, 15-14, in the other.

16th Annual Lou Bradley Memorial Pro-Am
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

Final

Alvaro Beltran d. Daniel De La Rosa, 9-11, 11-3, 11-5, 8-11, 11-6

Semi-finals

Alvaro Beltran d. Tony Carson
Daniel De La Rosa d. Chris Crowther

2013 Christmas Classic
Boise, Idaho

Final

Jansen Allen d. Charlie Pratt

Semi-finals

Jansen Allen d. Thomas Fuhrmann
Charlie Pratt d. Andrew Gale

22nd Annual Christmas Classic
Arlington, Virginia

Final

Sharon Jackson d. Mariana Tobon Gordon, 15-6, 15-10

Semi-finals

Sharon Jackson d. Da'monique Davis, 15-13, 15-12
Mariana Tobon Gordon d. Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-2, 15-10

Fremont Open - World Racquetball Tour
Fremont, California

Final

Polo Gutierrez d. Alejandro Cardona, 15-4, 15-3

Semi-finals

Polo Gutierrez d. Gilberto Meija, 5-15, 15-11, 11-2
Alejandro Cardona d. Anthony Herrera, 15-8, 15-14

Doubles Final

Jaime Martell & Joshua Hungerford d. Fernando Rios & Jose Daniel Alvarez, 14-15, 15-7, 11-8

Semi-finals

Jaime Martell & Joshua Hungerford d. Polo Gutierrez & Gilberto Meija, 15-14, 15-13
Fernando Rios & Jose Daniel Alvarez d. Coby Iwaasa & Anthony Schonberger, 15-9, 15-14

Follow the bouncing ball….

Longoria wins LPRT Christmas Classic

Paola Longoria won the Ladies Pro Racquetball Tour's (LPRT's) 22nd Annual Christmas Classic in Arlington, Virgina for a third consecutive year, as she defeated Rhonda Rajsich in the final on Sunday, 11-2, 11-5, 11-5. Longoria closes out 2013 without losing an LPRT match, which is the second calendar year she's been undefeated. Her winning streak goes back to May of 2011.

The LPRT will be in action again next weekend in Monterray, Mexico, which will be the site of the Paola Longoria Invitational tournament.

LPRT Awards

In Arlington, the LPRT named their award winners of 2013. Longoria was named Player of the Year with Maria Jose Vargas named Rookie of the Year and Cristina Amaya as the Most Improved Player. The Janet Myer Sportsmanship Award went to Hailey Miller.

Those concerned about the state of women's high performance racquetball in the USA will note that none of the LPRT performance awards went to American women.

22nd Annual Christmas Classic
Arlington, Virginia - December 6-8, 2013

Final

1 Paola Longoria d. 2 Rhonda Rajsich, 11-2, 11-5, 11-5

Follow the bouncing ball….

LPRT - Longoria & Rajsich to meet in the Christmas Classic final

For the second consecutive Ladies Pro Racquetball Tour (LPRT) event, the final will be #1 versus #2, when Paola Longoria and Rhonda Rajsich meet in the final of the 22nd Annual Christmans Classic in Arlington, Virgina.

Longoria, the LPRT #1, reached the final with comfortable wins over Jennifer Saunders in the quarter finals, 11-3, 11-1, 11-1, and Maria Jose Vargas, 11-1, 11-0, 11-4. Rajsich, the #2 LPRT player, beat T. J. Baumbaugh, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9, in the quarters and then took out Cristina Ananya, 11-4, 11-5, 9-11, 11-3.

Vargas was an upset winner over 4th seed Samantha Salas, 11-8, 11-8, 11-0, which might have an impact on the rankings next week.

Amaya ended Cheryl Gudinas's return to the LPRT, but it took five games to do so, as Amaya won in a tie-breaker after dropping the first two games to the veteran Gudinas, 12-14, 9-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-7.

The final will be live on the LPRT Network beginning at noon Sunday.

22nd Annual Christmas Classic
Arlington, Virginia - December 6-8, 2013

Quarter finals

1 Paola Longoria d. 8 Jennifer Saunders, 11-3, 11-1, 11-1
5 Maria Jose Vargas d. 4 Samantha Salas, 11-8, 11-8, 11-0

3 Cristina Amaya v. 6 Cheryl Gudinas, 12-14, 9-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-7
2 Rhonda Rajsich v. 10 T. J. Baumbaugh, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9

Semi-finals

1 Paola Longoria d. 5 Maria Jose Vargas, 11-1, 11-0, 11-4
2 Rhonda Rajsich v. 10 3 Cristina Amaya, 11-4, 11-5, 9-11, 11-3

Final

1 Paola Longoria v. 2 Rhonda Rajsich - Sunday Noon EST

Follow the bouncing ball….