Fink Takes the Men’s Pro Singles, Mikaila Takes the Women’s, the Flying Cordovas Takes the Doubles
Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 7/23/23
The fourth summer of the WPH Icebreaker concluded on Sunday morning, as players endured rain and lightning delays and postponements on Friday and Saturday night.
Men’s Pro Singles
Lucho Cordova entered the event having won the last four Icebreakers he entered in dominating fashion dating back to last July. Before the event started, Lucho was officially awarded the Race 4 Eight Player’s Cup for winning the Race 4 Eight Player of the Year during the 2022/23 season, having won five of his ten starts and finishing the season at #1.
In the upper bracket, Lucho found himself trailing 2-14 in the quarterfinals against Ivan Lugo before steadying the ship to win in a tiebreaker, the first tiebreaker he has played in his last eighteen Icebreaker matches.
Shorty Ruiz demonstrated his sensational 3-Wall skills in overcoming Danos Cordova for the first time at Clark Park in the quarterfinals, rallying from a 1-5 tiebreaker deficit to advance to the upper bracket semifinals.
Ruiz completed the Cordova slam hours later, dominating Lucho Cordova to emphatically snap Lucho’s eighteen-match Icebreaker winning streak in two lopsided games. “Shorty was playing really good, serving good,” stated Lucho.
In the bottom bracket, Leo Canales, Jr. entered as the #2 seed on the heels of a sensational Player’s Championship run that saw Leo advance to his first R48 final and ascend to the #3 ranking on the tour. Leo was officially awarded the R48 Sportsmanship Award for his exceptional respect and kindness for his peers, referees, fans, and sponsors during the 2022/23 season. Canales advanced to the semifinals with a close two-game sweep against collegiate and now pro rival Sam Esser. “Leo is just so strong,” stated Esser. “He can punch the ball to the ceiling from anywhere and I just could not get my serve going.”
David Fink advanced to the semifinal of the bottom bracket with a two-game round of 16 sweep against North America’s best teenager, Andres Cordova, and a two-game quarterfinal battle with Jab Bike. “I played Jab in a practice match on Thursday and I knew within two rallies that Jab is the next big thing in this sport.”
Canales and Fink battled in the hottest part of the day in their third singles matches of the day, with on-court temperatures reaching 135 degrees. Fink led 14-8 in the first but Canales caught a hot hand, reeling off aces down the right and power ceiling fists to score thirteen of the final sixteen points of the game.
Fink took control of the match in game two, finding a short crack serve to complement his deep serve to earn a number of aces. “I was so tired that I was thinking about forfeiting, even with a 13-3 lead in the second,” Fink would later say. “Every rally that was longer than three shots was very difficult.” Fink scored the final twenty points of the second game and continued his momentum in the third, advancing to his sixth consecutive Icebreaker final.
Fink and Ruiz met in the first two Icebreaker finals in 2020 and would meet again three years later this weekend. Ruiz was seeking his first Icebreaker singles title, while Fink was aiming to win his fifth and separate himself from Lucho Cordova for the most Icebreaker titles in the history of the tour.
Fink and Ruiz entered the match with unresolved hostility from their last tournament match in May. The finalists were sent onto the court at 9:15 pm on Saturday night with rain and lightning circling the courts, only adding to the tension between the pair. With both players on edge and playing their fourth match of the day, Fink raced to a 10-2 lead, despite being upset with the conditions. At 10-2, the heavy rains came and postponed the match until Sunday morning.
When play resumed on Sunday morning, Fink quickly extended his lead to 14-2 in the first inning. Ruiz started to find some momentum, hitting six consecutive deep hop aces to cut Fink’s lead to 11-18. “I was not panicking because I was not making errors and I still had a lead and I know that no one can return those serves,” stated Fink. Fink regrouped, scoring the final three points of the game.
Fink raced to an 8-1 lead in the second, when an argument over a broken ball side out opened a fresh wound between the players. After arguing over who should serve, Ruiz reluctantly took the serve after both players forfeited the serve five times. Fink got hot with his short crack serve to the left, striking cracks for aces and fly killing returns down the middle. Fink played like a man on a mission, closing out the match for his fifth Icebreaker title, 21-11, 21-2.
“I feel like I am playing the best I have ever played right now,” stated Fink. “I was so disappointed with my Race season that I thought about retiring. I didn’t play once for two months after Salt Lake and just started playing again two weeks ago. The break seemed to have helped my game a lot.”
Round of 32
Espinoza def Vollink 21-1, 21-9
Chapman def Morgan 21-5, 21-1
Andres Cordova def Brule 21-2, 21-9
Espinoza def Key 21-16, 21-19
Round of 16
Lucho def V. Espinoza 21-5, 21-9
Canales def C. Espinoza 21-5, 21-15
Fink def A. Cordova 21-2, 21-1
Danos def J. Chapman 21-18, 21-3
Ruiz def D. Perez 21-7, 21-8
Esser def Bernhard 21-9, 21-10
Bike def Langmack 21-10, 21-16
Burgos def Schiller 21-8, 21-18
Quarterfinals
Lucho def Burgos 21-7, 9-21, 11-3
Ruiz def Danos 21-8, 6-21, 11-3
Fink def J. Bike 21-11, 21-7
Canales def Esser 21-14, 21-16
Semifinals
Ruiz def Lucho 21-5, 21-12
Fink def Canales 16-21, 21-3, 11-1
Final: Fink def Ruiz 21-11, 21-2
Women’s Pro Singles
Mikaila Esser and Ashley Ruiz wrote another chapter in what has become the best (friendly) rivalry in women’s handball in the Icebreaker final. The Saturday evening under the lights final was unquestionably the highest level match Esser and Ruiz have played, with both ladies aiming to push the other past the back line with overhand drives to set up fly kills. Ruiz took game one and after several short rain delays, Esser evened the match to force a third.
Ruiz started perfectly in the tiebreaker, building a 4-0 lead in the sprint to eleven. Ruiz maintained her advantage, serving at 8-4 with light rain falling and just three points from winning her second Icebreaker. Esser relied on her experience and athleticism to battle back, catching Ruiz at nine. “I just starting to hit better serves,” stated Esser. “My serves were hitting the left side wall so I made an adjustment. I also started digging a lot more balls to keep rallies alive and concentrated more on my kill shots.”
Esser scored seven of the final eight points of the tiebreaker, snatching the title from Ruiz to claim her fourth Icebreaker crown.
Final: Esser def Ruiz 16-21, 21-14, 11-9
Men’s Pro Doubles
The Flying Cordovas and Team Ruiz/Esser have met in every Icebreaker small ball doubles final and this event would be no exception, as the small ball doubles powerhouse teams faced one another on Sunday morning for the title.
Ruiz was unable to complete the Cordova double slam, as Team Cordova raced to an 11-1 lead in game one and survived a late Ruiz/Esser rally to take a one-game lead. The Flying Cordovas raced to another big lead in game two behind the strengths of Danos’s hop serves and Lucho’s steady front court play. The Flying Cordovas extended their winning streak against Team Ruiz/Esser to four matches at Clark Park.
Semifinals
Flying Cordovas def Burgos/D. Perez 25-12
Ruiz/Esser def Canales/Langmack 25-16
Final: Flying Cordovas def Ruiz/Esser 15-11, 15-4
Icebreaker MVP: Jab Bike
Jab Bike started his pro career at last summer’s Icebreaker Series, learning on the job and building his game from one event to the next. A win against Ivan Burgos at the April Hall of Fame R48LTE signaled the beginning of the Bike Express and Jab officially announced his arrival amongst the game’s elite this weekend. After defeating R48 Elite 8 Max Langmack in two games in the opening round, Jab played competitively against eventual champion David Fink. Jab then defeated Icebreaker finalist and former R48 #6 Sam Esser in a 25-23 thriller in the fifth place playoffs. “Beating Sam was definitely my best ever win,” beamed Jab, who has regular sparring matches with the newest member of his coaching team, Race 4 Eight legend Marcos Chavez.
Icebreaker 6th Man Award: John Chapman
Former collegiate basketball star John Chapman continues to make huge strides on the tour, as Chapman enjoyed his best event at this weekend’s Icebreaker. Chapman pushed Danos Cordova in a close first game of their round of 16 clash, then defeated teen phenom Andres Cordova and Adam Bernhard in the ninth place playoffs. “I have been playing a lot in Colorado, playing guys two-on-one and getting some good singles games,” stated the Icebreaker 6th man. “My left is getting better and I’m comfortable playing the deep game (on the 3-Wall courts).”
Thank you
Thank you to WPH staffers for running an incredible event. Special thanks to Dr. Ashley Ruiz, and Fred Lewis Foundation’s Abraham Montijo and Belisa Camacho for volunteering their time throughout the event to referee, carry boxes, and help in any way they could. Thank you to Doug Clark for sponsoring the event. Doug’s generosity and passion for the game has enabled the WPH to build Clark Park and continue to hold these events. Thank you Doug!
R2 page for the 2023 WPH Icebreaker HERE
2023 WPH Icebreaker Summer Schedule HERE
2020-2023 Icebreaker Fun Facts HERE
2020-2023 Icebreaker List of Champions and Finalists HERE
Icebreaker pro player bios HERE
2023/24 Race 4 Eight schedule HERE
WPH Press