All Mulkerrins Final, Holden Takes the Women’s
WPH Press, Austin, TX, 3/24/24
The University of Texas Handball Team was proud to present the 2024 Southwest Regionals in Austin, TX at the famed Gregory Gym and the University of Texas Rec Center on the fourth weekend of March.
The 2024 Southwest Regionals featured 124 players, with a number of current and aspiring Race 4 Eight pros in the women’s and men’s singles.
Women’s Open Singles
Top-seeded Aoife Holden cruised to the final of the Women’s Open Singles with a two-game sweep against San Jose’s Nicole Eike in the upper bracket. Austin’s Kristen Hughes advanced to the final in the bottom bracket by overcoming Amseley Davis in two games.
The final was the sixth matchup between Holden and Hughes this season. Hughes took the first two matches, while Holden had taken the last three coming into Sunday’s regional final. Hughes started well, taking the first game on her home court, but Holden rallied, taking the second game and rallying from an early tiebreaker deficit to take the title and a four-to-two head-to-head lead against Hughes.
“In the tiebreaker Kristen got a good start and l found myself 1-4 behind,” stated Holden. “I got a few good kills when I needed them to close out the game 11-4”.
Semifinals
Holden def Eike 21-6, 21-9
Hughes def Davis 21-7, 21-11
Final: 13-21, 21-14, 11-4
Men’s Open Singles
The Mulkerrins brothers dominated the Men’s Open Singles, with top-seeded and R48 #3 Martin cruising in the upper bracket with two-game sweeps against Noel Aguilar in the quarterfinals and Holden Smith in the semifinals, while second-seeded and R48 #19 Diarmuid overcame Jeremy Aguilar in the bottom bracket quarterfinals and Lone Star handball legend Adam Bernhard in a tiebreaker in the semifinals.
Martin and Diarmuid met for the fourth time in tournament play in the last five months in the Southwest Regionals, with older brother Martin taking the first three matchups. Martin made it four straight wins against his brother with a two-game sweep to take the Southwest Regionals title.
“It was a tough game, there were a lot of hard rallies with the two of us getting some good picks making each other work hard for points,” stated Diarmuid. “I thought I played okay for the most part, Martin served very well and had some amazing kills.”
Semifinals
Mulkerrins def Smith 21-6, 21-6
Mulkerrins def Bernhard 21-12, 16-21, 11-5
Final: Martin def Diarmuid 21-11, 21-7
Thank you to tournament director Noel Aguilar and the University of Texas Handball Team for an outstanding event in Austin.
Follow all of the brackets from the 2024 Southwest Regionals HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer