Santa Rosa, CA, WPH Press, 11/23/25
The Parkpoint Health Club and tournament director Lou Barberini were proud to present the 2025 Wine Country Turkey Shoot & R48 Pre Qualifier on the weekend before Thanksgiving, featuring the best players and the best hospitality in Northern California. The Men’s Open Singles served as Northern California’s R48 Pre Qualifier for the 2025/26 Race 4 Eight season.
Turkey Shoot Race 4 Eight Pre Qualifier Singles
The Turkey Shoot Race 4 Eight Pre Qualifier Singles featured a stellar field that included Turkey Shoot King and eight-time defending Turkey Shoot champion Erik Torres, Race 4 Eight pros Coleman McGrath, Loren Collado, and Pete Svennungsen, and Northern California stars Jake Cosgrove, Peter Jansen, and Rene Lopez.
Top two seeds Torres and McGrath would meet in the final after Torres dominated Jansen in the upper bracket semifinals and McGrath overwhelmed Loren Collado in the bottom bracket semifinals.
First-time Turkey Shoot participant and former rowing sensation McGrath set his sights on dethroning the Turkey King, trouncing Torres in the first game with his relentless blend of power and finesse.
The Turkey King would not relinquish his title easily, fighting back in the second. “Torres found his rhythm in the second, defending against McGrath’s offensive pushes,” stated Barberini. “The rallies turned into marathons, culminating in the shot of the tournament: After McGrath drove a ball deep that rebounded off the back wall less than a foot high, a desperate Torres—back to the front wall—hit a miraculous “tweener” through his legs, rolling it out off the left front wall for a kill. The crowd erupted, and Torres rode that momentum to force a tiebreaker.”
McGrath built a 3-0 lead in the tiebreaker and eventually led 8-2. “Torres captivated the crowd in one last stand, employing his patented smooth stroke to claw back to 8-10,” stated Barberini.
McGrath fought off Torres and the large Turkey Shoot gallery to end Torres’s eight-year Turkey run.
“Final was tough,” McGrath would later tell the WPH. “I felt strong early in the first game and the early lead carried me through. Eric got hot in the second when he started shooting. Tried to creep back but he kept responding with great defense. He brought it to tiebreaker, and even after I got an early lead, he snagged the momentum and was serving at 8-10. Luckily a few of my shots fell the way I wanted, and I was able to squeak it out.”
Semifinals
Torres def Jansen 21-10, 21-0
McGrath def Collado 21-8, 21-7
Final: McGrath def Torres
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Turkey Shoot Amateur Brackets, courtesy of Lou Barberini
The Grudge Match: 50s Final
The 50s division featured a heavy dose of history and irony. The final pitted 2024 NCHA Hall of Fame inductee Lefty Suarez against the newly inducted Dean Crispen, the San Francisco Fire Chief.
The rivalry dates back to last year, when Lefty requested an early final time before the tournament started—a text that perhaps motivated his first-round opponent, Dean, to knock him out immediately. This year, Lefty got his revenge. In a grueling two-hour marathon, Suarez defeated the Chief 18, (19), 2.
Women’s Exhibition & Open
The event featured a marquee exhibition match between Tracy Davis and the NYAC’s Danielle Daskalakis. Davis pushed the match to the limit, but Daskalakis prevailed in a tiebreaker 10, (12), 5.
In the main draw, the Southend Rowing Club dominated the field, but it was Brenna Gilmore who conquered the bracket, defeating Julia Schmidt in the final 15-8, 15-10.
Divisional Champions
- 40s Singles: Jesse Harris def. Andy Romanchock (7, 7).
- A Singles: Jason Whitney (Southend) def. Allen Ramos (Parkpoint) (11, 13).
- B Singles: Jayden Brown (Parkpoint) def. Mike Martin (Olympic Club) (5, 3).
- Note: Redemption for Brown, who lost in the finals in ’23 and ’24.
- C Singles: Austin Cosgrove (SERC) def. Dash Crispen (Olympic Club) (16, (10), 8).
- 75 Doubles: Ed Campbell & Mike Woods def. Dave Balistreri & Rob Nichols (9, 13).
- 60 Doubles: Jim Silla (Southend) & Les Halberg (SM Elks) def. Gary Steadman (SERC) & Francis Breining (10, 10).
- B Doubles: Alfonso Ferrel & Dino Suazo (Parkpoint) def. Eddy Hernandez & Juan Ramirez (Parkpoint) (17, 5).
- C Doubles: Tom Brunette & Richard Perez def. Don Hamilton & Tony Rosas (20, 17)
“For the 43rd year, the Wine Country Turkey Shoot heralded the arrival of the holiday season, taking over Parkpoint the weekend before Thanksgiving,” stated Lou Barberini. “A packed draw of 88 players descended on the courts for the three-day WPH Pre qualifier, an event made possible by the generosity of Parkpoint owner and handball devotee Bill Buchanan, who fully staffed the tournament and provided eight meals for the attendees.”
“The WPH was thrilled to partner with the historic Wine Country Turkey Shoot,” stated the WPH’s David Fink. “The Turkey Shoot is always a tremendous event with a great field and adding the Race 4 Eight qualifier added to the excitement.”
Follow all of the brackets from the 2025 Wine Country Turkey Shoot & R48 Pre Qualifier HERE
2025/26 Race 4 Eight Schedule HERE
Race 4 Eight Qualifier Explained HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer