Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 7/20/24
The 2024 WPH Summer Icebreaker Series kicked off with the JulyBreaker at Tucson’s Clark Park. The 2024 Julybreaker featured a stout field of Race 4 Eight and Icebreaker pros, headlined by the three Cordova brothers, Shorty Ruiz, Ivan Burgos, Sam Esser, Abraham Montijo, and several rising stars.
The top four seeds advanced to the semifinals, as five-time Icebreaker champion Lucho Cordova thumped Albert Pizano, Sam Esser dominated frequent practice partner Ivan Burgos, Leo Canales overcame Shorty Ruiz in two games and Danos Cordova defeated Southern California’s Ricardo Palma to set up the first Icebreaker semifinal under the Clark Park permanent lights.
After starting play just south of ninety degrees at 7:30 am and ending the quarterfinals at ninety-eight degrees in blazing sunshine just past 10 am, the semifinalists were greeted with entirely different conditions for the 6 pm semifinals. Wind gusts up to thirty-miles-per-hour with ominous storm clouds circling the courts made evening play seem unlikely, but the monsoon that drenched most of Tucson throughout the evening just skirted Clark Park, setting the stage for three outstanding matches.
Semifinals
Sam Esser appeared poised to make his first Icebreaker final, dominating the first game against Lucho Cordova with strong deep play and perfectly struck fly kills. Lucho battled back in game two as Esser’s level dropped. Lucho evened the match with a second-game win, playing patiently and using his power to keep Esser off-balance.
Esser capitalized on a seemingly exhausted Lucho in the third, building a 12-1 lead with steady play. A seemingly innocuous miss at 12-1 with his left handed Lucho a side out and a reprieve. “I could have hit that left anywhere and won the point,” Esser later lamented. Instead, Esser hit the ball out of the court with Lucho out of position and Lucho capitalized with a flurry of points. Several Esser timeouts could not derail Lucho, who ended the match on a 14-0 run, Esser’s second 12-2 tiebreaker comeback defeat since March. “I don’t want to talk about that,” Esser would later say.
Danos Cordova and Leo Canales met for the second time in a week, with Danos defeating Leo in a tiebreaker in the finals of LaGrange (played indoors due to rain) last weekend. Danos controlled the action in game one, serving four aces on power hop serves en route to a 14-11 lead. Serving for the game, Danos ran towards the back line to play a Canales drive and signaled to the referee that the ball was out. Rather than driving the ball back deep, Danos flipped the ball back short, thinking he had won the game. Canales killed the short reply and the call stood. Canales seized control of the match from there, scoring five consecutive points to win the game in overtime and dominating game two to make his first Icebreaker final.
With the weather worsening and rain forecasted, Lucho and Leo took the court for the final. The action was spectacular, with both players hitting power drives, making incredible retrieves and striking roll outs at the slightest openings. Lucho led 14-11 but could not close out the game, as Leo forced overtime with three consecutive points. Lucho would not allow the game to slip away, scoring two quick points in overtime.
For the first time during the evening session, Lucho appeared to be in complete control midway through the second, leading 16-14, 8-3. Canales charged back, tying the game in less than a minute with a flurry of fly kills. Canales did not stop there, dazzling the crowd that braved the elements with a running left-handed short-hop kill to take a 10-8 lead. The pair traded the lead until the score was tied at thirteen. Canales pushed Lucho deep and earned his favorite setup, a fly kill with his right into the left corner. Inexplicably, Leo dumped the ball into the ground and with it his chance to win the match. Lucho quickly scored the final two points of the match and was given his sixth ice shower. “I can’t believe I missed that shot at 13,” Canales would later say.
“I got some good serves down the right late in the second game,” stated Lucho, who played better with each game in the event.
Quarterfinals
Lucho def Pizano 15-1, 15-0
Esser def Burgos 15-1, 15-8
Canales def Ruiz 15-10, 15-12
Danos def Palma 15-4, 15-4
Semifinals
Lucho def Esser 8-15, 15-5, 15-12
Canales def Danos 16-14, 15-5
Final: Lucho def Canales 16-14, 15-13
A Singles
The A singles featured a four-player round robin, with all four players playing three one-game matches to 21. Mikaila Esser, Dan McNabney, and Mike Morgan all went 2-1 in their three matches, with Mikaila beating Mike 21-18 and losing to Dan 19-21 and Mike beating Dan 21-17. Mikaila, Mike, and Dan each defeated Audrey Peters. The 2-1 tiebreakers went to the Queen of Clark Park, as Mikaila nabbed another title.
Champion: Mikaila Esser
Second place: Mike Morgan
Thank you to all of the players, referees, Dave Vincent, David Fink, Lolita de Vincent, Ashley Ruiz, and the WPH for an outstanding first Icebreaker of 2024.
Follow the 2024 Julybreaker brackets HERE
Icebreaker Bios HERE
Icebreaker History of Champions HERE
Enter the August 17 Ice Bowl HERE
2024/25 Race 4 Eight Schedule HERE
WPH Coaching Centers HERE
WPH News Feed HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer