Tisinger was a two-time Triple Crown winner in 2016, winning 3 singles and 3 doubles crowns in one season. Photo 2018 Vegas 3WallBall event by Mike Augustin/Game Changer Photo
After by the finish of WOR – World Outdoor Racquetball]’s 3Wall Ball] tournament, there was a great conversation in the Keep Racquetball Great forum (which was founded by outdoor enthusiast Norm McNutt and which has a heavy outdoor racquetball focus) about whether anyone has won the “Triple Crown” of the three major outdoor events. Florida outdoor player and big event sponsor Jeff Wright posted all the winners of all the events going back to start the discussions.
Well, I thought that was a great report idea. So I created it. I also put in placeholders for all the winners of the pro events to make the report work, leveraging Wright’s work and backfilling from R2 Sports App as needed.
Outdoor Nationals is the original “major,” having started in 1974. Vic Leibofsky‘s Beach Bash started in 2007, following on from a huge Scott Hirsch-run event on the same courts in 2004, and of course MC Vegas has spearheaded the 3WallBall event that has run in Las Vegas since 2010. So the triple crown report starts in 2007 to show the winners of all the events alongside each other to the best extent possible.
So here they are. The Outdoor “Triple Crown Reports.”
The grand-daddy event of them all has never seen a player take all three titles. Rocky Carson did five “doubles” winning both Outdoor Nats and Vegas, and missed out on a 6th in 2013 when the Vegas final was cancelled due to wind. The dominance of Robert Sostre on one-wall in Florida has made it hard for others to break through. Best chance of a triple-crown winner going forward probably is Nick Montalbano, who has made the Beach Bash finals and has a 3-wall singles win, but he is not known for traveling to the California event.
Future outdoor hall of famer Janel Tisinger-Ledkins is the only person to hold a singles “Triple Crown,” having won the singles titles in all three events in 2016. Rhonda Rajsich has a double, having won Beach Bash one-wall and outdoor nats 3-wall in the same 2015 season. The women’s singles event has been lagging at Marina Park the last few years, making it hard to see a pathway forward for any one to make a new run at the crown. Hollie Scott might be my choice to do this in the future, having shown her quals on the one-wall and being young enough to have years of competition in her future.
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Doubles technically have four “majors” each year, since Vegas now offers both one-wall and three-wall. All four of these events are shown in the doubles reports below:
We’ve had some men win the “double,” meaning two of the majors in a year: – Rocky Carson in 2014 won Outdoor Nats and Vegas 3-wall. – Daniel De La Rosa and Alvaro Beltran did the same double in 2019 as a team. – Beltran also did the California/Vegas double in 2011 with two different partners. – Robert Sostre did an interesting double in 2016, winning both doubles competitions in Vegas in the same year. – Joe Young did the double in 2015, winning both Beach Bash and Outdoor Nationals, quite an achievement.
Again, Tisinger did the triple crown in 2016 (the same year she won all three singles titles). That’s a hell of a year. Six major outdoor titles in one season.
Meanwhile, Michelle De La Rosa has done the triple crown twice; in 2014 and 2015. Players who have done the double: – Carla Muñoz Montesinos took Outdoor Nats and Vegas 3-wall in 2019 – Anita Maldonado won both 1-wall majors in 2019 as well. – Rajsich did the double in 2014 along with mDLR – Jasmine Suarez took both 1-wall majors in 2013 – Aimee Roehler Ruiz did the double with Tisinger in 2016 – Michbo Herbert did a unique double in 2018; winning one-wall Beach bash as well as Vegas 3-wall.
The DLR husband/wife team pulled off the triple in 2019. The pair also pulled off double wins in 2014, 2016 and 2017. All told, they have won 11 mixed double major titles together since 2014 and are an amazingly dominant team.
Players who have done doubles: – Rajsich and Rick Koll did the double at Vegas in 2018, winning the mixed 1-wall and 3-wall titles. – Sostre in 2013 – Ruiz did a one-wall major double in 2016, winning both Beach Bash and 1-wall Vegas. – Greg Solis did the double with Tisinger in 2011
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Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did putting it together!
In Part II we’ll cover the rest of the pro divisions.
Congrats to your Pro winners on the weekend: – Men’s 3-wall Doubles: Daniel De La Rosa & Alvaro Beltran – Women’s 3-wall Doubles: Paola Longoria & Janel Tisinger-Ledkins – Mixed 3-wall Doubles: Daniel De La Rosa & Michelle De La Rosa
– Men’s 1-wall Doubles: Robert Sostre & William Rolon – Women’s 1-wall Doubles: Kelly Gremley & Aime Brewer – Mixed 1-wall Doubles: Rick “Soda Man” & Rhonda Rajsich
Great weekend for the #1 female player in the world Longoria, who gets a double win in Singles and Doubles.
Before we get started, please keep Kelani Lawrence in your thoughts. She was assaulted over the weekend at the Wynn and suffered potentially permanent eye damage. There’s more information on her page and on LPRT’s page. I hope justice can be served and that the touring pro and former National champion can recover fully.
3-Wall Women’s Pro doubles Review PRS Match report: http://rball.pro/8CFCB3 This 7-team draw picks up in the quarters: – Adriana Riveros / Jessica Parrilla won a close one against two fellow LPRT touring pros in Kelani Lawrence / Hollie Scott. – Paola Longoria & Janel Tisinger-Ledkins were pressed but held on against fellow LPRT touring pros Brenda Laime Jalil and Masiel Rivera Oporto 12,12. – #2 seed Rhonda Rajsich picked up a last minute doubles replacement in Erica Williams and didn’t miss a beat on the court, cruising past Jessica Chen and Katie Neils 3,8.
In the semis: – The #1 seeds and defending champs Michelle De La Rosa and Carla Muñoz Montesinos got into action and faced one of the surprise revelations of this event Riveros, teamed with outdoor veteran Jessica Parrilla. The top pair was pushed in game one 15-12 then took over in game two to advance to the final 12,6. – The #1 player in the world teamed with one of the best ever to play the outdoor game were not to be stopped, as Longoria/Tisinger dominated the #2 seeds Rajsich/Williams to move to the final and setup a stellar title match.
In the finals, the defending champs took the first game, but Longoria and the legendary outdoor player Tisinger-Ledkins took the second and third games to claim the title (12),9,5
A great 15-team draw here. Lets get started in the round of 16, which featured several big-time names fall: – Nick Riffel and Katie Neils shocked two of the best players in the world in Paola Longoria and Alvaro Beltran, downing them in two games to move into the quarters. With all due respect to Riffel and Neils, I’m just not sure how two of the best doubles players in the world (both with excellent outdoor creds) conspired to lose. – Alex Landa and Lawrence blitzed past the #4 seeded team of Thomas Gerhardt and Aime Brewer 3,7 in a match that featured three Virginia residents. – The #3 seeded team of Robert Sostreand Carla Muñoz Montesinos was stretched to a breaker by the brother/sister Parrilla pair of Jessica and Andree Parrilla, but held on to advance.
In the quarters…
– #1 seeds and defending champion De La Rosa team cruised past Adam Manilla / Erica Williams in what reportedly was the first time Michelle De La Rosa picked up a racquetball racquet since last year’s Vegas event. – #5 Riffel & Niels continued their upset ways, shocking the #2 men’s player in the world Landa, playing with 2019 US national amateur champ Lawrence, to move into the semis. – Sostre & Munoz were pushed but won in two closer games over Californian outdoor vets Majeed Shahin and Tisinger. – In the shock result of the round, Mario Mercado & Riveros showed just how much outdoor they’ve picked up this week by stunning outdoor legends Rajsich and Rick Koll in a tiebreaker.
In the Semis… – #1 seeds DLRs moved into the final with another dominant performance, this time topping Riffel/Neils 7,7 – Mercado & Riveros got another upset win over two seasoned outdoor pros, dominating the Sostre/Munoz team 5,7 to move to the final. Mercado has really stepped up this tournament with a number of impressive wins, and Riveros really has shown affinity for the outdoor game.
