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2013 U of M Fall Classic

2013 U of M Fall Handball Classic Singles


2013 U of M Fall Handball Classic Singles
18th Annual

November 15-16, 2013
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

 

The welcomed presence of beautiful autumnal weather and newly-appointed Director of Lifetime Sports, Vinh Chung, marked the epic return of the 18th Annual U of M Handball Classic at the University of Minnesota's Recreation & Wellness Center.  With a healthy draw of 51 players from throughout the Midwest competing in 6 divisions of play, there was never a dull moment in and around the courts as evidenced by the 17 matches decided with tie-break victories (including four that had spectators on the edge of their seats until a champion was crowned at 11-10).  We would like to thank everyone who participated in the Minnesota Fall Classic.  It was a huge success and we hope to see the tournament grow in the years to come.  The club would like to thank Vinh Chung for his genuine support of our club's growth and for organizing the tournament's food, shirts, door prizes, sounds systems, and everything else needed to run a tournament.  Also, thank you to all of you who volunteered to ref and a special thank you to everyone who made extra donations to support our college players.  We hope that you all enjoyed the tournament and we will see you all next year!

The OPEN division had some talented players but no one seemed to be able to give veteran Matt Hiber a strong match.  Hiber had little trouble with his first match against an up and coming David "The Mouth" Miller or his second match against Mankato's coach Mike Wells.  Both of Hiber's opponents shared the same score 5,10.  

On the other end of the bracket, another up and coming player and coach Dane "The Flash" Swanson pushed Brian Burke to a tie breaker but Burke prevailed in the end 11-3.  However, Swanson went on to take the open coni's in a sensational tie-breaker against Miller 11-10.

Burke's squared off in the Semi's against a player new to Minnesota, Ryan Pesch.  Pesch displayed his strong ability to serve and shoot the ball and took Burke down in two short games 21-3 and 21-14. 

In the Open final, Hiber continued his dominating performance and did not allow Pesch to score more than 8 points in the entire match.  

The A division proved to be an interesting mishmash of players displaying various abilities of strength and smarts on the court. Although many of the matches appeared to be much closer than their eventual scores, the finals came down to a clash between the veteran and the up-and-coming. Jay Spooner succeeded in earning the treasured 11th point for North Dakota in a border battle tie-break that had the audience gasping and cheering each time Mike “Soft Hands” Miller was able to keep the game alive until the very end. In the consolation bracket, River Rat Brian Coonce bested John “The Hulk” Laliberte in two close games at 17, 19.

The B division was loaded with college players from the University of Minnesota and Mankato State.  It was a highly competitive division with exciting matches as well as upsets.  However, in a division filled with youth, Midway's own Bill Russell showed those youngsters that age isn't everything.  Seeded #6 Bill upset #3 seed Kristina Rude in a nail biting 11,10 tie-breaker.  Mankato's Tom Werner battled Russell next in a tough Semi match but Tom lost in two close games. 

On the other end of the bracket #1 seed Jon Thompson of the University of Minnesota fought his way through the bracket taking on all challengers.  Thompson won both of his matches against Kenneth Toering and Kara Smith placing him in the finals against Russell. 

In the end, youth prevailed.  Thompson's tenacity and hard serves proved to be too much for Russell and Thompson earned the B title in two games.

In the Coni's, Toering displayed great gets and never ending endurance which earned him the B Coni title over Rude. 

The C division included the largest bracket of the tournament with 12 players competing

for the top spot, several of whom were playing in their first tournament. However, in the end, Jay Marshall prevailed over Marko Santori after each one gave up 19 points to their opponent in the first two games before the 11-0 shutout in the tie-break. North Dakota's own, Eric Momsen, defeated Mankato regular Shannon Strand in the consolation finals only after Strand put up an enduring effort to win her semi-finals match in an 11-10 tie-break.

Our Novice division, typically our largest bracket, only had four players this year.  However, these four women really showed excellent potential and gave the crowd some great matches.  We are excited to see these players in the future and watch them as they develop their game.  The players had a Round-Robin style tournament and in the end Natalie Lange from Mankato State took the honors winning 1st place over Chelsea Fortin of the University of Minnesota who came in at a close 2nd.  3rd place went to Mankato's Aleesa Novy and Tera Roycraft of the University of Minnesota took 4th.    

The Super Masters division contained great match-ups regularly seen at local tournaments over the years. Once again, these veterans of the never-ending volley did not disappoint as many matches could have competed with the time it takes to drive from the Cities to Eau Claire. When all was said and done, Midway marauder Mike McQuillan came away victorious with a win against Greg Taylor and his unrivaled lob serves that frustrate many an opponent. In the consolation column, George Langhorst exhibited his drive from Moose Lake was indeed worth it by outlasting Bill Brown with a final score of 9, 8.