by Ian Marshall, Editor
She beat Ivy Liao in a nail-biting five games contest (6-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10) to secure a dramatic three-two Brazilian win against Canada, the no.11 seeds; the success coming after Zhang Mo had posed the tournament favourites, a whole host of problems.
In the opening match of the contest, she partnered Alicia Côté to success against Gui Lin and Jessica Yamada, the Canadians prevailing by the very narrowest of decisions (11-9, 6-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9). Later she returned to the action in the fourth match of the contest; she beat Bruna Takahashi (11-13, 12-11, 12-10, 11-3), to set the scene for a nerve tingling dramatic finale.
Sandwiched in between the efforts of Zhang Mo, Bruna Takahashi had beaten Ivy Liao (11-3, 11-6, 11-8) to be followed by Gui Lin who had accounted for Alicia Côté (7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-3).
Success in the penultimate round for Brazil, earlier it had been the same outcome for the United States, the no.2 seeds, but in less dramatic circumstances; a three-one win was posted against Cuba.
Mainstay of the success was Lily Zhang. She accounted for Daniela Fonseca Carranza (11-5, 13-11, 11-3) and Idalys Lovet (11-5, 11-5, 11-3); the one further win for the Stars and Stripes was secured by Wu Yue who beat Lisi Castillo (11-6, 11-9, 11-1) in the third match of the engagement. The one success for the Cubans came in the very first match of the contest; Lisi Castillo and Idalys Lovet overcame Wang Xinyue and Wu Yue (4-11, 11-7, 11-9, 15-13).
Success for Brazil and the United States; in the vital contests to decide fifth to eighth places, there were wins for Puerto Rico and Argentina.
Represented by Adriana Diaz, Melanie Diaz and Daniely Rios, Puerto Rico, the no.4 seeds, beat the no.10 seeds, the Dominican Republic’s Eva Brito, Esmerlyn Castro and Yasiris Ortiz by three matches to nil.
In a similarly impressive manner, Argentina’s Camila Arguelles, Ansa Codina and Candela Molero, the no.6 seeds, recorded a three-one win in opposition to the no.3 seeds, the Chilean combination of Judith Morales, Daniela Ortega and Paulina Vega. The one success for the hosts was posted by Paulina Vega; in the third match of the encounter, she overcame Camila Arguelles (5-11, 14-12, 11-8, 12-10).
The six places decided in Santiago, for the 2019 Pan America Games to be staged in Lima are now known; success for Puerto Rico and Argentina means they qualify alongside Brazil, Canada, Cuba and the United States.