In the finals, the Husband/Wife DLR team blasted the upstart South Americans 8,0 to repeat as titlists and make Daniel the double winner on the weekend for the second year running.
1-Wall Men’s Pro doubles. PRS Match Report: http://rball.pro/B11B77 9 teams in action here. Picking up action in the qtrs:
– #1 Sostre/ William Rolon were pushed hard by #8 Jake Bredenbeck and Jeremy Mcglothin before advancing 12,14. Jake really showed his outdoor prowess this weekend and I hope he continues to play in outdoor events going forward. – #4 Stockton buddies Jose Diaz & David Horn advanced over two Northern Virginia players Saul Rivera & Raul Berrios. – Outdoor specialists Ignacio Espinal and Servando Daniels held serve against the impressive Bolivian team that had caused so much havoc in the 3-wall division Marcelo Vargas & Mercado to advance. – An all east-coast battle resulted in two guys with DC-area ties Gerhart and Dylan Pruitt advancing as the #2 seeds over Richard Miller/Joe Kelley.
In the semis: – It took an 11-9 breaker but the one-wall experts Sostre/Rolon advanced over the 209-pair Diaz/Horn. – #2 seeds Gerhardt and Pruitt held serve over Iggy/Servando to setup a 1-2 final.
In the final, the New York one-wall legends were pushed to a breaker but overcame the #2 seeds to repeat as champions.
The 3-team round robin draw played out to seed, with the top two seeded teams both beating the #3 seeded team of Anita Flores and Vicki Onesti to setup a Sunday winner-take-all final.
In the final…Kelly Gremley & Aime Brewer outlasted #2 seeds Sonja Septon and Susie Boulander to take the title.
The most brutal test in outdoor is 3-wall singles being played on the extra long and wide courts of Vegas, and spectators were treated to amazing shows of athleticism all weekend on both the Men’s and Women’s side.
In the 16s of the Men’s draw, a couple of notable matches: – Bolivian Vargas took out IRT vet Manilla in a breaker. – Riffel blitzed the #5 seed Texan Abel Perez 3,4 to move on to the quarters.
In the quarters… we got some big time upsets as the two top seeds fall. – #1 seed Rolon was crushed by Bolivian newcomer Vargas 7,3. Vargas has been a revelation this tournament, playing with abandon on the outdoor courts and really showing what a force he can be on the court. – #4 Dan Lavely held serve against the upset-minded Riffel to advance. – #3 Diaz made quick work of fellow Californian Shahin to advance. – It took a tiebreaker, but top IRT pro Parrilla took out #2 seeded Thomas Gerhardt to move on.
In the semis: – Vargas continued his winning ways, topping Lavely to make the final. – Parrilla outlasted Diaz, with both players demonstrating their dominant 3-wall serves.
In the final, Parrilla made short work of the Cinderella Bolivian, downing him 5,8 to take the title.
The four LPRT pros in the draw held serve in the quarters to advance to a star-studded semi finals.
In the semis… – #1 Rajsich held on to advance over Munoz 13,6. – #3 Longoria downed her country-woman #2 seed Parrilla in a breaker to move on.
In the final, Rhonda put on a clinic in game one to win 15-4, but then Longoria woke up and demolished her long-time LPRT rival in games 2 and 3 to win the title. Final score (4),4,4.
A huge shoutout to the whole 3Wall Ball crew for putting this event on under difficult circumstances. MC Vegas, Peggine Tellez,, Soda Man and the whole Las Vegas crew; our hats are off to you and the community thanks you.
Thanks for all the streaming on the weekend, especially from broadcasters Dean DeAngelo Baer, Pablo Fajre and the IRTLive crew . Thanks also to the LPRT regular broadcast crew including Timothy Baghurst, Jerry J Josey Jr., and Tj Baumbaugh
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Next up? Well, next up is … up in the air. Both pro tours have some upcoming events on the schedule; will they happen? Everything is tbd.
Waselenchuk came up short in the final, but impressed everyone with his adjustment to the outdoor game. Photo Mike Augustin/Game Changer Photo
Note: my wrap-up is so big that i’m going to break it up into two parts. Today we’ll review the great Men’s 3-wall pro doubles draw, then tomorrow wrap-up the rest of the event.
Congrats to your winners on the weekend:
– Men’s 3-wall Doubles: Daniel De La Rosa & Alvaro Beltran – Women’s 3-wall Doubles: Paola Longoria & Janel Tisinger-Ledkins – Mixed 3-wall Doubles: Daniel De La Rosa & Michelle De La Rosa
– Men’s 1-wall Doubles: Robert Sostre & William Rolon – Women’s 1-wall Doubles: Kelly Gremley & Aime Brewer – Mixed 1-wall Doubles: Rick “Soda Man” & Rhonda Rajsich
The round of 32 had some “upsets” by seed, but probably not by talent, as this tournament featured a ton of non-outdoor regulars with little in the way of outdoor ranking points.
In the 16s, we saw a number of top seeds fall. – #1 Daniel De La Rosa & Alvaro Beltran handled the Alex Landa / Sudsy Monchik team 13,8 to avoid their biggest tripping point on the way to the final. – Relative unknowns Cesar Chavez & Jeremy Mcglothin upset two top-10 seeds to advance to the quarters, taking out teams with veteran outdoor players such as Ignacio Espinal and Thomas Gerhardt. – Jake Bredenbeck and Brian Pineda played outstanding racquetball to take out two-time Outdoor National doubles champions and #5 seeds Rocky Carson and Jesus Ustarroz in a tie-breaker. Jake proved quite adept at translating his power game into outdoor success, while Pineda on the right hand side gave off a shot-making clinic to drive the upset. – The #4 team of Paddleball legend Emmett Coe and tourney host Rick Koll held serve and advanced past the veteran California-based doubles team of Tim Herman and Mike Myers. – IRT veteran Mario Mercado teamed with relative unknown Bolivian Marcello Vargas Aguilar to take out last year’s semi finalists and outdoor veteran #3 seeds Floridians Roy Hernandez and Marcos Gravier. The two Bolivian natives played solid ball and had great court coverage and could be a dark horse for more upsets. – #6 seeded outdoor veterans Brandon Davis and Alejandro Barcelo cruised into the quarters with ease. – Two IRT veteran indoor players (and college buddies) in Adam Manilla and Nick Riffel teamed up to oust WOR Hall of Famer Mike Peters and fellow Huntington Beach outdoor veteran Patrick Allin 12,8 to be shock quarter finalists. – Lastly, the big one. IRT #1 Kane Waselenchuk and his frequent indoor doubles partner Ben Croft took on the #2 seeded team of WOR hall of famer Robert Sostre and experienced indoor and outdoor pro David Horn. Lots of build-up to Kane’s appearance here, with outdoor specialists questioning whether the duo could adjust to the outdoor game, while indoor fans questioning why anyone would predict that Kane would lose, anywhere.
Game one was a shock to the system: Sostre could not miss and Croft/Kane looked like the outdoor novices that they are, and the #2 seeds won 15-2. With Michelle De La Rosa and Sudsy on the mike for streaming, they watched as Kane literally learned how to play outdoor throughout game 2, suddenly working the angles and hitting the kinds of outdoor-only shots that would be anathema indoors. What looked like it was going to be a two game blowout suddenly went to the tie-breaker. There, the novices picked on Sostre while serving, forcing him to hit backhands and forcing the #2 seeds to change tactics, but to no avail. The newbies cruised to an 11-4 tiebreaker win and put a shot across the bows of the outdoor world.
In the Quarters, a couple of shock results: – #1 seeds DLR and Beltran made quick work of the upstart Chavez/McGlothin team 2,3. – Despite downing the #5 team in the 16s, one of the two of Bredenbeck/Pineda failed to report in time for their quarter final match and the #4 team of Coe/Koll was given a walkover into the semis. The reported reason? “Too much Las Vegas.” – The #6 team of Davis/Barcelo blitzed the all-Bolivian team of Vargas/Marcello in game one, then had to mount a furious comeback to take game two and advance 1,14. The second game featured great shot-making from both sides, with the prowess of Davis in particular proving the difference. – Croft & Kane made quick work of two fellow IRT touring pros relatively new to outdoor in Manilla & Riffel to move on.
The semis featured two fantastic matchups: – The top half featured two teams of outdoor veterans in the #1 vs #4 matchup. – The bottom semi featured two of the best outdoor specialists out there in Davis/Barcelo versus perhaps the best current doubles team in the world (indoor or outdoor) in Kane/Croft. One team had to budge; which would it be?
In the end, both matches were anti-climactic, with the #1 seeds winning 3,5 and the Kane/Croft team blitzing to a 3,7 win to setup the final that everyone wanted.
In the final, the sport and all the neutrals got the match they wanted, and they were not disappointed. Kane/Croft won a back and forth first game that could have gone either way, then DLR/Beltran pulled away with consistency and by working the left side of the court. In the breaker they continued their dominance, running out to a 10-5 lead before a fantastic shot from the champ extended the match. Kane & Ben pulled back a couple more points, but an error on a service return sealed the win for the #1 seeds. DLR/Beltran defeat Waselenchuk/Croft (12),9,8 to repeat as champions.
But nobody is walking away from this tournament without recognizing just how well Kane and Croft played to get to the final. Here’s hoping this is just the latest chapter in these two teams’ rivalry, indoor or out.
De La Rosa had a fantastic 2019 Vegas event, can he repeat in 2020 with the massive influx of competition? Photo 2019 outdoor Nationals by Mike Augustin/Game Changer Photo
The time has come for the event we’ve been talking about for months now. The largest event of 2020; its the 11th annual 3WallBall event on the grounds of the STRAT hotel in Las Vegas.
600 players among three racquet sport disciplines are signed up, with play set to start Thursday Morning. More than 330 racquetball players are entered,
I’m bummed; I have been planning on attending for months but had to pull out of traveling last minute, so i’ll be listening in on the streams all weekend with the rest of you.
This is set to be quite the unique event; a number of top touring pros on both the Men’s and Women’s side are set to make their outdoor debuts, which will make for a highly entertaining draw and fantastic matches all weekend.
Your defending champs are as follows: – Men’s 3-wall Doubles: De La Rosa/Beltran – Women’s 3-wall Doubles: De La Rosa/Munoz – Mixed 3-wall Doubles: the De La Rosa husband/wife combo
Not all of these teams are back together this year, and the talent depth in all the draws should make it tough for repeats this year.
—————————— Lets preview the draws. 3-Wall Doubles first.
First up, the Mens Pro 3-wall doubles draw, which has had the most “buzz” associated with it thanks to the influx of top players from the IRT playing outdoor competitively for the first time ever. And what a draw we have. 23 teams that include 8 of the top 10 indoor players and a large slate of the best outdoor players in the world.
The big pre-tournament buzz was where to seed, in particular, #1 player in the world Kane Waselenchuk and his regular doubles partner Ben Croft, neither of whom have a ton of outdoor experience. True to form, WOR has stayed true to their own ranking system and gave the two (along with the Alex Landa / Sudsy Monchik pairing) bottom seeds, which will make for some pretty interesting round of 16 matches.
here’s some matches to watch for in the 32s – #21 Jake Bredenbeck / Brian Pineda vs #12 Sergio Rivera/ Dylan Pruitt ; shoutout to some of my DC-area local players, who go up against the basher in Jake and a long-time outdoor aficionado in Pineda. – #13 Wayne Antone Racquetball / Andree Parrilla vs #20 Tim Hermann / Mike Myers: an interesting match-up between a long-time doubles partnership in Herman/Myers and the two up and coming players in Antone/Parrilla, who have little experience playing with each other. How much does outdoor experience and team chemistry play into a match-up? Look for the upset here. – Long-time buds and IRT touring regulars Adam Manilla and Nick Riffel team up to take on #10 MoMo Zelada and Danny Lavely in what could be a tight opener.
– And of course, the Kane/Croft and Sudsy/Landa openers, both of which are happening later in the afternoon Thursday.
Projected 16s; and we have some doozies. We’re highlighting three potential match-ups in particular:
– #1 Daniel De La Rosa / Alvaro Beltran versus #17 Landa/Monchik. Well, the defending champs get a test right out of the gate. I’d have rather seen this match-up in the quarters, but I think DLR/Beltran move on. – #5 Rocky Carson / Jesus Ustarroz, who have two Outdoor national titles playing together, return to action as a pairing and likely face off against the Jake/Pineda pairing. – #2 Robert Sostre and David ” Bobby” Horn projected to face the King Kane/Croft partnership. What a match, and what a bummer for the #2 seeds right out of the gate. The hall of famer Sostre is better known for his one-wall prowess, but he’s accomplished in all outdoor disciplines as well. Look for this to be tight, but for Kane/Croft to move on.
Projected Quarters: they could be awesome – #1 DLR/Beltran over #8 Gerhardt / Jordan Walters – #5 Carson/Jay over #4 Emmett Coe / Rick Koll ; this is a tough one, featuring four accomplished outdoor players and a player in Koll who is frequently in the semis and finals of pro draws in these major outdoor tournaments. – #3 Marcos Gravier / Roy Hernandez over #6 Brandon Davis / Alejandro Barcelo . This is a great match-up of outdoor specialists who may not be well known names to the “indoor racquetball” fan, but who are all among the best of their trade in the outdoor game. I like the top Florida pair to move on here, topping a team that includes one of the best up and coming outdoor singles players out there in Davis. – #15 Kane/Croft over #7 Mike Peters / Patrick Allin ; the hall of famer Peters will certainly make this an entertaining match to watch for the neutrals, but the firepower of Kane/Croft should persevere.
My semis: – #1 DLR/Beltran over #5 Carson/Ustarroz; this was the outdoor nationals final in both 2016 and 2017, but the #1 team has stepped up their game and has proved to be very difficult to beat, indoors or outdoors. I think the #1 team moves on to the final. – #15 Kane/Croft over #3 Gravier/Hernandez: if there’s a spot where the indoor specialists get tripped up, its here. It will not be a surprise to any outdoor player if the talented Florida duo shock the world here. That being said, I don’t think Kane is to be stopped and the pair will have worked out all the outdoor adjustments they need by this point.
Finals: DLR/Beltran over Kane/Croft; this is the match-up everyone wants to see, and I’m glad it doesn’t happen til the final. It would be a fitting final for this event, for the size of it and for the buzz. These two teams have faced off in multiple major events: this was the 2017 US Open final (what many call the best ever racquetball match), the 2018 World Doubles final, the 2018 US Open final, and the 2019 US Open final. DLR and Beltran took the 2018 final in dominant fashion but have otherwise fallen to Kane/Croft.
Not this time; their outdoor experience leads them to a win over Kane/Croft in a fantastic match.
—————————— Women’s 3-wall doubles preview
There’s 7 teams here, and a possible draw change for the #2 seeds, which list Rhonda Rajsich and Samantha Salas Solis playing together. Salas recently underwent shoulder surgery and is not attending, so its hard to predict out this draw. Is Rhonda replacing her partner? Or is there to be a forfeit?
All 7 teams are filled with top LPRT players and there should be great competition all around.
I like the #3 seeds Paola Longoria and Janel Tisinger-Ledkins, returning to competition after a forced layoff, to advance to the final irrespective of who Rhonda might pickup as a partner, set to face the #1 seeds and defending champs Carla Muñoz Montesinos and Michelle De La Rosa.
In what should be a fantastic final, the four players (two of whom are basically outdoor specialists) should put on a great display of talent. In the end, I like Longoria/Tisinger to take the crown.
—————————— Mixed 3-wall doubles preview
A robust 15-team Mixed draw should make for amazing watching, especially in the top half of the draw, which is stacked.
Here’s some round of 16 matches to watch for: – #13 Landa/ Kelani Lawrence take on #4 Gerhardt/ Aime Brewer in a match filled with players with Virginia connections. Its an interesting pairing for Landa and it should be interesting to see how this match goes, especially given that both Gerhardt and Brewer are huge outdoor specialists.
– #3 Sostre/Munoz take on #14 brother/sister combo Andree and jessica Parrilla: i cannot say that i’ve seen these two play before as a team; how well will they play together? They face off against an incredibly accomplished duo in Sostre/Munoz; a great match.
Projected qtrs: – #1 and defending champs DLR/DLR possibly take on Jake Bredenbeck and Hollie Scott – #12 Alvaro Beltran playing with Longoria likely set to take on Landa/Lawrence in a great matchup of regular pros. – #3 Sostre/Munoz vs #6 Tisinger/ Majeed Shahin; an excellent display of outdoor play, with one of the best females ever to play outdoor in Tisinger against the hall of famer Sostre. – #2 Rajsich and Soda Man taking on the winners of a fascinating play-in involving two all South American teams.
My semis: – DLRs over Beltran/Longoria; but expect it to go the distance. – Sostre/Munoz over Rajsich/Koll
Final: DLRs repeat.
—————————— Lets run through the one-wall doubles events.
Men’s One-wall doubles Pro has 9 teams, head lined by the Sostre/Rolon team that will be hard to beat. But look for an interesting dark horse team in Jose Diaz and David Horn in the upper bracket looking to make noise. On the bottom side of the draw look out for one-wall florida outdoor specialist Ignacio Espinal and his partner Servando Daniels to make the final. I like Sostre and Rolon to repeat.
There isn’t an official One-Wall “pro” division for Women, but there is a good 3-team RR to determine the title. Look for Virginia outdoor player Aime Brewer, teamed up with Kelly Gremley to take the title as the #1 seeds.
Mixed One-Wall doubles: 6 teams here; i like the #2 seeds of defending ch amp Munuz teamed with one-wall specialist Rolon to top the Rajsich/Koll team in the final.
——————————— Lets look at the 3-wall Singles draws:
On the Men’s side: a 13-man draw is set to play out that will guarantee a new champ, as both of last year’s finalists are missing. #1 seed William Rolon projects to have a tough quarter final match against IRT tour regular Adam Manilla, and #2 seed Thomas Gerhardt will be the unlucky quarter finals opponent of #4 ranked touring IRT pro Andree Parrilla.
There’s also a slew of solid outdoor-capable players in this draw from all over the country who could make noise. Derek Izzi, Nick Riffel, Dan Lavely and Majeed Shahin all are threats to make the semis. A last minute withdrawal of the unknown #3 seed gives the dark horse outdoor specialist Marco Antonio Mijares a bye into the quarters and a clean path to the semis.
I’m predicting Rolon advances to the final, Parrilla upsets Gerhardt and also advances to the final, but Rolon takes the title.
On the Women’s side, four top LPRT touring pros are entered and should all advance to make for some great semi final action. #1 seed and defending champ Rhonda Rajsich should advance over #4 munoz, while in the bottom half world #1 Longoria returns to outdoor for the first time in years and should advance past #2 seed Jessica Parrilla.
In the final, I’ll favor Longoria over the outdoor legend Rajsich, despite Rhonda’s experience. Longoria is no stranger to outdoor and will play away any sense of rust in the discipline by the time she reaches the final.
——————————— Phew! that might be the longest preview i’ve ever written.
——————————— Look for Streaming in the regular places; both the LPRT and the IRT are streaming. Follow both organizations on facebook and sign up to get notifications when they go Live.
Look for Dean DeAngelo Baer, Favio Soto, Pablo Fajre and the IRTLive crew all weekend on the mike streaming one court, and look for Timothy Baghurst, JP Edwards and Tj Baumbaugh on the mike, calling the shots!
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