Esser and Entzeroth Take The Show-Me State
St. Louis, MO, WPH Press, 4/30/23
The 2023 Missouri State Singles featured one of the strongest Men’s Open singles draws on the 2023 state championship calendar, as Race 4 Eight pros Max Langmack, Sam Esser, tournament host Jeff Streibig were joined by a number of the Midwest’s top contenders. The Women’s draw was also strong, as former top four WR48 pro Suz Entzeroth headlined a field that included Taylor Rumping and Taylor Bell. The 2023 Missouri State Singles presented by then Missouri State Handball Association and was held at the famed handball-only St. Louis Hinder Club, home to the January 12-14, 2024 St. Louis Race 4 Eight stop.
Men’s Open Singles
Top ten R48 pros Max Langmack and Sam Esser faced a difficult road to the MO State finals, as top-seeded R48 #8 pro Langmack was pushed to a tiebreaker in his quarterfinal match with Taylor Schmitt and won two close games against Ross “Hop” Colyer in the semifinals, while R48 #9 Sam Esser dropped game one against hometown hero and narrowly escaped a two-game loss before rallying to win in a tiebreaker against hometown favorite Jeff Streibig, avenging a loss to Streibig on the same court from late in 2022. “Jeff is very tough on his home court at the Hinder Club,” Esser would later say. “He’s always dangerous on that left-side glass court.”
In what could be a round of 16 clash at next week’s Aces Player’s Championship, childhood friends and collegiate teammates Langmack and Esser faced one another for the MO State title. After standing at the brink of elimination the previous night against Streibig, Esser started hot and stayed hot against his fellow collegiate All-American and fellow Race 4 Eight top 10 pro, cruising to a two-game sweep against Langmack. “Sam was hitting some great crack serves and double bouncers that never allowed me to get too comfortable in the match,” stated Langmack.
Semifinals
Langmack def Colyer 21-15, 21-18
Esser def Streibig 18-21, 21-18, 11-3
Final: Esser def Langmack 21-7, 21-15
Women’s Open Singles
Former WR48 finalist Suz Entzeroth returned from injury to advance to the Women’s Open final in the upper bracket, while Missouri’s Taylor Rumping won the battle of the Taylor’s in the bottom bracket, dropping Taylor Bell in two games to meet Suz in the final.
Suz showed no signs of rust after a long layoff in the final, regaining her top spot in the Midwest with a convincing two-game sweep against Taylor Rumping.
Semifinals
Entzeroth def Pecaut 21-4, 21-6
Rumping def Bell 21-7, 21-20
Final: Entzeroth def Rumping 21-11, 21-10
Follow all of the brackets from the 2023 MO State Singles HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer