Daniel de la Rosa
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Mexican | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
July 4, 1993 Chihuahua, Mexico[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Racquetball | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest world ranking | 3rd 2015-16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg.png){kind=icon}
.svg.png){kind=icon}
.svg.png){kind=icon}
Daniel de la Rosa (born July 4, 1993) is a Mexican racquetball player. De La Rosa won his first International Racquetball Tour (IRT) in December 2014, when he won the 2014 New Jersey Open.[2] He joins Alvaro Beltran as the only Mexican players to win an IRT TIER 1 event. De La Rosa was ranked 3rd on the IRT at the end of the 2015-16 season, his fourth season in the top 10.
Professional career
De La Rosa defeated Alvaro Beltran in the final of the 2014 New Jersey Open, 11-4, 11-6, 9-11, 12-10, to win his first pro event.[3] De La Rosa reached the final by beating Rocky Carson in the semi-finals, 12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6. The win comes in De La Rosa's second season playing full time on the IRT.
In 2015, De La Rosa was a finalist at the US Open - the second Mexican player to do so after Beltran. He reached the final after an epic five game match with Rocky Carson, winning 11-9, 10-12, 8-11, 11-8, 12-10. [4] But in the final, Kane Waselenchuk defeated De La Rosa in straight games, 11-5, 11-8, 11-3.
De La Rosa began playing the IRT full time in the 2013-14 season, entering ten of the eleven events. He reached his first career final in Davison, Michigan, where he lost to countryman Alvaro Beltran, 11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 11-4, in what was the first IRT final between two Mexican players in IRT history.[5] In addition in 2013-14, De La Rosa made at least the quarterfinals in each tournament he entered, and reached the semi-finals twice. As a result, De La Rosa achieved a career high 5th ranking at season's end, which is the second best ranking ever for a Mexican player.
De La Rosa played a few IRT tournaments each season since 2008-09. He first reached the Round of 16 in 2010-11, doing so three times and repeating that in the 2011-12 season. In 2012-13, De La Rosa played half of the IRT events, and made his first career semi-final at the Stockton Pro-Am, losing to Rocky Carson in three games, 11-8, 11-2, 11-2, as well as three quarterfinals. Those results helped put him 9th in the season ending rankings. He became the third Mexican player to be in the IRT top 10 after Beltran and Javier Moreno.
International career
De La Rosa is the current Pan American Champion in Men's Singles, winning the title in San Luis Potosi, where he defeated American Jake Bredenbeck in the final 15-2, 15-1.[6] That win was De La Rosa's 2nd Pan American Championship in Men's Singles. He won his first at age 17 in 2011, when De La Rosa narrowly defeated American Chris Crowther in the final, 12-15, 15-14, 11-9.[7] De La Rosa has also been a Pan American Champion in Men's Doubles, as he and Edson Martinez won the 2014 Pan Am Championships beating Americans Jose Rojas and David Horn in the Men's Doubles final, 14-15, 15-12, 11-1.[8]
De La Rosa earned a silver medal at the 2016 Racquetball World Championships in Cali, Colombia, where he lost to Rocky Carson in the final, 15-11, 5-15, 11-5.
De La Rosa played for Mexico[9] at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico, where he earned a silver medalist in Men's Singles, losing to Beltran in the final, 15-7, 15-2.
De La Rosa also represented Mexico at the 2015 Pan American Games, where he was a bronze medalist in Men's Singles and a gold medalist in the Men's Team event.
Personal
A native of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, De La Rosa currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife Michelle Key, who is also a racquetball player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour.
See also
References
- ↑ 2013 UnitedHealthcare US OPEN Media Guide (PDF)
- ↑ http://www.r2sports.com/website/bracket.asp?leftFrame=&TID=13425&divID=1&combinedID=0&print=&fromPage=&highlightMatchNum=&drawVar=&message=
- ↑ http://www.r2sports.com/website/bracket.asp?leftFrame=&TID=13425&divID=1&combinedID=0&print=&fromPage=&highlightMatchNum=&drawVar=&message=
- ↑ http://theracquetballblog.blogspot.ca/2015/10/waselenchuk-de-la-rosa-win-us-open-semi.html
- ↑ http://theracquetballblog.blogspot.ca/2013/11/beltran-wins-2013-red-swain-shootout.html
- ↑ http://theracquetballblog.blogspot.ca/2016/03/mexico-sweeps-gold-at-2016-pan-american.html
- ↑ http://www.sirc.ca/news_view.cfm?id=40017
- ↑ http://theracquetballblog.blogspot.ca/2014/04/rojas-wins-mens-singles-mexico-mens.html
- ↑ http://www.deporte.gob.mx/comunicacionsocial/noticiasn.asp?id=37858