Day 3
Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 11/9/25
R48 Men’s Pro Final
Martin Mulkerrins and Ray Ure met for third time in a Race 4 Eight final in the last 14 months, with Martin winning both encounters in two games. Martin would be seeking a defense of his Memorial title, while Ure would be seeking his first Race title.
Ure tackled Mulkerrins in the first game, never allowing him into the rallies. Ure hit five ace serves in the first, with many others serves that were just barely returned. Ure led Mulkerrins 14-1 in just six minutes, stunning the handball-crazed gallery that could appreciate how abnormal a 13-point Mulkerrins deficit would be. Mulkerrins scored several points before Ure could close out the game, setting the stage for a second-game reversal.
Mulkerrins was equally dominant in game two, flummoxing Ure with a several different serves and keeping him off-balance in the back court. “Martin slowed the game down on me like he always does,” Ure would later say.
Ure staged the third momentum shift of the match to start the third, never allowing Mulkerrins to dictate rallies by blasting the ball with both hands on virtually every shot. Ure built a 12-4 and eventually a 14-6 lead, allowing himself a cushion for three nervous errors before closing out the match on his fourth attempt.
“Martin has been someone on my radar and kicking my butt for years,” an elated Ure would tell Kara Mack on ESPN. “I’ve been getting closer. This means the world to me. I knew I needed to be focused from the get go. I tried to play more offensively. I felt more relaxed heading into it. Coming into the tiebreaker, I knew I go hot and cold sometimes, but being in these situations lets you know you can handle it. Shoutout to my mom and dad. They are huge supports.
(Going into January’s stop in St. Louis) I’ll try to clean up my back wall and try to keep my serves going. Hope to keep this up and compete against the best.
(Discussing his sponsor Digi Flex) Marcos treats us so well, makes sure the gloves and shirts fit well. I speak for everyone that we appreciate what Marcos Chavez does.”
Final: Ure def Mulkerrins 15-5, 2-15, 15-7
R48 Playoffs
5th place playoff: The fifth place playoff featured the battle of the Cordovas, with Lucho beating Danos to win fifth. “The match had a lot of streaks, but Lucho was always up,” Danos would later say.
Final: Lucho def Danos 25-18
9th place playoff: Diarmuid Mulkerrins played exceptionally well in the ninth place final, building a 15-2 halftime lead on David Fink, only to be tied at 15 after halftime. Mulkerrins regained control from there, earning of his best Race finishes.
Final: D. Mulkerrins def Fink 25-19
17th Place Final
Race 4 Eight rising star Moses Gardea scored the biggest win of his young career, defeat Rene Lopez, Ayden Brule, and Abraham Montijo to win seventeenth to earn a Race ranking for the first time.
R48 Finishes
1st: Ure
2nd: M. Mulkerrins
3rd: Doyle/Canales
5th: Lucho
6th: Danos
7th: Lenning/Burgos
9th: D. Mulkerrins
10th: Fink
11th: Streibig/Ruiz
13th: Chapman/Langmack/Esser/Rosales
17th: Gardea
WR48 Final
Current WR48 #1 and WR48 Player’s Cup champion Niamh Heffernan was seeking her second consecutive WR48 title after capturing the WR48 Player’s Championship in May. Aoife Holden was appearing in her first WR48 final after a dramatic semifinal win against Clodagh Munroe on Saturday afternoon.
Holden did not exhibit any finals nerves, building a 10-1 lead in the first game. Holden struck several left-hand kills and capitalized on Heffernan’s mistakes. Heffernan charged back, striking a z serve that befuddled Holden and quickly eliminated the deficit. Heffernan earned aces and first-strike kill opportunities off her strong serve, outscoring Holden 14-1 to end game one.
Heffernan separated herself midway through game two, relying on her court coverage and re kills to pull away and claim her second WR48 title.
“Amazing, that was the toughest game ever,” Heffernan would later say on ESPN. “I was feeling it in the second game, I was really feeling it in my legs. You have to empty the tank when you are in the court. Winning my second WPH pros stop is amazing. We get treated like Gods when we are here. Shoutout to everyone who is watching and thanks for the support.”
(Heffernan hoisting her 2024/25 Player’s Champion Trophy)
WR48 Playoffs
Third place final
Mollie Dagg was too strong for Clodagh Munroe in the third place final, overpowering the Mankato All-American to notch her best WR48 finish.
Final: Dagg def Munroe 25-9
Fifth place final
Ashley Ruiz set her tournament director’s hat aside to win the fifth place final, defeating Washington’s Laura Schoener convincingly.
Final: Ruiz def Schoener 25-4
WR48 Finishes
1st: Heffernan
2nd: Holden
3rd: Dagg
4th: Munroe
5th: Ruiz
SR48 Final
SR48 #1 David Fink met SR48 #2 Sean Lenning in the third consecutive SR48 final. Lenning won their previous two finals, the first at the LAAC in March and the second at the SR48 Player’s Championship in May.
Having lost to Lenning in the R48 on Friday, Fink played aggressively in the final, shooting the ball with both hands. Fink built a 10-2 lead in the first, but Lenning cut into the lead with a streak of back wall and fly kills. Fink was able to regain control, taking a one-game lead.
Game two was similar, with Fink building a lead with several shoulder-height kills and re kills. Fink would earn his first SR48 victory against Lenning, giving him 16 SR48 titles since his SR48 debut in 2018.
“This does not erase all of the other losses to Sean, but I’m happy to have won,” Fink would later say. “I served well, and probably more importantly, I returned Sean’s serve more effectively than I normally do. That allowed me to play more offense.”
SR48 Playoffs
Third place playoff
Boxer Rosales defeated Rafa “Next Time” Martinez in the third place final, announcing himself to the handball world as a small ball R48 and SR48 top star in his breakout event.
Final: Boxer def Martinez 25-12
Fifth place playoff
Tucson’s Dan Mcnabney announced himself as one of the world’s top 40+ stars, defeating multiple-time national champion Leo Canales, Sr. in the fifth place final. DM may not be well known yet, but he will be.
Final: Mcnabney def Canales 25-11
SR48 Finishes
1st: Fink
2nd: Lenning
3rd: Rosales
4th: Martinez
5th: Mcnabney
Big Ball Pro Singles
Final: Siordia vs. Chava
Two of big ball’s best faced one another in the biggest 4-Wall big ball event of the year. The Southern Californians demonstrated big ball at its highest level, complete with diving, power, and strategy.
Siordia was too strong for Chava in Sunday’s final, dominating his rival in two games. “I was just on fire today,” Oscar would later say. “I was killing everything and I got a lot of crack serves too.”
Final: Siordia def Chava 15-7, 15-7
Big Ball Pro Singles Finishes
1st: Siordia
2nd: Chava
3rd: Rocha
Big Ball Pro Doubles
Chava Cordova teamed with Eddie Rocha to deny Siordia the Memorial big ball slam, as Team Chava/Rocha defeated Team Siordia/Duenas in two games. Team Chava/Rocha needed just four minutes to win game one, but Siordia and Duenas battled in game two, including playing one of the best rallies in the history of WPH broadcasting. Team Chava/Rocha were too strong in the end, fighting off Oscar and the Wiz for the title.
“I just love playing with Chava,” beamed Rocha on ESPN. “I’ve been looking up to him since I was young and to get to play with him is amazing.”
“I love coming to Tucson and this is my first time at this club,” Chava would later say. “I’ve never won here and it’s amazing to be able to do it.”
Final: Team Chava/Rocha def Team Siordia/Duenas 15-4, 15-12
Big Ball Pro Doubles Finishes
1st: Team Chava/Rocha
2nd: Team Siordia/Duenas
3rd: Team Medina/Moreno
Big Ball B Doubles Finishes
1st: Team Cruz/Ocegueda
2nd: Team Chapman/Fernandez
3rd: Team Gardea/Luna
Amateur Memorial Champions
A Singles champion: Jesus Avila
B Singles champion: Brian Williams
60+ Doubles champions: Canales/Cordova
70+ Singles champion: Gary Eisenbooth
140+ Doubles champions: Lippman/Bonnell
Junior Singles champion: Zayden Zamora
Thank you
Thank you to all of the WPH staff and volunteers who made the 2025 Memorial such a huge success. Thank you to Che Lowenstein, Kris Gurrad, Kara Mack, Scott Cleveland, Jim Verhaeghe, Boxer Rosales, Ashley Ruiz, Shorty Ruiz, Renee Sitter, Noel Aguilar, Jesus Avila, Sam Esser, Jeff Healam, Steve Soto, the WPH Board of Directors & Members, Brenda Hays, David Fink, Lolita Vincent, Joy Velde, Karen Verhaeghe, Doug Clark, Ryan Watkins, Nick Flores, Trisha Fink and Fred Banfield, to name just a few. Thank you to ESPN+ for allowing the World Players of Handball Foundation stream LIVE on their network.
Follow the draws and results from the 2025 Race 4 Eight Tucson Memorial HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer