BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Gustavo “Tavo” Ruiz became the new Men’s Pro Singles Wallball ball champion on Sunday with a dominant performance in the final, defeating Nazir “Naz” Marston, 25-11.
Both players were making their first appearance in a Men’s Singles National final. Ruiz’s years of experience proved to be the difference, as he calmly raced out to a 20-1 lead against the 21-year-old Marston. Despite the deficit, Marston didn’t get upset or argue calls. A timeout helped him regroup and he scored his first points since the early moments of the final. While supporters, hoping for a miracle, cheered Marston on, Ruiz calmly maintained his play to win his first National title.
The Women’s Pro Singles final, featuring a matchup between Jenny Qu and Melanie Garate was dedicated In Memory to Dr. Raquel Sophia Murphy Barnes. USHA Vice President Jared Vale made the announcement and cited her dedication to growing the sport on a national and international level. Once play began, defending champion Qu held off Gerate, 25-11.
In the Women’s Pro Doubles final, sisters Melanie and Jessenia Garate upended defending champions Jenny Qu and Danielle Daskalakis, 25-17.
A completely new lineup of teams competed in the Men’s Pro Doubles final. Cory Vadala and Mikey Mendoza concluded their tremendous weekend run, defeating Chris Miranda and David Velez, 25-7. Vadala and Mendoza started and finished strong, while Velez and Miranda struggled to generate offense. Miranda, nursing a nagging arm injury, was visibly hindered. Yet even a healthy opponent would have had trouble challenging the team Vadala/Mendez onslaught.
In the Men’s B Singles, Manuel Caraballo was the class of the draw, first earning the top seed, then backing it up with excellent play through four rounds. Caraballo held off Maspeth’s Juan Carlos in a tightly contested final, 25-20.
Nicholas Pappas and Mohamad Mansi were held to single digits in last year’s B Doubles final. This year, the team from Flushing earned the top seed and defeated the Bronx team of Jahsheed Petersen and Joey Gonzalez, 25-20. The entire match was contentious and close with some playful banter between rallies–the difference being Pappas and Mansi executing the shots needed to get to match point.
In the Women’s B Singles, Michelle Clara defeated Shantel Mena, 25-22 in one of the day’s most entertaining finals. Mena looked smooth against all challengers, and pushed Clara to the limit; however, playing in her second consecutive B final, Clara was not to be denied the championship.
The day earlier, in the Women’s B Doubles, Clara and partner Vanessa Louie couldn’t break through against Kayla Paredes and Myohwa Hwee. Playing at the indoor Zerega location, Hwee and Paredes won the title 21-17.
In the Men’s 40-plus final, Alex Rivera held 23-17 edge against Yuber “Pee Wee” Castro, but the two-time Small Ball Men’s Singles Champion gained a side out and began a serving clinic. Rivera could only watch as Castro’s overhand power serve quickly tightened to match to a 23-23 tie. Instead of folding under pressure, Rivera regained the serve and scored the final two points for the championship.
In the Men’s 40-plus Doubles, Robert “Iceman” Sostre returned to Nationals competition and teamed with William Polanco to defeat George Figueroa and Ray Lopez, 25-16.
Figueroa and Lopez paired to win the 50-plus Doubles over Phil Amato and Darwin Lee, 25-16.
On late afternoon Saturday, Jose Olivencia avenged last year’s final loss and defeated the defending 50-plus singles champion Ronald Beard, 21-18.
In the Men’s 60-plus final, Richard Mascia stopped Abe Mantell, 21-5.
In the first-ever Women’s Seniors (35-plus) Doubles division, Erica Mendez and Karen McConney defeated Elaine Gillard and Shena Brown, 21-12 for the championship.
With the USHA Summer Board Meeting being held prior to the tournament, many of the board members stayed and watched the action. USHA President Denis Hogan was on hand for the entire tournament, taking in the Wallball Nationals for the first time, while chatting it up with players and supporters throughout the weekend.
For the first two days, rain dampened the streets and courts of New York, but not the spirit of the players! A huge “thank you” goes to Mel Sky and Isaias Rivera of the Bronx’s Zerega Indoor Courts. Matches hummed along on the facility’s five regulation one-wall courts.
Always ready with a plan, USHA Vice President Jared Vale moved all Masters division matches to an outdoor (but dry) location at Francis Lewis Park under the Whitestone Bridge. The move was crucial to get matches done at a reasonable time with the option to play outdoors at Coney Island on the final day.
Thank you to Jared, Castle Hill’s Richie Vera, China Pizarro for amazing court management, Joanne Ly for outstanding help at Whitestone and beyond, all the referees, plus One-Wall Committee members, Alethia Mendez, William Polanco, and Anthony Jones. Special thank you to Albert Apuzzi and photographer Jose Davila. Finally, a big shout out to all the players who cooperated and made sure to hustle to each venue as we adjusted on the fly.
Players resiliently changed their routes to Coney Island and made it to the new site to compete for a chance to play in Championship Sunday’s finals. Matches were played to 21-point games (usually a wallball match is played to one 25-point game) to accommodate the smaller court capacity and disrupted schedule. Masters divisions moved to a nearby location at Francis Lewis Park, playing on the dry courts underneath the Whitestone Bridge.
A new Men’s Wallball Champion will be crowned this year when Gustavo Ruiz faces Nazir Marston in Sunday’s final. Through each round, both players increased their intensity and delivered amazing shots and unmatched athleticism that brought loud cheers to the Zerega facility.
“Tavo” Ruiz’s first hurdle was to get through David Velez in the quarterfinals. Each player was locked in, but Velez was flying all over the court making amazing returns that frustrated Tavo. Building a 19-10 lead, Ruiz was poised to advanced to the semifinals, but a focused Tavo started chipping away at his opponent’s lead. The Zerega crowd grew louder with each Tavo point as the pair reached a 20-20 tie. Knowing the next shot could send one player packing and one to the semifinals, the intensity for each ensuing rally grew. After an exchange of side outs, Tavo delivered a winning shot to the left that a diving Velez nearly reached. A gracious Velez applauded his opponent before they share a post-match handshake.
Tavo, clearly motivated by his near defeat in the quarters, wasn’t fazed in facing defending champion Tywan Cook in the semifinals. Cook did all he could to muster points, but Tavo rolled, 21-9, to punch his ticket to the National final.
On the other side of the draw, through three rounds, nobody could touch “Naz” Marston. His toughest test was facing 2022 finalist Josh Garcia, and he delivered a 21-15 win. In the semifinal, Marston found himself in a battle against Hector “Pito” Velez. With the day’s humidity increasing, players went through soaked shirts and gloves, while referee Larry DuBois watched for slides and wet spots on the floor. Pito thrived in the conditions, racing to a 19-12 lead, making the match’s remaining points a mere formality for the inevitable. Naz wasn’t ready to concede and found a new gear as a raucous crowd cheered his renewed efforts. Naz went on a 8-0 run to reach match point before Pito would score another point to reach a 20-20 deadlock. Serving for the match, Pito delivered an out serve that stunned the crowd. On the ensuing Naz serve, Pito returned the ball wide.
The Men’s final is scheduled for 12:30 EDT at Coney Island on Sunday.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Tyree Bastidas defeated his brother Jurell for the second straight year to claim his eighth one-wall pro singles title.
Tyree was dominant in game one, using his great serve and drive shots to win 21-7. Game two saw Jurell jump out to a fast start and early lead, but Tyree clawed his way back in the game. The brothers played even until the end. At 20-19, Tyree was serving for the match and hit a perfect ace just over the short line that Jurell didn’t even move for.
The victory gave Tyree the slam after winning the doubles with his brother. He continues to show that he is a force to be reckoned with one the one-wall court. You can watch the finals on our YouTube Channel HERE.
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BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Rain fell over the Coney Island Handball courts on Sunday and caused a long delay in play. Because of the rain and a few Saturday night matches needing to be pushed to Sunday morning due to the lack of daylight, the Pro Singles Final between Tyree and Jurell Bastidas had to be moved to Sunday, August 21st at Noon Eastern Time.
Despite the Men’s Pro singles not playing, championship Sunday was still filled with several great matches.
Eddie Perez kicked off the day with a strong victory over Milton Jones in the 50 singles finals. That was followed by William Polanco putting on a serve and shoot clinic to win the 40 singles final over Jai Ragoo. Ragoo later teamed with Joseph Kaplan to win the 40 doubles title.
Tony Roberts and George Figueroa continued their dominant run in Coney Island, knocking off Thomas Valenzuela and Oscar Dejesus in a close match in the 50 doubles.
The Pro Doubles saw Tyree and Jurell Bastidas square off against Allan Sanchez and William Polanco. The first game came down to the wire. Sanchez and Polanco lead 20-17, but despite having several serves to put the game away couldn’t convert and the Bastidas brothers squeaked out a 21-20 victory. Their momentum carried into the second game, and they were dominant from start to finish, defeating Sanchez and Polanco 21-2 to earn the Pro Doubles title.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Day two of the One-Wall Nationals was a hot one from start to finish. Players battled through the heat and played sensational Handball.
The Women’s Finals concluded Saturday morning with Danielle Daskalakis claiming victory over Sandy Ng 21-20, 21-14 in a thrilling match. At 20-20 in game one, Ng held serve to close out the game and just barely missed an ace serve down the left. The ball was just over the side line, giving Daskalakis the serve back where she closed it out.
Daskalakis and Ng later teamed up to win the Pro Women’s Doubles final over Tracy Davis and Melissa Sky, where they played flawlessly.
The Pro Men’s division played their quarterfinals and semifinals Saturday. Four-wall star Killian Carroll played a sensation match against Wallball champion Tywan Cook in what was the match of the day.
Cook crushed Carroll in game one, but Carroll found a serve that Cook had no answer for in game two, and forced a tiebreaker. It looked like Cook was going to win when he jumped out to a 7-2 lead, but Carroll rediscovered his serve and won the next 9 points of the match.
Tyree Bastidas cruised past PeeWee Castro in his quarterfinal, showing why he is the defending champion.
Tyree’s brother, Jurell Bastidas, played a nearly 3 hour match against Alvaro Rebaza that saw a plentitude of momentum swings. Bastidas was able to find the bottom board in the tiebreaker to take victory.
Saul Gonzales won the last quarterfinal, defeating Joshua Garcia. Gonzales just narrowly escaped game one 21-20, and looked to be in trouble after losing game two 21-6. He rediscovered his form in the tiebreaker to win 11-1.
The first semifinal was between Tyree Bastidas and Killian Carroll. Bastidas ran Carroll all over the court, and Carroll tracked down many tough balls, but Bastidas had too much power and easily advanced to the finals.
Jurell Bastidas looked equally as dominant against a tough Saul Gonzales in his semifinal. This game featured a lot of strong serves and power drives. The two played evenly in both games but Bastidas was able to close them both out 21-17.
The Men’s Pro Final between Tyree and Jurell Bastidas will take place tomorrow at 11:00am eastern time. It’s a rematch of the Speaker’s Cup final, which went to Jurell.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Day one of the tournament was met with overcast skies and sporadic sprinkles in the early part of the day, a welcomed addition to the New York heat. Afternoon came with sunny skies and high temperatures which the players battled through.
The first two rounds of the Men’s Pro division were played today, with most of the top seeds holding true. Brothers Tyree and Jurell Bastidas entered the tournament as the top two seeds and both looked great on the court today. The quarterfinals and semifinals of the Men’s Pro will be played tomorrow.
The quarterfinals and semifinals of the Women’s Pro division were also played today. Danielle Daskalakis looked dominant against Mikaila Esser in the first semifinal of the day, dazzling the crowd with one inch high kill shots and hop serves that Esser could not get a hand on. Daskalakis advanced 21-1, 21-4.
Sandy Ng and Tracy Davis squared off in the second semifinal, with Ng prevailing 21-4 and 21-6. Ng’s serves were impressive, and Davis could never get a feel for a strong return. Tomorrow’s final between Ng and Daskalakis looks to be an exciting one as both players are on top of their game.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — For the second consecutive year, the 61st USHA National One-Wall Championships has grown, adding more players and competitive divisions! The Women’s Pro divisions and a Women’s B singles division are a welcomed addition. Good luck to all the players competing in Coney Island this weekend!
Play begins Friday morning at the Seaside Courts, located at Surf Avenue and West 5th Street. Draws and start times are now available HERE.
Please note: start times and draws are subject to change up to the day of the first match. Remember to double check players’ times the day of the event.eight
Champion Tyree Bastidas (left) with runner-up and brother Jurell Bastidas (right)
The 60th USHA One-Wall Nationals resumed play this past week. All of the finals have now been completed after a rainy championship Sunday forced matches inside at the Zerega Indoor Handball Courts. Because of the limited courts space, many of the finals had to be played at a later date.
Among those finals that were played late was the Pro final between brothers Tyree and Jurell Bastidas. An amazing game one ended with Jurell just edging out his brother 21-20. Tyree raised his game to another level in game two, and took it easily 21-9. He kept that momentum rolling in the tie-breaker and held brother Jurell to just 2 points to win his seventh pro singles title!
Other national champions were crowned in several other divisions. In the 40 singles, Jai Ragoo took out one seed Joseph Kaplan 21-14, 21-15. Ragoo then teamed with Kaplan to win a thrilling 40 doubles title over Emilio Sierra and Robert Sostre 21-14, 16-21, 11-9.
In the 50 singles, Andy Rousseau outlasted Richard Mascia to win the championship 21-8, 21-18. Rousseau and his partner Jared Vale were denied the 50 doubles title by champs Tony Roberts and George Figueroa in a thrilling final that ended 17-21, 21-20, 11-2.
Congrats to all the champions! To view all of the results you can check out the tournament website by clicking HERE.
UPDATES FROM AUGUST 8
Pro Doubles finalists William Polanco and Allan Sanchez with champions Victor LoPierre and Tywan Cook.
The 60th USHA One-Wall Nationals took place August 6-8 in Brooklyn, and due to a rainy championship Sunday, matches had to be moved to the Zerega Indoor Handball Courts.
Because of the limited court space, many of the finals will be played later this week. The Pro Doubles division was able to finish, playing the semifinals and final. Tywan Cook and Victor LoPierre defeated William Polanco and Allan Sanchez 21-10, 21-14.
Brothers Tyree and Jurrell Bastidas will face off in the Pro Singles final this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern).
In Pro Singles semifinal action (which began outdoors at Coney Island), Tyree stopped Killian Carroll’s march through the draw with a 21-8, 21-16 victory. This was Carroll’s second consecutive trip to the One-Wall semis.
In the other semifinals, Jurrell overcame a game-one blowout to outlast defending champion Tywan Cook in a tiebreaker, 5-21, 21-13, 11-5.
The remaining matches will be finished this week. See the upcoming upcoming finals schedule.
August 12, Thursday 3:30 p.m.
40 Doubles final: Joe Kaplan/ Jai Ragoo vs Robert Sostre/ Emilio Sierra
August 13, Friday 3:30 p.m.
40 Singles final: Joe Kaplan vs Jai Ragoo
August 14, Saturday
9:00 a.m.
50 Singles final: Andy Rousseau vs Richard Mascia
11:00 a.m.
50 Doubles final: Andy Rousseau/ Jared Vale vs Tony Roberts/ George Figueroa
1:00 p.m.
Pro Singles final: Tyree Bastidas vs Jurell Bastidas
Pro Singles finalists Timbo Gonzalez and Tywan Cook.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Play resumed early Sunday morning on the final day of the 13th USHA Wallball Nationals, after a full first day of matches with a few exciting finals. Nine of the twelve Wallball Nationals divisions would crown champions on our Championship Sunday.
The highly anticipated Pro Singles final of Timbo Gonzalez and Tywan Cook delivered another electrifying exhibition of skill and athleticism from the two top-seeded players. As the match neared the 45-minute mark, Cook pulled away and executed crucial kills and passes that skimmed the court lines to win his third singles crown over Gonzalez, 25-19.
Things looked bleak early on, as Gonzalez looked unbeatable for the first few points, cruising to an 8-0 lead. Cook withstood Gonzalez’s barrage of shots and would score his first point with a sharp angled “ace” serve to the left. As Cook began to crawl back into the match, frustration grew for Gonzalez, as he burned two failed appeals (USHA One-Wall / Wallball Rules give a player three failed appeals) over Cook’s first three points. Cook tied the score at 13-13 with a pass down the right line forcing Gonzalez to use a time out.
Once play resumed, Cook would take the lead; however, Gonzalez stayed within striking range as the two traded side outs before Cook pulled away leading 19-14. Gonzalez produced one more push, getting within two points from Cook, down 19-21. While Gonzalez began to wear down, Cook found an extra gear. After one amazing shot, even Gonzalez showed appreciation for his opponent with a fist bump. Gonzalez would prolong the match by fight off one match point, but a wide shot to the right gave Cook the serve where he would kill match point. With the win, Cook joins Gonzalez as the only two players to simultaneously hold wallball and one-wall small ball national titles in the same year.
Cook hardly had a moment to enjoy his win before jumping on the courts for the Pro Doubles with partner Eddy Troncoso. Cook /Troncoso endured a semifinal nail-biter against Joshua Garcia and Paul Yagual, 25-24. Their final opponents, Carlin Rosa and Mickey Osorio did the same, defeating the super team of Allan Sanchez and Carlos “Los” Pena by the same score, 25-24.
The championship match didn’t hold the same drama, Cook/Troncoso dropped Roas/Osorio 25-9; however, both teams treated the crowds to some more amazing handball to close the tournament while Cook earned the “slam.”
In Women’s Pro Doubles, sisters Jessenia and Melanie Garate held on to defeat previous champions, Ruby Lloyd and Birdiana Garcia, 25-12. The win marked the first National Doubles title for the Garate sister and completed the “slam” for Melanie.
In other action, William Polanco and Steve Robalino captured the Masters (40+) Doubles, defeating Ray Lopez and George Figueroa, 25-13. Gary Luk closed his B career with a “B Slam,” winning both the singles and doubles. In the Women’s B Doubles final, Lily Fung and Hope Valenica turned back Erica Mendez and Sabrina Roberts, 25-17. Michelle Wu captured the Women’s B Singles title the day before, edging Shantel Mena, 25-23. In the Men’s Golden (50+) Singles, Jose Olivencia stopped Ronald Beard, 25-12 to win his first National Singles title.
Finally, in the Men’s Golden (50+) Doubles, Darwin Lee and last-minute sub Peter Ostander held off a valiant effort from Tim Samuel and Javier Pellot to win the title, 25-23.
Thank you to all the players for entering while showing cooperation and patience to complete each day’s matches. Thank you to USHA Board Members, Jared Vale, Alethia Mendez and every one from the USHA One-Wall Committee for their outstanding work. Thanks to Shenta Pizarro for keeping the tournament desk humming and matches on time. And thank you to all tournament volunteers and refs. Be sure to read the full coverage and see some of the wonderful action photos in the Summer Issue of Handball Magazine.
It is amazing to finally hold tournaments once again. We missed all of you, and we’re already looking forward to next year!
See the 13th USHA Wallball Nationals results HERE.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The 13th USHA Wallball National Championships kicked off Saturday morning on Sea Breeze Courts in Coney Island, marking the first Nationals in 2021. Matches began at 8:00 A.M. sharp, since a full draw of 153 players meant a full day of play. Ideal conditions, player cooperation, volunteers and tournament staff kept matches rolling.
In the Women’s Pro Singles, the top two seeds, Jenny Qu and Melanie Garate blazed their way to a highly anticipated final. Garate made the most of her first final appearance (her sister Jessenia had made the final in 2018) winning her first national title over Qu, 25-14.
The first championship final played was the Men’s Masters (40+) Singles division between George Figueroa and Ray Lopez. The two legends put on a tremendous show with Figueroa holding on for a 25-24 win. Lopez, left everything on the court, making some tremendous gets and dives, but Figueroa executed all the crucial shots down to the wire to successfully defend his title from 2019.
