2016 USA Racquetball Intercollegiate Championships - Quarterfinals & Semi-finals

Few significant upsets at the USA Racquetball 2016 Intercollegiate Championships at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, as the top seeds have made it to make the finals.

Marco Rojas from the University of the Pacific is in the final, as he defeated 4th seed Thomas Carter (Baldwin Wallace), 15-4, 15-8. Rojas faces 3rd seed David Horn (California State-Hayward) in the final, as Horn was an upset winner over 2nd seed Brad Schopieray (Colorado State), 15-2, 15-13. Rojas was runner up last year to Adam Manilla, who is not in the event this year, so he'll want to go one better than that on Saturday.

In Women's Singles, last year's champion Kelani Bailey of Shenandoah University is the top seed this year, and has a chance to defend her title after winning a dramatic semi-final against 4th seed Lexi York (Oregon State), 12-15, 15-10, 11-10. Earlier, she beat 8th seed Madeline Gauch (Missouri), 15-3, 15-0, in the quarterfinals, while York defeated 5th seed Jordan Chesak (Texas), 15-1, 15-4.

In their tie-breaker, Bailey had a big lead at 7-1. But the game stalled at 8-4 and 8-6, as they were back and forth several times during the mid-game. Then York completed the come back by tying the game at 9-9, and she went ahead 10-9 on an ace drive serve to the right side after hitting almost all of her drive serves to the left during the match.

However, Bailey got the serve back on the next rally, when York had to hit a second serve, which was a lob to the left. Bailey returned it by volleying the ball just after it passed the five foot line, driving it cross court for a winner.

Two forehand shots got Bailey match point, and won the match. The first was a cross court shot, and the second a straight in kill shot after York’s shot came high off the back wall to the right side, where Bailey drove it home.

Bailey will face 2nd seed Carla Muñoz of Las Positas College in the final, as Muñoz defeated 3rd seed Devon Pimentelli (Bellevue College), 15-5, 15-10, in the other semi-final. In the quarters, Muñoz beat 7th seed Courtney Chisholm (Worcester State), 15-0, 15-2, while Pimentelli defeated 6th seed Katie Nieswiadomy (Texas A&M), 15-7, 15-6.

USA Racquetball is streaming the Intercollegiate Championships live via LiveStream. Click on the link on the USA Racquetball website.

2016 USA Racquetball Intercollegiate Championships
Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
(with seedings)

Women's Singles - Quarterfinals

1) Kelani Bailey (Shenandoah) d. 8) Madeline Gauch (Missouri), 15-3, 15-0
4) Lexi York (Oregon State) d. 5) Jordan Chesak (Texas), 15-1, 15-4

3) Devon Pimentelli (Bellevue College) d. 6) Katie Nieswiadomy (Texas A&M), 15-7, 15-6
2) Carla Muñoz (Las Positas) d. 7) Courtney Chisholm (Worcester State), 15-0, 15-2

Women's Singles - Semi-finals

1) Kelani Bailey (Shenandoah) d. 4) Lexi York (Oregon State), 12-15, 15-10, 11-10
2) Carla Muñoz (Las Positas) d. 3) Devon Pimentelli (Bellevue College), 15-5, 15-10

Women's Singles - Final

1) Kelani Bailey (Shenandoah) v. 2) Carla Muñoz (Las Positas) - 12:30 PM

Women's Doubles - Quarterfinals

1) Erica Lipski & Lexi York (Oregon State) d. 9) Laurel Christ & Katie Nieswiadomy (Texas A&M), 15-4, 15-3
13) Jessilee Loucks & Lindsey Raven (Brigham Young) d. 5) Jordan Chesak & Jordan Murphey (Texas), 15-12, 12-15, 11-6

3) Alexis Templeton & Antonia Duran (New Mexico) d. 11) Melissa Dunn & Jessica Lubold (Arizona State), 9-15, 15-11, 11-10
2) Jordan Giljum & Madeline Gauch (Missouri) d. 7) Rachel Pabelico & Pooja Sheevam (Colorado), 15-6, 15-5

Women's Doubles - Semi-finals

1) Erica Lipski & Lexi York (Oregon State) d. 13) Jessilee Loucks & Lindsey Raven (Brigham Young), 15-5, 15-6
2) Jordan Giljum & Madeline Gauch (Missouri) d. 3) Alexis Templeton & Antonia Duran (New Mexico), 15-3, 15-7

Women's Doubles - Final

1) Erica Lipski & Lexi York (Oregon State) v. 2) Jordan Giljum & Madeline Gauch (Missouri) - Saturday 2:30 PM

Men's Singles - Quarterfinals

1) Marco Rojas (University of the Pacific) d. 9) Luis Avila (El Camino), 15-5, 15-2
4) Thomas Carter (Baldwin Wallace) d. 4) Nick Riffel (Colorado), 7-15, 15-9, 11-5

3) David Horn (California State- Hayward) d. 6) Alejandro Almada (Texas), 15-6, 15-13
2) Brad Schopieray (Colorado State) d. 7) Zachary Patterson (Arizona State), 15-5, 15-1

Men's Singles - Semi-finals

1) Marco Rojas (University of the Pacific) d. 4) Thomas Carter (Baldwin Wallace), 15-4, 15-8
3) David Horn (California State-Hayward) d. 2) Brad Schopieray (Colorado State), 15-2, 15-13

Men's Singles - Final

1) Marco Rojas (University of the Pacific) v. 3) David Horn (California State-Hayward) - Saturday 1:30 PM

Men's Doubles - Quarterfinals

1) Jose Diaz & Marco Rojas (University of the Pacific) d. 9) Jesse Giron & Zachary Patterson (Arizona State), 15-0, 15-6
5) Thomas Carter & Manolo Sandoval (Baldwin Wallace) d. 4) John Lindsay & Sam Reid (Oregon State), 15-2, 15-4

3) Jeremy McGlothin & Brad Schopieray (Colorado State, Pueblo) d. 6) Alejandro Almada & Jon Lanford (Texas), 15-2, 15-7
2) Matt McAdam & Nick Riffel (Colorado) d. 7) Alex Lazenby & Paul Beffa (Missouri), 15-6, 15-14

Men's Doubles - Semi-finals

1) Jose Diaz & Marco Rojas (University of the Pacific) d. 5) Thomas Carter & Manolo Sandoval (Baldwin Wallace), 15-5, 15-6
3) Jeremy McGlothin & Brad Schopieray (Colorado State, Pueblo) d. 2) Matt McAdam & Nick Riffel (Colorado), 15-3, 15-5

Men's Doubles - Final

1) Jose Diaz & Marco Rojas (University of the Pacific) v. 3) Jeremy McGlothin & Brad Schopieray (Colorado State, Pueblo) - 3:30 PM

Follow the bouncing ball....

2016 Raising Some Racquet for Kids - Round of 16

Two upsets at the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Raising Some Racquet for Kids tournament in Huber Heights, Ohio, but the big news really was off the court, as IRT #1 Kane Waselenchuk was a late withdrawal from the tournament due to “emergency incarcerated hernia surgey” (from IRT Facebook page) https://www.facebook.com/IRTfan/?fref=ts . The surgery went well, reportedly, but no other details are available currently.

Hopefully, Waselenchuk will make a complete recovery and be back on the IRT soon. However, the immediate consequences were that Jeremy Best got a forfeit win against Waseelenchuk in the Round of 16 in Huber Heights, so he’s into the quarterfinals, where Best will play Sebastian Franco, who needed a tie-breaker to defeat Robert Collins, 10-12, 11-5, 11-4, 8-11, 11-3, which was an upset as Franco’s the 9th seed and Collins 8th.

Only one other match went more than three games, which was between Mario Mercado and Felipe Camacho with Mercado winning in four, 11-6, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6. Mercado faces Rocky Carson in the quarters, as Carson beat Troy Warigon, 11-1, 11-0, 11-4, the 16s.

In what we anticipated would be the feature match of the Round of 16, Daniel De La Rosa defeated Jake Bredenbeck in three close games, 12-10, 12-10, 11-9. It was a lot closer than last Saturday, when they played in the final of the Pan American Championship, which De La Rosa won 15-2, 15-1.

De La Rosa led 10-6 in game one, but Bredenbeck fought off three game points in coming back to tie it 10-10. However, De La Rosa had that little bit extra to get over the finish line at 12-10.

Game two was streaky with Bredenbeck leading 5-2, then De La Rosa leading 8-6, then Bredenbeck leading 10-8. This time is was De La Rosa who fought off three game points to come back and win 12-10.

They were close all the way in game three, and tied at 8-8. De La Rosa go to 10-8, but Bredenbeck held him off there by winning a long rally. He called a timeout after that rally, and scored a point when play resumed to make the score 9-10. But a De La Rosa forehand down the line stopped Bredenbeck, and a backhand down the line won it for De La Rosa, who moves on to the quarters against Jansen Allen, a winner over Mauricio Zelada, 11-9, 11-0, 11-4.

The quarterfinals will be streamed live Friday from 5 PM Eastern via the IRT Network. The semi-finals will be 11 AM and Noon Saturday with the final Saturday night at 7:00 PM. All times Eastern.

2016 Raising Some Racquet for Kids, March 31-April 3
Huber Heights, Ohio

Round of 16 - Friday

1) Jeremy Best d. Kane Waselenchuk, forfeit
Sebastian Franco d. 8) Robert Collins, 10-12, 11-5, 11-4, 8-11, 11-3

5) Jose Rojas d. Andy Hawthorne, 11-2, 11-7, 11-3
4) Alvaro Beltran d. Scott McClellan, 11-0, 11-4, 11-5

3) Daniel De La Rosa d. Jake Bredenbeck, 12-10, 12-10, 11-9
6) Jansen Allen d. Mauricio Zelada, 11-9, 11-0, 11-4

7) Mario Mercado d. Felipe Camacho, 11-6, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6
2) Rocky Carson d. Troy Warigon, 11-1, 11-0, 11-4

Quarterfinals - Friday

Jeremy Best v. Sebastian Franco - 6 PM
4) Alvaro Beltran v. 5) Jose Rojas - 8 PM

3) Daniel De La Rosa v. 6) Jansen Allen - 7 PM
2) Rocky Carson v. 7) Mario Mercado - 5 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….

2016 Raising Some Racquet for Kids - Qualifying results

Andy Hawthorne’s still got it, as evidenced by his win over Matthew Majxner Thursday at the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Raising Some Racquet for Kids tournament in Huber Heights, Ohio. A former top 10 ranked IRT player, Hawthorne, an Ohio resident, came back from two games down to defeat the IRT's 14th ranked Majxner, 6-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-7. He’ll play Jose Rojas in the Round of 16 on Friday.

Also Thursday, Jake Bredenbeck defeated Kamyron Meeks, 11-2, 11-3, 11-3, which sets up a rematch of last week’s Pan American Championship final with Daniel De La Rosa and Jake Bredenbeck. De La Rosa won easily on Saturday, so Bredenbeck will certainly want to make a better showing this time out.

The IRT Round of 16 will be streamed live Friday from 11 AM via the IRT Network with the quarterfinals Friday afternoon from 5 PM on. Also, the semi-finals will be 11 AM and Noon Saturday with the final Saturday night at 7:00 PM. All times Eastern.

2016 Raising Some Racquet for Kids, March 31-April 3
Huber Heights, Ohio

Qualifying Round

Q8) Jeremy Best d. Felip Vesely, 10-11, [sic] 11-4, 11-8, 5-11, 11-6
Q1) Sebastian Franco - BYE

Q4) Andy Hawthorne d. Matthew Majxner, 6-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-7
Q5) Scott McClellan d. Joel Ernst, 11-4, 11-5, 11-8

Q6) Jake Bredenbeck d. Kamyron Meeks, 11-2, 11-3, 11-3
Q3) Mauricio Zelada d. John Craig Chisholm, 5-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-0

Q2) Mario Mercado - BYE
Q7) Troy Warigon d. Destry Everhart, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-8

Round of 16 - Friday

1) Kane Waselenchuk v. Jeremy Best - Noon
8) Robert Collins v. Sebastian Franco - Noon

5) Jose Rojas v. Andy Hawthorne - 2 PM
4) Alvaro Beltran v. Scott McClellan - 2 PM

3) Daniel De La Rosa v. Jake Bredenbeck - 1 PM
6) Jansen Allen v. Mauricio Zelada - 1 PM

7) Felipe Camacho v. Mario Mercado - 11 AM
2) Rocky Carson v. Troy Warigon - 11 AM

Follow the bouncing ball….