{"id":1851,"date":"2023-05-04T13:17:26","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T13:17:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.proracquetballstats.com\/?p=1851"},"modified":"2023-05-04T13:17:26","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T13:17:26","slug":"lprt-sweet-caroline-grand-slam-preview-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.proracquetballstats.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/04\/lprt-sweet-caroline-grand-slam-preview-3\/","title":{"rendered":"LPRT Sweet Caroline Grand Slam Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Can Centellas get another bracket-busting win in Greenville? Photo via deportesbolivia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The LPRT is back in action just a few days after its last event, which was filled with upsets and surprising results. Now the tour is in Greenville, South Carolina, for one of its favorite stops; the Sweet Caroline Grand Slam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The season-end race has tightened up considerably, and the results at this grand slam will play a huge part in determining whether the title will be Longoria’s 14th or Mejia’s first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

R2 Sports App link: https:\/\/www.r2sports.com\/website\/event-website.asp?TID=40764<\/p>\n\n\n\n

24 ladies are here, including the top 15 players and 18 of the top 20 overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

——————————<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lets preview the draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because there’s not a ton of movement down-rankings from event to event, we’re seeing some repeated matchups in both the 32s and the 16s from last week. And we’re seeing some intriguing meetings<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Its Guatemala vs Guatemala in the 16\/17 match, as long-time doubles partners and National team members @Ana Gabriela Mart\u00ednez takes on Maria Renee Rodriguez for a shot at #1 Longoria<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Two Argentinans Maria Katz and Maria Jose Vargas face off to play into Jessica Parrilla<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Impressive US Junior National team member and reigning16U world champ @Naomi Ros gets a shot at US Adult team member Kelani Lawrence , a week after taking a game off of another US team member Manilla. Can she get a breakthrough win here?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Not for the first time this season, Colombian team mates Cristina Amaya and Maria Paz Riquelme have to face off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

——————————-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

round of 16:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #1 Paola Longoria projects to face Martinez again; last week was a tight 13,14 win. Can Gaby push it to a breaker this week?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– In the always-close #8\/#9 matchup, a solid all South American match between Bolivian Angelica Barrios and Chilean @Carla Munoz . Barrios has owned this matchup as of late and is the favorite here, but Munoz is coming off a solid win last week and will try to keep it close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– For the 2nd week in a row, Vargas plays into Parrilla, and likely gets the upset win. Bad luck for Parrilla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– This week, USA national champ Erika Manilla gets another precocious opponent in Valeria Centellas . The U21 is coming off her career best win over Herrera last week, and has a h2h win over Manilla earlier this season. This is definitely danger zone for Manilla and this could be another major upset. Added wrinkle; these two are playing doubles together this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #3 Alexandra Herrera projects to face US National Hollie Scott and should advance, but her shock loss last week has opened up questions about her game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #6 Brenda Laime may have made the final last week, but she projects to face #11 Kelani Lawrence , who’s beaten her twice since December. I’m going with the upset loss; from the finals to one-and-done for Laime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #7 Natalia Mendez is reeling in the rankings, and now projects to face #10 Samantha Salas , who beat her in their last meeting in June and has generally controlled their h2hs. Upset watch here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

——————————<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Projected Qtrs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #1 Longoria versus Barrios: Barrios shocked Longoria in Boston earlier this year, so we know she can get wins. But is Longoria too focused knowing what’s at stake? I think so, and I think she wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #12 Vargas over #4 Manilla; a rematch of the San Antonio quarters, where Vargas crushed Erika 3,6. I see no reason not to think a similar result happens, unless the Manilla coaching brain-trust comes up with a new gameplan to counter the powerful Vargas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #3 Herrera over #11 Lawrence; these two have met a few times, and Kelani has made things close, but the lefty is still 10-0 lifetime versus Kelani, looking to make it 11-0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– #2 @Montse Mej\u00eda set to lock horns with Salas again, and somehow avoid another upset quarter-final outster. Few would have predicted last week’s Salas win: will Mejia get re-focused for this week knowing that she likely needs two wins to secure the title? The pressure is on and I think she rises to the occasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Semis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Longoria over Vargas: when the chips are down and the pressure is on, I’ll take Longoria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Mejia over Herrera: Mejia’s quote familiar with Alexandra’s game by this point and has won their last few meetings (4 straight wins since August) and if she can get past Salas I like her chances for the final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final: if it can be #1 vs #2, the pressure will be immense. I like Longoria to handle the pressure, but Mejia to handle Longoria. Mejia for the title and takes back control of the title race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Doubles review<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So much is at stake in singles, I wonder how contested the doubles will be. But after lots of partner shuffling, we have the two top doubles teams together and on opposite sides of the draw. #1 Longoria\/Salas and #2 Herrera\/Mejia are likely on a collision course for the Saturday night final. I’ll go with Longoria and Salas to retain the crown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

———————————<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LPRT U21<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U21 are in action again for the 2nd week running; this time 5 of the tour’s young pros will battle it out, with defending U21 Lprt champ Centellas the likely favorite. Look for a fun semis match between #2 Katz and #3 Ros, a great measuring stick for the Texan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

———————————<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look for Streaming in the regular places; follow the LPRT on Facebook and sign up to get notifications when they go Live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look for Timothy Baghurst, Jerry J Josey Jr., and Tj Baumbaugh on the mike, calling the shots!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to the Tourney Directors X and X for putting this event on!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Associations<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LPRT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The LPRT is back in action just a few days after its last event, which was filled with upsets and surprising results. Now the tour is in Greenville, South Carolina, for one of its favorite stops; the Sweet Caroline Grand Slam. The season-end race has tightened up considerably, and the results at this grand slam … <\/p>\n

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