2022 3WallBall Outdoor Championships Recap
by Todd Boss
Congrats to your Pro winners on the weekend
Men’s Pro 3-wall Doubles: Rocky Carson / Eduardo Portillo
Women’s Pro 3-wall Doubles: Michelle De La Rosa / Janel Tisinger-Ledkins
Mixed Pro 3-wall Doubles: Michelle De La Rosa / Daniel De La Rosa
Men’s Pro 1-wall Doubles: Javier Mar / Mario Mercado
Women’s Pro 1-wall Doubles: Michelle De La Rosa / Carla Muñoz
Mixed Pro 1-wall Doubles: Daniel De La Rosa / Hollie Scott
Men’s 3-wall Singles: Conrrado Moscoso
Women’s 3-wall Singles: Carla Muñoz
CPRT Pro Doubles: Robert Sostre / Greg Solis
https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=38918
Match Reports in the Pro Racquetball Stats database by division
Men’s Pro 3-wall Doubles: https://rball.pro/iz0
Women’s Pro 3-wall Doubles: https://rball.pro/q1n
Mixed Pro 3-wall Doubles: https://rball.pro/bgm
Men’s Pro 1-wall Doubles: https://rball.pro/25i
Women’s Pro 1-wall Doubles: https://rball.pro/ou5
Mixed Pro 1-wall Doubles: https://rball.pro/ncy
Men’s 3-wall Singles: https://rball.pro/t7r
Women’s 3-wall Singles: https://rball.pro/wzz
It was another successful, fun, exciting, and thrilling weekend in Las Vegas, where the 13th Annual 2022 KWM Gutterman 3WallBall Outdoor Nationals were held. Here’s a recap of the many Pro divisions, with some thoughts on the players and the results.
The view from the Skybox at 3WB. Shown here is a Mixed Pro doubles match on a Thursday night at dusk in Vegas. Playing from L-R are Alan Natera, Erika Manilla, Carla Muñoz, and Adam Manilla. Photo courtesy of Mike Coulter, the 3WB director.
Men’s Pro 3-wall Doubles Recap
Nineteen teams entered the Men's Pro Doubles to compete for the biggest outdoor title of the event. And we got some fantastic teams and a great draw.
There were a few upsets in the Round of 16:
Floridian Chris McDonald, son of outdoor Hall of Famers Greg and Martha McDonald, teamed up with another WOR Hall of Famer in Greg Solis to upset the #5 seeds Emmett Coe / Thomas Gerhart and move into the quarters. McDonald is a force on the court, with incredible power and an intimidating playing style borne of short court play in North Florida, where he stands almost with his toes on the short line to receive serve and then relies on some of the fastest hands in the sport to return drive serves.
Colorado pair Adam Manilla / Nick Riffel upset the #3 seeded team of Rick “Soda Man” Koll and SoCal’s Brandon Davis in two close games, 10,13. Both players may not have a ton of access to outdoor courts in Colorado, but they have been making waves in the genre and got a great win against two very solid outdoor pros.
IRT legend and outdoor newbie Sudsy Monchik teamed up with a very talented outdoor player from Southern California in Patrick Allin to upset the #6 seeded team of top Floridians Joe Young / Marcos Gravier in a tiebreaker, 11-8. The two teams played back and forth racquetball with all four players at various times taking over and attempting to impart their will on the match.
In the Quarters, #1 seeds and defending champions Daniel De La Rosa and Alvaro Beltran rose to the challenge and topped the #8 seeds, Beach Bash pro doubles champs Javier Mar and Mario Mercado, 12,12. This was perhaps the best match played all weekend in terms of talent and shot-making on the court, with all four players at the top of their game. DLR was (as he always is) the dominant player on the court and came to Las Vegas looking in-shape and laser focused. The ball sizzles off his racquet, and he remains as always one of the best players in the world at ending rallies with pinch kills. Beltran remains the shot-making crafty veteran, routinely pulled off the court on the right-hand side by “out the door” serves but making running over-the-shoulder shots to keep the ball in play. Mar has come into his own as of late with a recent IRT Pro finals appearance and hit shot-for-shot with DLR along the left side. Lastly, Mercado displayed getting ability on a par with anyone in the world, with some of the fastest hands around (it is no wonder they're one-wall kings). But in the end, the talent of DLR took over and was the difference maker in this shot-maker's paradise.
#4 seeds Rocky Carson and his young teammate Eduardo Portillo (both "Team Dovetail") ground out a win over the dangerous McDonald/Solis pairing 9,9 to move on. Future WOR Hall of Famer Carson put on a clinic of outdoor racquetball, and Lalo continues to show that his mastery of the classification improves at every outdoor event.
#14 seeds Riffel / Manilla continued their run, upsetting fellow upstarts #11 Monchik / Allin with ease 10,5 to move into the semis. Riffel's mustache game is as strong as his racquetball game this weekend, but the story of the team is Manilla's growing dominance of outdoor racquetball.
#2 seeds and reigning Outdoor Nationals champs Jason Geis / Micah Rich dominated NorCal's Tom Durham and Hall of Famer Robert Sostre, 11,4 to move into the semis. Sostre and Durham had no answers for the great lefty-righty pairing of Rich and Geis nor for the power and outdoor finesse that Rich displays on the left-hand side.
In the semis on Saturday afternoon, we started out with hopes of a great set of matches but ended up with a jarring injury that silenced the crowd.
The #1 vs #4 semifinal Pro doubles match was shaping up to be a fantastic contest, featuring the red-hot De La Rosa on one side and the legendary outdoor G.O.A.T. in Carson on the other. Game one did not disappoint, as Carson / Portillo fell behind DLR / Beltran 10-5 early, ground their way back to tie it at 11, then saved a couple of game points before getting the serve back and getting to 14-14. At game point, Carson hit a high Z to Beltran. When Portillo went for a reverse pinch kill, both DLR and Beltran dove for the ball at the same time in the front court, colliding as they retrieved the ball. Beltran immediately began writhing in pain as Rocky hit the game winning shot. Soon it was clear that Alvaro was badly injured. DLR dove into Alvi's outstretched left arm, and he suffered a dislocated elbow on the court. Unfortunately, this knocked the DLR / Beltran team out of the event; Carson / Lalo advanced 15-14, injury forfeit.
The second semi was played under a somber tone. The crowd and the players seemed in shock after watching the injury in the first game. Nonetheless, a spot was on the line in the final. Rich / Geis (#2) seemed to be the prohibitive favorites over the upstart #14 Manilla / Riffel team and jumped out to a first game lead. The Colorado duo ground their way back into the game and shocked the Outdoor National reigning champs by taking game one, 15-14. Game two was a back-and-forth affair, close all the way to the death, when Nick and Adam got to match point and then took it on a scuffled service return error. Riffel played fantastically, and the SoCal team seemed a bit off, missing a number of offensive opportunities that ended up costing them the match.
The final turned out to be a blowout: Carson / Portillo dominated from the start to the end, and Riffel / Manilla couldn't find the magic that led them to get there, losing 6,3. Carson won his 6th pro doubles title in Vegas, his first since 2015, while Portillo got his first outdoor title.
Women’s Pro 3-wall Doubles Recap
There were lots of new teams this year in the Ladies Pro doubles division in 2022, guaranteeing a new winner and some great action.
There was just one upset in the quarters, as two relative newcomers to outdoor in Brenda Laime and Alexandra Herrera took out the #3 seeds, reigning U.S. National Doubles champions Kelani Lawrence and Hollie Scott, 6,10. Laime has made a heck of an impression here despite little prior outdoor tourney experience, but it’s worth noting she plays frequently with Mario Mercado in the DC Area where a strong outdoor community exists.
The semis...
The #1 seeds Michelle De La Rosa and future Hall of Famer Janel Tisinger-Ledkins went down a game to the upstart #4 seeded team of Erika Manilla / Aimee Roehler but raced back to take the tiebreaker 11-7 and move on to the final.
In the other semi, Laime / Herrera dominated the #2 seeds Jessica Parrilla / Carla Muñoz 6,12 to become the surprise finalists. Laime found success against these experienced outdoor pros with an excellently placed drive serve to the right-hand side, and opponents all weekend had no counter.
In the final ... the #1 seeds crushed the #6 seeds in game one, 15-2, then held on 15-11 in game 2 for the title. Tisinger-Ledkins’ experience (she had won no fewer than eight outdoor Pro doubles titles in her career prior to this event) and De La Rosa’s continued dominance were no match for Laime and Herrera. Each winning player wins their 5th Vegas doubles title but their first one playing together.
Mixed Pro 3-wall Doubles Recap
Fourteen (14) teams entered into the stacked Mixed Pro 3-Wall doubles division, looking to take down the three-time defending champs in the De La Rosa husband/wife team. The early rounds did not disappoint, with two teams running multiple upsets to make the semis.
The #12 seeded brother/sister pairing of Adam Manilla / Erika Manilla advanced past the husband / wife team of Alan Natera and Carla Muñoz in the 16s before taking it right at #4 Micah Rich / Kelani Lawrence in the quarters, dominating the action and doing a masterful job of neutralizing Rich's power to win the Friday nightcap quarter 11,8 to move into the semis. Erika and Adam pounded the ball at Lawrence and capitalized up front when opportunities presented themselves for the win.
Meanwhile on the bottom side, #7 Mario Mercado / Brenda Laime took out the hard-hitting Mexican team of Rodrigo Montoya / Alexandra Herrera in the 16s before shocking the #2 seeds Janel Tisinger-Ledkins and Greg Solis 8,7 in the quarters. The two outdoor legends just had no answers for the shot-making exploits of Mercado and the power of Laime, who worked drive serves at Solis on the right-hand side with great effect all match.
In the Semis...
The #1 seeds and three-time defending champions Daniel De La Rosa / Michelle De La Rosa cruised past the Manilla siblings 10,8 to move into the final. The Cinderella brother/sister team just had no answers for the dominant husband/wife team.
Team FormulaFlow Laime/Mercado came from a game down to upset the #3 seeds Hollie Scott / Eduardo Portillo in a tough 11-8 breaker.
In the final, Laime continued to show why she will be a force to reckon with in the outdoor game for some time to come, leading her team to a game one victory. In game two, Mercado thought he had rolled out the match winner at 14-14, but it was overturned on appeal. Daniel got the game 2 winner and pushed the match to a breaker. Perhaps deflated from having thought they won at the end of game two, Laime and Mercado fell behind big early in the breaker and were steamrolled 11-3 to give the title to the DLRs. Daniel and Michelle took their 8th Vegas Mixed Pro title in the last 9 years and completed the 2022 "Triple Crown" of mixed pro titles (they also won Pro mixed in Florida and in Huntington Beach).
Men’s Pro 1-wall Doubles Recap
#1 Seeds Robert Sostre (aka “The Iceman”) and William Rolon (aka “The Warrior”) cruised into the final from the top half of the draw looking to win together for the third time.
Meanwhile the bottom half of the draw featured the two teams that competed in the Beach Bash finals earlier this year. Javier Mar / Mario Mercado topped Andres Acuña / Eduardo Portillo again (just as they did in March), then upset the Sostre / Rolon one-wall specialists for the title. The New Yorkers may get the victory in the nickname game, but they couldn’t stop two of the better one-wall power players from developing in some time. Mercado / Mar took the one-wall pro doubles "double" on the year, having won both Beach Bash and Vegas.
Women’s Pro 1-wall Doubles Recap
Michelle De La Rosa did the Women's pro doubles "double" on the weekend and won her third title out of the four events she entered by teaming with her regular partner Carla Muñoz to take a tightly contested Women's one-wall doubles draw. They topped two LPRT Top 10 players in Jessica Parrilla and Alexandra Herrera in the final.
Mixed Pro 1-wall Doubles Recap
The #9 seeded Rodrigo Montoya / Alexandra Herrera pairing upset three teams to make the final but then ran into outdoor juggernaut Daniel De La Rosa, paired in 1-wall with Hollie Scott. The final went breaker, but the #1 ranked IRT pro De La Rosa outslugged his Mexican counterparts and led his team to the title.
Men’s 3-wall Singles Recap
Ten brave souls entered the most grueling division of the tournament: 3-wall singles, and we got some unexpected results in the early rounds.
From the top half, top seeds Andres Acuña / Javier Mar advanced to the semis as expected, but the bottom half featured #2 and #3 getting upset in the quarters. IRT #2 Conrrado Moscoso took out #3 Brandon Davis 7,14, while the shock result was relative unknown Mexican lefty Mario Hidalgo taking out first #7 Jeremy McGlothin and then #2 Thomas Gerhardt 8,14 to advance to the semis against Conrrado. Hidalgo has not had a top-level tournament result since the 2017 Mexican Nationals and plays out of Juarez but impressed with his diving and shot making to take out two really solid outdoor players.
In the semis, Outdoor Nationals singles champ Acuña took out Beach Bash singles finalist Mar in two close games, while Outdoor newcomer Moscoso cruised to a victory over Hidalgo to make the final.
In the final, two IRT regulars took battle in the sun early Sunday morning (both internationals had early flights and the match was scheduled to accommodate). Moscoso took a closer-than-expected game one and was on track to easily take game two. However, Acuna mounted a huge comeback to force a tiebreaker in which Conrrado finally started to go to more of an "outdoor" style serve that threw the Costa Rican off balance and drove him to victory. Moscoso adds an outdoor singles title to his growing collection of pro titles in 2022.
Women’s 3-wall Singles Recap
In the end it was #1 vs #2, but not before #1 Carla Muñoz escaped the semis by the skin of her teeth, edging out Virginia's Kelani Lawrence 11-10 in the breaker.
Fittingly, Muñoz faced Janel Tisinger-Ledkins in the final. Tisinger owns no less than 12 outdoor major singles titles, while Muñoz has won three of the last four competed. It was the current belt holder versus the former belt holder ... and Muñoz came out on top in a 11-8 bruiser on the show court Sunday Morning.
Outside of the main “Pro” draws, here’s a quick run-through some of the other main divisions played here, which included some Squash 57, Paddleball, and some combined men's divisions that featured draws nearly as strong as the pros:
CPRT Pro Doubles Recap
Beltran / Soda Man ran to the finals in CPRT as the #3 seed but then had to default after Alvi's arm injury. Dual Hall of Famers and #1 seeds Sostre / Solis won the title by injury walkover.
Combined 75+ Men's Doubles Recap
The last show court/broadcast final of the weekend featured one of the best 75+ teams from Florida versus one of the best from SoCal. The McDonald brothers, Chris and Greg, teamed up to face Patrick Allin / "Sweet" Lou Orosco in the 75+ final. The McDonalds are famous for their short-court positioning, standing just a few feet behind the service line, while Allin /Orosco feature strong forehands and sharp shooting. A back-and-forth affair went almost the full distance, with the Huntington Beach lefty/righty pair, Allin and Orosco, topping the McDonalds 11-9 in the breaker.
Men's Open Doubles Recap
Paddleball specialist Emmett Coe teamed with SoCal car enthusiast Cesar Chavez to win the Open doubles. They topped the strong Florida pairing of Yasmani Perez / Javier Trujillo.
Squash 57 Doubles
A new sport for Vegas 2022: Squash 57. For those not familiar, it’s basically racquetball on a racquetball court with a squash tin and a deadened racquetball (I believe they took a Gearbox black racquetball and punched a hole in it). The result is a fun variant of our sport, featuring long, tactical rallies and lots of endurance requirements. The sport plays rally scoring due to its long rallies (just as Squash does) and its players rely less on power and more on control to win. The "upper" division was won by Manilla / Riffel, who outlasted Sostre and Vegas legend Brian Pineda (who was either in the broadcast booth or reffing on the show courts all weekend) in the final, 5,4,4.
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Thanks to everyone who came to Vegas to help with the streaming all weekend, with both the IRT and LPRT crews in place. Pablo Fajre and wife Angelia Grisar worked tirelessly all weekend, as did Alexis Iwaasa on the IRT side. Thanks to the IRT co-announcers, which included the likes of Todd Boss, Brian Pineda, Marcos Gravier, Joe Young, William Rolon, Mike Demblin (aka “Mike DTV”), and Carla Muñoz for the final match.
On the LPRT side, the hardest-working man in the sport Jeffrey Thomas (aka “JTRball”) was front and center all week, aided by Leo Vazquez, Sudsy Monchik, Mikey-D, T. J. Baumbaugh, and others on the LPRT feed from Court 1.
Thanks to the Tourney Directors Mike Coulter, Peggine Tellez, and all the 3Wallball staff for putting this event on!
Lastly, a huge thanks to all the sponsors who make this event possible. A full list is on the R2 tournament page, but here's a list of the presenting and primary sponsors this weekend:
- KWM Gutterman Inc. and its owner Keith Minor, the title sponsor of this event. Keith is a great benefactor to multiple organizations in our sport. He is an avid player and was here all weekend playing and watching.
- AGE Solutions and proprietor Andy Gomer, a frequent sponsor of DC-area and East coast programming.
- Ahern Rentals, who provided lots of the "stuff" that makes this tournament possible.
- Pro Kennex as the presenting sponsor, with Mike Martinez on the grounds all weekend supporting his many PK players.
- Soda Man and Coffee Girl vending services, with proprietor Rick Koll active in multiple pro draws in addition to his constant support of outdoor events on the west coast.
- Gearbox Racquetball, represented by Athlete Manager Joel Arredondo and Director of Marketing Anthony Herrera all weekend.
- The STRAT Hotel & Casino, our host hotel and host site for the event.
- LPL Financial and proprietor Rosco Halsey, who was present and enjoying the matches all weekend.
Also, thanks to the many Silver sponsors of the event, which include Team Dovetail and Mike Kinkin, Melissa's Produce for providing fruit and snacks, The Root Team and Randy Root, who support so much for our sport, APcom /MZ Companies and their venerable owner Abel Perez, a great guy from San Antonio who loves one wall. Sean Love Racquetball, Philip's Plastics, and Progressive Cabinet Corporation fill out the rest of the Silver sponsor
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Final Results for the 2022 KWM Gutterman Men’s Pro Outdoor Cup!
Las Vegas, NV, 11/4/2022. 3WallBall Incorporated, the leading Outdoor Racquetball tournament production organizer in the nation, in partnership with Pro Racquetball Stats and thanks to the generous support of KWM Gutterman and Keith Minor, is proud to announce the results of the 2022 KWM Gutterman Men’s Pro Outdoor Cup!
Competition Winners
Congratulations to the top three finishers of the 2022 cup Series:
- 1st Place: Daniel De La Rosa with 2,000 points, $1,500 first prize plus a complimentary two-night suite reservation at The STRAT Hotel.
- 2nd place: Eduardo Portillo with 1,303.75 points, $1,000
- 3rd place: Robert Sostre with 1,141.25 points, $500
De La Rosa completes a dominant showing in the Cup Series and was in first place after all three Outdoor Majors. He finishes the year with five outdoor pro titles. Portillo improved his standing to 2nd place by virtue of his 3WallBall Pro doubles title and a strong showing at Outdoor Nationals. Sostre was ranked 7th after Beach Bash, but two strong results in Las Vegas (winning the CPRT title and making the final of 1-wall Pro Doubles) allowed Sostre to edge Mario Mercado and Javier Mar, who finished 4th and 5th respectively.
Competition Final Standings
Click here (https://rball.pro/jv7) for the full standings of all 100+ men’s professionals who competed in one of the qualifying divisions in one of the three Outdoor Majors in 2022. On this link is also an incremental top 10 showing the progress of anyone who appeared in the top 10 as the year progressed.
Series Managers and Points of Contact
Please reach out to 3WB’s Mike Coulter as the series manager with any questions. ProRacquetballStats.com’s Todd Boss maintained the statistics for the series and provided updates for 3wallball.com, USA Racquetball, and social media.
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Final Results for the 2022 LPL Financial Women’s Pro Outdoor Cup!
Las Vegas, NV, 11/4/2022. Las Vegas, NV, 11/4/2022. 3WallBall Incorporated, the leading Outdoor Racquetball tournament production organizer in the nation, in partnership with Pro Racquetball Stats and thanks to the generous support of our advertising sponsor LPL Financial, Rosco Halsey, and Jason Hupp (Member SIPC), is proud to announce the results of the 2022 LPL Financial Women’s Pro Outdoor Cup!
Competition Winners
Congratulations to the top three finishers of the 2022 cup Series:
- 1st Place: Michelle De La Rosa with 1,680 points. $1,500 first prize plus a complimentary two-night suite reservation at The STRAT Hotel.
- 2nd place: Hollie Scott with 1,189.375 points, $1,000
- 3rd place: Carla Muñoz with 925 points, $500
De La Rosa led the competition from start to finish and removed any doubt of her Outdoor dominance by winning three titles in Las Vegas. Scott was ranked 5th after Beach Bash but reached all three finals at Outdoor Nationals and secured the One-Wall Mixed title in Vegas to clinch 2nd place. Muñoz finished 3rd despite missing the Beach Bash event entirely; her four pro titles trail only De La Rosa for the most of any outdoor player in 2022.
Competition Final Standings
Click here (https://rball.pro/6fj) for the full standings of the 33 Women’s professionals who competed in one of the qualifying divisions in one of the three Outdoor Majors in 2022. On this link is also an incremental top 10 showing the progress of anyone who appeared in the top 10 as the year progressed.
Series Managers and Points of Contact
Please reach out to 3WB’s Mike Coulter as the series manager with any questions. ProRacquetballStats.com’s Todd Boss maintained the statistics for the series and provided updates for 3wallball.com, USA Racquetball, and social media.