Vargas Wins 3rd Straight at ASU
Jan 15, 2024
The Arizona Open presented by The Madison Trust was an exciting event for the LPRT. Maria Jose Vargas earned her 3rd straight singles title, Montse Mejia and Alexandra Herrera added another doubles title to their resume, and many high school volleyball players stopped to watch, and cheer, for professional racquetball!
Thank you to Coach Winterton for making the event happen, to presenting sponsor The Madison Trust (Dan Parker) for your support, and to Tournament Director Sean Davis for running a stellar event. Thank you to all of the sponsors and volunteers who made the event a success: The Madison Trust, Granite Dude, Mattfield Family, CTS Ceramic Tile Services, Winterton Racquetball, Boyer Design, Tempe Tourism, FixMyRacquet, Farmers Insurance, Burrito Express, The Eismann Group, Paradise Windows. And a special thank you to the outstanding hospitality provided by Susie, Lori, and Michelle, we loved it!
Thank you to Todd Boss of ProRacquetballStats.com for a full event recap:
LPRT 2024 Arizona Open Recap
Congrats to your Pro winners on the weekend:
- Singles: Maria Jose Vargas
- Doubles: Alexandra Herrera and Montse Mejia
Vargas wins the 3rd event of the four held so far in the 2023-24 season and takes a major step towards securing her first year end title. Herrera & Mejia cruise to another pro title together and solidify their place as the #1 ladies doubles team in the world.
Lets review the notable matches in the Singles draw.
Singles Match report in the PRS database: tbd
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In the 32s, there were no real "upsets" but we did see some decent games.
- Junior @Naomi Ros took Carla Munoz to 15-13 in game one before falling 13,4
- Jessica Parrilla came from a game down to top veteran Nancy Enriquez in a battle of doubles partners here at this event.
- MRR played @Kelani Lawrence tough before falling 10,7.
- One of the sport's longest playing vets Susana Acosta made her first appearance of the 2023-24 season; its the 26th straight season she's played a pro event. She took a game off of @Natalia Mendez before falling.
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In the 16s, 100% chalk. All top 8 seeds advanced, though a couple were pushed.
- #5 Erika Manilla dropped the first game against #12 Munoz before moving on. Despite the seeds here, this is a lot closer of a match and this tiebreaker isn't unexpected.
- Lawrence pushed #6 Gaby Martinez to a breaker as well, taking the middle game before falling in three.
- Parrilla and Laime had an interesting match: after losing 15-0 in game one, Parrilla fought hard to push game two to 14-14 but fell short of a tiebreaker.
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In the Quarters, we got some upsets
- #8 Alexandra Herrera, who isn't too far removed from winning tier 1s on tour herself, shocked her doubles partner and #1 Mejia in a tiebreaker. Sometimes, when you play a friend or someone you know well ... seeds don't matter. Mejia takes a quarter final loss and falls further behind in her quest to defend her title.
- #5 Manilla got a solid win over #4 Laime, playing just a few points short of the "perfect" game. Final score: 13,(14),8. Great win for the USA #1.
- #3 Longoria held off her 2018 World's vanquisher Gaby Martinez 15-14 in game one, then crushed her 15-2 to move into the semis.
- #2 Vargas made very fast work of a player who's given her fits in the past, #7 Barrios, winning 2,7 to move on. Whatever mental hiccups Vargas may have shown in the past, they seem to be past her.
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In the Semis:
- Herrera moved into her first final in more than a season by topping Manilla 14,5
- Vargas continued her run of success against Longoria, taking two close games 12,14 to move into the final. After starting her career 2-14 against Longoria, Vargas now has won 5 of their past 7 meetings.
In the Finals, Vargas topped Herrera 5,12 in a game that may not have been as close as the scores to win her 3rd event this season.
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Doubles review
Match report in the PRS database: tbd
Nothing could stop the #1 and #2 teams from getting to the final, despite the talent in the draw. There, Mejia and Herrera cruised to another pro title and extended their lead at the top with a comprehensive 9,4 win over Salas & Longoria.
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Open Singles, other notable draws
- USA top junior Naomi Ros took the small LPRT U21 draw.
- Carla Munoz took the Women's Open draw over Lucia Gonzalez in the final.
LPRT Photos by Coach Maripa (Maria Paz Riquelme)