WPH R48 & WR48 Pre Qualifier at the 78th George Lee: Martin and Aoife Conquer Dallas

WPH R48 & WR48 Pre Qualifier at the 78th George Lee: Martin and Aoife Conquer Dallas

Dallas, TX, WPH Press, 1/26/25

The Dallas Handball Club and tournament directors Teresa Bowman and Martin Mulkerrins were thrilled to present the 78th George Lee, featuring the WPH R48 & WR48 Pre Qualifier at the T. Boone Pickens YMCA.

R48 Pre Qualifier

Top three Race 4 Eight pros Martin Mulkerrins and Leo Canales met for the George Lee R48 Pre Qualifier title. Canales stunned the R48 #1 in game one, blitzing Mulkerrins with a dazzling display of serve-and-shoot points. 

The eleven-time Race 4 Eight champion regrouped, working his way into rallies with steady defense and his vaunted power. Mulkerrins would even the match by winning the second.

The first half of the tiebreaker was close, with both top players aiming to take control of the match. Mulkerrins found a hot serve at the tiebreaker’s midpoint, taking a lead and not looking back. 

“I was serving and shooting very well in the first,” Canales would later say. “Then Martin flipped it on me on the second game. Third game was tight, then Martin cracked out like three serves and ran away with it.”

“Leo was on fire in game one, great serves and literally seemed to be rolling everything left and right,” stated the streaking Mulkerrins.  “He was 8-0 up in no time. Game two was somewhat of a role reversal and I had a 7-0 lead and 14-3. Leo got a nice run then to 9-14 before I was able to stop that run. Tiebreaker was together at three, five and eight. I got a few crack serves in the second half of the tiebreaker and a bit of luck on two other shots that helped get a bit of a lead.”

Semifinals

Mulkerrins def C. Garcia 15-2, 15-2

Canales def Mehilos 15-4, 15-10

Pic by Eilish Owens

Final: Mulkerrins def Canales 3-15, 15-9, 15-8

WR48 Pre Qualifier

Aoife Holden and Kristen Hughes entered the George Lee WR48 Pre Qualifier at the top two seeds and had little difficulty advancing to Sunday’s final to face one another. Holden advanced to the final without dropping a point, while Hughes also advanced to the final without dropping a game.

Pic by Eilish Owens

Holden and Hughes had met in several Texas finals in the past year, with Holden holding an undefeated record against the Pride of Austin. Hughes played virtually even with Holden throughout the first, ultimately stalling at twelve. Holden took control of the match after the close first game, sealing the title with a dominant second game. 

“The first game was close, it was back and forth a lot until I finished it out,” stated Holden. “I played better in the second game and found a serve that was working for me.”

Semifinals

Holden def Sammis 15-0, 15-0

Hughes def Behne 15-9, 15-6

Pic by Eilish Owens

Final: Holden def Hughes 15-12, 15-3

“Texas A&M University and Texas Handball are thankful for the WPH’s continued support of our tournaments and initiatives,” stated R48 #1 and George Lee Pre Qualifier director Martin Mulkerrins. “The George Lee is the longest running tournament in the U.S. and making the George Lee a Pre Qualifier for both Men and Women was a great addition to the event. The George Lee roll of honor includes many current and former pros, national champions and world champions such as Johnny Sloan, Jimmy Jacobs, Paul Haber, Pat Kirby, John Bike, Allan Garner, Paul Brady, Adam Bernhard, Sam Esser and Martin Mulkerrins but to name a few. We were excited to partner with the WPH and to have both the Men’s and Women’s Pro divisions as WPH R48 Pre-Qualifiers.” 

Follow all of the brackets from the 2025 George Lee/R48 & WR48 Pre Qualifier HERE

Martin Mulkerrins 5-Tournament Win Streak – By the Numbers HERE

David Fink

WPH Senior Writer

DV: David Vincent formed the World Players of Handball in 2005 and ushered live handball viewing into our living rooms for the first time. Since its inception, the World Players of Handball has broadcast over 1,500 matches live. Dave Vincent serves as the lead play-by-play announcer for virtually all matches, combining his unique perspective and personality with a lifetime of handball experience. DV brings 25 years of broadcast radio experience (in Oregon and California) to World Players of Handball & ESPN broadcasts and provides professionalism and wit to the amazing game of handball. DV also serves as the Executive Director of the World Player of Handball at the WPH headquarters in Tucson, AZ, working daily to grow the game of handball through innovation.
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