WPH Press, Denver, CO, 3/14/22
The Denver Athletic Club played host to the 2022 DAC Open, featuring nearly 50 players from CO, AZ, TX, CA, and WY.
Luis Mendez entered the DAC as the top seed, but would have to contend with R48 March Madness contenders Jon Gutierrez and John Chapman, WPH Icebreaker contenders Travis Owen and Alex Ibarra, Jr., football legend Jake Plummer, and many more of the Rocky Mountain’s best.
Mendez overcame Reggie Vair in the round of 16 and saved match point against Chapman in a thriller in the quarterfinals, 26-24, but relinquished his DAC title in the semis, falling to Gutierrez in two games.
In the bottom bracket, Ibarra dispatched rising hopeful Dylan Schmitt in the round of 16 and Joel Barber in the quarterfinals en route to the semis, where he was pushed to the limit by San Antonio’s Travis Owen. After splitting two close games, Ibarra pulled away from Owen in the tiebreaker to advance to the final.
Ibarra dropped the first game in the final to Gutierrez but rallied to take game two and won a razor close tiebreaker to take the DAC.
“The tournament was really good,” barked Chapman. “The semis and finals were awesome, especially the finals, two really great tiebreakers.”
“Alex came into the tournament on fire and this is his first open singles win,” stated Alex’s brother Armando.
Semifinals
Gutierrez def Mendez 15-6, 15-11
Ibarra def Owen 15-13, 12-15, 15-7
Final: Ibarra def Gutierrez 12-15, 15-7, 15-12
Follow all of the brackets from the 2022 DAC Open HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer