WPH Press, 2/13/22
The Minnesota State Mankato Handball Club hosted the 2022 Maverick Open at the Pennington Hall Courts at Mankato State University. 69 men’s and women’s players competed at Pennington Hall on Super Bowl Weekend, with players traveling from Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, California, Arizona, and Canada.
Men’s Open Singles
Junior national champion Ray Ure (IL) headlined the men’s open field on the heels of a strong fall and winter season on the Midwest circuit. Ure advanced to the final in the upper bracket with wins against Collin Peters (IL) and Anthony Sullivan (CA), while Ryan Pesch (MN) met Ure in the final after convincing wins against Dylan Schmitt (AZ) and Michael Gaulton (MN).
Pesch overcame his younger counterpart in the final, winning two close games to take the Mav.
Pesch slammed by winning the open doubles with his dad, Bruce. Team Pesch defeated Luis Mendez and Michael Gaulton in an 11-8 tiebreaker in the final.
“I think I played the best I have since coming back from the pandemic,” stated Pesch. “I felt like I was converting my opportunities more consistently than I have in my last few tournaments. It also meant a lot to win the open doubles with my dad!”
Semifinals
Ure def 21-16, 21-9
Pesch def Gaulton 21-0, 21-14
Final: Pesch def Ure 21-18, 21-17
Women’s Open Singles
Next week’s Houston WR48 entrant Taylor Bell (MO) entered the women’s singles as the top seed and cruised to the title with a two-game sweep against Paige Kennedy (MN) in the quarterfinals, a tiebreaker win against Kendra Kaupa (MN) in the semifinals, and a convincing two-game win against Maddie Kennedy (MN) in the final.
Semifinals
Bell def Kaupa 20-21, 21-6, 11-6
Kennedy def Pace 21-16, 21-9
Final: Bell def Kennedy 21-5, 21-16
(Taylor Bell Center Photo courtesy of Facebook)
For more information and results from all brackets of the 2022 Maverick Open, go HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer