The 2022 Longhorn Classic
Austin, TX, WPH Press, 7/11/22
The University of Texas handball team hosted the 2022 Longhorn Classic at UT’s Gregory Gym, featuring men’s and women’s open singles brackets, as well other singles and doubles skill level divisions.
Men’s Open Singles
R48 and Icebreaker pro Adam Bernhard entered the 2022 Longhorn Classic as the top seed and advanced to the final with a quarterfinal win against Stephen Mendoza and a three-game victory against Holden Smith in the semifinals.
Memo Pallares entered the 2022 Longhorn Classic as the number two seed and ousted Dylan Schmitt in the quarterfinals and Travis Owen in the semifinals to meet Bernhard in the final.
The backyard brawl between Bernie and Pallares produced one of their most exciting matchups in their storied Texas rivalry. Bernie took the early advantage, winning a grueling game one, 21-14. Pallares evened the match by taking control in game two, forcing a tiebreaker. Bernie raced to a 10-6 lead in the tiebreaker but Pallares roared back, tying to score at 10. Pallares missed a kill shot by centimeters serving at 10-10 and Bernie was able to clinch the title on his second match point.
Semifinals
Bernhard def Smith 5-21, 21-9, 11-4
Pallares def Owen 21-20, 21-14
Final: Bernhard def Pallares 21-14, 11-21, 11-10
Women’s Open Singles
Kristen Hughes cruised to the Women’s Longhorn title, going undefeated in the four-woman round robin of Avery Shephard, Lana Murphree, and Hannah Lerner.
Final: Hughes def Shepherd 21-17, 21-9
Follow all of the brackets from the 2022 Longhorn Classic HERE
University of Texas Handball homepage HERE
Follow the University of Texas on Facebook HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer