The United States Handball Association and the World Players of Handball are proud to present the live broadcast of the 66th USHA Four Wall National Championships from Fridley, MN. Friday featured the Men’s Pro Semifinals, with three of the four superstars hailing from Ireland.
Brady vs. Moreno
Paul Brady and Luis Moreno continued their rivalry that started in earnest with Moreno defeating Brady as an 18-year-old in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Simple Green U.S. Open. Brady won each of their subsequent meetings, including the 2012 World Handball Championships and the 2014 and 2015 Simple Green U.S. Open finals. Moreno was poised to end Brady’s 10-straight national championship run on Friday, as he attacked Brady in game one. Moreno overpowered and outplayed “The Gunner” in game one, taking a one-game lead with a deft front court touch and two-way hops. Brady regrouped in game two, relying on his experience and conditioning to even the match. Brady and Moreno scored just seven combined points in the first 22 minutes of game two, but Brady scored 11 points in the next six minutes to take a commanding 15-6 lead and closed out the game, 21-8. Moreno regained the momentum in the tiebreaker, surging to a 4-1 lead and appearing to be in complete control. Brady closed to 4-5 but Moreno scored three straight to take a seemingly commanding 8-4 lead. Moreno stood just three points from ending Brady’s 10-year run, but Brady located his power reverse serve to the left, scoring two straight points to pull within two and killed two setups to tie the score at eight. Brady continued his streak, scoring the final three points of the match after tying the score at eight, punctuating the match with a right-handed kill and a two-handed fist pump.
Carroll vs. Mulkerrins
Martin Mulkerrins faced his compatriot Killian Carroll in the second men’s semifinal of the afternoon in a matchup of early-twenties Irish contemporaries. Mulkerrins picked up where he left off against Sean Lenning in the quarterfinals, building an 11-3 lead in game one. Carroll rattled off points in bunches, eventually tying the score at 14 and running away with the game to take a one-game lead. Mulkerrins again started quickly in game two, scoring eight points before Carroll entered the server’s box. Carroll quickly tied the score at nine and closed out the match on a 21-4 run.
Semifinals:
Brady defeats Moreno 10-21, 21-8, 11-8
Carroll defeats Mulkerrins 21-14, 21-12
Final
Brady vs. Carroll Saturday @ 11am Central Time
Brady and Carroll will meet for the fourth time in less than a year, with Brady winning their first two encounters in the finals of the 2015 World Handball Championships and Race 4 Eight V New Orleans and Carroll defeating Brady in the semifinals of the Race 4 Eight V Player’s Championship in Portland. Brady will be seeking his 11th USHA Four Wall National title, which would tie Naty Alvarado, Jr., while Carroll will be seeking his first.
The Women’s Pro Semifinals will follow the Men’s Pro Singles on Saturday, with Catriona Casey seeking to repeat as the USHA Four Wall Women’s National Champion.
To watch Saturday’s Men’s Pro Singles Finals starting at 11 am CST, go to race4eight.com. The Women’s Pro Singles Semifinals will start immediately after the Men’s Final.
To follow the results from the 66th USHA Four Wall National Championships, click here. To follow the USHA’s coverage of the 66th USHA Four Wall National Championships, go to ushandball.org
Log onto wphlive.tv, Like the World Players of Handball on Facebook, or follow the WPH on Twitter @dfwph and @wphlive for all of the handball news from on and off the court! The World Players of Handball is a non-profit foundation aiming to grow the game of handball through innovation and inspiring the next generation of players through junior clinics with certified WPH coaches, junior tournaments and the Race 4 Eight tour.
The World Players of Handball is please to be filming the 66th USHA 4 Wall National Handball Championships from Life Time Fitness in Beautiful Fridley, Minnesota. There are many story lines this year, but none greater than Naty Alvarado’s coveted #11 being met head-on by Ireland’s Paul Brady. The Gunner is seeking his 11th title and could be atop the list alongside Alvarado before the weekend passes. Join us together as we capture all the action LIVE right here on race4eight.com (home of the WPH R48Pro Tour).
Read Thursday’s Quarterfinal Wrap Up HERE>
Read Friday’s Semifinal Wrap HERE>
This live broadcast brought to you by the WPH Board of Directors and the USHA President’s Club.
The USHA 4 Wall Nationals has been brought to you by Ward Services. Challenged with Many Employees Spread Over Multiple Locations? Challenged with Effectively Communicating Important Information to Employees? Do All of Your Employees Understand Their Benefits? Have Ward Services Join Your Team & Serve Your Employees an Ace for Corporate & Benefits Communications. For a NO COST solution to these challenges, contact USHA Director Jim Ward Office: 800-673-6472 Email: JWard@WardServices.com
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Special Thanks to:
-Tim Labey, with Restoration Professionals (emergency services, carpet cleaning, etc. www.RestPro.com
-Bill and Cary Kelly
-Minnesota State Handball Assoc. They are also providing a hospitality room at the hotel room 204 and gave all participants a pair of gloves
-Steve Johnson, Mantle Buzz, www.MantleBuzz.com
-Minnesota Natural Medicine.com, Chris and Jan Foley
-Jerry and Sharon Jordahl
-Dave Bremer of the Boulay Group (CPA)
USHA 4 Wall Broadcast Schedule: (All Times Central, Local Minnesota Time) Track the brackets HERE>
Saturday, June 18th
11am – Men’s Finals Paul Brady vs Killian Carroll – Men’s Final
12pm – Catriona Casey vs Aoife McCarthy – Women’s Semis Upper Bracket
1pm – Jessica Gawley vs Ciana Ni Churraoin – Women’s Semis Lower Bracket
2pm – until broadcast day completion – TBD
Sunday, June 19th
10am – Women’s Final TBD
11am – TBD
12pm – Men’s Open Doubles Final
***The above times, matches and dates are just estimates based off of the schedule posted on r2sports.com. For a more specific clarification please contact the USHA @ handball@ushandball.org. Although the WPH is filming and broadcasting these championship games on race4eight.com, they had no part in making the schedule, seeding the brackets or organizing the tournament. Please contact the United State Handball Association for specific questions related to the national handball championships, format, rules and schedule.