Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 12/10/22
Day 1
The second R48 Icebreaker kicked off at the WPH’s Clark Park on Saturday in cool conditions, as players were greeted with morning temperatures in the low 40’s, with the midday temperature hitting close to 70 on a beautiful December day in Tucson. In addition to the R48 Icebreaker, women’s and junior stars were also in action.
R48
Lucho Cordova continued his mastery of Clark Park in 2022, winning his thirteenth and fourteenth consecutive matches on the Freddy B show court against Jab Bike and Max Langmack, respectively. “Lucho is great at controlling the rallies and not allowing you to get set,” stated Jab Bike, who is one of the few players to have taken a mid-game lead this season against Lucho in his second game in today’s round of 16 match. Lucho has yet to drop a game in 2022 at Clark Park.
Martin Mulkerrins quickly adjusted to 3-Wall in just his second 3-Wall tournament. Mulkerrins dispatched the talented teen, Andres Cordova in his opening match and overcame 3-Wall powerhouse Shorty Ruiz in the quarterfinals. Mulkerrins led 14-4 in game one against Ruiz before Ruiz took over, scoring 20 of the final 21 points of the game. Mulkerrins regrouped, taking the second game convincingly and building a 6-0 lead in the tiebreaker and holding on to advance to the semifinals. “I just got tired,” lamented Ruiz.
WPH R48Pro Men’s Rd 8: Ruiz vs Mulkerrins via Facebook Watch
David Fink’s defense of his R48 Icebreaker championship started with a two-game win against 2022 R48 Memorial quarterfinalist Ivan Burgos and a comprehensive two-game sweep against Adam Bernhard, who upset Sam Esser in a two-and-a-half-hour, three-game marathon in the round of 16. “I had been playing terribly in preparation for this event but I played well today,” stated Fink.
Danos Cordova returned from a broken foot at the 2022 Memorial to advance to his first R48 Icebreaker semifinal, defeating Minnesota’s David Schiller in the round of 16 and fighting off match point against Leo Canales, Jr. in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals. Danos led 10-7 in the tiebreaker, but a side out and three straight points for Canales left the pair tied at ten. Leo nearly hit an ace to win the match, but the serve just clipped the side wall past the deep line, giving Danos a chance to play a defensive return. Danos earned a side out after an eight-shot rally and Leo missed a left-handed setup to end the match. “I should have just hit that one hard,” stated Leo, referring to the last shot.
WPH R48Pro Men’s Rd 8: Canales Jr vs D. Cordova via Facebook Watch
Round of 16
Lucho def Jab Bike 21-7, 21-13
Mulkerrins def A. Cordova 21-8, 21-2
Fink def Burgos 21-5, 21-11
Danos def Schiller 21-13, 21-7
Canales, Jr. def D. Hernandez 21-10, 21-5
Bernhard def Esser 18-21, 21-14, 11-7
Ruiz def Collado 21-3, 21-17
Langmack def Montijo 21-18, 9-21, 11-6
Quarterfinals
Lucho def Langmack 21-7, 21-4
Danos def Canales, Jr. 21-5, 11-21, 11-10
Fink def Bernhard 21-2, 21-6
Mulkerrins def Shorty 15-21, 21-9, 11-5
Semifinals (Sunday)
Lucho vs. Danos
Mulkerrins vs. Fink
Women’s Singles
The four best women in Tucson battled for Old Pueblo supremacy on Saturday, with current 3-Wall national champion and multiple-time women’s Icebreaker champion Dr. Ashley Ruiz headlining the four-player field.
Ruiz and Mikaila Esser went undefeated in their round robin matches against Sophia Della Croce and Belisa Camacho to set up the final between two of the top women in 3-Wall handball on Sunday.
Final (Sunday): Ruiz vs. Esser
Junior Singles
Coach Chris Hogan drove six juniors from Phoenix to the R48 Icebreaker, four from his school, Carl Hayden High School in Phoenix, and two from South Mountain High School in Phoenix.
Carl Hayden’s number one player Heriberto Medina finished undefeated in the six-player round robin, with Chris Ruiz and Brian Castillo taking second and third, respectively.
“We are so grateful for coaches and ambassadors like Coach Chris and Coach Abe (Montijo) who tirelessly promote and grow the game,” stated David Fink. “We are so proud of Clark Park and we are thrilled to host junior players who we hope will be inspired to play our great game for many years.”
Thank you!
Thank you to the WPH and all of the donors who made the event possible, as well as Chris Hogan for bringing his juniors. Thank you to Scott “The Commish” Cleveland, Jim V and the BBQ crew for an outstanding Saturday BBQ.
Follow the draws from the 2022 WPH R48 Icebreaker HERE
Icebreaker pro player bios HERE
WPH Coaching Centers HERE
WPH Workout Central HERE
2022/23 Race 4 Eight schedule HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer