Hawkes had 20 career Outdoor Nationals singles titles. Photo IRB cover shot
In Jan 2019, after years of research, WOR Hall of Fame chair Brett Elkins revealed a the initial results of his attempts to find all the past winners and semi-finalists of the Outdoor national championships singles events. PRS helped a little bit, finding old WOR nationals review articles in the magazines … but there’s not a ton of coverage even in the publications of the time, so kudos to Elkins for reaching out to the players from each era to test their memories on each event.
This note is to tell you that we’ve updated the PRS database to put in all the results of Elkin’s singles research so that All Finals and All Quarter/Semis/Finals reports work and display as much data as we have available. Furthermore I’ve added in some category queries so you can quickly run just the finals for Outdoor 3-wall and isolate that long-running event from the other major outdoor championships in Vegas and Florida.
Here’s some example queries for you, now live with “better” data than we had before:
All Men’s Outdoor Nats singles finals: http://rball.pro/946EC1 Current Record Holders for Outdoor Nats singles titles: – Brian Hawkes with 20 – Rocky Carson with 12 – Several players with 2: Alvaro Beltran, Dan Southern, and Charlie Brumfield – 8 players with 1 title each.
Once you run the Quarters/Semis/Finals report, you can see the dilemma we face; prior to the R2 era starting in 2006, there’s almost no documented history of the event other than the stellar memory of the likes of Greg Solis, Mike Peters and others.
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The Women’s singles data isn’t as well populated: that’s one of Elkins’ todo items. We have the winners going back to 2006, nothing for most of the 1990s and 2000s, then some early history documenting the great rivalry between Lynn Adams and Martha McDonald.
Of course, there’s also a separate WOR Doubles database, with Men’s, Women’s and Mixed pro doubles reports for all three major WOR events; we published a major update for the Doubles Outdoor Nationals data last week.
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Lastly a quick note that i’ve changed the “seasons” in WOR to be just the year in which the tourneys occurred, instead of assigning a “season” that crossed the Dec/Jan time-frame (which is what the pro tours do). This was an anachronism that I just never fixed, until now.
As with all other Outdoor lists, Brian Hawkes reigns supreme here too. Photo IR cover shot Aug 1984
Hello Outdoor Racquetball Fans.
I’ve recently worked with Brett Elkins, who coordinates the WOR Hall of Fame, to help populate better the Men’s historical Outdoor Nationals doubles data in the database. Brett has been working with some of the older pros to try to fill in gaps/holes in the early data to get a complete picture of past winners from the early years.
Meanwhile, I’ve gone through all available R2sports based tournaments and filled in complete draws from 2007-current. Plus, I transcribed the 2006 draw from a picture someone took of the draw-sheet (John Ellis maybe? I cannot remember where I got it from but thank you to whoever had it). This has resulted in 325 Pro doubles matches newly entered into the database.
Here’s some reports that show the newly entered data:
– http://rball.pro/3FCE81 This report shows the Quarters/Semis/Finals for all Men’s Pro Outdoor Nationals tournaments dating to 1974. It shows how we had full draw-sheets from 2019-2006, plus the 1980 tournament (courtesy of Steve Belmonte).
– http://rball.pro/B02D9AThis just shows the final and is a bit easier to read, especially on a cell phone. As you can see, there’s still a few holes: we don’t know who won at all in 1981, and we don’t know who Hawkes’ partner was for his early titles.
Based on known data, who holds the most Outdoor Nationals doubles titles? – Brian Hawkes: 8 – Greg Solis: 6 – Craig “Clubber” Lane: 6 – Rocky Carson: 5 – Robert Hoff: 5 – Kevin Booth: 5 – Paul Olson: 4 – Mark Harding: 4 – Mike Peters: 3 – Josh Tucker: 3 – Dave Genevay: 3 – Dan Southern: 3
Fitting that the king of Outdoor holds this record to go along with his 20 Outdoor Nationals singles titles. The rest of this list is dotted with Hall of Fame outdoor players from the sport’s long history playing in Huntington Beach & Costa Mesa.
As always, if you have old drawsheets or information, please reach out so we can input it.
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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