2024 Race 4 Eight St. Louis Chapman Memorial Day 2
Friday
St. Louis, MO, WPH Press, 1/13/24
Day two of the 2024 Chapman Memorial kicked off from the St. Louis Hinder Club on Saturday, as one of the tour’s largest ever fields was reduced to two players in the R48 Men’s Pro, WR48 and SR48 main draws.
R48 Men’s Pro
Upper bracket
Lucho kicked off Super Saturday with a two-game sweep against first-time Race 4 Eight quarterfinalist Daniel Relihan. After comfortably taking game one, Lucho trailed 12-1 in the second before a furious fourteen-point rally carried him into the semifinals.
David Fink and Leo Canales staged an intense battle that saw the lead and momentum shift throughout the first game. Fink led 4-0 before Canales ran off eight consecutive points. Fink bounced back with eight consecutive points of his own to take a 12-8 lead, eventually leading 14-11. Canales cut the deficit to one but a double fault and a left-handed error handed Fink the first game. Canales dominated game two, leading 13-1 with highlight reel back wall and fly kills, ultimately closing out the game 15-5.
Canales appeared poised to take the match in the third, leading 8-5, but Fink regained control of the match, letting the ball drop and making several diving re kill, including on match point.
Lucho defeated Fink for the second consecutive event, dropping the lefty in two games with a powerful serve and a number of first strike kills.
Bottom Bracket
Danos Cordova advanced to his fourth quarterfinal of the season, ending Sam Esser’s bid for his first Race 4 Eight semifinal. Esser had chances in the first game but was unable to end rallies against the fleet-footed Danos. Danos assumed control of the match midway through the first game and never allowed Esser into striking distance for the remainder of the match.
World champions Killian Carroll and Martin Mulkerrins and their twenty-eight combined Race 4 Eight titles met in the bottom bracket quarterfinals and staged a match of the year candidate. Caroll took the first game, content to rally, hit a number of pass shots and wait for the perfect opportunity to go for the bottom board. Mulkerrins relied on his vaunted power to keep Carroll off-balance in the second, shortening rallies and quickly forcing a third.
Mulkerrins continued to be in control in the third, leading 13-7 and 14-10. Mulkerrins would serve for the match four times, each time failing to convert. Carroll erased the fourth match point with a left fist return of serve kill down the left. Carroll forced overtime at fourteen and Mulkerrins would serve for the fifth time with fourteen but could not add to his total, as Carroll rallied from match point down for the first time in his Race 4 Eight career.
Although appearing to be exhausted after the Mulkerrins comeback win, Carroll summoned the energy and shot making to cool off one of the hottest players in the sport to advance to his first final in his first start of the season. Carroll led 14-3 in game one against Danos before a six-point Danos streak and was in control throughout game two, using his speed, patience and two-handed attack to overwhelm Danos.
Round of 8
Lucho def Relihan 15-6, 15-12
Fink def Canales 15-13, 5-15, 15-8
Danos def Esser 15-12, 15-6
Killian def Mulkerrins 15-10, 3-15, 16-14
Semifinals
Lucho def Fink 15-5, 15-11
Killian def Danos 15-9, 15-6
Final (Sunday, 11:30 am CST): Lucho vs. Killian
WR48
The largest WR48 field in the tour’s history kicked off on Friday in St. Louis, as Catriona Casey began her quest for her fifteenth straight WR48 title and twenty-seventh WR48 title.
Upper Bracket
Catriona Casey was dominant in the WR48 upper bracket quarterfinals, allowing just three points against Ireland’s Aoife Holden.
Clodagh Munroe bounced back from two lopsided losses to Mikaila Esser in non-WR48 matches this fall to advance to the semifinals to face Casey with a two-game sweep of Esser.
Munroe played impressively against Casey in their first matchup, scoring eight points in two games.
Bottom Bracket
Current All Ireland Ladies champion Ciana Ni Churraoin blitzed Taylor Bell to advance to the semifinals, while Niamh Heffernan advanced to the semifinals in her first WR48 start with a three-game win against Ashley Ruiz.
CNC overwhelmed Heffernan in the bottom bracket semifinals, driving hard passes and drives to Heffernan’s left and forcing errors and setups.
Round of 8
Casey def Holden 15-0, 15-3
Munroe def M. Esser 15-9, 15-11
Ni Churraoin def Bell 15-3, 15-2
Heffernan def Ruiz 15-12, 11-15, 15-3
Semifinals
Casey def Munroe 15-4, 15-4
Ni Churraoin def Heffernan 15-9, 15-8
Final (Sunday, 10:30 am CST): Casey vs. Ni Churraoin
SR48
The SR48 boasted one of its strongest fields in history, as 12-time SR48 champion David Fink was joined by multiple-time SR48 finalist Bill Mehilos, 2023 Tucson Memorial SR48 finalist Kyle English, future 1-Wall hall of famer Joe Kaplan, current Race 4 Eight pro Dave Munson and Hinder Club legend and former pro Kevin Pettus.
David Fink advanced to his fourteenth SR48 final in fourteen SR48 starts, dominating St. Louis’s Kevin Pettus in the upper bracket semifinal.
Playing in his first SR48 event, Dave Munson survived a 90-minute thriller against 2023 Tucson Memorial SR48 finalist Kyle English in a 15-13 quarterfinal tiebreaker, and in his seventh match of the event, needed another tiebreaker to overcome three-time SR48 finalist Bill Mehilos to advance to the final.
Round of 8
Fink def Pelech 15-4, 15-2
Pettus def Kaplan 15-0, 15-0
Munson def English 15-11, 8-15, 15-13
Mehilos def Scherzer 15-2, 15-3
Semifinals
Fink def Pettus 15-2, 15-1
Munson def Mehilos 6-15, 15-1, 15-8
Final (9:45 am CST): Fink vs. D. Munson
JR WPH Q&A With Killian Carroll and Martin Mulkerrins
22-time Race 4 Eight champion Killian Carroll and 6-time Race 4 Eight champion Martin Mulkerrins conducted a Q&A with a number of collegiate players at the 2024 Chapman Memorial, fielding questions from practicing by yourself, match strategy, conditioning and technique to how the top pros manage their emotions and anxiety in big moments.
“I like to start a match at about 70% because I do not want to start too tense,” Carroll answered one of the awestruck participants. “That way I can work my way into the match. I have forty-eight different shots and I like to practice two per day, focusing on letting the ball hitting one or two fingers and relaxing my core and tightening my lower back, depending on the type of shot.”
Thank you to Killian Carroll and Martin Mulkerrins for taking the time to share their expertise with a very inspired group of collegiate players.
2024 Chapman Memorial Broadcast Schedule on ESPN: Saturday, January 13, 9 am-7 pm CST, Sunday, January 14, 10 am-1:30 pm CST
Chapman Memorial Press Release HERE
Follow the draws and results from the 2024 Race 4 Eight Chapman Memorial HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer
WPH R48Pro Stop #4 Chapman Memorial
ESPN+ Broadcast Schedule – All Times Central Zone (Local Time)
St. Louis, Missouri
Sunday, January 14, 2024
09:00 9th Place Final – David Walsh vs Vic Perez
09:45 Men’s 40+ Senior Final – Dave Munson vs Dave Fink
10:30 Women’s Pro Singles Final – Ciana Ni Churraoin vs Catriona Casey
11:30 Men’s Pro Singles Final – Luis Cordova vs Killian Carroll