JR WPH California State Championships & WPH Xrossover
The X-Fest II- WPH Outdoor Xrossover Challenge kicked off on Friday under perfect outdoor playing conditions at Surf City’s spectacular Marina Park. The X-Fest’s three-code cross over challenge started with 3-Wall Small Ball Singles, as several of the Race 4 Eight’s top stars tested their 3-Wall skills against the top names on the WPH Outdoor circuit.
Men’s 3-Wall Small Ball Singles
All of the top seeds advanced from the round of 32 to the final eight on Friday evening, with quarterfinal matches set for Saturday morning featuring 7-time 3-Wall national champion and defending X-Fest champion Sean Lenning, cross over star Shorty Ruiz, R48 #3 Mando Ortiz, WPH Outdoor #1 Juan Santos and more.
Top seeds Timbo Gonzalez and Shorty Ruiz cruised into the round of eight in the 1-Wall Big Ball Doubles, as did Team Santos/Morales and Team Samzon/Chava. Sean Lenning’s quest to repeat as the X-Fest champion took a major hit with his first round 1-Wall Big Ball Doubles loss to Edgar Vizcaino and Jose Villegas. The eight remaining teams with battle for the 1-Wall Big Ball Doubles title and valuable X-Fest points on Saturday.
Saturday will feature the conclusion of the 3-Wall Small Ball Singles, the start of the 3-Wall Small Ball Singles and 1-Wall Big Ball Doubles, and the start of the JR WPH California State Championships, featuring junior handball clinics and junior handball 3-Wall Big Ball singles and doubles brackets.
To follow the draws and results from the X-Fest II, go here
The X-Fest II will not be broadcast, but log onto wphlive.tv, Like the World Players of Handball on Facebook, or follow the WPH on Twitter @dfwph and @wphlive for all of the updates from the X-Fest II and all of the handball news from on and off the court! The World Players of Handball is a non-profit foundation aiming to grow the game of handball through innovation and inspiring the next generation of players through junior clinics with certified WPH coaches, junior tournaments and the Race 4 Eight tour.
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer