Minnesota State Handball Association

2013 State Open Singles
University of Minnesota Rec Center, Minneapolis, MN
April 26-28, 2013

The State Open Singles Champ-ionship returned to the U of M for 2013 and in spite of the wintery weather that has plagued Minnesota this spring, the play inside was hot.  Throughout the tournament, the buzz was for the much anticipated Andy Nett and Matt Hiber showdown and the results didn’t disappoint.  Hiber cruised to the final, allowing his two opponents only 12 total points.  On the other half of the bracket Andy Nett was more methodical in defeating Mike Wells in the quarterfinal before being pushed to 17 and 17 by Brian Burke in the semifinal. 

Once Sunday’s final began, Nett flipped a switch and looked every bit his ranking (number 5 on the pro tour).   During the first game, Nett and Hiber looked like a couple of heavyweights feeling one another out as the game remained within a point or two for the first 20 minutes. With the first game at 12 – 12, Nett went on a 5 point run and looked to be in control.  However, after a short time out, Hiber was able to steady himself and bring the match back to 17-15 before Nett pulled away to win 21-16. 

During the second game the pace quickened even further.  Both players made the spectacular look routine.  On one memorable rally that left even the combatants saying “wow,” Nett had 3 diving gets, 2 off the front wall and one off of the back, before Hiber rolled a kill to end the rally.  In the end though, Nett’s power proved to be too much as he found a late run to finish Hiber at 9, a score that was not indicative of how closely this match was contested.

Although the Open division was the talk of the tournament, there were several highlights in other divisions.  An A Division semifinal match between Dane Swanson and Nick Olson drew a rauckus crowd as their match went to an 11-9 tiebreak and concluded with Swanson hitting a diving kill shot from 32 feet back.  David Miller got the best of Swanson in the finals.

Equally exciting was the C final that featured Kristina Rude defeating Joe Cox 19 and 20 in a marathon match that saw six game-point side-outs during its final stanza. 

In the Novice division, Neal Kunik, with only 10 weeks of experience, wowed onlookers with a strong right and left that made people wonder if he wasn’t already ready for the B Division. 

Meanwhile, in the B Division, Ma Vang cruised to the title with his strong right and willingness to kill the ball from anywhere on the court.

The masters divisions also featured some exciting handball with Gary Rohrer and John Nett continuing their strangleholds on their respective divisions and Brett Broxey taking home the Golden Masters crown. 

Brian Mahaffy looses to John Nett in the Super Masters

Gary Rohrer defeats Jim Stephenson in the Diamonds

A new addition to this year’s tournament was the Youth Two Bounce division which featured ten 6-12 year olds playing in their first handball tournament.  This division was the brainchild of Mitchell Lallier who promoted and ran the new division. 

OPEN SINGLES

Preliminary Round

· Mike Wells def. Mat. Langhorst 8, 14

· Tom Nett d Marc Tobin 4, 11

· Tim Kappes def. Steve Tamminga 14, 5

Quarterfinals

Andy Nett def. Wells 11, 1

· Brian Burke def Tom Bowman 17, (13), 10

· T. Nett d. Tim Labey 14, 12

· Matt Hiber d. T. Kappes 1, 4

Semifinals

· A. Nett def. B. Burke 17, 17

· M. Hiber def. T. Nett 4, 3

Final

· A. Nett def. M. Hiber 16, 9

3rd Place

· T. Nett d. B. Burke 9, (18), 5

Consolation

· Kappes def. Bowman 9, 7

 

A SINGLES

Preliminary Round

· Tikhon Esaulenko def. Steve Letourneau (score unknown – tiebreak)

· Bailey Chandler def. Matt Johnson 9, 8

· Michael Miller def. Matt Job 18, 4

· John Nakasone def. Joe Nordahl (score unknown – tiebreaker)

· Billy Craig def. John Laliberte 19, 15

Quarterfinals

· David Miller def. Esaulenko 3, 10

· M. Miller def. Chandler 14, 13

· Nick Olson d. Nakasone 9, (19), 8

· Dane Swanson d. Craig 14, (15), 9

Semifinals

· D. Miller def. M. Miller 4, 5

· Swanson def. Olson 20, (19), 9

Final

· D. Miller def. Swanson 17, 6

3rd Place

· Olson def. M. Miller 16, 20

Consolation

· Laliberte def. Nordahl 19, 9

 

B SINGLES

Quarterfinals

· Jesus Cordero d. Josh Hoflock 4, 10

· Ma Vang d. Lee Johnson (13), 9, 4

· Mark Mylan def. Kara Smith 14, 8

Semifinals

· Vang def. Cordero 18, 13

· Mylan def. David Abramson 19, (19), 8

Final

· Vang def. Mylan 2, 4

3rd Place

· Cordero def. Abramson 19, 16

Consolation

· Lee Johnson def. Kara Smith 14, (19), 0

 

C SINGLES

Quarterfinals

· Kristina Rude def. Elizabeth Winberg 4, 3

· Grant Savage def. Jessica Bohlken 8, 17

· Trent Edwards def. Katie Heinemann 14, 7

Semifinals

· Rude def. Savage (20), 11, 6

· Joe Cox def. T. Edwards 19, 13

Finals

· Rude def. Cox 19, 20

3rd Place

· Edwards def. Savage (fft)

Consolation

· Bohlken def. Heinemann 13, 2

 

NOVICE SINGLES

Preliminary Round

· Chato Gonzalez def. Henry Ameson 16, 3

· Sara Schoborg def. Alex Meyer

· Nicholas Schomacher def. Jett Wolvington (injury fft)

· Joey Lupient def. Tyler Edwards 7,10

Quarterfinals

· Schwartz def. Gonzalez 16, 3

· Schonberg def. Austin Kleineschay 20, 20

· Lupient def. Schomacher 16, 16

· Neal Kunik d. Ben Kleineshay 9, 1

Semifinals

· Schwartz def. Schoborg 3, 9

· Kunik def. Lupient 19, 12

Final

· Kunik def. Schwartz 15, 12

3rd Place

· Lupient def. Schoborg 17, (19), 10

Consolation

· A. Kleineschay d. Gonzalez 7, 17

 

GOLDEN MASTER SNGLS (50+)

1. Brett Broxey
2. Phil Kleineschay
3. Alberto Cordero
4. Ed. Miller

Round Robin

· Broxey def. Cordero 4, 9

· Kleineschay def. 15, 19

· Broxey def. Kleineschay 4, 3

· Cordero def. Miller 16, 13

· Broxey def. Miller 12, 18

· Kleineschay def. Cordero

 

SUPER MASTER SNGLS (60+)

Preliminary Round

· Glen Solin def. Ed Simmonet 11, 4

· Bill Ingram def. Tom Pearson 8, 10

· George Langhorst def. Mark McQuillan 8, (14), 4

Quarterfinals

· John Nett def. Solin 4, 8

· Mike Burke def. Mike McQuillan 15, 20

· Brian Mahaffy d. Ingram 19, 20

· Greg Taylor d. Langhorst 16, 6

Semifinals

· Nett def. Burke 12, 12

· Mahaffy def. Taylor 14, 11

Finals

· Nett def. Mahaffy 5, 11

3rd Place

· Burke def. Taylor 11, (10), 7

Consolation

· Simmonet def. Solin 10, (16), 9

 

DIAMOND MASTER SINGLES

Quarterfinals

· John Stout def. Jim Noren 7, 5

· Jim Stephenson def. John Benton 8, 8

· Paul Ernster d. Skip Kiland 0, 5

Semifinals

· Gary Rohrer def. Stout

· Stephensen def. Ernster 11, 4

Final

· Rohrer def. Stephensen

3rd Place

· Stout def. Ernster 17, 17

Consolation

· Noren def. Benton 20, 10