Another great day of Racquetball as the US Junior World Cup team kept its strong pool play going, as did Mexico and Canada.
Head Coach Kelley Beane mentioned that the team looked and felt much stronger today now that the first day jitters are gone. And this is a very good thing as pool play ends tomorrow and the single elimination will start on Tuesday morning.
The only player not to play yesterday got her tournament off on the right foot as Oregon's Ashley Willhite defeated Guatemala's Monica Escobar in two games to set up the pool play finale against teammate Michelle Key. Ashley looked very strong throughout this match as she worked on every aspect of her game in completing the sweep in two. The girl's 18 doubles had the day off and will resume competition tomorrow.
In the Girl's 16s Sharon Jackson contined her strong play as she defeated Ecuador's Maria del Carmen Crespo in two. Sheryl Lotts stepped on the court after I had left for the day so I would highly encourage everyone to check the draws at the following link to find out what happened. The Doubles team had the day off and will resume tomorrow.
http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/display/tourney.asp?TID=1664
In the Girl's 14s, Aubrey O'Brien looked very strong in winning her match in two as did Danielle Key. And the doubles team had the day off and will resume tomorrow.
In the Boy's 18s, Allan Crockett defeated Korea's Seoung Jeung Jon in two close games while Chris Coy defeated Bolivia's Jaime Vargas in the match of the day.
Chris and Jaime took turns trading amazing shots early in this one, and the crowd seemed to sense right away that this was going to be something special. Jaime was able to string a few points together in the middle of the first game and that was enough to carry him onto victory in the first game 15-13. I looked over at Sue Coy and could see that she was extremely nervous at this point, but Chris was the picture of composure as he walked off the court and quietly grabbed some water and his thoughts for the second game. That seemed to work as Chris was able to grab a quick lead in that game. But Jaime was certainly not through. He gave is everything that he had trying to finish Chris off, but Chris stood tall and managed to grab the game 15-12. Gaining the serve in the tiebreaker, Chris was able to build a quick lead and hold on for the victory 11-6.
That match was a stark contrast to the doubles earlier in the day where Chris and partner Zach Apperson defeated the team from Honduras, Marco Zelaya and Raul Banegas in two quick games. I think the 8 am start time might have had something to do with the 1 and 0 game scores as Zach and Chris were definitely wide awake for this one.
In the 16s, Ishmael Aldana also got up early to beat Puerto Rico's Jose Acosta in two good games. Ishmael was working on various aspects of his game today as he prepares for the single elimination. Jose Rojas enjoyed a day off from the competition in singles, but still teamed with Ishmael to defeat the Canadian team of Barrett Husulak and Sean Barclay in two games. Once again, these two were on the same page from the moment they walked on the court and from the outset it looked as if it was only a matter of time before they would win.
In the 14s, Brad Kirch was the only player in action defeating Ireland's Rory O'Rourke in two as Taylor Knoth enjoyed a day off from both singles and doubles.
On the Espirit Cup side, today was a bit of a mixed day for Team USA. In the Girl's 12s, they are down to the semifinals and 3 of the 4 young ladies are American as Devon Pimentelli, Samantha Rosado, and Elizabeth Brenner have all come through and are joined by Mexico's Paulina Estrada. They will be off tomorrow before playing for the finals on Tuesday.
The Girl's 12 Doubles is a 4 and 1/2 team round robin as one player couldn't get a partner and had to forfeit so there were no matches in that division today.
In the Girl's 10s, the singles will start play on Tuesday and the doubles will resume action on Monday.
In the Girl's 8s today, it was a very difficult day for Team USA. Erika Manilla lost a tough match to Mexico's Vanessa Guttierez. This was a very exciting match to watch as both girl's played way beyond their 8 years making some incredible shots that had the crowd on its feet with excitement throughout, but in the end Vanessa was able to fight through for the victory at the end of each game, scores were something around 13 and 12.
Christina Lavely also lost out today to fellow American, Jordan Cooperrider. Again two very close games ended with Jordan just able to close her out.
In the Boy's 12s, both Marco Rojas and Jose Diaz won very comfortably in both singles and doubles and spent part of the afternoon trying out the special Outdoor court that was built on the tennis courts earlier in the day.
In the Boy's 10s, a mixed day. Adam Manilla continued his strong play in beating Mexico's Erik Garcia in two. The games were very close, but Adam seemed to be in control of this match throughout. Even when he skipped a ball he refused to show any signs of disappointment and that appeared to bother his opponent throughout their match.
Bobby Sehrgosha, however, lost a tough match to Mexico's Raul Javalera 9 and 12. I didn't get a chance to see this match, but was told by a few people that did that it was extremely tight until about 8-8 in each game and then Raul was able to pull away.
In the 10 Doubles, Adam Manilla and Sean Cooperrider were able to gain a win in two close games against a team from Costa Rica winning 14 and 9.
In the Boy's 8s, it was a tough day as both Ryan Francis and Jake Birnel lost tough matches to Mexican opponents.
Tomorrow starts bright and early with matches at 7:10am, and everybody plays, so
I will get an update out as soon as I can tomorrow night.