Manchester, CT, WPH Press, 7/16/23
The spectacular Charter Oak Park played host to the 2023 Dan Gebben Classic, featuring more than fifty players from Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts at one of the Northeast’s premier outdoor handball destinations. In addition to the refurbished 3-Wall courts, the Connecticut handball community recently completed 1-Wall courts on the back side of the 3-Wall courts, making Charter Oak Park one of the few parks with both 3-Wall and 1-Wall at the same park in the Northeast.
“The leadership of the town of Manchester has been incredibly supportive of the renovation project of both the 3-Wall and 1-Wall courts, especially with the expertise and dedication of their public works department,” stated Charter Oak Park ambassador Michael Sullivan. “Thank you to the State of Connecticut and the Town of Manchester governments for the considerable funding for the courts renovation.”
2023 Dan Gebben Recap from Michael Sullivan
Despite repeated forecasts of rain, the weather gods smiled on the Dan Gebben Classic doubles tournament in Manchester, CT this weekend for a full day of outstanding handball. This annual event has become the biggest 3-Wall event in New England, thanks largely to tournament director Tom Marzilli.
Marzilli once again ran a smooth operation, effortlessly juggling numerous small ball, big ball, 3-Wall, and 1-Wall games with players from Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. This year also featured a new Big Ball Open Division on a one-wall court constructed this spring by the town of Manchester for the tournament.
The players gave special recognition to Connecticut legend Murray Katz, who is turning 90 years old this week and who still plays a strong right side doubles game three times a week.
The Open Small Ball 3-Wall division was won by Victor Lopierre and Alvaro Rebaza in two tough games (15-6, 15-11) over Joe Kaplan and Kareem Wilkerson. Lopierre and Rebaza advanced to the finals by defeating local favorites Tom Marzilli and Rafael Guzman by a 25-16 margin. Kaplan and Wilkerson beat Allen Sanchez and Arthur Syed in the other semi-finals by a 25-14 margin.
The other Small Ball 3-Wall divisions also produced a number of exciting matches. In the Golden Masters (50-plus) division, Richie Mascia and Jared Vale defeated Mitch Milone and Rafael Guzman in a well-fought 11-7 tiebreaker. Alan Michaud and Pat Griffin played very well against both teams in the other matches of this round robin division.
In the Diamond Masters (60-plus) division, defending champs John Bransfield and Michael Sullivan outlasted Roland Langevin and Chris Dominico in a tiebreaker (7-15, 15-5, 11-2).
In the Open Big Ball 3-Wall division, Allan Sanchez and Carlos Torres beat Joshua Milian and Sheikh Hossein by a 25-13 score. Sanchez and Torres made it to the finals by overcoming the Small Ball champs Victor Lopierre and Alvaro Rebaza by a 21-16 margin in the semi-finals. On the other side of the bracket, Milian and Hossein beat Rafael Feliciano and Hector Burgos by 21-8 to advance to the finals.
In the new Open Big Ball 1-Wall division, Juan “Chullo” Martinez and Emmanuel “Bori” Garcia narrowly defeated Diego Nieto and Mahama Mansi by a score of 25-21. To get to the finals, Martinez and Bodi beat Chris Benitez and Jack Safos by 21-11. In the other semifinal, Nieto and Mansi beat Rafael Feliciano and Hector Burgos by a margin of 21-9.
Finally, many thanks to Mitch Milone and Pat Griffin for continuing to be major sponsors of this annual event. We also cannot thank the Town of Manchester, Mayor Jay Moran and Dennis Schain enough for continuing to invest in these outdoor courts and for supporting this tournament.
Open Finals
Men’s 3-Wall Small Ball Doubles
Final: Lopierre/Rebaza def Kaplan/Wilkerson
Men’s 3-Wall Big Ball Doubles
Torres/Sanchez def Milian/Hossain
Men’s 1-Wall Big Ball Doubles
Martinez/Caraballo def Nieto/Mansi
Follow all of the brackets from the 2023 Gebben HERE
WPH Destination Series Charter Oak Park HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer