Santa Rosa, CA, WPH Press, 11/24/24
Santa Rosa’s Parkpoint Health Club played host to the 2024 Wine Country Turkey Shoot the weekend before Thanksgiving, featuring ninety-two players competing in singles and doubles brackets in Sonoma County. Players enjoyed great handball, as well as the sites and activities in the wine country in one of the sport’s most fun weekends.
Men’s Open Singles
Race 4 Eight stars Loren Collado and Erik Torres headlined the 2024 Wine Country Turkey Shoot Men’s Open Singles. Joining Collado and Torres were SR48 pro Pete “Svenny” Svennungsen, NorCal’s Jesse Harris, and the Olympic Club’s Rene Lopez.
Erik Torres and Loren Collado cruised to the final in the upper and bottom brackets, respectively, to set up a meeting between NorCal’s two top players in the final.
Torres pounced on Collado in the first game of the final, delivering a one-sided clinic. Torres led throughout game two before a late five-point streak by Collado made the match momentarily interesting. Torres withstood the storm, closing out the match in two games to take the Turkey Shoot.
“It just seems like Erik has Loren’s number,” tournament director Lou Barberini would later say. “Erik closed the door late in the second game.”
Semifinals
Torres def Jansen 21-10, 21-4
Collado def Svennungsen 21-15, 21-3
Final: Torres def Collado 21-7, 21-18
“The tournament was awesome,” stated Barberini. “There were great matches in all of the brackets, particularly the B’s and the 40+.”
Thank you to tournament director and WPH mega supporter Lou Barberini for an outstanding event in Santa Rosa.
Follow all of the brackets from the 2024 Wine Country Turkey Shoot HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer