Fountain Valley, CA, WPH Press, 10/1/23
The USHA proudly hosted the 2023 USHA National Masters Doubles and Gilbert Singles at Los Caballeros Sports Village, featuring the best Masters doubles teams in the country and the top Southern California players competing in the Gilbert Singles.
Gilbert Singles
Nineteen players from CA, AZ and NV battled in the Gilbert Singles, honoring the late, great Southern California handball ambassador Tom Gilbert. Former R48 Elite 8 member and LAFD fireman Vic Perez entered The Gilbert as the top seed, as he continues his comeback after several years away from tournaments for LAFD training. Race 4 Eight top twenty pros Stephen Cooney and Dylan Hernandez entered The Gilbert as the second and third seeds.
Perez advanced to the final in the upper bracket in the one-day event with a two-game sweep against Alphonsus Quitoriano, while Dylan Hernandez dominated game one against Stephen Cooney in the bottom bracket semifinal before dropping game two. Hernandez rallied against his LAAC teammate and fellow top sixteen pro in the tiebreaker, advancing to the final to face Perez. “I think I had a little bit better legs, Stephen got a bit tired,” stated Hernandez.
“The tournament was good,” stated Cooney. “Good preparation for next week. I was happy with it even though I lost.”
Perez was seeking revenge on Hernandez in the final after losing to Hernandez in the qualifier final of the 2023 Race 4 Eight Player’s Championship qualifier final in May. Perez took a close first game but dropped a lopsided second game, as Hernandez consistently found the bottom board. Perez raced to a 7-0 lead in the tiebreaker, but Perez stunned the R48 #16, scoring eleven of the final thirteen points of the decider to take The Gilbert.
“Vic slowed the game down (in the final),” declared Hernandez. “He hit more defensive shots. Made kills when he had to. He played smart. The match overall was a battle, a lot of good gets, good rallies and good kill shots. I probably had more kill shots than Vic, but Vic played a lot smarter when he slowed it down.”
“I felt ok,” stated Perez after the final, his fourth match of the day. “A little sore from a workout a few days ago. The final went back and forth a lot.”
“Vic will be tough to beat next weekend (at the R48 Portland Classic),” stated Cooney.
Semifinals
Perez def Quitoriano 15-5, 15-5
Hernandez def Cooney 15-2, 9-15, 11-6
Final: Perez def Hernandez 15-12, 7-15, 11-9
National Champions
35+: Suarez/Garcia Jr.
40+: Suarez/Garcia Jr.
45+: Harris/Chavez
50+: Robles/Watkins
55+: Canales/Henning
60+: Silla/Mc Grath
65+: DeWeese/Brennan
70+: Martinez/Sizemore
75+: Bardwell/Ackerman
80+: Ward/Cole
Thank you to the USHA for an outstanding Masters Nationals Doubles at Los Caballeros.
View all of the brackets from the 2023 USHA National Masters Doubles and Gilbert Singles HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer