A busy weekend, and a busy month on the global racquetball calendar, sees the @LPRT returning to Boston, one of its longer running stops. The Boston Open has been run by Stewart Solomon for the benefit of the @Frontline Family Foundation annually since 2016.
27 of the best ladies in the world are in Massachusetts this weekend to battle it out. The draw is strong, with the whole top 10 present and only a couple of players from the 11-20 range out (Solis, Key) not present.
Like with the Men, a slew of internationals are here, especially from South America, to get in last minute reps for the upcoming PARC event in Guatemala, which only strengthens this draw and makes for some fun matchups.
R2 Sports App link: https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=47428
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Let’s preview the draw. Here’s some notable matches that i’m looking forward to:
Round of 32s:
– Bolivian #1 @Angelica Barrios has fallen so far down the rankings that she’s in the 16/17 match. This is a player who finished in the top 8 three years running. Tough opener for USA junior @Naomi Ros here.
– Rising star Bolivian Junior @Camila Rivero is here; she’s the 2-time defending 21U junior champion and now becoming a mainstay on the adult national team. She faces #9 Carla Muñoz , who doesn’t normally see such a tough round of 32. Upset watch here.
– Two team USA players in Scott and York have to meet in the opener. Even though Lexi York is the #12 seed, I think @Hollie Rae Scott is favored here.
– Team Canada in the house! We get rare LPRT appearances from @Ofelia Wilscam, @chloe Jauvin, and @Juliette parent, all pushing for @Racquetball Canada team slots. Juliette has the best chances of advancing, going against Racquetball TV’s Cristina Amaya Cassino .
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round of 16:
– #1 @Paola Longoria starts off her tournament with Barrios … who she’s 10-1 against lifetime … but that one loss? It was two years ago here in Boston. Interesting. I don’t think Barrios has the reps lately to press Paola, but crazier things have happened.
– In the 8/9 we project @Natalia Mendez and Munoz, if she can get by Rivero. Carla and Natalia have played a dozen times over the years, a lot internationally, and while Mendez owns the h2h Munoz has won the last couple. toss-up here.
– In the 6/11 we project @Kelani Lawrence and @Jessica Parrilla, who vets who will battle it out. Advantage Kelani.
– In the 2/15 we get two Bolivians turned Argentines in Vargas and Centellas. It’s always a little tough with doubles partner dynamics on the singles court, but Vargas shouldn’t falter here.
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Projected Qtrs:
– Longoria over Mendez. Paola is 12-0 lifetime against Natalia, and they’ve met three times in the last calendar year.
– Martinez over Herrera: neither player has a tough draw to this point, but then should have a battle. They’ve met 10 times; Gaby is 6-4 lifetime, and dominated in January 8,4 when they met at the Arizona Open.
– Mejia over Lawrence; they also met in AZ; a 0,4 beat-down for Montse.
– Vargas vs Laime: this is the toughest one to predict. On the one hand, Vargas is 5-0 against Brenda lifetime, so the prediction should be easy. But, Laime has a habit of getting out of nowhere wins, and plays a very similar game style to Vargas. If Brenda is hitting the ball, she can win this. I’ll go Vargas but in a breaker.
Semis:
– Longoria over Gaby. they’ve met 29 times across their storied careers: Gaby now has 3 wins, all three of them significant. It can happen, but the odds are against it. They usually play close, tough matches, but this time at sea level the advantage goes to Longoria (2 of Gaby’s 3 wins were at altitude, where she trains in Guatemala and has a distinct advantage).
– Mejia over Vargas. Vargas had Montse’s number for a while, but then Montse handled her in Arizona in January. I think she’s back.
Finals; Longoria over Mejia. Montse is playing well, but not well enough to beat Paola right now.
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Doubles review
There’s definitely some interesting teams and interesting draw developments here.
– Amaya and Riquelme are not playing together for the first time I can remember.
– The Guatemalan national team of Gaby & MRR is seeded 8th, which will give them an early test against Herrera & Mejia.
– With no Salas at the event, Longoria chose not to play doubles at all.
– Vargas has clearly dropped Mendez for Centellas in the Argentine pecking order; they’re #3 seeds.
– Reigning Team USA champions Scott & Lawrence are together, they’re the #5 seed.
– Mendez is teamed with Munoz and has enough points for the #2 seed, but won’t be favored to get to the final.
Prediction: #1 Herrera/Mejia vs #3 Vargas/Centellas in the final, with the Mexicans winning.
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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!
Coincidentally, if you’re interested in playing Fantasy Racquetball for this event, the links to the brackets are advertised on LPRT’s main page. The winner each week gets free swag!
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