Pittsburgh, PA, WPH Press, 7/10/16- The World Players of Handball was thrilled to present the WPH’s Rodney Fink Classic 8 at Amerifit Handball Club in Pittsburgh PA for the eighth consecutive year, featuring a JR WPH Clinic, 4-Wall Small Ball Singles, 4-Wall Big Ball Women’s Singles, 1-Wall Small Ball Singles, 1-Wall Men’s and Women’s Big Ball Singles, and 4-Wall and 1-Wall Mixed/Master’s Doubles. The RFC 8 proudly hosted several juniors from the WPH Sponsored Westside YMCA Program and University of West Florida’s Handball Club founder Mike Morgan. Players traveled to Pittsburgh from Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Michigan, Florida, Ireland and Canada. Wow!
The WPH’s RFC proudly hosted a sensational 4-Wall clinic on Saturday, with WPH Certified Coaches David Fink, Joe DelSardo and Ryan Bowler explaining various shots and cross-training techniques to the juniors in attendance. The clinic participants ranged in age from eight to 15, with one junior playing for the first time and another having won national championships. Each of the juniors demonstrated a willingness to improve and genuine excitement in being on the court.
The RFC boasts one of the strongest champion’s lists of any event in the world, counting Chapman, Moreno, Shanks, Fink and Cooney amongst its champions and continued its trend in 2016. 4-Wall kicked off the 2016 RFC 8 International extravaganza, with players competing from early morning until late into the evening in the 4-Wall Singles, 4-Wall Dropdown Singles, Master’s/Mixed Doubles, and Women’s 4-Wall Big Ball Singles. Jerome Santerre made his 11-hour drive from Quebec to Pittsburgh worthwhile, cruising to the Dropdown Singles title after losing to Ryan “The Bowl Dog” Bowler in the quarterfinals. Jessenia Garate won the Women’s Singles, while Pittsburgh’s Jerry Speer and Bill LaFramboise teamed to win the Master’s/Mixed Doubles. Top 12 R48 pros David Fink and Stephen Cooney advanced to the final of the 4-Wall Open Singles and settled the final on the 1-Wall court.
Fink defended his 1-Wall Small Ball Singles title from 2015 by defeating Arthur Sayed, Jason Ke, and James Flaherty en route to the title. With the 1-Wall Small Ball Singles title, Fink clinched the RFC Cross Over title for the second consecutive year.
In the 1-Wall Big Ball Singles, Stephen Cooney upset defending champion Jason Ke in the quarterfinals and advanced to the final with another impressive victory against James Flaherty. 1-Wall Women’s Big Ball World Champion Danielle Daskalakis advanced to the semifinals in the bottom bracket before falling to Arthur Sayed. Sayed played like a man on a mission in the final against Cooney, clinching the title in impressive fashion by killing virtually everything and never allowing Cooney into the match. Jessenia Garate won the Women’s Big Ball Singles final by defeating Karen Avila. Danielle Daskalakis teamed with Bryan Lucero to win the Mixed Big Ball 1-Wall Doubles, defeating Jason Ke and Jessenia Garate in the final.
RFC 8 Cross Over Leaderboard
- David Fink 20
- Steven Cooney 16
t3. Arthur Sayed 14
t3. James Flaherty 14
*Players counted their best of two of three events towards the overall RFC 8 title
RFC 8 Titles
4-Wall Singles: David Fink
4-Wall Dropdown Singles: Jerome Santerre
4-Wall Mixed Master’s Doubles: Jerry Speer/Bill LaFramboise
4-Wall Women’s Big Ball Singles: Jessinia Garate
1-Wall Small Ball Singles: David Fink
1-Wall Big Ball Singles: Arthur Sayed
1-Wall Big Ball Women’s Singles: Jessica Garate
1-Wall Big Ball Mixed Doubles: Danielle Daskalakis/Bryan Lucero
Huge thanks to WPH RFC donors Rodney Fink, Mike Semplice, Harry Cohen, Mark Abranovic and to all of the players for making the RFC 8 an astounding event.
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