Minnesota State Handball Association

Minnesota State Handball Championships
Open Doubles Handball
University of Minnesota Recreational Sports Center, Minneapolis, MN
April 1-2, 2011

The 2011 MSHA State Doubles tournament was filled with upsets and tiebreakers.  In the 4 of the 6 divisions the top seeds fell, often to much lower seeds. However, at the end of the day, tournament favorites Andy and John Nett cruised to repeat as State Doubles champions without relinquishing a game.  The Open Division was not without drama as two of the initial drop down matches went to tiebreakers including an outstanding match in which Mike Wells and Ryan Maloney came back from a loss in the first game to outlast Tim Kappes and Mat Langhorst in a marathon match. Tom Bowman and Mike Gustafson took third place after showing real grit to return from a first game lost to the Schaumanns in the quarter finals only to lose to the champions in the semis.

Pete Crouser, Chris Iverson,
John Nett, Andy Nett

It was good to see the Schaumann brothers, Kris and Keith back on the court in the state doubles.  They won top honors in the drop-down A division defeating Tim Kappes and Mat Langhorst after both teams had grueling, tiebreaker semi final matches.  Steve Tamminga and Brandon Glaze teamed up to take third place over Donovan Foley and Marc Tobin.

Paul Dorland, John Nakasone,
Hank Ulrich, Brett Broxey

In a very unusual turn of events, Paul Dorland did not take first place!  Hank Ulrich and Brett Broxey defeated the perennial champion and partner John Naksone for the Golden Masters A title. Brian Coonce and Mike Black defeated Curt Schlenner and Andy Stabb for third place and Phil Kleineschay and Tim Fichtel took consolation honors.

Joe Nordahl, Bill Lundblad

The C division featured some great young talent as everyone saw lots of competition in a five team round robin. Joe Nordahl and Bill Lundblad emerged victorious.

B Division
Nick Olson, Weston Bussler,
Andy Buckett, Dan VanAarsten

Rich Ryan, Mike McQuillan
Joe Taylor, Pete Kaehler

In a tournament defined by upsets, the two biggest upsets were the in Golden Master B Division where Pete Kaehler and Joe Taylor, the 4th seed of 6 teams, were victorious and the B Division in which Wes Bussler and Nick Olson, the 8th and bottom seed, triumphed.  In that same B division, parity was the word of the day as five of the seven matches in the championship bracket went to tiebreakers.  For Olson and Bussler, survival of grueling and long matches was as important as kill shots and gets.

With so many great matches in most all of the divisions, one can’t help but be excited for more potentially great matches in a month for State Singles.

OPEN/A DROP DOWN

Play In Round

· Marc Tobin/Donovan Foley def. Billy Craig/Brent Friedrichs 20, 10

Quarterfinals:

· Andy Nett/John Nett def. Tobin/Foley 6, 10

· Mike Gustafson/Tom Bowman def. Kris Schaumann/Keith Schaumann (19), 4, 5

· Mike Wells/Ryan Maloney def. Tim Kappes/ Mat Langhorst (19), 12, 7

· Pete Crouser and Chris Iverson def. Steve Tamminga/Brandon Glaze 3, 9

 

OPEN DIVISION

Semifinals

· Nett/Nett def. Gustafson/Bowman 11, 11

· Crouser/Iverson def. Wells/Maloney 18, (7), 6.

Finals

· Nett/Nett def. Crouser/Iverson 0, 11.

Third Place

·  Gustafson/Bowman def Wells/Maloney

  

A DIVISION

Quarterfinal:

· Tamminga/Glaze def. Craig/Friedrichs 6, 7

Semifinal

· Schaumann/Schaumann def. Tobin/Foley 14, (16), 3

· Kappes/Langhorst def. Tamminga/Glaze (18), 8, 6

Finals

· Scahumann/Schaumann def. Kappes/Langhorst 10, 13

Third Place

·  Tamminga/Glaze def. Tobin/Foley

 

B DIVISION

Quarterfinals

· Nick Olson/Weston Bussler def. Devin Ries/Tyler Stoffel (9), 10, 7

· Chris Drucker/Dane Swanson def. Mark Mylan/David Miller 8, (12), 4

· Andy Buckett/ Dan VanAarsten def. Steve Lalibete/John Laliberte 20, (20), 6

· Pat MacDonald/Matt Johnson

Semifinals

· Olsen/Bussler def. Drucker/Swanson (8), 12, 4

· Buckett/VanAarsten def. MacDonald/Johnson (17), 15, 6;

Finals

· Olson/Bussler def. Buckett/Van Aarsten 14, 12

Third Place

·  MacDonald/Johnson def. Drucker/Swanson

Consolation 

· Stoffel/Ries def. Laliberte/Laliberte

 

C DIVISION

ROUND ROBIN

· Kara Smith/Rebecca Michaels def. Luis Ramerez/Louis Kunegh 20, (13), 8

· Adrian Anderson/Tikhon Esaulenko def. Lindsay Mortland/Danielle Preston 1, 3

· Joe Nordahl/Bill Lundblad def. Mortland/Preston 1, 4

· Anderson/Esaulenko def. Ramerez/Kunegh 18, 4

· Nordahl/Lundblad def. Smith/Michels 5, 15

· Ramerez/Kunegh def. Mortland/Preston 0, 0

· Nordahl/Lundblad def. Ramerez/Kunegh 6, 1

· Anderson/Esaulenko def. Smith/Michels 9, 19.

Finals

1.     Joe Nordahl/Bill Lundblad

2.     Adrian Anderson/Tikohn Esaulenko

3.     Kara Smith/Rebecca Michels

 

GOLDEN MASTERS A DIVISION

Quarterfinals

· Brian Coonce/Mike Black def. Alva Rankin/Chris Foley 9,8

· Curt Schlenner/Andy Stabb def. Phil Kleineschay/Tim Fichtel

· Brett Broxey/Hank Ulrich def. Bob McCarthy/Brian Mahaffy.

Semifinals

· Dorland/Nakasone def. Coonce/Black 14, 5

· Broxey/Ulrich def. Schlenner/Staab 2, 10.

Finals

· Broxey/Ulrich def. Dorlan/Nakasone 18, 17.

Third Place

·  Brian Coonce/Mike Black def. Schlenner/Staab

Consolation 

· Kleineshay/Fichtel def. McCartney/Mahaafy

 

GOLDEN MASTERS B

Quarterfinals

· Pete Kaehler/Joe Taylor def. Mark McQuillan/Mike Leiter 3, 10

· George Langhorst/Mike Erdmanczyk def. Bob Victorin-Vangerund/Sergio Gonzalez 8, 10.

Semifinals

· Taylor/Kaehler def. Tim Zigmund/Tom Bordenave 17, 19

· Ryan/McQuillan def. Langhorst/Erdmanczyk.

Finals

· Taylor/Kaehler def. Ryan/McQuillan 15, (16), 7

Third Place

·  Tim Zigmund/Tom Bordenave def. Langhorst/Erdmanczyk

Consolation

· Victorin-Vangerund/Gonzalez def. McQuillan/Leiter