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Day 2, Saturday, 2/19/22
Saturday featured the return of the Race 4 Eight’s most winning champion, Catriona Casey, as well as the rest of the top men’s and women’s players on the tour in action in H Town.
WR48
Catriona Casey was flawless in her first WR48 start in 734 days, allowing just seven points in her quarterfinal and semifinal wins.
Fiona Tully continued to demonstrate her exceptional talent, ousting Icebreaker champion and WR48 #3 Mikaila Esser in the quarterfinals and overcoming a first game loss against Aimee Tuohey to win the second and third games convincingly. “Aimee was playing really well in game one but Fiona started moving her all over the court with pass shots and kills,” stated R48 top eight pro Shorty Ruiz. “Aimee just seemed to get tired, especially in the third game.”
Quarterfinals
Casey def Hughes 15-0, 15-2
Moler def Hynes 15-4, 15-4
Tuohey def Entzeroth 15-8, 15-5
Tully def Esser 15-8, 15-3
Semifinals
Casey def Moler 15-1, 15-4
Tully def Tuohey 12-15, 15-1, 15-6
Final (Sunday): Casey vs. Tully
R48
Killian Carroll overwhelmed newly minted R48 top 8’er Sam Esser in the first R48 quarterfinal of the day, pushing Esser into the deep corners and drilling two-inch kills to win points.
David Fink and Danos Cordova renewed their rivalry in the second quarterfinal in their first 4-Wall matchup in two years. Fink raced to a 9-1 lead in game one with a dazzling array of serve and kill handball. Cordova cut the deficit to two at 7-9, but Fink was able to extend his lead, taking game one, 15-9. Cordova started hot in game two, leading 6-2, but Fink tied him at seven and took control from there, winning with identical scores, 15-9, 15-9. “I just couldn’t match Dave’s intensity today, he was playing really well,” stated Danos.
Lucho Cordova dominated game one against his protégé and El Paso rival Leo Canales in game one of their semifinal, but Leo turned the tables in game two, forcing a tiebreaker. Lucho found another gear in the third, using his power and court coverage to overcome the fast-rising Canales. “Leo didn’t really play that well in the first game,” stated Lucho. “He was just tapping the ball and making errors. He really started killing the ball in game two, so I had to switch my game. My touch shots really aren’t working the way they used to, so I told myself to just hit the ball hard.”
Diarmaid Nash was making his first R48 start since 2018 and continued to show that he is one of the world’s best against Max Langmack. After trailing 9-10 in game one, Nash took control, figuring out Langmack’s unique style to cruise to a two-game sweep. “Playing a guy that tall is a tough proposition,” stated Nash. “He has a very good game.”
Killian Carroll played at an outrageous level in his semifinal against David Fink, serving, killing, and playing perfect defense. Fink was never able to get into the match against Carroll in full flight. “I watched Dave play against Danos and he was playing really well, so I needed to keep him out of the front court because he’s deadly from there.”
Nash and Lucho Cordova renewed their junior rival in the bottom bracket semifinal. Nash led 9-2 in game one when an irate Lucho scored a point and was denied an ace serve on an appeal, screaming an obscenity at the referee, which led to a technical. The technical appeared to fuel Lucho, as he scored six consecutive points to cut the deficit to two at 7-9. Nash took control from there, outscoring Lucho 21-2 to make his second final in Houston in as many appearances.
“I won’t say I broke his spirit but he started to wane a little bit and I was able to get my feet set,” stated Nash. “His power is out of this world. I suppose in Ireland I was sick of playing Killian because we met in every tournament but we haven’t played much since so I’m looking forward to playing him. Killian is a dog and gives it 120%, so I hope to play my best ever match and come out on top.”
Quarterfinals
Carroll def Esser
Fink def Danos 15-9, 15-9
Nash def Langmack 15-2, 15-2
Lucho def Canales 15-5, 4-15, 15-7
Semifinals
Carroll def Fink 15-3, 15-4
Nash def Lucho 15-12, 15-2
Final (Sunday at noon CST): Carroll vs. Nash
Watch Sunday’s action starting with the R48 and WR48 playoffs at 9 am CST on the Watch ESPN
Follow all of the brackets from the 2022 Houston Race 4 Eight HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer