San Francisco, CA, WPH Press, 1/12/25
San Francisco’s Olympic Club and tournament director Loren Collado were proud to present the third Olympic Club R48 Pre Qualifier on the second weekend in 2025.
A strong field competed at the 2025 Olympic Club R48 Pre Qualifier, to include current and former Race 4 Eight pros Loren Collado, Erik Torres, and Coleman McGrath, in addition to top stars Rafa Martinez and Pete Jansen.
The players were grouped into two round robin groups on Saturday, with Erik Torres defeating Chad Packin in a tiebreaker and Coleman McGrath coming from behind to defeat tournament host Loren Collado in a tiebreaker. “I played really well in the first but Coleman was just making perfect shots in the second and third,” Collado would later say. “Coleman gets to everything. He’s like Killian Carroll but a foot taller. He mixed up his serves, going to a low power serve that barely crosses the line at the end of the game. His power is the same throughout the match. He also has really good paddle shots with both hands.”
Sunday’s final pitted NorCal rival McGrath and Torres for the coveted R48 Pre Qualifier title. “Although we practiced together a lot early in our handball careers, we hadn’t matched up against each other in many tournaments,” McGrath said about he and Torres. “Recently we played in the LAAC Wafe Risner doubles tournament together and had a great semifinal match against the Cordovas, losing 11-10 in the tiebreaker.”
The final mirrored McGrath’s semifinal against Collado, with McGrath dropping the first game against a sharp-shooting Torres. On the strength of his court coverage and all-court game, McGrath evened the match by grabbing the second game.
Torres raced to a 4-0 lead in the tiebreaker to fifteen, with McGrath catching Chino at seven. “They were at seven-all for a while,” Collado would later say. “Erik hit a kill in the right corner after a long rally and Coleman dove in a hit a re kill. No one was sure if Coleman got it but he said he did. Coleman took the momentum from there, scoring four points in a row.”
McGrath would close out the tiebreaker and clinch the title and the R48 appearance in Montana at the end of this month.
“Pure athleticism reigned supreme!” exclaimed Collado.
“The final against Erik was a battle,” stated McGrath. “He was dominating the front court with powerful passes down the walls, and rolling any setup he got with both hands. He had the momentum the entire first game, and during the second game I just tried to focus more on hitting high percentage shots and choosing the right opportunities to shoot. My shots started falling and I was able to hang on to win the tiebreaker. He is playing some serious handball right now, and our styles of play seem to work well together. I’m looking forward to playing together more as the season continues.”
Semifinals
McGrath def Collado 14-16, 15-6, 15-10
Torres def Packin 15-2, 13-15, 15-3
Final: McGrath def Torres 6-15, 15-7, 15-8
Watch the final on Loren Collado’s Facebook wall HERE
“Shoutout to Loren Collado, who not only ran a great tournament but is also playing some of the best handball I’ve seen him play,” stated McGrath. “We had a two-hour long battle in the round robin stage, and tiebreaker was back and forth the whole time. NorCal handball is looking strong.”
Photos courtesy of Loren Collado and Coleman McGrath
R48 Pre Qualifier explained HERE
2024/25 Race 4 Eight Schedule and Entries HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer