2nd USHA National Three-Wall Masters Doubles & WPH Icebreaker Pro Doubles
WPH Press, Tucson, AZ, 3/19/23
The USHA and WPH were proud to present the WPH Icebreaker Pro Doubles in conjunction with the 2nd USHA National Three-Wall Masters Doubles at the beautiful WPH Clark Park on a spectacular mid-March weekend in Tucson. Eight Race 4 Eight pros teamed up with one another in the four-team Icebreaker Pro Doubles round robin.
The Flying Cordovas entered the Pro Doubles aiming to defend their title from the inaugural Icebreaker Pro Doubles last March and were dominant in their first two matches, outscoring Team Langmack/Schiller and Team Montijo/Burgos 84-21. The chemistry between Lucho and Danos was evident in their blowout wins, as The Flying Cordovas relied on Danos’s hops and Lucho’s power to overwhelm their opposition. In addition to hitting hops and roll outs, the Flying Cordovas hit some golf balls and putts in between their Saturday matches at the adjacent Randolph golf course.
Team Ruiz/Esser entered the 2023 Icebreaker Pro Doubles with a one-and-one career tournament record against the Flying Cordovas at Clark Park. Team Ruiz/Esser were not nearly as dominant in their first two matches as the Cordovas, defeating Team Montijo/Burgos in two games in their first match and winning a close first game and trailing 9-17 in the second game of their second match against Team Langmack/Schiller. “I hurt my neck running into the wall at 9-17 and told Sam he needed to take over and he did,” stated Ruiz. Esser scored the final twelve points of the match to advance Team Ruiz/Esser to the round robin final.
The Flying Cordovas defended their Icebreaker pro doubles title at Clark Park on Sunday, ousting Team Ruiz/Esser for the second consecutive year in the final. The Cordovas continued to gel at Clark Park, as Lucho won his sixth straight pro title at Clark Park, with four consecutive singles titles and two consecutive doubles titles. The Cordovas controlled the match from the service box and were able to neutralize most of Ruiz and Esser’s deep serves. Playing in sweatpants in 70 degrees, Danos was efficient in the front court, while hitting deep hop serves that handcuffed Team Ruiz/Esser and Lucho carried the confidence of the number one player on tour, playing relaxed and loose in the two-game sweep.
“We had good rallies,” stated Lucho. “Shorty made some deep court mistakes, which he usually doesn’t make. The biggest difference was the serve. Both Daniel and I got tons of aces, maybe eight per game between both of us and that was the main difference.”
Final: Flying Cordovas def Team Ruiz/Esser 21-16, 21-12
Watch the Pro Doubles final on Dave Vincent’s Facebook page HERE
USHA National Three-Wall Masters Doubles Champions
35+: Team Schiller/Montijo
60+: Team Dyke/Eisenbooth
70+: Team Dyke/Eisenbooth
75+: Team Ackerman/Anderson
Thank you
Thank you to the USHA’s Matt Krueger and Sam Esser for running an outstanding event. Thank you to the WPH for donating the prize money for the pro bracket and for filming the event.
Watch the pro doubles on Dave Vincent’s Facebook page HERE
View all of the brackets from the 2nd USHA National Three-Wall Masters Doubles & WPH Icebreaker Pro Doubles HERE
For more info on the USHA, go to ushandball.org
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer