The second weekend of 2016 featured many of the game’s greatest players in action in Ireland and the United States.
In the United States, it was the Olympic Club’s 2015 Olympian of the Year Emmett Peixoto claiming his 13th Olympic Club Singles Title, defeating former top 10 pro Chris Tico in the semifinals and fellow R48 star Erik Torres in the final. Results>
The first Race 4 Eight event of 2016 and third R48 event of the 2015-2016 Race 4 Eight V season Powered by ESPN starts on January 22nd in New Orleans. There are 12 spots still open in the qualifier, so if you want to play in the Big Easy, enter here>
Ireland’s John Gaffney Memorial showcased rising R48 star and 2015 World Handball Championship Men’s Open Singles Finalist Killian Carroll, Irish handball legend and 2014 WPH R48 Player’s Champion Robbie McCarthy, American #1 and current WPH R48 Player’s Champion Sean Lenning, former R48 #1 Charly Shanks, former USHA National Four-Wall Singles Finalist Martin Mulkerrins, the youngest qualifier in the history of the R48 tour Colin Crehan, as well as a number of Ireland’s top 20 stars. The game’s greats did not disappoint, with a number of matches being deciding in tiebreakers and several games being deciding by just one point.
After a furious weekend of play in which Martin Mulkerrins upset third-seeded Sean Lenning in the quarterfinals and top-seeded Killian Carroll, second-seeded Robbie McCarthy and fourth-seeded Charly Shanks advanced to the semifinals, Robbie McCarthy was left standing on Sunday evening. McCarthy staged a sensational semifinal comeback against Martin Mulkerrins, in which “The Buzzsaw” rallied from a 12-0 deficit in the first to advance in two games. McCarthy rallied again in the final, erasing a one-game deficit to overcome Killian Carroll.
The top two women’s players in the world battled in a special exhibition match at the Gaffney Memorial, with WR48 #1 Catriona Casey exacting some revenge against her 2015 World Handball Championships and 2015 Simple Green U.S. Open conqueror Aisling Reilly, as Casey defeated the two-time defending World Champion in two games.
To read about action from the 2016 Gaffney Memorial, courtesy of the GAA, click the links below:
Saturday’s Round of 16 and Round of 8: here>
Sunday’s Semifinals and Finals: here>
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.
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer