Day 1 at the 2023 Aces Player’s Championship
Salt Lake City, UT, WPH Press, 5/5/23
The tenth WPH Race 4 Eight Salt Lake City Player’s Championship showcases the best players in professional handball, featuring the R48, WR48, and SR48 battling for Player’s Championships, the most coveted prize in professional handball.
After winning the last four R48 Men’s Pro Player’s Cups for year-end #1 (2017-2022), Killian Carroll has been mathematically eliminated from winning his fifth consecutive Cup, as R48 #1 Lucho Cordova and R48 #2 Martin Mulkerrins are the only players with a mathematical chance to win the 2022/23 Player’s Cup.
WR48 #1 and 24-time WR48 champion Catriona Casey sits in the driver’s seat to win her eighth consecutive WR48 Player’s Cup, as she has won both events she has played this season (Tucson, Houston) and holds a commanding points lead heading into the Aces. Fiona Tully is Casey’s closest pursuer, but will need a win and an early Casey loss to have a chance to win her first WR48 Player’s Cup.
SR48 #1 David Fink will be aiming for his fourth consecutive SR48 Player’s Cup, having won the Cup in his first three seasons on the SR48 tour. Paul Brady will be aiming for his first SR48 title in Salt Lake City in his first SR48 start.
R48 Men’s Pro Qualifier Finals
The first R48 Qualifier of the 2022/23 Race 4 Eight season ushered in two first-time qualifiers and one major upset.
Top-seeded qualifier and R48 #9 pro Sam Esser defeated Andres Cordova for the second time this season, while R48 #10 Sean Lenning raced to a 20-4 lead against NorCal’s Erik Torres before a furious Torres rally cut the deficit to 16-22. “I missed a left-handed setup at 16-22 and Sean ran it out from there,” stated Torres.
Jeff Streibig qualified for the first time by ousting perennial round of 16 staple Loren Collado. “Last time I played Loren I had him 20-8 and lost in a qualifier, so when I was up 20-9 today and he scored I called a timeout right away,” stated Streibig. “I’ve been in the round of 16 but I’ve never qualified before today.”
Paul Brady looked sharp in blitzing Ivan Burgos to qualify after a sixteen month hiatus from tournament handball (WATCH HERE), while Stephen Cooney dominated SR48 #2 Bill Mehilos. “I played the best handball of my life last weekend, so I’m feeling good,” stated Cooney.
(Brady’s opening round of the qualifier pinned him up against Ray Ure. Watch that match HERE)
Dylan Hernandez stunned former Elite 8 member Vic Perez, defeating Vic for the first time in practice or in a tournament. “I don’t know what happened, I just could not get anything going,” stated Perez, who immediately received a text on the SoCal handball group thread announcing Dylan’s win from Dylan.
2023 USHA collegiate national champion Shane Dunne qualified in his first attempt, ousting the R48 Breakout Player of the Year and his collegiate teammate Mark Doyle in a match that was close throughout.
Esser def A. Cordova 25-3
Cooney def Mehilos 25-6
Streibig def Collado 25-12
Brady def Burgos 25-3
Dunne def Doyle 25-21
Walsh def English 25-6
Hernandez def V. Perez 25-10
Lenning def Torres 25-16
R48 Men’s Pro Round of 16
R48 #1 Lucho Cordova was in serious trouble against Stephen Cooney in their round of 16 clash, dropping the first game and trailing 1-8 in the tiebreaker after taking game two. “I had chances at 8-1,” stated Cooney. “I had a bunch of back wall shots and instead of killing them I was just lifting them and giving Lucho opportunities.”
R48 #2 Martin Mulkerrins was clinical in overcoming Dylan Hernandez (WATCH HERE), relying on his power and steady shot-making to advance to Super Saturday.
R48 #3 David Fink was the highest ranked player eliminated on Friday, losing to former collegiate national champion David Walsh (WATCH HERE). Walsh took a close first game, rallying from 0-5 and 10-11 deficits before dropping the second game. Walsh took charge in the third, hitting nine ace serves and never allowing Fink into the game to advance to his first R48 quarterfinal.
R48 #4 Leo Canales cruised past Jeff Streibig, controlling the rallies and maintaining control of the front court.
R48 #5 Danos Cordova faced Paul Brady in the most anticipated round of 16 match of the day. Brady appeared to be tired throughout the first game but served for the game at 14-10. Despite serving five times for the game, Brady could not convert, as Danos scored six unanswered points to steal the momentum. Danos was in control in game two, keeping Brady off-balance with hops and power. Brady scored several points late but never threatened, as Brady’s comeback bid ended with a first round loss.
Four-time Player’s Cup champion Killian Carroll had no trouble with first-time qualifier Shane Dunne, dispatching the youngster in two quick games.
Sean Lenning outscored Shorty Ruiz 23-2 to start the match, leaving Ruiz bewildered. “I could barely return the serve and when I did he just killed the next shot,” shrugged Ruiz. “It was 8-0 in about 30 seconds.” Ruiz put together a seven-point run to cut Lenning’s deficit to one at 7-8 in the second game, but Lenning raced to the finish line from there.
Sam Esser cruised past his childhood friend Max Langmack (WATCH HERE) to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals, finding the bottom board with offensive opportunities with his left and right.
Lucho def Cooney 7-15, 15-6, 15-9
Mulkerrins def Hernandez 15-7, 15-3
Walsh def Fink 15-12, 8-15, 15-2
Canales def Streibig 15-6, 15-7
Danos def Brady 16-14, 15-10
Carroll def Dunne 15-0, 15-7
Lenning def Ruiz 15-1, 15-8
Esser def Langmack 15-6, 15-3
Round of 8 (Saturday, times MST)
Lucho vs. Esser 9:30 am
Danos vs. Canales 10:15 am
Carroll vs. Walsh 11:45 am
Mulkerrins vs. Lenning 11 am
WR48
Round of 8 (Saturday, all times MST)
Casey vs. Daskalakis 8 am
Tuohey vs. McCrory 8:45 am
Ruiz vs. Esser 8:30 am
Tully vs. Munroe 8 am
SR48
Round of 8 (Saturday, all times MST)
Fink vs. Henning 9:30 am
English vs. Watkins 11:45 am
Brady vs. Karner 11 am
Mehilos vs. Stalsberg 10:15 am
JR WPH Clinic
WPH Master Instructor David Fink was joined by R48 #11 and the R48 Breakout Player of the Year Mark Doyle for an instructional clinic for the Utah State Handball Team. Fink and Doyle explained strategies to improve making solid contact, the footwork for the power serve, how to play the ball off the back wall, and lob serve techniques. Following the instruction, the players had a chance to try to return Doyle’s power serve. “We love having the opportunity to inspire players at the Race 4 Eight events,” stated Fink. “All of the pros have been inspired by the pros before them, and we are thrilled to inspire the next generation of players.”
Watch all of Saturday’s action live on ESPN+ starting at 9:30 am MST
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Race 4 Eight pro player bios HERE
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2022/23 Race 4 Eight schedule HERE
WPH RACE 4 EIGHT: The World Players of Handball’s 2022/23 Race 4 Eight XI Powered by ESPN features Race 4 Eight stops in Oregon, Arizona, Louisiana, Montana, Texas, Mexico, and Pennsylvania, all culminating with The Player’s Championship in Utah in May of 2023. Similar to NASCAR’s Nextel Cup and the FedEx PGA Playoffs, players earn points in the Race 4 Eight’s regular season stops to qualify for the season-ending Player’s Championship and bonus prizes.
For more information on the WPH Race 4 Eight, please contact World Players of Handball Executive Director David Vincent at dave.vincent@wphlive.tv or World Players of Handball Development Director David Fink at david.fink@wphlive.tv. For more information on the World Players of Handball, please visit wphlive.tv
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David Fink
WPH Senior Writer