Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 5/21/18–
The 2018 Armed Forces Memorial Day Tournament proudly honors our nation’s heroes with one of the best handball events in the country on Memorial Day Weekend. The 2018 Armed Forces features four of the top five pros on the R48 tour and six of the top 18. R48 #1 Killian Carroll slammed the 2017 Armed Forces, winning the singles and teaming with tournament director Abraham Montijo to win the doubles. Carroll will be seeking his second consecutive Armed Forces title, but will have to overcome several of his greatest rivals to repeat.
Check out all of the important Armed Forces Memorial Day Tournament information below
2018 Armed Forces Memorial Day Tournament
- Date: May 25-27, 2018
- Site: Tucson Racquet Club, 4001 N. Country Club Rd. Tucson, AZ 85716
- Tournament directors: The Fred Lewis Foundation, Fred Lewis, Vince San Angelo, Abraham Montijo
- Tournament sponsors: The Fred Lewis Foundation, the World Players of Handball
- Pro Events: Men’s pro singles, Men’s pro doubles, Women’s pro singles
- Consecutive years of the Armed Forces Memorial Day Tournament held in Tucson: 3
- List of Armed Forces Memorial Day Tournament (since moving to Tucson) Men’s pro champions: Moreno (2016), Carroll (2017)
- Defending Armed Forces Memorial Day Tournament champion: Killian Carroll
- R48 Men’s ranked pros entered: 6 (Carroll, Lenning, Ortiz, Fink, Ruiz, Montijo)
- Current or former R48 #1’s entered: 4 (Carroll, Lenning, Ortiz, Fink)
Important Links
Armed Forces Memorial Day Tournament’18 press release here
Race 4 Eight pro player bios here
Recapping the 2018/19 R48 7 season here
WPH R48 Power Rankings: here
DF’s R48 Fun Facts and Trends: here
Race 4 Eight History of Champions and Finalists: here
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer
Tucson Proudly Hosts the 2018 Armed Forces Tribute Tournament-For Immediate Release
Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 5/17/18– The Fred Lewis Foundation is proud to present the 2018 Armed Forces Tribute Tournament to honor our military heroes. The tournament will be held at the Tucson Racquet Club in Tucson, AZ on Memorial Day Weekend, May 25-27. Men’s singles and doubles divisions, women’s singles, age level and skill level singles and doubles, and junior singles brackets will be presented to provide opportunities for players of all ages and levels to participate. The entry deadline is May 21.
The mission of the 2018 Armed Forces Tribute Tournament is to honor our veterans on Memorial Day weekend. “San Diego hosted the Semper Fi tournament for a lot of years on the marine base just outside of San Diego, but the marine base lost its courts in the last couple of years,” stated 2018 Armed Forces Tribute Tournament director and USHA Hall of Fame member Fred Lewis.
“We want to continue to honor our military heroes and keep the tournament going.”
The handball capital of the world will provide plenty of excitement in honoring our military, as four of the top five ranked Race 4 Eight pros and six of the top 18 R48 pros will be competing in the 2018 Armed Forces Tribute Tournament.
WPH Race 4 Eight #1 pro Killian Carroll will be making the trip to Tucson from Boston to defend his 2017 Armed Forces Tribute singles and doubles titles. Carroll successfully defended his R48 Player’s Championship for the third consecutive year in early May to cap a sensational 2017/18 R48 season that saw “Flash” win a staggering six of seven R48 stops, making him the most prolific single-season R48 Men’s champion in the seven-year history of the tour. “I’m looking forward to playing in Tucson,” stated Carroll. “It was an exhausting R48 season, both physically and mentally, but this event will be good preparation for my next block of training as I prepare for the World Championships in August.”
Joining R48 #1 Killian Carroll in the star-studded Armed Forces draw will be top five R48 stars Sean Lenning (#2), Mando Ortiz (#3), and David Fink (#5), as well as local favorites and top 18 R48 pros Shorty Ruiz (#12) and Abraham Montijo (#18)
“I am really looking forward to competing in my second Armed Forces event,” stated R48 #5 David Fink. “Tournament directors Fred Lewis, Abraham Montijo, and Vince San Angelo do such a great job putting together this special event and creating a tremendous tournament weekend for all of the players and fans.”
“After losing in the Armed Forces doubles final last year, I’m teaming up with Mando (Ortiz),” stated Shorty Ruiz. “We almost always play well together as a team and it’ll be fun to test ourselves against the other top teams that have entered.”
Many of the nation’s top master’s players several junior national champions will also be on hand to compete in the 2018 Armed Forces Tribute Tournament. The 2018 Armed Forces will feature junior handball players from across the west coast, with opportunities for junior handball players to learn from the world’s best pro players.
The World Players of Handball will proudly donate a portion of the singles and doubles prize money.
For more information on the 2018 Armed Forces Tribute Tournament, including how to enter and to follow the brackets, click here
Log onto wphlive.tv, Like the World Players of Handball on Facebook, or follow the WPH on Twitter @dfwph and @wphlive for all of the handball news from on and off the court! The World Players of Handball is a non-profit foundation aiming to grow the game of handball through innovation and inspiring the next generation of players through junior clinics with Certified WPH Coaches, junior tournaments and the Race 4 Eight tour.