WPH Press, Tucson, AZ 1/15/22
Day 2
Day 2 featured the R48 Men’s Pro and Women’s Pro singles quarterfinals and semifinals at the Tucson Racquet Club. The action-packed Saturday showcased the best players in North America on the ESPN stage.
R48 X January Classic Quarterfinals
The top four seeds cruised to the R48 January Classic semifinals on Saturday, as 17-time R48 champion Killian Carroll needed just 21 minutes to overcome Abraham Montijo, Stephen Cooney scored 29 of the final 30 points of the match after trailing 1-6 against Bill Mehilos (Cooney suffered a fall late in game one where he sled head-on into the left side-wall. Luckily, WPH Doctor, Ashley Moler, stepped in to check concussion protocols before clearing Cooney to continue play), Luis Cordova overpowered Sam Esser, and Daniel Cordova outmaneuvered Leo Canales, Jr.
What did the pros have to say about their quarterfinal wins?
Stephen Cooney: “After I banged my head in the first game I don’t think Bill scored again, but to be fair, he skipped a lot of balls he was making last night.”
Luis Cordova: “I did not feel I had to reassess anything after the first game, what I was doing was working. It seemed like my power was bothering him.”
Daniel Cordova: “Leo is coming on in every tournament, so I am figuring out how to play him. I figured out some angles he didn’t like and I’ll continue to use those strategies in upcoming matches against him.”
Carroll def Montijo 15-1, 15-4
Cooney def Mehilos 15-7, 15-0
Cordova def Canales, Jr. 15-2, 15-5
Cordova def Esser 15-7, 15-9
Semifinals
Irish rivals Killian Carroll and Stephen Cooney battled in the upper bracket semifinal, with Cooney playing some of the best ball of his Race 4 Eight career in his first Race 4 Eight semifinal. Cooney pushed Carroll throughout the match and held a tie for several consecutive side outs at 8-8 in game two before Carroll was ultimately able to pull away.
“Conditioning was really the difference and it allowed Killian to make the serves at the end,” stated ESPN color analyst Abraham Montijo.
“The serve was the difference, usually I don’t go for the side wall crack serve but I went for it and helped me finish off the game,” stated Carroll to ESPN sideline reporter Kara Mack. “Stephen was playing very well and very smart so I said to myself to turn it up a notch and changed a small bit and it worked.”
The Flying Cordovas faced one another for the second time in the semifinals this season, with Lucho winning their first R48 X semifinal encounter in two games en route to the first of his two R48 X finals thus far in the season. Lucho entered the January Classic with a troublesome right shoulder that appeared to have received some relief from a cortisone shot earlier in the week, while Danos entered the Classic with the flu.
Danos Cordova looked as though he may run away with the match, holding a 12-6 lead in game one. That lead quickly vanished with a Lucho run, as Lucho eventually tied the game and stunningly took game one, 12-9.
Danos led 12-8 in game two and was able to maintain his advantage to force a third game.
Danos led 10-1 in the decider and it appeared Lucho would be heading east to El Paso in a matter of seconds. “Never count Lucho out,” stated ESPN color analyst Leo Canales, Jr. Just as he had done in game one, Lucho stormed back, tying Daniel at 10 and eventually seizing the momentum by taking a 12-10 lead. “Lucho started to hit his lob serve and if my return wasn’t perfect, he was in control of the rally,” stated Danos after the match.
Neither player was able to convert a high percentage of kill shots late in the third game, with many of the rallies extending well into 20 or more shots. Despite battling obvious fatigue, Danos was able to find the bottom board to end rallies, eventually scoring the final five points of the match to advance to his first R48 final of the season.
“No freebies here, he (Lucho) can get into a rhythm with his lob serve,” stated Danos after the match. “It’s a lot of pressure, we’re both not super precise right now but we both have a lot of power so there is not much time to set up to hit kills. I just needed not to get tense. It definitely takes awhile to get over it once one of us beats one another because we make sure to always say who is the better player after we play.”
“This was everything you can ask for on a Saturday night in Tucson, both of these guys giving it their all on every point,” stated Leo Canales.
Carroll def Cooney 15-6, 15-9
Danos def Lucho 12-15, 15-9, 15-12
Women’s Pro Singles
Mikaila Esser notched her biggest 4-Wall win against Tracy Davis in the opening round, defeating Davis in a thriller, 6-15, 15-12, 15-13.
Esser had just a few hours to relax after her biggest indoor victory before facing the current national 4-Wall champion and current WR48 #1 Danielle Daskalakis. Daskalakis took game one comfortably but was unable to close the door on Esser, as Esser forced a tiebreaker in overtime.
Esser took a seemingly commanding lead at 12-8 in the decider, only to see her lead evaporate with a flurry of Daskalakis left-handed kills. Daskalakis was able to complete the comeback with a sensational left-hand cross court kill to end the match. “I know Mikaila gets stronger as the math goes on and she keeps making gets and putting the ball away,” Danielle stated to ESPN sideline reporter Kara Mack. “I kept telling myself the mantra I’ve used since 2015 ‘ ‘Get her down, score a point.’ This means a lot to me because handball means so much to me – all of my jobs, traveling and friends are a result of handball.”
Aimee Tuohey overwhelmed Ashley Moler in the bottom bracket semifinals, racing to an early lead and never allowing Moler into the game. “Aimee started fast and just had Ashley on the move throughout the match,” stated ESPN color analyst Luis Cordova. “Sometimes you feel like you’re playing badly, but when you can never get your feet set, you are not going to play well.”
“I only play about once or twice a week just to have fun so I was surprised at how well I played,” stated Tuohey. “My goal was for my right hand to not be as bad as it has been for the last few years and I think I accomplished that.”
Semifinals
Daskalakis def Esser 15-8, 14-16, 15-13
Tuohey def Moler 15-2, 15-5
Sunday Lineup Live on ESPN3 & WatchESPN App
9th place final: Streibig vs. Langmack
5th place final: Montijo vs. Esser
Women’s Final: Daskalakis vs. Tuohey
Men’s Final: Carroll vs. Danos
Follow all of the brackets from the 2022 January Classic HERE
Watch Saturday’s action live on ESPN3 HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer