Welcome to the halfway point of the LPRT season, and the final pro event of the 2024 calendar year. It is the long-running DC-area based Christmas Classic, which has been an LPRT stop for years. The event is in its 32nd year, which puts its first iteration in the 1991.
I first helped out with this event, as far as my old files tell me, in the 8th iteration in 1999 when the event was run in at the Tysons club in Tysons Corner (McLean) Virginia. The event has moved around the DC area as clubs were closed or lost enough courts to make hosting impossible; the event has gone from Tysons to Crystal Gateway in Arlington, to Sportfit in Laurel Maryland, and now at the Severna Park Health & Racquet facility in Millersville/Severna Park area closer to Baltimore. LPRT sanctioning began in 2007 and has been consistent ever since, making it one of the longest continually running pro events out there, for either the Ladies or the Men.
R2 Sports App link: https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=46046
There’s 24 players here this weekend. Top players missing include #4 Herrera, #15 Barrios, #19 Ros and #20 Scott.
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Let’s preview the draw. Here’s some notable qualifying matches that i’m looking forward to:
In the 32s:
– We have the triumphant return of @Erika Manilla , who comes in at the #16 seed. She’ll face off against another player who’s attendance has been spotty lately , long-time tour player #17 Maria Renee Rodríguez for a shot at #1 Vargas.
– The 24th seed out of 24 is California @Erica Williams, who’s flow 3,000 miles from her home town in the Bay Area to play and watch. Williams is one of the biggest supporters of racquetball on the west coast and its great to see her in the DC area.
– Two top Canadian players are entered this weekend; @Juliette Parent faces off against #12 @Lexi York in what could be a great match. Meanwhile, Frederique Lambert makes a rare appearance coming off her Canadian National selection event win last weekend; she plays into #13 Michelle Key , who’s been on fire lately.
– #12 @Jessica Parrilla faces off against Laura Brandt , who is playing this event in her age 62 season, which has to be close to a record for the LPRT. Hmm; that sounds like a query worth writing: oldest player ever to appear in a pro event? That might be a fun one.
– In the 15/18 we get María Paz Riquelme versus Khyathi Velpuri , a good test for the young Colorado based American.
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Projecting the round of 16:
– #1 @Maria Jose Vargas has to contend with Manilla in her first event back: it may be a bit too early for Erika to take out Vargas, but this is a semis-quality match in the 16s.
– In the 8/9 @Carla Muñoz and Cristina Amaya Cassino face off in the round of 16, in this 8/9 match, for the 4th time since May. Munoz won the first two this year, but Amaya got her two weeks ago in Chicago. Coin flip.
– #4 @Gaby Martinez is here, making a somewhat rare appearance, and she gets the winner of the Lambert/Key match as an opener. Gaby is a threat to win whenever she enters and has three tournament wins in the last four seasons. If she’s to go on a run she’ll have a tough opener to get her started.
– #6 @Kelani Lawrence makes the drive up from Virginia and gets a second ever meeting against @Jessica Parrilla . Kelani beat Leoni in May; can she do it again?
– #7 @Natalia Mendez and #10 @Samantha Salas Solis look to meet for the third time in the round of 16 since June; Mendez has crushed Salas the previous two times.
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Projected Qtrs:
– #1 Vargas over Munoz/Amaya winner; Vargas is 15-1 combined against her two possible opponents career on the LPRT and is coming off a win in Chicago two weeks ago.
– Great potential quarter between #5 Brenda Laime Jalil and #4 Gaby. Laime had Longoria beat two weeks ago in Chicago; I thought she rolled out match point before having it called a skip and then losing 11-10. If she’s playing at that calibre, then she’s going to be tough for Martinez to beat here. These two met in the semis in Denver, a tough TB win for Gaby before she won the title. however, these are Laime’s home courts, and they’re not playing at altitude as they did in Denver (where Gaby lives and trains and had the advantage). I’ll go with Laime in the upset.
– #3 @Montse Mejia versus the Lawrence/Parrilla Winner: Mejia got waxed in the last pro event, and hasn’t made a final since April. She shouldn’t be troubled by either player at this juncture, but can’t look forward to her anticipated semis meeting against Paola.
– #2 Paola Longoria likely faces Mendez, just as she did two weeks ago, and likely moves on with little trouble.
Semis:
– Vargas over Laime. They’ve played 5 times, but most are older results. The last time they met was in June 2023, a tie-breaker win for Vargas. I sense Laime presses Vargas to a breaker but falls.
– Longoria over Mejia; they’ve met 26 times in top-level/non-regional event competitions. After a spell in 2022 when Mejia had her number, Longoria has taken back over the h2h rivalry and should win here.
Finals; I like Vargas over Longoria again to keep her lead atop the rankings.
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Doubles review
The partnerships in DC are crazy this week, with Longoria curiously not playing and Herrera missing. After winning the previous title with Key, Laime picked up Mejia and are the #1 seeds. meanwhile, Key teams with the returning Manilla to form a pretty solid team on paper; all depends on how rusty Manilla is. Team Argentina remains #2, while team Guatemala is #6 and is a real favorite from the bottom half. The two top Canadians are here, but both Lambert and Parent are playing with others (instead of getting cycles playing together for future IRF events). So, interesting draw for s ure.
I’ll go with #1 Laime/Mejia from the top, Rodriguez & Martinez from the bottom, and Laime/Mejia title.
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Look for Streaming in the regular places; follow the LPRT on Facebook and sign up to get notifications when they go Live. Look for Timothy Baghurst, Sandy Rios, Jerry J Josey Jr., and Tj Baumbaugh on the mike, calling the shots!
Associations
@LPRT