WPH Press, College Station, TX, 4/7/24
The Texas A&M Handball Club was thrilled to present the Charlie Bokelman R48/WR48 Pre Qualifier/Texas State Doubles Championships/Doug Randolph Cup in College Station, TX on the first weekend of April.
The Charlie Bokelman R48 and WR48 Pre Qualifier featured Race 4 Eight pros Martin Mulkerrins, Sam Esser, Mark Doyle, Adam Bernhard and Aoife Holden competing for R48 and WR48 pre qualifier stipends, making “The Boke” one of the premiere Race 4 Eight Pre Qualifier fields of this Race 4 Eight season.
In addition to the WPH sponsored R48 and WR48 Pre Qualifiers, the Charlie Bokelman Spring 2024 Aggieland Classic featured the Doug Randolph Cup, a collegiate team competition between Texas A&M, the University of Texas, San Angelo State and Missouri State with $10k in scholarship money to the winning team, as well as the Texas State Doubles Championships with small ball and big ball skill level and age doubles divisions for all players.
Men’s Pre Qualifier Singles
Martin Mulkerrins advanced to the final in the upper bracket, overcoming fellow Texas Adam Bernhard in two games in the semifinals.
Mark Doyle entered his semifinal match with Sam Esser having defeated the USHA Development Director for the first time in five meetings in the fifth place playoffs at the February R48 Red Death. Esser entered The Boke brimming with confidence, having advanced to his first Race 4 Eight semifinal at last week’s R48 Juarez and coming three points from the final. Doyle squandered a 13-8 lead in the first and a 13-11 lead in the second to drop to 1-5 against Esser. “Not a game I felt like I was going to lose, but he was clutch on some shots late where I didn’t convert some real good chances,” Doyle would later say.
The final was a rematch of last week’s R48 Juarez semifinal, where Esser led Mulkerrins 15-12, 12-2 before Mulkerrins came back to win in a tiebreaker en route to his seventh Race 4 Eight title.
Mulkerrins took game one of The Boke final in overtime and led 14-10 in the second. “Both of us had leads at different stages of game two and the game was very even until I pulled ahead 14-10,” Mulkerrins would later say. “Sam narrowed the gap to 12-14 and had an opportunity for a fly kill to score his thirteenth point, which he narrowly missed.”
Semifinals
Mulkerrins def Bernhard 15-6, 15-6
Esser def Doyle 15-13, 15-13
Final: M. Mulkerrins def Esser 16-14, 15-12
Women’s Pre Qualifier Singles
After finishing seventh at the WR48 Juarez last week, Angelo State University’s Aoife Holden dominated The Boke’s WR48 Pre Qualifier, allowing just eight points in her two matches and outscoring her two opponents by a combined score of 60-8. Holden comfortably defeated current All American collegiate star Amesley Davis in the final. “Aoife demonstrated her experience (in the final),” stated tournament director Martin Mulkerrins.
Semifinals
Holden def Bowman 15-4, 15-1
Davis def Jones 15-1, 15-3
Final: Holden def Davis 15-1, 15-2
Texas State Doubles Championship
Men’s Open Doubles: Mulkerrins/Mulkerrins dft. Esser/Doyle
Women’s Open Doubles: Behne/Davis dft. Jones/Bowman
The Texas A&M Handball Club would like to thank the Houston Handball Club and the WPH for sponsoring the event.
Watch the R48 and WR48 Pre Qualifier matches from The Boke on the TAMU Facebook page HERE
Thank you to tournament director Martin Mulkerrins for an outstanding event.
Race 4 Eight Pre Qualifier explained HERE
2023/24 Race 4 Eight Pre Qualifier recaps HERE
Follow all of the brackets from the 2024 Charlie Bokelman R48/WR48 Pre Qualifier/Texas State Doubles/Randolph Cup Championships HERE
Photos courtesy of Martin Mulkerrins
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer