Written by Martin Mulkerrins
Dallas, TX, WPH Press, 2/8/26
Tournament directors Martin Mulkerrins and Terry Bowman and the Dallas Handball Club were thrilled to present the 2026 George Lee Invitational & R48/WR48 Pre Qualifiers at the T. Boone Pickens YMCA in Dallas, TX.
The George Lee started in 1947 and is the country’s longest running handball tournament, boasting many of the game’s greats as champions, to include Johnny Sloan, Jimmy Jacobs, Paul Haber, Allan Garner, Sam Esser, Martin Mulkerrins, Adam Bernhard, Pat Kirby, and John Bike.
R48 Pre Qualifier Singles at the 2026 George Lee
WPH R48 #1 ranked pro Martin Mulkerrins came into the 2026 George Lee as the two-time defending champion and seeking to match the two previous champions, Holden Smith and Sam Esser, in completing a three-in-row. Wins over Jon Flynt and Christian Madsen booked him a place in Sunday’s final.
On the bottom side of the bracket younger brother, Diarmuid Mulkerrins won his three matches without dropping a game, including an overtime win against Taylor Schmitt (15-7, 17-15), to reach the final.
In the battle of the brothers in the final, older brother Martin raced into a 9-1 first game lead, with several left and right-handed kills. However, Diarmuid settled into the game and made a run of his own to trail by two points at 10-12. Martin appeared to have weathered the storm, leading 14-11, but a skip in the front right corner to win the game opened the door for Diarmuid. Diarmuid stunned the R48 #1, scoring five consecutive points to win game one, 16-14.
Game two was also close, especially early on with the brothers tied at seven and nine, but Martin pulled ahead to close out the game, 15-11 and force the tiebreaker.
The tiebreaker featured big momentum shifts. Diarmuid held a seemingly a commanding 8-1 lead and appeared to be on the verge of winning the title before Martin located his kill shot and serve, ending the match went on a 14-3 run.
Semifinals
Mulkerrins def Madsen 15-7, 15-10
Mulkerrins def T. Schmitt 15-7, 17-15
Final: Martin def Diarmuid 14-16, 15-10, 15-11
WR48 Pre Qualifier Singles at the 2026 George Lee
Amesley Davis (Texas A&M) came into the 2026 George Lee WR48 Pre Qualifier as the top seed and looking to win her first George Lee Women’s Open Singles title. In the quarterfinals, Davis enjoyed a strong start with a win over Erin Bland of Missouri State University 15-6, 15-3 and looked equally impressive in the semifinals with a 15-3, 15-3 win over Angelo State University alumni, Corinna Flemming, 15-3, 15-3.
On the bottom side of the bracket, second-seeded Caitlin Behne (Texas A&M) and third-seeded JP Sammis (University of Texas) both won their respective quarterfinals to set up a huge semifinal battle. Caitlin took game one 15-3 before JP forced the tie breaker with a 15-12 game two win. The tiebreaker was close throughout and with the score tied at twelve, Caitlin who scored the last three points to win the game and match.
Unfortunately, due to injury, Caitlin was unable to play the final. Whie this was disappointing for the teammates, Amesley has showed great form and adds this historic title to a number of other recent successes including a WPH R48 Pre-Qualifier win in Waco, Texas last October.
Semifinals
Davis def Flemming 15-3, 15-3
Behne def Sammis 15-3, 12-15, 15-12
Final: Davis def Behne (fft)
JR WPH Clinic at the 2026 George Lee Invitational & R48/WR48 Pre Qualifiers
The WPH were delighted to help sponsor the 79th George Lee Invitational, which is not only a historic tournament dating back to 1947, but also a key tournament in Texas and the region for Collegiate Handball players in their preparation for the Collegiate Nationals. The 2026 George Lee attracted 40 students from Texas A&M, the University of Texas, Angelo State University, Missouri State University and San Jose. Martin and Diarmuid Mulkerrins and Race 4 Eight Bear Bash tournament director and MSU Coach Christian Madsen enthusiastically coached a JR WPH instructional clinic for the collegiate players.
The clinic focused on power serves and variations of lob serves for both first and second serves. The objective was for the collegiate athletes to have practical feedback to work on for the next ten days as they prepare for the Collegiate Nationals at the U.S. National Handball Center in St. Louis in mid-February. The clinic ended with a Q&A session with Martin, Diarmuid and Christian, which included additional technical questions on the serves as well the mental aspect of the sport and developing the non-dominant hand.
“We had another great clinic today with great interaction,” stated Martin Mulkerrins. “Similar to last year with Leo Canales, the co-presenting approach this year with Diarmuid and Christian worked really well. There were also a lot of players who had attended previous clinics, and I thought that was great as the clinic had a lot of technical information and questions which built on the discussions and demonstrations at previous clinics at tournaments in Waco, Texas A&M and Dallas over the past year”.
“The WPH was thrilled to partner with the George Lee and the Dallas Handball Club in presenting the 2026 George Lee R48 and WR48 Pre Qualifiers,” stated the WPH’s David Fink. “The George Lee is one of the country’s most prestigious events and we are excited welcome the George Lee champions to one of the Race 4 Eight’s 2026 events. Huge thank you to Martin Mulkerrins for serving as a tournament director, writer, coach, and player at the 2026 George Lee.”
Pictures courtesy of Eilish Owens.
Race 4 Eight Pre Qualifier Explained HERE
2025/25 Race 4 Eight Schedule HERE
Follow all of the brackets from the 2026 George Lee Invitational & R48/WR48 Pre Qualifiers HERE