St. Louis, MO, WPH Press, 4/13/25
The Missouri State Handball Association and the incredible team of volunteers were proud to present the 2025 Missouri State Singles Championships at the U.S. National Handball Center.
The 2025 Missouri State Singles Championships offered men’s, women’s, and junior skill level and age division brackets.
Men’s Open Singles
Race 4 Eight #16 pro and U.S. National Handball Center Captain Jeff Streibig entered the 2025 Missouri State Singles as the top seed on his home court. Streibig cruised to the final in the upper bracket, defeating Christian Madsen in two games in the semifinals.
Race 4 Eight #8 pro Sam Esser traveled from Tucson to St. Louis to reclaim the prestigious Midwest title and met Streibig in the final after defeating his Missouri State teammate Ross Colyer in the bottom bracket semifinals.
Streibig has defeated Esser several times on his home court in St. Louis and looked as though he may earn another win against Esser in the final, taking the first game and standing just four points from the title in the second. Esser rallied, proving why he has been a top eight Race pro for most of the past four seasons, rallying to win the second game and seizing the momentum in the third to take the championship.
“The final was very tough,” Esser would later say. “Jeff played fast and made me earn everything. The second game and tiebreaker I hit some good pass shots down the walls that helped me close both games out. The National Handball Center is awesome.”
“The final was good,” the U.S. National Handball Center Captain Streibig said. “Played as hard as I could. He started running the ball down the left wall nicely and controlling the front court. It’s always a battle with him.”
Semifinals
Streibig def Madsen 21-3, 21-15
Esser def Colyer 21-11, 21-5
Final: Esser def Streibig 15-21, 21-17, 11-3
Women’s Open Singles
Former WR48 #1 Mikaila Esser advanced to the women’s final by defeating Taylor Bell in two games in the upper bracket semifinals, while former WR48 finalist Suz Entzeroth met Esser in the final after defeating Taylor Rumping in the bottom bracket semifinals.
Esser outlasted Entzeroth in a battle of the Missouri State alums in the final, winning the majority of long rallies to ensure the Esser Slam in Missouri.
“I won 21-7 both games, but I don’t think the score reflected the game,” stated Esser. “We had some great rallies. My lob serve helped me get some set ups and aces. I played consistent and my kill shots and pass shots were on today. It was great playing at the new club!”
Semifinals
Esser def Bell 21-5, 21-4
Entzeroth def Rumping 21-4, 21-11
Final: Esser def Entzeroth 21-7, 21-7
35+ Singles
Scottie Moler captured his second Masters singles title in eight days at the U.S. National Handball Center, winning the 35+ singles against Will Lemp after capturing the 40+ national singles title last week in Tucson.
The is U.S. National Handball Center one of the premiere facilities in the world and proudly provided great competition, outstanding hospitality, and a tremendous weekend of handball at the 2025 Missouri State Singles Championships.
The U.S. National Handball Center has a fundraising goal of $1.5 million to complete the nine-court facility, with $500k having already been raised. Contact USHA Executive Director Matt Krueger at handball@ushandball.org to support the project.
Follow all of the brackets from the 2025 Missouri State Singles Championships HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer
