***All Tucson Couples Finals x 2***
Austin, TX, WPH Press, 4/3/22
The University of Texas hosted the 2022 Southwest Regionals & USHA Women’s Classic at the famed Gregory Gym, featuring 119 players from across the U.S., including two of the top seven R48 Men’s Pros and two of the top six WR48 pros. When the dust settled on the three-day event, Tucson’s two handball power couples were left standing in the women’s and men’s singles finals.
Women’s Classic
16 players entered the USHA’s Women’s Classic, headlined by WR48 pros Ashley Moler and Mikaila Esser, handball legend Jenny Schmitt, former WR48 finalist Suz Entzeroth, and a number of rising collegiate stars.
Moler advanced to the final in the upper bracket with decisive victories against Racelyn Mathis, Terry Bowman, and Jennifer Schmitt, while Mikaila Esser advanced to the final in the bottom bracket with equally decisive victories against Bri Still, Amy Gross, and Suz Entzeroth, setting up an all-Tucson final.
Moler and Esser are frequent doubles partners and sparring partners in Tucson, but the two women’s stars would have to put that aside with the Women’s Classic title on the line. Moler took control in game one of the final, sealing a one-game lead, 21-8, and held a match point in game two, but the tenacious Esser pushed the match to the limit with several clutch shots. Moler was able to overcome her second game disappointment to win a razor close third.
“Ashley was playing lights out in game one with her back wall and fist kills,” stated Sam Esser. “Mikaila was getting everything back in the second and just edged Ashley out. Ashley got off to a hot start in the tiebreaker and hit a couple of nice passes to close it out.”
Watch the Women’s Classic final on the USHA Facebook page HERE
Semifinals
Moler def Schmitt 21-13, 21-9
Esser def Entzeroth 21-12, 21-13
Final: Moler def Esser 21-8, 20-21, 11-8
Men’s Open Singles
R48 Elite 8 pros Sam Esser and Shorty Ruiz headlined the 17-player Men’s Open draw at the 2022 Southwest Regionals in a field that also included Texas legend and R48 pro Adam “Weekend at Bernie’s” Bernhard, former R48 pro Memo Pallares, Ross “Hop” Colyer, and a strong group of contenders.
Nursing a bone bruise on his right hand, top-seeded Sam Esser advanced to the final in the upper bracket with two-game victories against Steven Mendoza, Holden Smith, and Memo Pallares. Second-seeded Shorty Ruiz overcame Jeremy Aguilar and Alex Tangen to set up a match with fellow R48 pro Afdam Bernhard. Bernie had defeated Ruiz in the 2019 LAAC R48 Pre Qualifier and Ruiz was seeking revenge. In the match of the tournament, Bernie fought off game point in game one of the bottom bracket semifinal and stood two points from the final but was unable to cross the line, as Ruiz staved off defeat and won a close tiebreaker to meet Esser in the second all Tucson final.
Esser and Ruiz are the current 3-Wall doubles national champions but on Sunday they would be adversaries, with Ruiz seeking to avenge his tiebreaker loss to Esser at February’s R48 Houston. Esser was sharp in game one, blitzing Ruiz 21-7, but Ruiz worked his way into the match in game two, holding a game point to force a tiebreaker.
“I was playing well in the first, mixing up my kill shots and pass shots,” stated Esser. “The second game could have gone either way. We each served twice at 20 but I was able to finish it out.”
Semifinals
Esser def Pallares 21-12, 21-19
Ruiz def Bernhard 20-21, 21-19, 11-7
Final: Esser def Ruiz 21-7, 21-20
Follow all of the brackets from the 2022 Southwest Regionals & USHA Women’s Classic HERE
For much more on the 2022 Southwest Regionals & USHA Women’s Classic, visit ushandball.org
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer