21st Annual Southern California 3-Wall State Championship in Memory of Jr. Vasquez
San Gabriel, CA, WPH Press, 7/12/26
Tournament directors Mark Zamora and Tom Martinez were proud to present the 21st Annual Southern California 3-Wall State Championship in Memory of Jr. Vasquez at Smith Park in San Gabriel, CA, featuring many of Southern California’s best small ball 3-Wall players competing for $2400 in prize money and an outstanding JR WPH clinic led by Dylan Hernandez and Mando Ortiz.
Open Doubles Final: Team Hernandez/Mando def Team Trejo/Garcia 21-17, 21-13
LAAC stars Dylan Hernandez and Mando Ortiz teamed up to win the 2026 Jr. Vasquez, relying on their teamwork and skills to overwhelm Bryan Trejo and Andrew Garcia. Race 4 Eight legend Mando Ortiz scorched the bottom board throughout the two-game final, while Race 4 Eight #10 Dylan Hernandez drove the ball with power from the back court.
“Bryan and Andrew played close in the first game,” stated Hernandez. “Brian made some good gets they made some good kills. Mando and I played an “I Formation” style of play, with Mando in front and me in the back. It worked for us and we stayed at it. Mando took over with ace serves down the right. I just kept driving deep shots so I could set up Mando in the front for fly kills and easy kill shots. I played steady and I let Mando go off in the front. They battled, but endurance became a factor for Andrew, in particular, and Brian kept up, but after a while having to keep up with Mando and me in the back was too much.”
“Mando was hitting some tough serves that were unreturnable,” stated Bryan Trejo. “Andrew and I played well though. We had our chances, just couldn’t really put the ball away and Mando made us pay in the front court.”
JR WPH Clinic at the 2026 Jr. Vasquez
WPH legend Mando Ortiz and current Race 4 Eight # 10 Dylan Hernandez teamed up to deliver an outstanding clinic for more than a dozen Southern California juniors before Sunday’s final. Mando and Dylan started the clinic by introducing the warm-up routine, followed by drills.
Hernandez and Mando then separated the junior players by level, with Hernandez working with the beginners on throwing the ball to warm up, using both hands, and eventually hitting the ball by bouncing and stepping into the shot with both hands. Mando worked with more advanced kids, explaining and demonstrating return of serves from different types of serves and returning to center of court.
“Beautiful, excellent clinic,” beamed tournament director Tom Martinez. “After the clinic, Dylan and Mando ran the junior tournament. Thank you to the WPH for all of the help throughout the years.”
Thank you to Mark and Tom for an outstanding event, including the Saturday and Sunday barbecue at the courts.
Pictures courtesy of Dylan Hernandez and Tom Martinez
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer