MAUMEE, Ohio — Sunday and Monday were full of finals matches in all divisions. The weather continued to be sunny and 75 degrees for perfect championship weather.
Sean Lenning and Daniel Cordova played the Men’s Open Final in front of a packed crowd at the Lucas County Rec Center. The crowd saw what they have been seeing for many years: Lenning domination. His serve was nearly unreturnable and if Cordova was able to get a hand on it Lenning punished the return. He cruised to the victory 21-5, 21-3 for his 12th open singles national title, a record he continues to add too.
In the Men’s Open Doubles Final, Shorty Ruiz and Sam Esser denied Sean Lenning the slam by defeating him and his partner Abraham Montijo by the scores of 21-17, 21-15.
The Women’s Open Singles final featured number one seed Danielle Daskalakis and two seed Ashley Moler. Daskalakis played like she was on a mission to bring home the title all weekend and that did not change in the final. Between her hop serves down the left and her consistent corner kills in the front she was too much for Moler to handle, and won 21-8, 21-11.
Moler was able to get some revenge in the Women’s Open Doubles Final when she and her partner Mikaila Mitchell defeated Daskalakis and her partner Jennifer Schmitt 15-21, 21-15, 11-6.
On the Big Ball side, Brian Medina and Sergio Guzman came in as the seven seed and shocked the draw by winning three consecutive tiebreakers to take home the title in the Men’s Open 3-Wall Big Ball Doubles division.
In the Men’s Open One-Wall Doubles division, Timbo Gonzalez and Richie Vera won the round robin format without dropping a game the whole tournament.
Check out the results of every division on R2Sports by clicking HERE.
MAUMEE, Ohio — Saturday morning at the Three-Wall National began with a lesson: That you should never give up. That’s because Dale Ziegler won his first ever national title and he did it in the 80 plus singles division (the oldest division offered) over Norm Young.
The Women’s Open also began on Saturday morning with Mikaila Mitchell edging Kristen Hughes in a hard fought tiebreaker match. Mitchell moves on to face number one seed Danielle Daskalakis in the semifinals.
On the bottom half of the bracket, Ashley Moler brought her “A” game and defeated Leah Kirk in two games, 21-2, 21-5. Moler moves on to the other semifinal to face Megan Dorneker, who took out Jennifer Schmitt in her Quarterfinal matchup 21-3, 21-9.
The Men’s Open began their semifinals with defending champ Sean Lenning surviving a close first game with Max Langmack before finding his serve and cruising to victory in game two to win the match 21-16, 21-7. Lenning will face Daniel Cordova in the final Sunday morning.
Cordova played one of the most exciting matches of the tournaments in his semifinal against Shorty Ruiz. Ruiz fought off a couple of game points in game one to take it 21-20. Cordova and Ruiz came out very even at the beginning of game two before Cordova found his groove at 12-12 and pulled away to win 21-13 and force a tiebreaker. Cordova was able to outlast Ruiz by using his hop serve and conditioning to win 11-7. Cordova and Lenning will play for the national championship at 12am eastern time Sunday.
The Men’s Open Doubles Quarterfinals began today with all the higher seeds advancing. Sean Lenning and Abraham Montijo will take on Dane Szatkowski and Bill Mehilos in the top half of the bracket while Shorty Ruiz and Sam Esser will face Daniel Cordova and Allan Sanchez on the bottom half.
You can follow all the action on R2Sports by clicking HERE. Stay tuned for many finals results tomorrow!
MAUMEE, Ohio — The weather couldn’t have been nicer for days one and two of the USHA Three-Wall Nationals. Players arrived Thursday and Friday to the Lucas County Rec Center in beautiful 75 degree weather. The Toledo Handball Club’s famous hospitality was on full display for all participants and spectators.
The quarterfinal’s of the open kicked off Friday morning with number one seed and defending champ Sean Lenning taking out the young and talented Jon Guttierez 21-3, 21-4.
Lenning will continue his title defense against Max Langmack in the semifinals who edged out Abraham Montijo with his aggresive serve and shoot style 21-11, 21-19.
On the bottom half of the bracket Shorty Ruiz defeated California’s Brian Medina in two games 21-4, 21-15. Ruiz will face Daniel Cordova tomorrow in the other semifinal.
Cordova advanced by surviving long time 3-wall star Dane Szatkowski 21-18, 21-16 in a match filled with great hops and kill shots.
Follow along with all the brackets at R2sports by clicking HERE.
Draws and start times have been posted for the USHA Three-Wall Nationals. You can view them on R2sports by clicking HERE.
Please note that draws and start times are tentative, and you should continue to check up to the day of your match for any updates.
MAUMEE, Ohio — The Toledo Handball Club and USHA are proud to announce the traditional Labor Day Weekend classic, the 70th USHA National Three-Wall Championships at the Lucas County Rec Center.
We missed you! This is everyone’s the favorite event of the year, every year (except 2020), and the Toledo Handball Club promises to offer another prime event!
This is the best three-wall facility in the country, featuring eight regulation courts with lights. Paired with Toledo Handball Club’s amazing hospitality, the Three-Wall Nationals are a must! The complex has something for everyone, so bring the family! In case of rain, a local club is available.
For your time off the court, the Toledo Area has plenty to offer. CLICK HERE to see Toledo Attractions.
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.
July 13-14, 2019 – Pittsburgh RFC 11 & WPH R48Pro Pre Qualifier (Open Draw at 9 am on Saturday, July 13) – Pittsburgh, PA – Results HERE – Recap HERE
September 7, 2019 – Tucson WPH R48Pro Pre Qualifier (Open Draw at 9 am on Saturday, September 7) – Tucson, AZ – Entry HERE – Press Release HERE
Oct 4-6, 2019 – Peach Tree Open & WPH R48Pro (Qualifier Friday at 9am – Pro sweet 16 Friday at 1pm) – Lilburn, Georgia (Atlanta) – Entry HERE – Press Release HERE
October 18-20, 2019 – Portland Classic R48ProLTE (Open Draw at 4 pm on Friday, October 18) – Portland, OR – Entry HERE – Press Release HERE
Oct 31-Nov 3, 2019 – The Memorial & WPH R48Pro/ WR48Pro/ SR48Pro (Qualifier Thursday after 6pm. Friday after 9am – Pro Sweet 16 after Noon; Women’s Pro Singles; Senior 40+ Singles after 6pm Friday) – Tucson, Az – Entry HERE – Press Release HERE
Nov 15-17, 2019 – Texas State Championships & WPH R48Pro Pre Qualifier + WR48Pro Pre Qualifier (Open Draw at 3 pm on Friday, November 15) – Austin, TX – Entry HERE – Press Release HERE
Dec 13-14, 2019 – LAAC/ WPH R48Pro Pre Qualifier – Los Angeles, CA – Entry HERE – Press Release HERE
Jan 24-26, 2020 – The Red Death & WPH R48pro Stop (Qualifier Friday at 9am, Pro sweet 16 Friday at 1pm) – Missoula, MT – Entry HERE – Press Release HERE
Feb 14-16, 2020 – New Orleans Mardi Gras Open & R48ProLTE/WR48Pro (Open draw for R48LTE starting Friday at 4 pm; WR48 Singles after 6 pm Fri; top seeds begin Sat am) – New Orleans, LA – Entry HERE – Press Release HERE
Feb 28-29, 2020 – Pittsburgh RFC & WPH R48ProLTE/SR48Pro February 28-29, (Open bracket, play starts at 1 pm on Friday, finals on Saturday night) Pittsburgh, PA – Entry HERE – Press Release HERE
April 24-26, 2020 – Houston R48Pro (Qualifier Friday, 9 am, Pro Sweet 16 after Noon, Friday) – Houston, TX – Entry HERE – Press Release HERE
May 14-17, 2020 – Salt Lake City Aces & WPH R48Pro/ WR48Pro/ SR48Pro Player’s Championship(Qualifier Thursday, 2 pm, R48Pro, WR48Pro, SR48Pro Sweet 16 Friday morning) – Salt Lake City, UT – Entry HERE – Press Release HERE
