The XXIV Pan American Championships take place from 4th to 10th June in Cartagena, Colombia.
The event consists of Men’s and Women’s Singles, Men’s Women’s and Mixed Doubles, and a Team Event.
In years when the Pan American Games take place these Championships take on extra importance as they serve as the Qualifying event for the Games, which are set to be held in Oct/Nov in Santiago, Chile. The last time this happened was in 2018 when the Champs were held in the Cayman Islands.
Doubles – Final Day :
the Doubles events take place on the final two days, with the singles finals also on the last day
Singles Finals :
[2] Hollie Naughton (Can) 3-0 [5/8] Marina Stefanoni (Usa) 5-13, 11-7, 12-10
[1] Diego Elias (Per) 3-1 [5/8] Jan Vargas (Col) 11-7, 11-7, 10-12, 11-6
Some big upsets in the Doubles, which were run as straight knockout draws, particularly in the men’s where both top seeds were knocked out (although how Salazar & Cardenas were unseeded is a conundrum).
Mixed Semis :
[1] Pelaez & Rodriguez (Col) 2-0 Garcia & Salazar (Mex) 11-7, 11-9
[3/4] Maxwell & Marrison (Can) 2-1 [2] Falcioni & Pujol (Arg) 11-4, 6-11, 11-10
Final : [3/4] Maxwell & Marrison (Can) w/o [1] Pelaez & Rodriguez (Col)
Women’s Semis :
[1] Tovar & Bautista (Col) 2-0 Fouts & Stefanoni (Usa) 11-8, 11-6
Lopez & Franco (Mex) 2-1 [2] Etchechoury & Portieri (Arg) 9-11, 11-10, 11-7
Final : Lopez & Franco (Mex) w/o [1] Tovar & Bautista (Col)
Men’s Semis :
Cardenas & Salazar (Mex) 2-0 [5/8] Azana & Pezotta (Arg) 11-4, 11-6
[5/8] Qnriquez & Quisquiney (Gua) 2-1 [3/4] Lovejoy & Brownell (Usa) 7-11, 11-9, 11-7
Final : Cardenas & Salazar (Mex) 2-1 [5/8] Qnriquez & Quisquiney (Gua) 9-11, 11-10, 11-9
Teams : USA and Colombia claim Gold
Top seeds USA took the women’s title with a 2-1 win over surprise semi-finalists Canada, with Sabrina Sobhy claiming victory in the deciding match.
In the men’s final second seeds Colombia retained the title as they beat top seeds and first-time finalists Peru thanks to a comeback from two-nil down from individual finalist Juan Vargas in the deciding match.
Women’s Final : [1] USA 2-1 [3/4] Canada
. Marina Stefanoni 3-1 Nikki Todd 12-10, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7 (31m)
. Olivia Clyne 2-3 Hollie Naughton 12-10, 7-11, 11-8, 1-11, 8-11 (47m)
. Sabrina Sobhy 3-0 Nicole Bunyan 11-7, 11-9 ,11-5 (33m)
Men’s Final : [1] Peru 1-2 [2] Colombia
. Rafael Galvez 2-3 Felipe Tovar 11-1, 8-11, 12-10, 4-11, 4-11 (66m)
. Diego Elias 3-0 Miguel Rodriguez 11-2, 11-6, 11-4 (25m)
. Alonso Escudero 2-3 Juan Vargas 11-3, 11-5, 10-12, 5-11, 1-11 (61m)
Singles : Sobhy and Rodriguez fall
Some big upsets in the singles draws as Women’s top seed Sabrina Sobhy lost out in her first match as did both 3/4 seeds, and men’s second seed Miguel Rodriguez, having come from two games down to survive his opening encounter, lost out in five to fellow Colombian Juan Vargas in the semis.
The singles finals (Diego Elias v Juan Vargas and Hollie Naughton v Marina Stefanoni) are on the final day, with the Team event taking place before the doubles starts on the final two days.
Team Draws & Results on TS Singles & Doubles Draws on TS
Team Draws & Results on TS Singles & Doubles Draws on TS
2018 PanAmerican Champs, Cayman Islands
