Seattle, WA, WPH Press, 1/19/25
The famed Washington Athletic Club in downtown Seattle proudly played host to the 40th annual WAC Classic, featuring sixty-eight players on the third weekend in January. The WAC Classic is one of the country’s most historic events played at one of the country’s most storied venues.
Men’s Open Singles
The Men’s Open Singles field attracted eighteen players from Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and California, headlined Pacific Northwest and west coast stars Rafa Martinez, Kyle English, Rob Bell, Maxx Bennett, and Chad Packin.
Fifth-seeded Rene Lopez stunned the field at the WAC, making the trip from San Francisco to win the biggest title of his young career. After defeating Washington’s Maxx Bennett in two games in the quarterfinals, Lopez faced top-seed and last year’s WAC finalist Kyle English. After a close first game, Lopez took control, ousting the former SR48 finalist to advance to the final.
Lopez carried his momentum into Sunday’s final, defeating Pacific Northwest star Rob Bell in two games. “The final was a great game,” Lopez would later say. “I tried to keep Robby in the back court to cool off his two-handed offense. I was able to capitalize on my setups more than him.”
Semifinals
Lopez def English 21-17, 21-7
Bell def Svennungsen 21-19, 14-21, 11-9
Final: Lopez def Bell 21-12, 21-14
Not content with just the singles title, Lopez teamed with Bennett to slam the doubles, defeating Rob Bell for the second time on Sunday.
Doubles Final: Lopez/Bennett def Bell/Romanchock 21-18, 15-21, 11-4
“The tournament ran really well, about as smoothly as possible,” stated WAC handball ambassador Randy Multack. “Darin Barr of the Washington Athletic Club does a great job of keeping it all moving so well and he makes sure that beer is poured from first serve to final point. And then some. The players all had a great time and the new players who had not previously played in the WAC Classic were blown away by the club, the competition and the hospitality – the whole event. Without question these guys will be back next year.”
Thank you to tournament directors Darin Barr and Randy Multack and the rest of the WAC team for an outstanding 2025 WAC Classic.
Follow all of the brackets from the 2025 WAC Classic HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer