College Station, TX, WPH Press, 9/27/26
Tournament director Ashley Fuselier and the Texas A&M Handball Club were proud to present the September 2026 Aggieland Classic and WPH Race 4 Eight Pre Qualifiers at the Texas A&M Rec Center on the final weekend of September.
The Men’s and Women Open Singles brackets served as Race 4 Eight Pre Qualifiers, with the highest finisher in each bracket not currently ranked in the R48 Elite 8 or WR48 Fab 4 receiving the travel stipend and entry into the 2026/27 Race 4 Eight event of his or her choice.
The 2026 Aggieland also featured singles and doubles brackets for players of all levels, in addition to a JR WPH Clinic for collegiate and junior players.
Men’s R48 Pre Qualifier Singles
R48 #1 Martin Mulkerrins served as the 2026 Aggieland Pre Qualifier tournament host and top seed on his home courts in College Station, while his sparring partner and R48 #3 Mark Doyle entered the 2026 Aggieland as the second seed in his adopted home at A&M.
Mulkerrins dominated the top half of the draw, including a two-game sweep against Austin’s Holden Smith in the upper bracket semifinal, while Doyle swept R48 #15 Dylan Schmitt in two games in the bottom bracket semifinal to meet Mulkerrins in the final.
Texas Dolly defeated Mulkerrins in the semifinals of the 2026 R48 Red last weekend, becoming the forty-sixth player in Race 4 Eight Men’s Pro history to face match point and win. Dolly’s win against Mulkerrins was his second Race 4 Eight win against the R48 #1 this year, having also defeated the 17-time R48 champion in St. Louis in January.
Mulkerrins would be seeking to avenge his two near-misses against Doyle in the 2026 Aggieland final but it would not be easy, as both games in the final extended into overtime. Mulkerrins was able to make the clutch shots in overtime in the first and second games to defend his home court and clinch the 2026 Aggieland title. “Neither Martin nor Mark played their cleanest game, but the match was entertaining nonetheless,” stated WPH reporter and ambassador Noel Aguilar.
With both Mulkerrins and Texas Dolly firmly entrenched in the Race 4 Eight Elite 8, the third place match between Dylan Schmitt and Holden Smith would determine the 2026 Aggieland’s travel stipend and entry recipient. Holden and Smith play occasionally in their hometown of Austin, and Smith used his experience against the Race 4 Eight’s rising star in the first game of their third place final, racing to a 10-5 lead. Schmitt relied on his unmatched fitness from biking up to 40 miles per day to rally, scoring the 25 of the final 27 points of the match to seize the travel stipend and entry. “It seemed like Holden felt defeated going into the second game and played significantly worse,” Schmitt told WPH reporter Aguilar.
Schmitt will redeem his travel stipend and entry for the October 9-11, 2026 R48 Portland Classic.
Semifinals
Mulkerrins def Smith 15-7, 15-3
Doyle def D. Schmitt 15-5, 15-4
Final: M. Mulkerrins def Doyle 16-14, 17-15
Third place match (for the Aggieland Pre Qualifier travel stipend): D. Schmitt def Smith 15-12, 15-0
WR48 Pre Qualifier Singles
Leah Minogue continues to make a name for himself in WR48 handball, defeating the current USHA Four Wall National Champion and WR48 #2 Aoife Holden in a tiebreaker in the final to win her second WR48 travel stipend and entry in four weeks (Minogue won the 2026 Rams WR48 Pre Qualifier HERE).
Trailing 8-14 in game one in the final against Minogue, Holden summoned her experience and shot making to stun Minogue. “Aoife caught fire and Leah turned it down a gear,” Aguilar reported.
Minogue quickly took control in game two, building a 10-0 lead and ultimately forcing a third after squashing a Holden rally.
Very little separated the WR48 stars in the third, with Minogue catching a streak at eight-all to take control. “Leah broke from 8-8 to gain a small lead that led her to winning the game,” Aguilar would later say.
“It was a tough match with Aoife,” Minogue would tell the WPH. “I let my lead go in the first game and couldn’t close it out so was happy to get over the line eventually and get the win. I’m sure we’ll probably have many more battles against each other while we’re both in Texas!”
Minogue will redeem her 2026 Aggieland Pre Qualifier travel stipend and entry for the January 29-31, 2027 George Lee WR48 HERE
Semifinals
Holden def Behne 15-3, 15-4
Minogue def Rivers 15-1, 15-7
Final: Minogue def Holden 14-16, 15-8, 15-10
JR WPH Clinic at the 2026 Aggieland Race 4 Eight Pre Qualifiers
JR WPH Coach Martin Mulkerrins led a JR WPH Clinic for more than a dozen collegiate handball players during the 2026 Aggieland, focusing on various serves and in-match strategies.
“The clinic was outstanding,” reported WPH reporter Noel Aguilar. “Coach Martin had 15 college students in the court.”
Thank you to tournament director Ashley Fuselier, Martin Mulkerrins, and Noel Aguilar for directing, coaching, and reporting from the 2026 Aggieland Race 4 Eight Pre Qualifiers.
Race 4 Eight Pre Qualifier Explained HERE
2026/27 Race 4 Eight Schedule HERE
Follow all of the brackets from the 2026 Aggieland Classic and WPH Race 4 Eight Pre Qualifiers HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer