Danos Wins a Thriller, Casey and Fink Extend Their Streaks
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Day 3
Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 11/5/23
Sunday produced one of the tour’s most exciting days, featuring sensational play and high drama from the world’s best.
R48 Men’s Pro Final: Danos def M. Mulkerrins 15-11, 14-16, 15-10
Martin Mulkerrins was seeking his seventh Race 4 Eight title, second Memorial title and second of the season, while three-time Race 4 Eight champion Danos Cordova advanced to his first Race 4 Eight final since the 2020 R48 RFC, winning back-to-back tiebreakers on Saturday, including surviving match point against his brother in the semifinals.
From the outset of the match, the Mulkerrins/Danos final was electric and would quickly become one of the most exciting matches in the history of the tour. After a Danos ace down the right to start the match, Mulkerrins reeled off five consecutive points, seemingly hitting the ball with considerably more power than he had earlier in the tournament. Danos weathered the storm, quickly erasing the deficit and taking the lead with eight consecutive points, scoring with several aces and winning a number of long rallies. “I thought I was in a good position there at 5-1 and next thing I knew I was down 9-5,” stated Mulkerrins.
Mulkerrins fought back to eleven-all but Danos had too much firepower late in the game, catching a four-point streak to take the first.
Mulkerrins appeared to be a near certainty to push Danos to his third consecutive tiebreaker, leading 13-8 late in the second. Mulkerrins attempted an ill-advised, off-balance deep court kill with his left from the right side of the court from thirty-five feet and missed wildly, handing Danos the serve. “I just felt the momentum there and thought I could pull that one off,” stated Mulkerrins.
Danos took advantage, scoring six consecutive points to serve for the match at 14-13. Danos crushed a power serve to the left that was called short. After a video replay and a nearly forty-five second break, Danos hit a regrettable second serve that came off the back wall, which Martin promptly rolled out for a side out. Danos would only serve once more in the second game, trailing 14-15 and was not able to score again.
Danos was able to put the disappointment of the second game behind him, racing to a 9-3 lead in the third. “I was not really worried because I knew if I kept hitting my shots that I was pushing him around,” stated Danos.
Danos would eventually serve for the match for a second time at 14-6, but a tentative rally from Danos allowed Martin to earn a side out and stay alive. Martin cut the deficit to four at 10-14 but stalled there. A missed back wall at 10-14 handed Danos the serve and a diving attempt on Danos’s fifth match point barely missed, earning Danos the biggest title of his career.
“This feels great to have my name right next to my brother’s on the [Memorial] trophy,” stated Danos to ESPN’s Kara Mack. “Today’s match was different from yesterday because yesterday was brother vs. brother and we just kept going “up” and matching one another. I spent the last two weeks training with my brother and it really helped, spiritually mostly. I was able to let my body relax and it made a big difference.”
R48 Playoffs
5th: Fink def Burgos 25-7
David Fink avenged his loss to 2023 Portland Classic 5th place playoff loss to Ivan Burgos in the 5th place final, building a 15-1 lead and maintaining control of the match in the second half. “This match meant a lot to me and I really wanted to win it,” stated Fink
Watch the 5th place final on Shorty Ruiz’s Facebook wall HERE
9th: Hernandez def Doyle 25-20
Dylan Hernandez defeated Mark Doyle for the second consecutive event in the 9th place playoffs (Portland), catching fire at 20-20 in the one game final. “The match was close all the way until 20-20 then all of the sudden it was over, Dylan just ran out five straight points in forty-five seconds,” stated ESPN’s Dave Vincent.
17th: In his first Race 4 Eight start, North Dakota’s Luke Sandy made a huge splash on the tour, going 6-1 in his seven matches and clinching 17th place by defeating five opponents. After losing in the round of 32, Sandy proceeded on a tear, defeating Race 4 Eight pros Bill Mehilos, Diarmuid Mulkerrins, John Chapman and Max Langmack. Sandy’s athleticism and two-handed offensive attack makes him a threat to any player on the tour.
Final: Sandy def Langmack 25-4
Tournament MVP: Luke Sandy: Six wins in seven matches, four wins against ranked pros in his first Race 4 Eight start. Expect to see a lot of North Dakota’s Luke Sandy in the near future on the tour.
R48 Men’s Pro Finishes
1st: Danos
2nd: M. Mulkerrins
3rd: Lucho/V. Perez
5th: Fink
6th: Burgos
7th: Esser/Lenning
9th: Hernandez
10th: Doyle
11th: Montijo/Streibig
13th: Torres/Cooney/Canales/Ruiz
17th: Sandy
WR48 Final: Casey def McCrory 15-8, 15-7
Catriona Casey was aiming to win her fourteenth consecutive WR48 title since her last loss at the 2017 Memorial, while Eilise McCrory was appearing in her first WR48 final after winning the 2022/23 WR48 Rookie of the Year.
McCrory enjoyed a dream start against the WR48 #1, scoring the first five points of the match with crack serves and left corner rollouts. Casey earned a side out and took over from there, using the ceiling and pushing the ball high to McCrory’s right hand to force errors and earn setups. Casey ended the game on a 15-2 run and continued her dominant play into game two, quickly taking a 12-0 lead. An uncharacteristic Casey error opened the door for McCrory, who quickly tallied six unanswered points. Casey called a timeout, composing herself for a final run and her twenty-sixth WR48 title. Casey scored two points to arrive at match point but struck McCrory on the side of the head with an overhand attempt from the back court. McCrory took three minutes to recover and earned a side out on the first rally against a tentative Casey. Casey’s advantage was ultimately too much to overcome, as she took the match on her second match point.
“I just love coming here and I actually don’t want to leave,” stated a beaming Casey to ESPN’s Kara Mack. “There is so much to see in Arizona! I built a comfortable lead at 12-0 in the second but Eilise did very well to come back. I am delighted to win. We have a few tournaments coming up in Ireland and I’m sure Elise and I will match up again there and she’ll be looking for revenge. I am thirty now and realizing I won’t be able to do this forever, so I am really enjoying each event. Coming to these events is being with family.”
WR48 Playoffs
3rd: Esser def Ruiz 15-8, 15-7
Rivals and best friends Mikaila Esser and Ashley Ruiz faced one another for the title of Best-in-the-West in the WR48 field. After a sluggish 5-15 start in a one-game-match to 25, Ruiz fought back and pulled within a couple points before Esser pulled away to win the match 25-18. “I played well for ten points,” lamented Ruiz.
5th: Munroe def Holden
Clodagh Munroe bounced back from her opening round loss to Mikaila Esser to sweep the fifth place playoffs, overcoming Belisa Camacho in the opening round and Aoife Holden in a tight one game match to 25 in the final.
Final: Munroe def Holden 25-21
WR48 Finishes
1st: Casey
2nd: McCrory
3rd: Esser
4th: Ruiz
5th: Munroe
SR48 Final: Fink vs. English
SR48 #1 David Fink was aiming for his twelfth SR48 title in thirteen SR48 starts, while Kyle English was making his first appearance in a SR48 final after defeating Bill Mehilos for the first time in three SR48 matchups.
David Fink scored the first seven points of the final, quickly putting the first-time SR48 finalist on his heels. “I have played Kyle and I knew I did not want to give him a chance to re kill in the front court, so I was trying to play more patiently.” English scored three points at 0-7 but his comeback attempt stalled there.
Fink raced to a big lead again in the second game, leading 5-0 and 9-2. English scored four straight points on Fink’s errors to climb into the match. “Unforgiveable errors there,” Fink stated to ESPN’s Kara Mack.
English made several errors from 6-9, never threatening Fink in the game’s second half.
“I am happy to win but disappointed in those mistakes,” Fink would later say. “This is always the most grueling tournament of the year for me and just about every player, so to take the title in my eighth match of the weekend is satisfying and a relief.”
SR48 Playoffs
3rd: Mehilos def A. Garcia 25-6
Bill Mehilos erased the disappointment of his semifinal loss by steamrolling Alex Garcia, defeating the 45+ national champion decisively. “Alex was just not able to get into the match,” stated Mehilos. “He was not reading my unorthodox shots.”
5th: Watkins def Lopez 15-8, 11-15, 15-13
Chris Watkins survived a scare in the SR48 5th place final against fellow Californian Jorge Lopez, leading 10-2 in the tiebreaker before seeing his lead evaporate. Watkins was able to recover, closing out Lopez 15-13 in the third.
SR48 Finishes
1st: Fink
2nd: English
3rd: Mehilos
4th: A. Garcia
5th: Watkins
Men’s Pro Doubles Final: Ruiz/Esser def Bike/Hernandez 15-11, 15-8
Playing with an injured knee from his round of 16 loss to Ivan Burgos, Shorty Ruiz relied heavily on his partner Sam Esser (and #Modelo) to win the Memorial Doubles for the second consecutive year. Team Ruiz/Esser saved four match points in their Saturday semifinal thriller against Team Cooney/Cortez, prevailing 18-16 in the tiebreaker. After taking a close first game in the final against Team Bike/Hernandez, the defending champs were able to pull away in the second. “The first game was close and we were in it,” stated Bike. “We made a comeback in the second to lead 8-7 then never served again.”
JR WPH Singles
The Fred Lewis Foundation’s Abraham Montijo graciously led the JR WPH Memorial 11-and-under big ball singles, featuring nine players from Tucson and Juarez. FLF star Johnny Lindsey won the title, defeating Luis Cordova III in the final.
“All of the player’s parents came out to watch,” stated Coach Montijo. “It’s important for the kids and parents to see that this is not just a rec sport and there is really somewhere to go with it. It means a lot to the kids to say they are playing against the sons of the number one player in the world (Luis Cordova). People tell me how much the kids are improving and it’s nice because I’m in a bubble seeing them every day and don’t necessarily see those improvements.”
Thank you to Abraham and to all of the players and parents for participating.
2023 Memorial Champions
R48 Men’s Pro: Danos
WR48: Casey
SR48: Fink
Pro Doubles: Ruiz/Esser
A Singles: J. Maldonado, Jr.
Women’s A Singles: Riley Frisbie
B Singles: E. Avila
B Doubles: Gardea/Avila
Junior Singles 11-and-under: Lindsey
60+ Singles: Steven Chicarell
120+ Doubles: Oviedo/Henning
70+ Singles: Handelman
140+ Doubles: Eisenbooth/Lockhart
Saturday’s Wrap Up Story HERE
Friday’s Wrap Up Story HERE
Follow the draws and results from the 2023 Race 4 Eight Tucson Memorial HERE
-David Fink, WPH Senior Writer
Special Thanks: WPH would like to thank Fred Banfield, Jeff Healam, Doug Clark and the BODs, Patreon Pledge Supporters and Members for the ability to hold these tour events. Thank you Renee Sitter, Bill Selby and the staff at the Tucson Racquet & Fitness Club for allowing these big events to occur at their facility. We thank tournament director Ashley Ruiz for her tournament desk, Memorial presentation (w/special assist by Scott Cleveland) and support; meanwhile, Braulio Ruiz, Maria Tapia, David Fink, Kyra Vidas, Doug Woods, and Abraham Montijo put in countless hours for the love of the game. Jim Verhaeghe managed the food and drink for the full weekend and has become a Memorial staple. Thank you, Jim. Big hugs out to the WPH/ESPN film crews: Kris Gurrad, Che Lowenstein, Kara Mack, Linda Manning and helpers (in the both), Dave Fink, Kyle English, Abe Montijo, Max Langmack, John Alvarado Bike and Daniel Cordova. Thank you, ESPN+. Tournament Desk and Registration volunteers (many to list), Thank you for putting in the time to help (Brenda Hays, Joy Velde, Dave Fink, Maria Tapia, Ashley Ruiz & Co), plus special thanks out to Clodagh Monroe for Tournament support.