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Tucson, AZ, WPH Press
Watch the WPH Icebreaker Challenge #3, Fink vs. Cooney HERE
The NYAC’s Stephen “Coon Dogg” Cooney entered the WPH Bubble to challenge WPH Icebreaker #1 champion David Fink at Tucson’s WPH Clark Park, the mecca of outdoor handball.
The pair’s first encounter at the 2013 Simple Green U.S. Open ended in a two-and-a-half-hour, 11-10 tiebreaker thriller, followed by Fink spending the night in the hospital from exhaustion and dehydration and Cooney undergoing surgery on his hip. In the third WPH Icebreaker, Cooney and Fink met on a cool and mostly overcast January afternoon on the Freddy B Show Court at Clark Park, with Cooney aiming to join Fink and Dylan Hernandez as WPH Icebreaker champions. How would their first 3-Wall clash play out nearly eight years after the Hospital Match?
Cooney and Fink had met many times since the “Hospital Match,” including several WPH RFC 4-Wall and 1-Wall singles finals.
Fink started quickly on a cool and mostly overcast day in Tucson, finding the bottom brick on his offensive opportunities and controlling the overhand rallies. “I have really struggled to keep the ball in play with my overhand shots at Clark Park, usually hitting the ball over the wall or completely missing easy overhand shots,” stated Fink. “My goal was to play more consistently from the deep court.”
Fink blitzed Cooney in game one, 21-3, striking 19 kill shots and six aces, and never allowing the “Coon Dogg” into his rhythm. Fink’s winner to error ratio was an impressive 5:1, making it very difficult for the Irishman to work his way into the game.
Cooney scored more points in his first service inning of game two than the entire first game, surging to a 4-0 lead by taking charge of the front court. Fink charged back with a combination of strong serves and left-handed kill shots, eventually leading 12-7.
Cooney charged back into the game with a series of first-strike fly kills, serving at 10-12 and within striking distance of forcing a tiebreaker.
Fink ran the table from there, scoring the final nine points of the match to continue his undefeated streak on his home court.
“I got tired and could never get my second wind,” stated Cooney. “Dave played really well.”
“Stephen never makes it easy,” stated Fink. “Stephen defended a lot of the serves I hit that are normally aces or give me first-strike opportunities with his left fist and forced me into the deep court. I know we were both really happy to play.”
Final: Fink def Cooney 21-3, 21-10
Crunching the Numbers: WPH Icebreaker Challenge #3: Fink vs. Cooney
Starting in 2020, the WPH has crunched tens of thousands of shots, tracking the aces, kill shots, return of serve kills, first-strike kills, errors, 6+ shot rallies won, and hinders for dozens of classic matches in handball’s recent and distant past. The thousands of numbers we’ve crunched have provided handball fans and players with the blueprint to win matches.
On this edition of Crunching the Numbers, we’ll take a look at the WPH Icebreaker #3 at Clark Park in Tucson, featuring Race 4 Eight veterans David Fink and Stephen Cooney.
Watch the WPH Icebreaker Challenge #3, Fink vs. Cooney HERE
Game One Stats
Aces
Fink: 6
Cooney: 1
First Strike Kills
Fink: 7
Cooney: 1
Return of Serve Kills
Fink: 0
Cooney: 1
Right Hand Rally-Enders
Fink: 4
Cooney: 6
Left Hand Rally Enders
Fink: 15
Cooney: 1
6+ Shot Rallies Won
Fink: 9
Cooney: 0
Errors
Fink: 5
Cooney: 6
Fly Kills:
Fink: 2
Cooney: 2
Hinders: 0
Time: 16:00
Final: 21-3
Total Points Scored: 24
Game Two Stats
Aces
Fink: 6
Cooney: 2
First Strike Kills
Fink: 5
Cooney: 4
Return of Serve Kills
Fink: 0
Cooney: 1
Right Hand Rally-Enders
Fink: 5
Cooney: 10
Left Hand Rally Enders
Fink: 8
Cooney: 2
6+ Shot Rallies Won
Fink: 3
Cooney: 4
Errors
Fink: 0
Cooney: 7
Fly Kills:
Fink: 2
Cooney: 2
Hinders: 0
Time: 17:10
Final: 21-10
Total Points Scored: 31
Game One and Two Stats (Combined)
Aces
Fink: 12
Cooney: 3
Fink’s serve played a big part in the two-game sweep, as the left-hander out-aced Cooney 12-3. Cooney’s serve was likely his greatest liability, as he was unable to put Fink under pressure on the return, while Fink was able to take control of rallies with hard, deep serve to the left, and reverses and natural hops to the right and center
First Strike Kills
Fink: 12
Cooney: 5
Fink’s serve not only earned him 12 aces, but 12 first-strike kills as well, meaning that 24 of his 42 points (57%) came from his first or second swing of the rally
Return of Serve Kills
Fink: 0
Cooney: 2
Right Hand Rally-Enders
Fink: 9
Cooney: 16
Left Hand Rally Enders
Fink: 23
Cooney: 3
Fink’s left-hand kill created much of the separation in this matchup, as Fink’s 23 left-handed rally-enders in the two games was seven more than Cooney’s right-hand total of 16 (59%). Fink also tripled Cooney’s off-hand output of rally-enders 9-3, giving the Tucsonan a huge edge in offensive production
6+ Shot Rallies Won
Fink: 12
Cooney: 4
Fink dominated the 6+ shot rallies in game one, winning all nine of the extended rallies. Cooney won four of seven of the 6+ shot rallies in game two, allowing him trail 10-12 at one point in the second game
Errors
Fink: 5
Cooney: 13
Fink made five errors in the first game, which were offset by six aces and 19 rally-enders for a ratio of 5:1. Fink made zero errors in game two, but also totaled just 11 rally-enders. Cooney’s 13 errors were nearly three times as many as Fink, with the mistakes costing Cooney a chance to apply scoreboard pressure
Fly Kills:
Fink: 4
Cooney: 4
Hinders: 0
Time: 33:10
Final: 21-3, 21-10
Total Points Scored: 55
Watch the WPH Icebreaker Challenge #3, Fink vs. Cooney HERE