Day 2
Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 11/8/25
R48 Men’s Pro Quarterfinals
Martin Mulkerrins was steady and in control in the first quarterfinal match of the morning against Sean Lenning. Mulkerrins struck three aces and 29 rally-ending shots against just six errors in the two-game sweep. Lenning committed 18 costly errors in the two games, but still managed a near comeback from match point down in the second game, trailing 12-14 and tying the game at 14. Mulkerrins did not panic, eventually winning the game in overtime.
“Everyone kind of knew with Sean at 12 that he could hit some ace serves,” stated Mulkerrins. “Just one game at a time. Every year, every tournament I come to I want to win them. No matter what happens, I’m just delighted to have been able to play three full seasons on the tour and now a fourth.”
Leo Canales and Danos Cordova broke a number of records in the second quarterfinal match of the morning. Both players served to win the first game, with Danos eventually capitalizing on his third attempt. The two, however, were just getting started.
Danos served to win the match at 14-12 in the second and appeared briefly to have won it before a diving Canales kept the rally alive with a backhanded punch fist retrieve, ultimately winning the rally. Canales thwarted two more match point attempts by Danos, eventually forcing a third after both players served for the game for the second game in a row.
The third game was no different, as the players battled exhaustion at the two-hour-and-fifteen-minute mark. Canales missed two left-handed back wall kill attempts from in front of the foot fault line that appeared to hand the momentum to Danos but Leo would not relent. An odd referee change requested by Canales at 12-11 in the tiebreaker after hitting Danos with the ball for the twenty-first time in the match cost him a chance to win the 2025/26 Race 4 Eight Sportsmanship Award but seemed to incite his game. Danos would serve again for the match in the third but come up short again, as Canales saved the third-game match points with clutch return of serves to the ceiling and won the match on his second match point with a right-handed kill.
Records broken in the 2025 Memorial Canales vs. Danos Match
- Longest 15-point game match in Race 4 Eight history (2 hours and 15 minutes)
- First Race 4 Eight match that featured three overtime games
- First Race 4 Eight match where both players served for the game in all three games
- Most times being hit with the ball in one match (Danos, 21)
- First referee replacement in a tiebreaker in Race 4 Eight history
- First time Danos held match point in a match and lost
Second time a player held match point in the second and third games and lost (Fink/Doyle, 20222 New Orleans) - Forty-second match in Race 4 Eight history with a match-point down comeback
“I think that was the longest match I’ve ever had,” an exhausted Canales would later say. “Beyond tired very happy with the result. At a certain point we were both exhausted. The second to last rally neither of us went for as kill. Daniel and Luis were always my inspiration growing up. This win is memorable and up there as one of my most memorable wins.
Ray Ure defeated current Player’s Cup champion Lucho Cordova in just 25 minutes in his first start of the 2025/26 season after skipping October’s Portland Classic to run a 2:37 Chicago marathon.
After falling behind 1-9 in just five minutes, Ure needed even less time to score fourteen consecutive points to win the first and just a few minutes more to win the second, outscoring Lucho 29-3 in the last thirty-points of the match.
“I made an adjustment on my serve, moving a little closer to the left and hitting with natural,” Ure would later say. “I hit a few crack serves to the right then the serve to the right stopped working so I went to the left and got a lot of cracks. I’m and not worried about starting slow (Ure trailed 1-9). That’s normal for me.
After being nearly eliminated from the tournament in the round of 32, needing a comeback from 6-10 down in the tiebreaker against Loren Collado, Doyle has been a man on a mission, defeating Sam Esser in two games in the round of 16 and also defeating October’s Portland Classic finalist Ivan Burgos in two games in the quarterfinals.
After winning game one, Doyle led 11-1 in game two against a partisan Burgos gallery on Ivan’s home court. Burgos caught fire, pulling to within two at 10-12. Doyle withstood the charge and booked his spot in the semifinal.
“I’ve got some lucky bounces in both of my matches, balls straightening out at the last minute,” stated Doyle. “I knew Ivan was going to come back, I knew he was coming when he was 11-1 down. I was just trying to outlast him. Each player is going to get their purple patch at some point. I had to make sure not to give him any easy points.”
Quarterfinals
Martin def Lenning 15-10, 16-14
Canales def Danos 15-17, 17-15, 16-14
Ure def Lucho 15-9, 15-3
Doyle def Burgos 15-10, 15-12
R48 Semifinals
Both semifinals were straightforward affairs, with Martin Mulkerrins marching into his ninth consecutive final in just 27 minutes against Leo Canales. Martin was ruthless in the first game, hitting three aces, 14 rally-enders, just one errors, and hitting 100% of his first serves in play. The second game was more of the same, as Martin was just too strong.
Ray Ure faced Mankato teammate Mark Doyle for a spot in the final. After practicing together earlier in the week, the teammates played with more on the line on Saturday evening. Ure won a third of his first game points with ace serves, while putting 72% of his first serves in play. Ure added 13 rally-ending shots in the first game, enabling him to overcome ten first-game errors. After taking a close first game, Ure kicked his game into overdrive in the second half of game two, scoring the final nine points of the match in just four minutes.
“The biggest thing facing a friend or teammate is mentality,” Ure would tell ESPN’s Kara Mack. “You have to put that aside for the match and focus on your shots. This tournament is going better than I could have hoped for. The serves finally starting dropping in the last couple of weeks.”
Semifinals
Martin def Canales 15-4, 15-3
Ure def Doyle 15-13, 15-4
Final (11:30 am MST on the ESPN APP): Martin vs. Ure
WR48
The WR48 semifinals produced two of the longest and most dramatic matches in the history of the WR48.
WR48 #1 Niamh Heffernan started hot against a visibly anxious, first-time WR48 semifinalist Mollie Dagg, racing to a 10-0 lead in game one. Dagg started to find her form late in the first game, and while coming up short, gained the confidence to challenge Heffernan in game two.
Dagg dictated play in game two, pushing Heffernan from side to side with power and kills. Dagg punctuated the game with a kill, setting the stage for the first of two women’s semifinal tiebreakers.
Seemingly exhausted in the second half of game two and at the start of game three, Heffernan relied on her experience and great serve to build a 10-1 cushion in the third. The deficit was too much for Dagg to overcome, sending Heffernan into her second consecutive WR48 final.
“Feels great (to win),” Heffernan would tell ESPN’s Kara Mack. “Mollie is a great player. Each time we’ve played it’s gone to a tiebreaker. Mollie is the kind of player that always comes back on me. I had to give it everything I had in the tiebreaker and empty the tank. In the third game I stuck with the power serve.”
WR48 #2 Clodagh Munroe and WR48 #3 Aoife Holden played the longest match in the history of the WR48 in the second semifinal. Playing a nearly identical style that focused on ball control and placement, Holden took a 50-minute first game that tested the will and conditioning of both WR48 stars.
Munroe was in control in game two, capitalizing on opportunities to win 15-7.
The tiebreaker saw both women gasping for air after a number of 30+ shot rallies. Holden surged ahead late in the tiebreaker and ultimately scored her biggest WR48 win, advancing to Sunday’s final.
Semifinals
Heffernan def Dagg 15-5, 8-15, 15-8
Holden def Munroe 15-12, 7-15, 15-12
Final (9:45 am MST on the ESPN APP): Heffernan vs. Holden
SR48
The top four seeds advanced to the first SR48 event of the 2025/26 season. 15-time SR48 champion David Fink faced the LAAC’s Rafa Martinez for the second time in a SR48 semifinal (LAAC ’25) and defeated the LAAC ambassador in two games to advance to Sunday’s final.
Boxer Rosales nearly scored his second major upset of the event after defeating R48 #10 Jab Bike in the round of 32 of the R48 Men’s Pro on Friday, taking a one-game lead against SR48 #2 Sean Lenning. Lenning evened the match by winning game two and led 7-2 in the third. Boxer would not go away, tying the tiebreaker at seven and forging ahead, 10-8. Lenning made several incredible shots to regain control, including a 38-foot backwall kill and two fly kills to avoid Boxer’s upset bid.
Quarterfinals
Fink def Mcnabney 15-9, 15-3
Lenning def Canales, Sr. 15-6, 15-7
Rosales def Svennungsen 15-4, 15-10
Martinez def Duenas 15-1, 15-2
Semifinals
Fink def Martinez 15-3, 15-3
Lenning def Rosales 12-15, 15-11, 15-11
Final (9 am MST on the ESPN APP): Fink vs. Lenning
Big Ball Pro Singles
Familiar big ball stars Oscar Siordia and Chava Cordova will meet in Sunday’s Big Ball Pro singles final, as Siordia eliminated Noe Arenas in the upper bracket semifinals and Chava overcame Eddie Rocha in the bottom bracket semifinals.
Semifinals
Siordia def Arenas 15-12, 15-9
Chava def Rocha 15-9, 15-12
Final (Sunday, 12:30 pm MST): Siordia vs. Chava
Big Ball Pro Doubles
Siordia and Chava will meet twice on Sunday, as both led their teams to the Big Ball Pro Doubles final. Siordia teamed with Sal Duenas to defeat Shorty Ruiz and Albert Pizano in the bottom bracket, while Chava teamed with Eddie Rocha Jr. to defeat Brian Medina and Jaime Moreno in the upper bracket.
Final (10:30 am MST on the ESPN APP): Chava/Rocha vs. Siordia/Duenas
JR WPH Singles at the Memorial
JR WPH proudly hosted the JR WPH Singles at the Memorial, with each junior player competing in five matches throughout the day on Saturday. Huge thank you to Fred Lewis Foundation Executive Director and Coach Abraham Montijo for helping with the junior bracket.
Race 4 Eight Memorial Presentation
Huge thank you to WPH ambassador Scott Cleveland for hosting the annual Memorial presentation in between the Men’s R48 semifinal matches to honor those in the handball community we have lost.
Follow the draws and results from the 2025 Race 4 Eight Tucson Memorial HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer
WPH R48Pro #2 The Memorial – ESPN+ Broadcast Schedule
(All Times Local Tucson, Arizona Time MST)
Day 1: Saturday, November 8th, 2025
Men’s Pro Singles Quarterfinals (R48)
- 9:00 am: R48 QF 1 – Mulkerrins (IRE) def Lenning (WA) 15-10, 17-15
- 9:45 am: R48 QF 2 –Canales (AZ) def D. Cordova (TX) 15-17, 17-15, 16-14
- 10:30 am: R48 QF 3 – Ure (IL) def L. Cordova (MEX) 15-9, 15-3
- 11:15 am: R48 QF 4 – Doyle (IRE) def Burgos (AZ) 15-10, 15-9
Senior 40+ Singles Semifinals (SR48)
- 12:00 pm: SR48 SF 1 – Fink (AZ) def Martinez (CA) 15-3, 15-3
- 12:45 pm: SR48 SF 2 – Lenning (WA) def Rosales (AZ) 12-15, 15-11, 15-11
- Women’s Elite Pro Singles Semifinals (WR48)
- 1:30 pm: WR48 SF 1 – Heffernan (IRE) def Dagg (IRE) 15-5, 8-15, 15-8
- 2:15 pm: WR48 SF 2 –Holden (IRE) def Munroe (IRE) 15-12, 7-15, 15-12
Men’s Pro Singles Semifinals (R48)
- 3:15 pm: R48 SF 1 – Mulkerrins def Canales 15-5, 15-3
- 4:15 pm: R48 SF 2 – Ure def Doyle 15-13, 15-4
Day 2: Sunday, November 9th, 2025
- 9:00 am: Senior 40+ Final (SR48) – David Fink vs Sean Lenning
- 9:45 am: Women’s Elite Pro Final (WR48) – Niamh Heffernan vs Clodagh Munroe
- 10:30 am: Pro Big Ball Doubles Final – Rocha Jr / Cordova Zavala vs Duenas / Siordia Jr
- 11:30 am: Pro Men’s Small Ball Singles Final (R48) – Mulkerrins vs Ure
You can watch all the action LIVE on ESPN+ beginning Saturday, November 8th, 2025 (MST). For those outside of the ESPN broadcast area, you can watch some limited side-court action through the WPH Patreon page at Patreon.com/wphlive. Rare interviews, raw Friday action, and Patreon-only clips will be uploaded throughout the event.