Albany, NY, WPH Press, 11/24/19- The 47th Albany Open kicked off the weekend before Thanksgiving, featuring the largest 4-Wall field in the Northeast. The Men’s Open Singles bracket boasted arguably the best field in the nearly half a century of the event, as defending champion and modern marvel Danny Bell was joined by R48 #1 Killian Carroll, R48 #19 Stephen Cooney, R48 #19 Sean Kerr, the Bastidas brothers, Cesar Sala, Ivan Burgos, and a number of the Northeast and Canada’s best.
Defending champion Danny Bell’s title reign ended with a valiant effort in the upper bracket semifinals against outdoor superstar Tyree Bastidas. Conceding 30 years to the semifinal opponent he defeated in last year’s Albany Open, Bell pushed Bastidas to a tiebreaker before falling 11-7. With the tiebreaker win against Bell and an earlier quarterfinal win against R48 Next Gen star Ivan Burgos, Bastidas punched his ticket to the final.
R48 #1, four-time defending R48 Player’s Champion, and current world champion Killian Carroll entered the Albany Open as the #2 seed presumably because of an ancient handball rule that rewards the top seed to the defending champion, as opposed to using the pro rankings. Not only was Carroll demoted to the bottom of the draw, but he would also have to contend with the only ranked R48 pros in the draw, as Carroll ran into his regular sparring partners Sean Kerr and Stephen Cooney in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Carroll dispatched of his protégé (Sean Kerr) in two lopsided games in the quarterfinals and was forced to play his best against NYAC teammate Stephen Cooney in the semifinals to meet Tyree in the final. “I played really hard but Killian was just playing too well,” stated Cooney.
Carroll played sensationally in the final, cooling off the ultra-talented Bastidas and routing the Brooklyn star in just 30 minutes. “Tyree was playing very well but Killian is just playing on another level,” stated Cooney.
Men’s Open Singles Quarterfinals
Danny Bell def Alvaro Rebaza 21-6, 21-7
Tyree Bastidas def Ivan Burgos 21-3, 21-16
Stephen Cooney def Jerome Santerre 21-8, 21-3
Killian Carroll def Sean Kerr 21-5, 21-5
Semifinals
Bastidas def Bell (11-7 in the tiebreaker)
Carroll def Cooney 21-13, 21-14
Final: Carroll def T. Bastidas 21-4, 21-4
The Albany Open not only featured a tremendous Men’s Open Singles field, but more than 100 junior, skill level, and master’s players competing at the sensational Colonie Court Club. Players and fans were treated to endless hospitality throughout the weekend, as well as the Saturday night Albany Open banquet.
Stay tuned to wphlive.tv for results from the 2019 Albany Open.
For more information on the Albany Open, go HERE
Follow all of the latest handball news from the WPH HERE
Follow all of the latest news from JR WPH HERE
2019/20 Race 4 Eight IX Schedule HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer
Posted: Nov 15/2019
Albany, NY, WPH Press, 11/19/19- The 47th Albany Open kicks off this weekend, featuring the largest 4-Wall field in the Northeast. The Men’s Open Singles bracket boasts arguably the best field in the nearly half a century of the event, as defending champion and modern marvel Danny Bell is joined by R48 #1 Killian Carroll, R48 #19 Stephen Cooney, the Bastidas brothers, Cesar Sala, Ivan Burgos, and a number of the Northeast and Canada’s best.
The Albany Open not only features a tremendous Men’s Open Singles field, but more than 100 junior, skill level, and master’s players competing at the sensational Court Club. Players and fans will be treated to endless hospitality throughout the weekend, as well as the highly anticipated Saturday night Albany Open banquet.
Stay tuned to wphlive.tv for results from the 2019 Albany Open.
For more information on the Albany Open, go HERE
Follow all of the latest handball news from the WPH HERE
Follow all of the latest news from JR WPH HERE
2019/20 Race 4 Eight IX Schedule HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer