Day 1
Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 11/3/23
The eighth annual 2023 Tucson Memorial marked the eighty-second event in the history of the Race 4 Eight tour, with the tour spanning 17 states in the R48’s first twelve seasons. The 2023 Tucson Memorial features the largest prize purse of the 2023/24 Race 4 Eight handball season ($50k), with the top R48 Men’s pros, Women Race 4 Eight, and Senior Race 4 Eight (40+) pros vying for one of the sport’s most prestigious prizes.
The Tucson Memorial was created in 2015 to honor handball friends and family who were sadly lost, a tradition that has evoked wonderful memories of handball players and fans who spent their lifetimes playing and supporting in the sport.
The R48 Men’s Pro kicked off on Friday, with fourteen of the top sixteen pros and twenty-five total battling for the eight coveted spots in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
R48 #1 Lucho Cordova was sharp in his Memorial title defense, dropping Missouri’s Jeff Streibig in two games.
Closing in on the number one ranking, Mulkerrins was also dominant against Tucson’s Abraham Montijo, allowing the FLF Executive Director just nine points in two games.
Former Race 4 Eight #5 (2020) Vic Perez authored the biggest upset of this season thus far, sweeping R48 #3 Leo Canales in Canales’s first start of the season. Perez stood on the brink of elimination in his first match against Ireland’s Diarmuid Mulkerrins, trailing 11-13 in the tiebreaker at the two hour and ten minute mark. Perez rallied to overcome the collegiate All-American and continued his stellar play against Canales. “I don’t know what it was (against Leo),” Perez would later say. “I just sort of relaxed and got into my groove.”
Danos Cordova would not need a dramatic comeback to overcome the LAAC’s Dylan Hernandez in a rematch of their Portland round of 16 match, dropping DHern in two games.
David Fink overcame Stephen Cooney in a two-game brawl that saw both players repeatedly on the floor, usually in the same rally. Cooney overcame a 4-9 second-game deficit after dropping the first to lead 12-10 but Fink squashed the rally with five straight points to advance. “Stephen is a hard matchup for anyone and that’s why he’s always in the top 14 on tour,” stated Fink. “He neutralizes great serves and converts a high percentage of deep court and paddle kills.”
After playing through a neck injury in Portland, fan-favorite Sean Lenning was unsure if he would be able to play in one of his favorite events. Lenning made the last second decision to enter and quickly found himself one-game down against the 2023 Race 4 Eight Rookie of the Year Mark Doyle. Lenning shifted to fifth gear in the second and third games, increasing his power and court coverage to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. “You want to get Sean early, especially if he has not been playing because once he starts finding it, he is basically impossible to beat,” stated frequent Lenning practice partner and Race 4 Eight pro Kyle English.
In an all-Tucson battle, Shorty Ruiz and Ivan Burgos met for a spot in Saturday’s final eight. Burgos led 6-1 in game one but Ruiz quickly erased the deficit with jaw-dropping paddle kills and back wall kills. Ruiz outscored Burgos 15-5 after the slow start but could not maintain his level. Burgos uncharacteristically switched to an overhand lob serve in the second, slowing down the game and taking control. “I couldn’t get my serve in so I had to try something,” Burgos would later say. After clinching the second, Burgos ran away with the third to advance to his second consecutive Race 4 Eight quarterfinal. “Age is catching up with me,” lamented Ruiz.
Sam Esser faced Erik Torres for a spot in the final eight and looked to be in control, leading 15-8, 14-8. The smooth-swinging Northern Californian was far from done, reeling off six straight points to force a third. Torres took a commanding 12-8 lead in the third, but just as he had done in Portland’s round of 16 against Mark Doyle, Esser stormed back in the third to snatch victory. “Sam just got hot,” Race 4 Eight pro Jab Bike reported. “Those last seven points happened fast, great serves and back wall kills with both hands.”
Round of 16
Lucho def Streibig 15-6, 15-2
Mulkerrins def Montijo 15-4, 15-5
Perez def Canales, Jr. 15-10, 15-8
Danos def Hernandez 15-10, 15-11
Fink def Cooney 15-8, 15-12
Lenning def Doyle 7-15, 15-3, 15-4
Burgos def Ruiz 12-15, 15-10, 15-5
Esser def Torres 15-8, 14-16, 15-12
Quarterfinals (Saturday, all times PST)
Lucho vs. Esser 9 am
Danos vs. Fink 9:45 am
Lenning vs. V. Perez 11:15 am
Mulkerrins vs. Burgos 10:30 am
WR48
The WR48 kicked off on Friday, with the WR48’s top four seeds dominating their opponents. Catriona Casey has her sights set on breaking her 90-7 three-match
Race 4 Eight scoring record, while Tucson’s Ashley Ruiz and Mikaila Esser enjoyed strong starts to their Memorial campaigns. Ireland’s left-handed juggernaut Eilise McCrory also cruised on Friday, dropping the University of Arizona’s Sophie Della Croce in two games.
Casey def Camacho 15-0, 15-0
Esser def Munroe 15-8, 15-1
Ruiz def Holden 15-6, 15-1
McCrory def Della Croce 15-1, 15-4
Semifinals (Saturday, all times PST)
Casey vs. Esser 1:45 pm
McCrory vs. Ruiz 2:45 pm
SR48
Fink def Lopez 15-4, 15-2
Garcia def Aranda 15-9, 15-3
English def Watkins 15-5, 15-1
Mehilos def Henning 15-7, 15-1
Semifinals (Saturday, all times PST)
Fink vs. Garcia Noon
Mehilos vs. English 12:45 pm
2023 Tucson Memorial Broadcast Schedule on ESPN: Saturday, November 4, 9 am-7 pm PST, Sunday, November 5, 10 am-1:30 pm PST
Tucson Memorial R48 XI Press Release HERE
Follow the draws and results from the 2023 Race 4 Eight Tucson Memorial HERE
Breaking Down the 2023 R48 Men’s Pro Pre Memorial Stats HERE
Current Race 4 Eight Rankings HERE
WPH Destination Series Tucson HERE
Handball Terminology + Instruction and R48 Rules HERE
Race 4 Eight Pro Player Bios HERE
WPH Race 4 Eight Power Rankings HERE
DF’s R48 Fun Facts and Trends + Race 4 Eight History of Champions HERE
2023/24 Race 4 Eight schedule HERE
WPH Coaching Center Instructional Videos HERE
Support the sport and become a WPH Patreon HERE
WPH RACE 4 EIGHT: The World Players of Handball’s 2023/24 Race 4 Eight XIII Powered by ESPN features Race 4 Eight stops in Oregon, Arizona, Missouri, Montana and Mexico, all culminating with The Player’s Championship in Utah in May of 2023. Similar to NASCAR’s Nextel Cup and the FedEx PGA Playoffs, players earn points in the Race 4 Eight’s regular season stops to qualify for the season-ending Player’s Championship and bonus prizes.
For more information on the WPH Race 4 Eight title sponsor opportunity, please contact World Players of Handball Executive Director David Vincent at dave.vincent@wphlive.tv or World Players of Handball Development Director David Fink at david.fink@wphlive.tv. For more information on the World Players of Handball, please visit wphlive.tv
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer