Herrera Wins 2nd Career Title at 5th Boston Open
Mar 7, 2022
Alexandra Herrera (MEX) confirmed her place in racquetball history as the first player in 12 years to win back-to-back events over dominate #1 Paola Longoria (MEX). As mentioned by LPRT commentators during the LPRT LIVE! broadcasts, Herrera has been playing her best racquetball to date, this season. In the Boston final she made few errors, great gets, had a tremendous comeback when she was down 12-1, and won the match in 2 games, 15-8, 15-14.
Thank you to Stewart Solomon of Solomon Racquet & Sports for hosting the LPRT for a 5th Boston Open. Solomon, who has had a passion for racquetball since the age of 13, runs events in the Boston and surrounding area, all for the benefit of the American Cancer Society Astra-Zeneca Hope Lodge Center in Boston: https://www.cancer.org/treatment/support-programs-and-services/patient-lodging/hope-lodge/boston/about-our-facility.html
Here is a recap of the event thanks to Todd Boss of ProRacquetballStats.com:
LPRT Boston Open Recap
Congrats to your winners on the weekend:
- Singles: Alexandra Herrera
- Doubles: Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas
R2 Sports App home page for event: https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=38579
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Let’s review the notable matches in the Singles draw.
Singles Match report in the PRS database: http://rball.pro/F91610
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In the 32s:
- @Hollie Scott and Maria Renee Rodriguez split two close games in their 16/17 match-up before Scott pulled away with a dominant 11-1 tiebreaker win.
- The ever-improving junior Micaela Meneses took a game off #13 @Erika Manila before falling in a breaker.
- @Crist' Amaya got a solid win over fellow veteran tour player @Nancy Enriquez 11-5 in the breaker.
- #11 @Carla Munoz reversed the script against @Jenny Daza , topping her 9,9 to move on. Daza had gotten the big upset over Munuz in this round just last tournament.
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In the 16s:
- Scott made #1 @Paola Longoria work for her round of 16 win, pushing the top player 12,11 in their round of 16 matchup.
- #5 @Natalia Mendez was challenged by her younger Argentinian rival @Valeria Centellas before advancing 11-7 in the breaker.
- #13 Manilla got her fifth win over a top-5 seed on tour since October, downing #4 @Gaby Martinez in a hard-fought close match. She took the first game 15-13, then Gaby raced to a huge lead in game two before Erika pulled it all the way back. They traded blows at match point before Gaby's athletic exploits pushed a tiebreaker. There, Manilla looked to run away with the breaker before Gaby scored 7 unanswered to push for an amazing comeback ... but Manilla got the 11-8 win.
- #3Maria Jose Vargas battled through some illness and outlasted the veteran Amaya in a tiebreaker.
- #7 @Montse Mejia put a statement down, crushing #10 @Brenda Laime 8,1 to move into the quarters.
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In the Quarters, a couple of surprising results.
- #1 Longoria made fast work of her doubles partner Salas 5,7
- #5 Mendez avenged herself in a rematch against Manilla, winning in a tiebreaker to avoid two upsets in two tournaments.
- #3 Vargas could not overcome both illness and #6 Barrios, losing in a tiebreaker.
- #2 Herrera outlasted her doubles partner Mejia, dropping the middle game but running away with it in the tiebreaker.
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In the Semis
- Longoria made quick work of Mendez 7,5 and was in cruise control for most of the match.
- Herrera was not troubled by the young Bolivian Barrios 6,5 and setup the anticipated rematch of last week's final in Vero Beach.
In the Finals.... another shocker. Herrera dominated in game one 15-8, then for a while it looked like Longoria had found another gear, racing to a 12-1 game two win. Instead of packing it in, Herrera fought back and saved game points against to take game two 15-14 in an amazing comeback win.
Herrera's second career win moves her into the top 20 all time of tour wins. Longoria loses in the final for the second tourney in a row ... something that hadn't happened since the fall of 2010, when she lost two successive finals to Rajsich (also the last time she lost to the same person in two straight events). Is this a changing of the guard? Or a blip on Longoria's resume?
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Doubles review.
Hollie Scott had the tournament of her career, driving the all-American duo of Scott & Lawrence to the pro doubles final. They took out Vargas & Mendez in the quarters, then Herrera/Mejia in the semis. In the final though, they couldn't overtake the #1 duo of Longoria/Salas, falling in a breaker.
Longoria & Salas win their 35th pro doubles title together since August 2014. Amazing.
Match report in the PRS database: http://rball.pro/F5E7DA
Thank you again to Boston Open Sponsors:
String Theory - Tony Prater
Solomon Racquet & Sports - Stewart Solomon
Cliff Swain
Messina Technology Solutions - Josh Messina
Performance Chemicals - Mike Currier
Pelvic Floor Diagnostics - Rich Barrett
Mrs. Elf's Toys - Jolene Sullivan
Peak Performance Factors
Sport Psychology Consultant - Joanne T. Pomodoro
Norman Escobar
Bill Penny
Corey Litchfield
Daly Appraisal Services - Jim Daly Jr.