Day 2
Juarez, MEX, WPH Press, 3/30/24
The WR48 hit Juarez for the first time, with many of the top women’s pros traveling to “El Paso del Norte” for the third stop of the 2023/24 WR48 season. Twenty-seven time WR48 champion Catriona Casey and former WR48 finalists Eilise McCrory and Clodagh Munroe headlined a strong WR48 field that included six WR48 ranked pros. The R48 Men’s Pro provided the greatest theatre in the history of the tour on Saturday.
WR48 Quarterfinals
Catriona Casey was flawless en route to her thirtieth WR48 semifinal, dispatching Austin’s Kristen Hughes in two games.
In a battle between two Tucson pros, Mikaila Esser played the best 4-Wall of her WR48 career against Ashley Ruiz, building huge leads in both games with her blend of gritty, mistake-free handball. Trailing 14-3 in game one, Ruiz rallied to 10-14, but a left-handed mishit return of serve kill ended Ruiz’s comeback. Ruiz rallied again in game two but fell short, as Esser clinched the two-game sweep with two punch passes and a kill on the final three rallies of the match. “I had to be aggressive at the end, so I just had to go for it,” Esser would later say.”
The highly anticipated quarterfinal battle between WR48 #3 Clodagh Munroe and all-code handball star Danielle Daskalakis did not disappoint, as Daskalakis erased a 0-7 first game deficit to win 15-9 in her first WR48 start of the season. Munroe showed why she is a former WR48 finalist and top three star in the second, making clutch back wall kills late to force a third. Daskalakis rode a spectacular power serve to the right in the third game to build a lead and earn her first WR48 win of the season. “I have been playing most 4-Wall but I have not been able to play too much in the past three weeks,” stated Daskalakis, who recently moved to West Hollywood, CA and plays on the European WallBall pro circuit.
Aoife Holden was aiming to secure her first WR48 semifinal in her matchup with WR48 #2 Eilise McCrory but fell victim to the Mulkerrins curse in game one. Holden, who dates Diarmuid Mulkerrins, served for the first game against the 2024 All Ireland 4-Wall finalist but could not convert, eventually losing the game in overtime and ceding the momentum to the flashy lefty in game two.
WR48 Quarterfinals
Casey def Hughes 15-1, 15-0
Esser def Ruiz 15-10, 15-9
Daskalakis def Munroe 15-9, 14-16, 15-7
McCrory def Holden 16-14, 15-3
R48 Quarterfinals
Saturday’s R48 quarterfinals produced several firsts and most likely the best match in Race 4 Eight history.
Ivan Burgos entered his match with R48 #1 and R48 Juarez defending champion Lucho Cordova having lost five tiebreakers to Lucho in the past fourteen months. After winning a close first game on the strength of twenty kills, Lucho forced a third game by keeping Burgos in the back court and forcing errors, much to the delight of a frenzied pro-Lucho gallery. Burgos shifted into the rollout machine that started the match in the third, hitting six mouses. “I have never seen so many flat rollouts in my life,” Jab Bike stated from the fourth row.
Martin Mulkerrins and Sean Lenning renewed their rivalry that produced some of 2023’s best matches for a spot in the Juarez semifinals. The match lacked the drama of many of their matchups from last year, as Mulkerrins controlled the action throughout both games, building a 15-5, 14-9 lead with steady play, a high conversion rate on kills and solid defense. A rushed and misplayed shot at 14-9 opened the door slightly for Lenning and invoked the Mulkerrins curse nightmare, as Lenning hit two ace serves and cut the deficit to 12-14. Mulkerrins regained the serve and hit a kill shot attempt in the front court, sending Lenning diving on one knee for a patented re kill, but it was not to be, as Lenning’s re kill attempt just missed.
Sam Esser booked his spot in his first R48 semifinal with a two-game sweep against R48 #2 and two-time 2023/24 Race 4 Eight champion Danos Cordova. Esser was sharp shooting throughout the match, hitting fadeaway kills with his left and always in control of both games, sending Danos crashing out in the quarterfinals for the first time this season.
R48 #5 Leo Canales and Ray Ure played the most exciting match in the history of the tour in their quarterfinal. After splitting the first two games in lopsided fashion, the third game featured the most intense and passionate handball in the tour’s history. Buoyed by a deafening pro-Leo crowd, Leo built a 6-1 lead, as Ure seemed overwhelmed by the moment after allowing Canales just one point in the second game. Ure charged back, temporarily silencing the crowd with a hot streak that saw him take a 9-7 lead. With all of the momentum, Ure missed a simple front court kill with his left that shifted the tide. Canales regained control, eventually taking a 14-12 lead. The match would go deep into overtime, with both players holding multiple match points and both making clutch roll outs to stay alive. The higher the stakes, the lower Canales and Ure would hit, including two flat roll outs each in overtime when facing match point. With the score tied at eighteen, Canales ended the match with a kill and a pass to the left, punching the air with emotion never before seen from the fan favorite, leaving the court to chants of “Leo, Leo, Leo!” from his passionate fans.
R48 Quarterfinals
Burgos def Lucho 15-13, 5-15, 15-7
Canales def Ure 15-4, 1-15, 20-18
Mulkerrins def Lenning 15-5, 15-12
Esser def Danos 15-10, 15-10
WR48 Semifinals
Catriona Casey demonstrated that after twenty-seven WR48 titles and thirty Irish Senior titles that she can still improve, as she repeatedly crushed one-inch high left-handed back wall kills in her semifinal match against Mikaila Esser. Esser was able to extend rallies, but Casey’s mastery over all aspects and shots in the game were too much for Esser to overcome.
In a battle of lefties in the bottom bracket semifinals, Daskalakis stunned McCrory to take a one-game lead but could not sustain her level, scoring just six combined points against the WR48 #2. McCrory’s big match experience proved to be too much for Daskalakis in her 2023/24 WR48 debut, as McCrory adjusted to Danielle’s hybrid style to move into her second WR48 final of the season.
WR48 Semifinals
Casey def Esser 15-2, 15-3
McCrory def Daskalakis 13-15, 15-4, 15-2
Final (Sunday 10:30 am CST): Casey vs. McCrory
R48 Semifinals
First-time R48 semifinalist Sam Esser was not content with just making the semifinals, as he overwhelmed Martin Mulkerrins in the bottom bracket semifinal. Esser camped out in the front court, making corner kills look effortless against Mulkerrins en route to a 15-12, 12-2 lead. Martin’s chances of winning the match appeared to be gone, but the Irishman refused to go away. Chipping away at Esser’s lead, Mulkerrins cut the deficit to five, three and eventually tied Esser at twelve. “I didn’t feel like I did too much wrong,” Esser would later say about Mulkerrins’s comeback. “Once the momentum starts going against you, it’s hard to turn it around.”
Mulkerrins ended game two on a thirteen-point streak and extended the streak to twenty-two into the third. Esser finally broke the unanswered streak at 0-9 but it was too late against a Mulkerrins in full flight, as Martin reached fourteen with four straight unreturned serves to the left and ended the match with a right-handed kill. “I don’t know how I did it to be honest,” stated an ecstatic Mulkerrins in reference to his improbable comeback.
Leo Canales built a 14-6 lead in his quest for his second Race 4 Eight final against first-time R48 semifinalist Ivan Burgos. Canales appeared to fatigue at fourteen, as Burgos quickly cut the deficit to one at 13-14. Canales regained the serve with a kill and clinched the game when Burgos misplayed a ceiling shot.
Canales surged to a 14-1 lead in the second but appeared to injure himself running for a ball on his first match point. “Luckily it was just a cramp,” Canales would later say. Burgos scored four more points but it was too little, too late, as Canales booked his spot in his second R48 final in eleven months to even louder chants of “Leo, Leo, Leo!” from his passionate fans.
R48 Semifinals
Canales def Burgos 15-13, 15-5
Mulkerrins def Esser 12-15, 15-12, 15-2
Final: (Sunday, 11:15 am CST) M. Mulkerrins vs. Canales
Follow all of the Juarez brackets HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer