The USHA Four Wall Nationals Concludes: Nash and Catriona Slam!
WPH Press, Portland, OR, 6/19/22
Doubles Finals
Women’s Doubles: Casey/Tully def Moler/Esser
Catriona Casey completed the Nationals slam, teaming with Nationals women’s finalist Fiona Tully to defeat Team Tucson, Ashley Moler and Mikaila Esser. Team Casey/Tully continued to dominate the field, this time as a team, racing to a first game, 21-4 win. Team Tucson showcased their great skills in game two, playing aggressively and pushing Team Ireland. “We were trying to play more ceiling balls in the second and Ashley and Mikaila started to play really well and very aggressively.” Casey ended the match with her patented right-hand straight kill two inches high, undeniably the prettiest shot in the game.
(On playing doubles together for the first time) “I suppose since we’ve played doubles before we knew how it worked,” stated Fiona.
“Fiona has great communication skills and that’s so important and I don’t think we got too mixed up on too many calls,” stated Catriona. “It was a pleasure playing with Fiona and it was great to get the win and it will make the trip home feel a lot shorter. Happy Father’s Day to those at home and thanks to WPH for the stream. It was good fun.”
Final Casey/Tully def Moler/Esser 21-4, 21-11
Men’s Doubles: Nash/Mulkerrins def Esser/Langmack
Diarmaid Nash was seeking the National Slam but Team Mo State would not make it easy, jumping on the national finalists 8-0 in game one and maintaining a comfortable advantage en route to taking a one game lead. Esser and Langmack would continue to keep Team Ireland on their heels, taking an 8-0 lead in game two. Team Ireland called a timeout and worked their way into the match, eventually outscoring Esser and Langmack 21-6 to force a third. Team Ireland continued their stellar play in the tiebreaker, jumping out in front for the first time in the match and closing the door to clinch the title.
“We were down 8-1 in both games so we told ourselves that we had to start faster in the tiebreaker,” stated Nash. “We got into more of a rhythm as the match went on. The guys (Sam and Max) are really good and we were just trying to keep the ball alive and hope they cooled off a bit.”
“We knew we were a lot better than that at 0-8 in the second and we said we are better than this so we just kept fighting even though we were sore,” stated Mulkerrins. “We were willing to dig deep,” stated Martin
Final: Nash/Mulkerrins def Esser/Langmack 17-21, 21-15, 11-4
Watch the Sunday doubles replay HERE
Watch the Saturday singles and doubles replay HERE
For daily recaps, go to wphlive.tv
For more on the 2022 USHA Four Wall Nationals, visit ushandball.org
Follow the Men’s Open Singles draw HERE
Follow the Women’s Open Singles draw HERE
Follow all of the draws HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer
WPH Press, Portland, OR, 6/18/22
Singles Finals
Day 4 at the 2022 USHA Four Wall Nationals featured the men’s and women’s open singles final, with the two men and two women all having made the 5,000-mile trip to Portland from Ireland.
Women’s Final: Casey vs. Tully
Current WR48 #1 and five-time USHA Four Wall national singles champion Catriona Casey was taking aim at her sixth title, while the current WR48 #2 and current USHA collegiate national champion Fiona Tully was seeking her first USHA Four Wall national title.
“Fiona is very skillful and a great athlete- I look forward to the challenge!” stated Casey before the match.
“Catriona is a very consistent player and rarely plays bad,” stated Tully before the match.
Casey staged a virtuoso performance in the final, dismantling Tully in two lopsided games. Casey’s masterful performance showcased her versatility, speed, offense, defense, and adaptability. Casey outscored her three opponents by an astonishingly 126-9 en route to winning her sixth USHA Four Wall national singles title.
“I’m delighted because Fiona is a great player as well,” stated Casey. “I was nervous, which was probably evident but I’m really happy. It’s great to be back because I missed last year’s tournament and hopefully I can come back next year as well. Winning (as an Irish player) is nothing personal at this tournament. I love to come here and make friends at the tournaments. I am very grateful to everyone for all of their support.”
Final: Casey def Tully 21-2, 21-3
Men’s Final: Mulkerrins vs. Nash
Martin Mulkerrins entered Saturday’s final aiming to become just the second player (Brady) to win the USHA Four Wall Nationals, the WPH R48 Player’s Championship, and the GAA All Ireland 40×20 Championship. Diarmaid Nash entered as “one of the hottest players on the planet,” according to WPH play-by-play announcer Dave Vincent, having advanced to the R48 Houston final and winning the GAA All Ireland championship is dominating form in March, including a two-game sweep against Mulkerrins.
“Diarmaid has had a great year with a very close final with Killian in February and of course deservedly winning the Irish National (Senior) Championship in March,” stated Mulkerrins. “He is a very clever and consistent player and anybody who plays him will have to play their very best to have a chance against him. I probably know this as much as anybody having played against Diarmaid so often for probably 13 years now.”
“I’m expecting the ball to come at me 100 mile per hour when I play Martin,” stated Nash. “He has such power and his serve is such a weapon. I’ll try to keep him off-balance a bit and try to not let him get set as much as I can. That’s the game plan anyways.”
Mulkerrins and Nash staged an instant classic in the two-hour men’s final, with the rivals trading the momentum throughout the epic final. Nash seized control at the start of the match, building a 6-0 lead. Mulkerrins stormed back, overwhelming Nash with power and using his serve to score aces and set up rally-ending opportunities. Mulkerrins outscored Nash 21-8 to take game one, seizing control of the match. “Martin hits the ball with so much power that you’re never really able to get set,” stated pro singles semifinalist Shorty Ruiz sitting courtside.
Mulkerrins continued to apply pressure in game two, using his power advantage to keep Nash off-balance. Mulkerrins stood just three points from the title at 18 in game two, but was unable to close the door. Nash and Mulkerrins traded errors late in game two, with Mulkerrins making several more than Nash to allow the game to slip away.
Nash took control of the match for the first time since leading 6-0 in game one, building a 6-2 lead in the tiebreaker. Nash was in control of the next rally, earning three offensive opportunities with his left to score his seventh point. Nash was unable to convert, as Mulkerrins furiously kept the rally alive and eventually earned the side out on the nineteenth shot of the rally. Mulkerrins seized the momentum from there, scoring six consecutive points to lead 8-6 and once again stand just three points from the title. Nash changed to a low power serve to the left and ended Martin’s six-point streak, eventually leading 9-8. “My lob was working well in the second game but not so much in the third set, so I went to the low hard serve to the left and just told myself to keep it low.”
Nash arrived at match point at 10-9 and needed just one chance, flipping a left-handed two-wall pass into the back court to win the title.
“Dream come true, I’m over the moon,” stated Nash. “It was a crazy game and could have gone either way. I always say the three biggest championships are the All Ireland Senior, the Worlds, and the U.S. Nationals and I wasn’t sure I’d ever win one. I’ve been playing Martin since he was 15, so I’m probably reading Martin a lot more than other guys because we’ve played so many times. We trained three weeks ago and it was 21-20, 21-20 and I suppose if we played tomorrow he’d probably win. I didn’t think too much about the match point to be honest. Relief that it was over, total joy. We’re amateur players and I’m just living the dream coming over here and I just love this game.”
“Very disappointed of course,” stated Mulkerrins. “I had one or two chances in the end that didn’t come off for me. When I was at 18 in the second he had to come back. Diarmaid is a very deserving winner.”
Final: Nash def Mulkerrins 14-21, 21-18, 11-9
Sunday’s Broadcast Schedule
Women’s Doubles Final: 09:30 am PST Sunday – Catriona Casey/Fiona Tully vs Ashley Moler/Mikaila Esser
Men’s Doubles Final: 1030 am PST Sunday – Martin Mulkerrins/Diarmaid Nash vs Sam Esser/Max Langmack
Watch Sunday’s live broadcast starting at 9:30 am PST HERE
Watch the Saturday replay HERE
For more on the 2022 USHA Four Wall Nationals, visit ushandball.org
Follow the Men’s Open Singles draw HERE
Follow the Women’s Open Singles draw HERE
Follow all of the draws HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer