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This article appeared on January 14, 2018.

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Jake Bredenbeck defeated Rodrigo Montoya, 15-3, 15-11, to win the World Racquetball Tour (WRT) Longhorn Open in Austin, Texas, the first WRT event of 2018. Bredenbeck came into the event as the #4 WRT player with Montoya #2. Both rankings could change with the new rankings on Monday, as Bredenbeck didn’t play this event last year due to injury, while Montoya was the defending champion.

Thus, Montoya’s loss in the final will mean he drops ranking points, while Bredenbeck’s win will be a pure gain. David Horn, the WRT #1 player, lost in the semi-finals to Bredenbeck, which is the same result he had at last year’s Longhorn Open. Andree Parrilla, WRT #3, was a quarterfinalist this year and last, and he’s 1300 points ahead of Bredenbeck, so Bredenbeck’s win may be enough to move him past Parrilla into 3rd.

Eduardo Garay, the other semi-finalist this weekend, should get a big rankings boost, as he’s currently 39th – he was seeded 22nd for the tournament – with 600 points, and could move up into the top 20 come Monday.

In doubles, Gerardo Franco and Alejandro Cardona beat Fernando Kurzbard and Shai Manzuri, 15-5, 15-7, to win the title. Franco and Cardona beat Sebastian Fernandez and Christian Longoria, 15-7, 15-9, in one semi-final, while Kurzbard and Manzuri defeated Jaime Martell and Edson Martinez in the other, 15-7, 9-15, 11-9.

The next WRT will be the Midwest Championship in Minneapolis, March 1-4.

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