1/15/17, WPH Press, Tucson, AZ- The second weekend in January was a huge weekend in handball, with exciting events in the Midwest, the Southeast, and the Pacific Northwest.
Queen City Open (Cincinnati, OH)
Cincinnati hosted the Queen City Open, featuring top players from Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, as well as 22 collegiate players from the University of Cincinnati, University of Dayton, and the University of Illinois. Team RFC Pittsburgh made the 300-mile drive across I-70 West and swept the Open Singles, Open Doubles, and 70+ Singles. Former University of Pittsburgh star wide receiver Joe Delsardo picked up his first major open singles title and teamed with the WPH RFC’s co-tournament director Mike Semplice to slam the Open Doubles. JR WPH Pittsburgh Head Coach, WPH Donor, and WPH RFC namesake Rodney Fink won consecutive tiebreakers in the semifinals and finals of the 70+ singles, including a sensational tiebreaker comeback in the semifinals from 0-8 to win 11-8. Congratulations to Team RFC Pittsburgh!
WPH UWF Argos Classic (Pensacola, FL)
The WPH proudly sponsored the JR WPH University of West Florida Argos Classic for the fifth straight year, featuring top eight Race 4 Eight star Luis Cordova, 2016 JR WPH Collegiate Coach of the Year and UWF Handball Club founder Michael Morgan, rising stars Max Langmack and Sam Esser, and more than 50 collegiate handball stars. Race 4 Eight superstar and 2012 Race 4 Eight Rookie of the Year Luis Cordova spent the weekend offering tips to the more than 50 collegiate players and hosted a “Play the Pro” singles challenge on the event’s final day. “It was a really cool event and I’m really glad I made the five-hour trip from Atlanta,” stated Cordova. “I’ve never seen so many college players at one event and they are all really into handball and they are all getting really good.”
Cordova continued his domination on the court at the Argos Classic, defeating Sam Esser in a tiebreaker in the Open Singles final to win the Argos Classic for the fourth straight year and teaming with UWF’s Alex Grochowski to slam the doubles.
Red Death (Missoula, MT)
Race 4 Eight stalwart and Fred Lewis Foundation Head Coach Abraham Montijo made the trip from Tucson to Missoula to challenge the Pacific Northwest’s best in Missoula’s “Red Death” tournament. Montijo captured his fourth “Red Death” singles title, defeating former top 12 pro Jay Balkenbush in the Open Singles final and teaming with Sean Sandau to defeat Balkenbush and Pete Svennungsen in the Open Doubles final.
WAC Exhibition (Seattle, WA)
475 miles west of Missoula in Seattle, top eight Race 4 Eight stars Sean Lenning and Daniel Cordova squared off in an exhibition match at the 33rd Washington Athletic Club Handball Classic. The top eight superstars thrilled the enthusiastic WAC gallery at the home of the 2012 and 2103 Race 4 Eight Player’s Championship, staging an exciting exhibition match that was decided by a combined six points. Lenning emerged victorious in his home state, 21-17, 21-19.
Plummer Bash 8 & R46 6 Stop #3 (Coeur d’Alene, ID)
The first Race 4 Eight stop of 2017 and the third stop of the Race 4 Eight 6 season starts on Friday, January 20th in Coeur d’Alene, featuring nine of the top 10 Race pros, with former star NFL quarterback turned handball ambassador Jake Plummer and the Plummer family playing hosts.
To check out the Plummer Bash 8 preview and all of the important Plummer info, go here
To listen to a rare interview with Jake Plummer on the most recent Dave and Dave Handball SportsCast, go here
Watching handball this weekend is pending the Internet Speeds at the host facility. WPH may LiveStream via WPH Facebook Pages and/or upload videos at a later time/date. These matches will not air on ESPN.
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 and WPH Outdoor tours.
David Fink
WPH Senior Correspondent