Chemtech WPRO World Championships round of 16
April 19th, 2008 by Adam Katz
The Round of 16 brought an even higher level of shot making to the table as the afternoon session kicked into gear.
On the show court, World #3, Angela Grisar (Santiago, Chile) took on World #15, Samantha Salas (Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico) with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line. Angela came out firing on all cylinders in this one to claim the first game, but Samantha fought back and turned her own game up in the second as both players struggled for each point. It seemed that every great shot was met by an even better retrieval as both ladies were leaving it all on the court. Angela was able to scrape together enough points late to grab the 2-0 game lead, but this one was far from over.
Samantha caught fire in the fourth game and Angela was only able to smile as Samantha steamrolled her way back into the match. The packed crowd by the show court was now cheering each rally as both ladies were clearly on their game. Angela, in her usual precise style jumped out to an early lead in the fourth game and slowly marched her way to the win in the game and therefore the match. On to the quarterfinals for Angela.
The match between World #6, Paola Longoria (San Luis Poteci, Mexico) and World #12, Jo Shattuck (Denver, CO) started in a similar fashion as Paola came out on fire and Jo struggled to keep up. However, trailing 1-0 in games and 7-10 in points, Jo strung together 5 points with some incredible diving and great placement to even the match at a game a piece. That only seemed to fire Paola up as she stopped any and all mistakes and swept the last two games to book her spot in tomorrow’s quarterfinals, where she will face Angela.
Next up on the show court was World #2, Cheryl Gudinas Holmes (Naperville, IL) taking on Keely Franks (Euless, TX). Two things seemed to catch up with Keely in this one. First, she had battled through a brutal 5 game match only a few hours earlier. Second, she had to play Cheryl Gudinas Holmes. Keely gave it all she had, but Cheryl started off shooting lights out and simply never let up to book her spot in the Elite 8.
On Court 2, World #7, Brenda Kyzer (Leesville, MD) took on World #11, Doreen Fowler (Silver Spring, MD) for the right to face Cheryl Gudinas Holmes in the quarterfinals. Doreen came out extremely strong in this one to get the first game. Brenda then dug deep and came shooting strong. Doreen tried to keep up with the pace, but Brenda was on a mission and now she’s on to Saturday’s Quarterfinals.
World #4, Kerri Wachtel (Cincinnati, OH) went into her match with Phyllis Morris (Charlotte, NC) with a very determined look upon her face. Phyllis used her outstanding retrieval skills to keep many balls in play, but Kerri appeared on a mission in this one and never let Phyllis get too comfortable as she swept her way to the quarterfinals.
World #5, Kristen Walsh (Salt Lake City, UT) kept the momentum of the high seeds up by sweeping through former Junior National Teammate Da’Monique Davis (Tuscaloosa, AL) to earn her spot in the quarterfinals and a familiar match up with Kerri Wachtel.
Next up on the show court was World #1, Rhonda Rajsich (Phoenix, AZ) who was eager to show that her not having played yet wasn’t going to cause any problems. She came out strong against Candi Hostovich (Burke, VA) and closed her out with as Rhonda would later say, “A flat reverse roll.”
The last of the Round of 16 matches featured World #8, Adrienne Fisher (Centreville, OH) and World #9, Diane Moore (Griffith, IN) and this one would prove to be as close as their rankings. After splitting the first two games, 11 points weren’t enough to settle the third game as both players were continually making great shot after great shot. Adrienne was able to put the final two points together in the third game to grab the crucial 2-1 game lead and that pushed her over the top as she fought through a fourth straight point for point game to book her place in the quarterfinals.
So there you have it, one great day of racquetball and the top 8 Women in the World are still standing. The quarterfinals and semifinals await tomorrow here at the 2008 Chemtech WPRO World Championships presented by Ektelon.
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