WPH Press, 9/25/22
The WPH takes you from coast to coast to bring you the small ball and big ball action in this WPH Weekend Roundup.
Austin, TX: 2022 Austin City Championships
The University of Texas Handball Team proudly presented the 2022 Austin City Championships at Gregory Gym, showcasing many of the top men’s and women’s players in the Southwest and beyond.
Men’s Singles
2022 WPH Player’s Champion and current Texas A&M handball ambassador Martin Mulkerrins entered the 2022 Austin City Championships after a disappointing foray into 3-Wall handball at the 2022 USHA Three Wall Nationals. Mulkerrins quickly erased the disappointment from Labor Day Weekend’s 3-Wall result, dismantling his first three opponents by a combined score of 126-8, setting up a clash with Weekend at Bernie’s Adam Bernhard in the final. The fourth weekend of September would not be Weekend at Bernie’s, as the second-seeded Mulkerrins captured his first title as the Texas A&M coach with a dominant two-game victory against Adam.
“Martin played well and I played well all things considered,” stated Bernie, who was sidelined for a month after sustaining a rib injury at August’s Icebreaker. “Martin hits the ball twice as hard as anyone I know.”
“It was great to be back at UT and playing in the “fish bowl”, it was 2013 when I played there last,” stated the R48 Player’s Champion. “The tournament was also my first as head coach and I was very proud of the performances of our four students who travelled and all of them competed in finals. The final I played against Adam was a lot tougher than the score suggests, I thought it was a high intensity game and I was happy with my performance at this stage of the season and I look forward to playing more with Adam, Travis and other players in the state over the coming weeks and months. Of course, now my full attention is on our Bob Davidson Pre-Qualifier at Texas A&M, College Station, next weekend. We are really looking forward to welcoming players from all over the state and indeed out of state who are making the journey to compete!”
Final: Mulkerrins def Bernie 21-10, 21-6
Enter Next Weekend’s Texas A&M R48 Pre Qualifier HERE
Women’s Singles
Kristen Hughes and Taylor Bell renewed their southwest rivalry in the Austin Cities final, with Hughes sweeping Bell in two games in the final.
Hughes def Bell 21-10, 21-12
Follow all of the draws from the 2022 Austin City Championships HERE
New York City: The Tenth Buddha Memorial Big Blue Doubles
106 teams entered the 2022 Buddha Memorial Big Blue Doubles, staged at Coney Island. Gio Vazquez and Tavo finished on top, winning six one-game matches, including wins against Los Pena/Carlin Rosa in the semifinals (21-12) and Tywan Cook/Nazir Marston in the final (21-15).
“Fantastic final,” stated 1-Wall donor and fan Jared Vale. “Gio and Tavo seemed to dominate most of the game. Of course, Naz and Tywan fought hard and played well. They made a little run at the end to close the gap but that was short lived.”
Watch the 2022 Buddha Memorial Big Blue Doubles HERE
Campbell, CA: 2nd Annual Vacas Handball Tournament
Many of the game’s top 3-Wall big ball stars made the trip to the Campbell Community Center in Campbell, CA for the 2nd annual Vacas Handball Tournament. 2022 WPH Clarkbreaker singles champion Oscar Siordia, Chava Cordova, Samzon Hernandez and many more headlined the singles and doubles fields that featured more than 200 players in Campbell.
Siordia maintained his momentum from last weekend’s WPH Clarkbreaker, slamming the Vacas by defeating Lobo Valencia in the finals of the singles and teaming with Ivan “Miley” Chapa to defeat Valencia and Carlos Marin in the doubles final.
Enter Next Week’s USHA Masters Singles in Tucson HERE
Enter the upcoming October 14-16, 2022 Race 4 Eight Portland Classic HERE
2022/23 Race 4 Eight schedule HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer