WPH Press
The WPH is thrilled to present the CA Next Gen Icebreaker, featuring four of the top 20-something stars in the sport. Northern Californians Loren Collado and Erik Torres and Southern Californians Dylan Hernandez and Ricardo Palma traveled from the Golden State to the Grand Canyon State and Tucson’s Clark Park to battle for the second WPH Icebreaker crown.
The WPH CA Next Gen Icebreaker was played with all of the CDC protocols in place, as the players were socially distanced from one another and the WPH staff, the park was closed to the public, and all non-playing participants and staff wore masks throughout the event.
“We want to show people that we could safely hold an event with all of the COVID protocols in place,” stated WPH Executive Director David Vincent. “We closed the park, had the referee wearing a mask, and had the limited number of fans social distance in masks, while ensuring the players were distanced as much as possible.”
Meet the four CA Icebreaker Next Gen Stars
Dylan Hernandez HERE
Erik Torres HERE
Ricardo Palma HERE
Loren Collado HERE
NOTE: TO WATCH ALL MATCHES FROM THIS EVENT IN THEIR ENTIRETY, PLEASE GO TO PATREON.COM/WPHLIVE AND BECOME A PLEDGE SUPPORTER (This video will be available to WPH members within two weeks)
CA Norcal vs. SoCal Icebreaker Final: Dylan Hernandez vs. Erik Torres
Hernandez and Torres fought their way to the second WPH Icebreaker final with impressive victories against Loren Collado and Ricardo Palma, respectively. Torres appeared to be the favorite heading into this final, but Hernandez was poised to demonstrate that he belongs amongst the game’s elite.
Hernandez was seeking the biggest title of his career and played with the conviction and confidence of a champion. Hernandez executed his aggressive style against Torres, taking control of the action with short and deep power serves to earn aces and control of the rallies. Hernandez struck ten aces in game one and added another five in game two, with his serve accounting for 36% of his overall points.
“I wanted to establish my serve early and just attack,” stated Dylan. “I believe my serve is what helped me get into rhythm offensively. And I just liked how I was keeping the ball in front of me and just going for my shots.”
DHern added six first-strike kills as part of his 22 rally-ending shots throughout the two-game final. Dylan’s 13 errors against 15 aces and 22-rally-ending shots was an unbeatable combination, as Torres could not keep pace with DHern’s nearly flawless output.
“The tournament was great, I really liked competing again, especially against some really good players,” stated Hernandez. “Clark Park is a great facility and has great outdoor 3-Wall courts. I think I played pretty good overall. Overall this was a good tournament for me and I was happy with the results.”
Final: Hernandez def Torres 21-10, 21-12
Crunched Statistics (games one and two combined)
Aces
Hernandez: 15
Torres: 7
Return of serve kills
Hernandez: 2
Torres: 0
First-strike kills
Hernandez: 6
Torres: 3
Right hand rally-enders
Hernandez: 17
Torres: 9
Left hand rally-enders
Hernandez: 5
Torres: 4
6+ shot rallies won
Hernandez: 12
Torres: 8
Errors
Hernandez: 13
Torres: 15
Fly kills
Hernandez: 7
Torres: 1
Hinders: 1 (avoidable)
Time: 43 minutes
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer