Minnesota State Handball Association

2014 State Open Singles
University of Minnesota Rec Center, Minneapolis, MN
April 25-27, 2014

It was a real Open division with sixteen entries and a lot of tough competition.  In the end Andy Nett was victorious once again defeating his brother Tom Nett for the top prize.  Andy had some great competition in the semifinals from Ryan Pesch, new on the Minnesota scene, after he had to work his way through Mat Langhorst and Ryan Maloney.  Andy cruised over Drew Engelmeyer and Mike Wells.  Tom Nett Worked pretty hard to defeat John Stoffel in the quarters and held off Mike Gustafson in a tight semifinal match to gain the finals.  Andy wasn’t easy on his brother who looked ready for the challenge but just hasn’t seen enough of the top players to keep up with Andy.  He gave it a good fight going down 21-15, 21-13.  Pesch took third over Gustafson and Mat Langhorst garnered consolation honors.

Matt Job took care of business from his third seed position in the A division to guarantee himself a spot in next years open, defeating Jim Van Thomme in an entertaining 13-21, 21-4, 11-2 final.  Joe Nordahl surprised top seeded Billy Craig with a relatively easy quarterfinal win at 21-12, 21-3 before falling to Van Thommein the semis.  Ricky Ness defeated Nordahl for third place and John Lalibertedefeated Bailey Chandler for the consolation hardware.

The B division was also won by the number three seed, Steve Vazquez blew through Ken Toering and Lee Johnson to meet David Abramson in the finals.  Abrahmson just didn’t seem ready for Vazquez and went down 21-10, 21-4 giving Steve the title.  Lee Johnson defeated Kristina Rude in a very tight, three-game match for third place. Toering recoverd to claim consolation honors over Mark Mylan.

Brady Grimm, Mathew Date and Ali Miller all won three games in the C Divisionround robin but Grimm defeated Miller in head-to-head competition in a tie breaker early on Friday and Miller defeated Date in two games so Brady took first, Miller second and Date got third.  

Tough competition in the Golden Masters (50+) singles but Jay Spooner beat all comers to claim the top prize.  Joe Lacey-Gotz took second and Phil Kleineschaysettled for third in a very entertaining round robin.

Everyone seems to be in their 60’s these days!  A dozen guys competed in the Super Master (60+) A singles and John Nett did not win it!  John Miller completed his goal for this year and defeated Nett in the finals 21-17, 21-5 looking ready to play some more – he was pumped!  Miller rolled through Bill Ingram and Brian Coonce to gain the finals.  Nett did the same in the top half defeating Chris Foley and Brain Mahaffy with no one getting over 8 points.  But Miller was ready and played a strong game and earning his title.  Coonce finished strong over Mahaffy for third place and Mike McQuillan defeated Greg Taylor for the consolation title.

Another half dozen 60 year-olds completed in the Super Master (60+) B singles and Mark McQuillan came out on top soundly defeating Dan Levey in finals.  Richard Pedtke took third in his first MSHA tournament defeating Tom Pearson.  Ed Simonetoutlasted John Dockerty for consolation.

Isn’t handball great when you can still be competing in your 70’s?!  The ageless Jim Stephenson had to work pretty hard to get the Diamond Master (70+) title with a close tie-breaker win over Tom Olson and then a pretty tough final against long-time competitor John Stout.  Stout had a little easier path through Skip Kiland and Paul Ernster.  Olson won the consolation bracket.

Tori Swanson went undefeated in the Novice round robin and took first place. Tanner Sunderman took second and Nathan Kime took third.  Look out for these up-and-coming Mankato kids!

Mitchell Lallier ran a two-bounce tournament in conjunction with state open tournament.  The newcomers were very entertaining and demonstrate that Handball is alive and well in Minnesota.  Mitchell brought nine kids together and they and their parents had a blast.  Nathan Stoffel won the event defeating Joeseph Lallier in the finals and Gebben Green got third place but everyone felt like winners.

In a practice run for the 2014 Nationals, the Open Singles Tournament was well run thanks to a great U of M staff.  The remodeled building proved ready to host a national event.

OPEN SINGLES
Preliminary Round

• Andy Nett (Minneapolis) def. Drew Engelmeyer (Lakeville) 21-3, 21-1
• Mike Wells (Good Thunder) def. Dane Swanson (St. Paul) 21-15, 21-12
• Ryan Maloney (Cottage Grove) def. David Miller (St. Paul) 21-9, 19-21, 11-7
• Ryan Pesch (Minneapolis) def. Mat Langhorst (St. Paul) 21-8, 21-6
• Mike Gustafson (Otsego) def. Chris Iverson (Bloomington) 21-9, 21-7
• Tim Kappes (Maplewood) def. Donovan Foley (Dellwood) 21-13, 21-10
• John Stoffel (North Mankato) def. Steven Tamminga (Minneapolis) 21-2, 21-20
• Tom Nett (Winona) def. Marc Tobin (Inver Grove Heights) 21-15, 21-2

Quarterfinals

• Andy Nett def. Wells 21-4, 21-3
• Pesch def. Maloney 21-4, 21-19
• Gustafson def. Kappes 21-15, 21-17
• Tom Nett def. Stoffel 21-7, 21-16

Semifinals

• Andy Nett def. Pesch 21-6, 12-21, 11-1
• Tom Nett def. Gustafson 21-14, 21-15

Final

• Andy Nett def. Tom Nett 21-15, 21-13

3rd Place

• Pesch def. Gustafson 21-5, 21-19

Consolation

• Mat Langhorst def. Donovan Foley 21-20, 21-16

A SINGLES
Preliminary Round

• Joe Nordahl (Mankato) def. Adalberto Cordero (St. Paul) 21-3, 21-15 
• Jesus Cordero (St. Paul) def. John Laliberte (Shoreview) 21-15, 21-12

Quarterfinals

• Billy Craig (Mankato) def. Nordahl 21-12, 21-3
• Joe Van Thomme (St. Paul) def. Bailey Chandler (Minneapolis) 21-11, 21-6
• Matt Job (Mankato) def. John  Nakasone (Waconia) 21-3, 21-7
• Ricky Ness (Mankato) def. J. Cordero 21-6, 21-10

Semifinals

• Van Thomme def. Craig 21-16, 21-16
• Job def. Ness 21-12, 21-5

Final

• Job def. Van Thomme 13-21, 21-4, 11-2

3rd Place

• Ness def. Nordahl 21-9, 21-3

Consolation

• John Laliberte def. Bailey Chandler 21-12, 21-10

B SINGLES
Quarterfinals

• David Abramson (Maple Grove) BYE
• Kristina Rude (St. Paul) def. Mark Mylan (Mound) 17-21, 21-6, 11-5
• Steve Vazquez (Minneapolis) def. Ken Toering 21-10, 21-5
• Lee Johnson (Des Moines) def. Trent Edwards (Mankato) 21-1, 21-2

Semifinals

• Abramson def. Rude 21-10, 21-11
• Vazquez def. Johnson 21-2, 21-10

Final

• Vazquez def. Abramson 21-10, 21-4

3rd Place

• Johnson def. Rude 21-9, 14-21, 11-7

Consolation

• Ken Toering def. Mark Mylan 21-10, 21-10

C SINGLES - Round Robin

1. Brady Grimm (Mankato)
2. Alekzandra (Ali) Miller (Minneapolis)
3. Matthew Date (Mankato)
4. Alex Meyer (Minneapolis)
5. Jessica Bohlken (Hastings)

NOVICE SINGLES - Round Robin

1. Tori Swanson (Mankato)
2. Tanner Sunderman (Le Sueur)
3. Nathan Kime (Maple Grove)
4. Natalie Lange (Mankato)
5. Jessica Wubben (Buffalo Center)

GOLDEN MASTER SINGLES (50+)  - Round Robin

1. Jay Spooner (Fargo)
2. Joe Lacey-Gotz (St. Paul)
3. Phil Kleineschay (Maple Grove)
4. Hank Ulrich (Hudson)

SUPER MASTER A SINGLES (60+)
Preliminary Round

• Chris Foley (Dellwood) def. Glenn Solin (Duluth) 21-9, 21-5
• Greg Taylor (Woodbury) def. Mike McQuillan (St. Paul) 21-6, 15-21, 11-10
• Michael Burke (St. Paul) def. George Langhorst (Moose Lake) 21-10, 21-12
• Bill Ingram (Woodbury) def. Bill G. Brown (Shoreview) 21-9, 21-3

Quarterfinals

• John Nett (Winona) def. Foley 21-7, 21-8
• Brian G. Mahaffy (Minneapolis) def. Taylor 21-2, 21-16
• Brian Coonce (Hastings) def. Burke 21-11, 21-9
• John Miller (Edina) def. Ingram 21-4, 21-2

Semifinals

• Nett def. Mahaffy 21-2, 21-6
• Miller def. Coonce 21-11, 21-7

Finals

• Miller def. Nett 21-17, 21-5

3rd Place

• Coonce def. Mahaffy 21-13, 21-12

Consolation

• Mike McQuillan def. Greg Taylor 21-14, 21-8

SUPER MASTER B SINGLES (60+)
Quarterfinals

• Dan Levey (Minneapolis) BYE
• Tom Pearson (St. Paul) def. John Dockerty (Rochester) 21-8, 21-20
• Richard Pedtke (Minneapolis) def. Ed Simonet, Jr. (Stillwater) 21-14, 21-9
• Mark McQuillan (Shakopee) BYE

Semifinals

• Levey def. Pearson 21-11, 15-21, 11-4
• McQuillan def. Pedtle 21-12, 17-21, 11-9

Finals

• McQuillan def. Levey 21-5, 21-2

3rd Place

• Pedtle def. Pearson 21-5, 21-11

Consolation

• Ed Simonet, Jr. def. John Dockerty 21-11, 21-10

DIAMOND MASTER SINGLES
Quarterfinals

• Paul Ernster (Lino Lakes) BYE
• John Stout (Minneapolis) def. Skip Kiland (Shoreview) 21-6, 21-11
• Tom Olson (Vergas) BYE
• Jim Stephenson (Minneapolis) BYE

Semifinals

• Stout def. Ernster 21-5, 21-8
• Stephenson def. Olson 17-21, 21-4, 11-7

Final

• Stephenson def. Stout 21-18, 21-5

Consolation

• Tom Olson def. Skip Kiland 21-3, 21-1

Youth Singles (Two Bounce)
Preliminary Round

• Nathan Stoffel (North Mankato) def. Daniel Romero (St. Paul) 11-2, 11-3

Quarterfinals

• Stoffel def. Isaac Alberg (St Paul) 11-3, 11-5
• Isaac Gebben Green (St. Paul) def. Antonio Flores (St Paul) 11-4, 11-6
• Leland Engelking (St. Paul) def. Zane Johnson (Falcon Heights)
• Joseph Lallier (Eagan) def. Jonah Engelking (St. Paul)

Semifinals

• Stoffel def. Gebben Green 11-9, 11-1
• Lallier def. Engelking

Finals

• Stoffel def. Lallier 11-8, 11-4

3rd Place

• Gebben Green def. Engelking

2014 State Open Singles
University of Minnesota Rec Center, Minneapolis, MN
April 25-27, 2014

It was a real Open division with sixteen entries and a lot of tough competition.  In the end Andy Nett was victorious once again defeating his brother Tom Nett for the top prize.  Andy had some great competition in the semifinals from Ryan Pesch, new on the Minnesota scene, after he had to work his way through Mat Langhorst and Ryan Maloney.  Andy cruised over Drew Engelmeyer and Mike Wells.  Tom Nett Worked pretty hard to defeat John Stoffel in the quarters and held off Mike Gustafson in a tight semifinal match to gain the finals.  Andy wasn’t easy on his brother who looked ready for the challenge but just hasn’t seen enough of the top players to keep up with Andy.  He gave it a good fight going down 21-15, 21-13.  Pesch took third over Gustafson and Mat Langhorst garnered consolation honors.

Matt Job took care of business from his third seed position in the A division to guarantee himself a spot in next years open, defeating Jim Van Thomme in an entertaining 13-21, 21-4, 11-2 final.  Joe Nordahl surprised top seeded Billy Craig with a relatively easy quarterfinal win at 21-12, 21-3 before falling to Van Thommein the semis.  Ricky Ness defeated Nordahl for third place and John Lalibertedefeated Bailey Chandler for the consolation hardware.

The B division was also won by the number three seed, Steve Vazquez blew through Ken Toering and Lee Johnson to meet David Abramson in the finals.  Abrahmson just didn’t seem ready for Vazquez and went down 21-10, 21-4 giving Steve the title.  Lee Johnson defeated Kristina Rude in a very tight, three-game match for third place. Toering recoverd to claim consolation honors over Mark Mylan.

Brady Grimm, Mathew Date and Ali Miller all won three games in the C Divisionround robin but Grimm defeated Miller in head-to-head competition in a tie breaker early on Friday and Miller defeated Date in two games so Brady took first, Miller second and Date got third.  

Tough competition in the Golden Masters (50+) singles but Jay Spooner beat all comers to claim the top prize.  Joe Lacey-Gotz took second and Phil Kleineschaysettled for third in a very entertaining round robin.

Everyone seems to be in their 60’s these days!  A dozen guys competed in the Super Master (60+) A singles and John Nett did not win it!  John Miller completed his goal for this year and defeated Nett in the finals 21-17, 21-5 looking ready to play some more – he was pumped!  Miller rolled through Bill Ingram and Brian Coonce to gain the finals.  Nett did the same in the top half defeating Chris Foley and Brain Mahaffy with no one getting over 8 points.  But Miller was ready and played a strong game and earning his title.  Coonce finished strong over Mahaffy for third place and Mike McQuillan defeated Greg Taylor for the consolation title.

Another half dozen 60 year-olds completed in the Super Master (60+) B singles and Mark McQuillan came out on top soundly defeating Dan Levey in finals.  Richard Pedtke took third in his first MSHA tournament defeating Tom Pearson.  Ed Simonetoutlasted John Dockerty for consolation.

Isn’t handball great when you can still be competing in your 70’s?!  The ageless Jim Stephenson had to work pretty hard to get the Diamond Master (70+) title with a close tie-breaker win over Tom Olson and then a pretty tough final against long-time competitor John Stout.  Stout had a little easier path through Skip Kiland and Paul Ernster.  Olson won the consolation bracket.

Tori Swanson went undefeated in the Novice round robin and took first place. Tanner Sunderman took second and Nathan Kime took third.  Look out for these up-and-coming Mankato kids!

Mitchell Lallier ran a two-bounce tournament in conjunction with state open tournament.  The newcomers were very entertaining and demonstrate that Handball is alive and well in Minnesota.  Mitchell brought nine kids together and they and their parents had a blast.  Nathan Stoffel won the event defeating Joeseph Lallier in the finals and Gebben Green got third place but everyone felt like winners.

In a practice run for the 2014 Nationals, the Open Singles Tournament was well run thanks to a great U of M staff.  The remodeled building proved ready to host a national event.

OPEN SINGLES
Preliminary Round

• Andy Nett (Minneapolis) def. Drew Engelmeyer (Lakeville) 21-3, 21-1
• Mike Wells (Good Thunder) def. Dane Swanson (St. Paul) 21-15, 21-12
• Ryan Maloney (Cottage Grove) def. David Miller (St. Paul) 21-9, 19-21, 11-7
• Ryan Pesch (Minneapolis) def. Mat Langhorst (St. Paul) 21-8, 21-6
• Mike Gustafson (Otsego) def. Chris Iverson (Bloomington) 21-9, 21-7
• Tim Kappes (Maplewood) def. Donovan Foley (Dellwood) 21-13, 21-10
• John Stoffel (North Mankato) def. Steven Tamminga (Minneapolis) 21-2, 21-20
• Tom Nett (Winona) def. Marc Tobin (Inver Grove Heights) 21-15, 21-2

Quarterfinals

• Andy Nett def. Wells 21-4, 21-3
• Pesch def. Maloney 21-4, 21-19
• Gustafson def. Kappes 21-15, 21-17
• Tom Nett def. Stoffel 21-7, 21-16

Semifinals

• Andy Nett def. Pesch 21-6, 12-21, 11-1
• Tom Nett def. Gustafson 21-14, 21-15

Final

• Andy Nett def. Tom Nett 21-15, 21-13

3rd Place

• Pesch def. Gustafson 21-5, 21-19

Consolation

• Mat Langhorst def. Donovan Foley 21-20, 21-16

A SINGLES
Preliminary Round

• Joe Nordahl (Mankato) def. Adalberto Cordero (St. Paul) 21-3, 21-15 
• Jesus Cordero (St. Paul) def. John Laliberte (Shoreview) 21-15, 21-12

Quarterfinals

• Billy Craig (Mankato) def. Nordahl 21-12, 21-3
• Joe Van Thomme (St. Paul) def. Bailey Chandler (Minneapolis) 21-11, 21-6
• Matt Job (Mankato) def. John  Nakasone (Waconia) 21-3, 21-7
• Ricky Ness (Mankato) def. J. Cordero 21-6, 21-10

Semifinals

• Van Thomme def. Craig 21-16, 21-16
• Job def. Ness 21-12, 21-5

Final

• Job def. Van Thomme 13-21, 21-4, 11-2

3rd Place

• Ness def. Nordahl 21-9, 21-3

Consolation

• John Laliberte def. Bailey Chandler 21-12, 21-10

B SINGLES
Quarterfinals

• David Abramson (Maple Grove) BYE
• Kristina Rude (St. Paul) def. Mark Mylan (Mound) 17-21, 21-6, 11-5
• Steve Vazquez (Minneapolis) def. Ken Toering 21-10, 21-5
• Lee Johnson (Des Moines) def. Trent Edwards (Mankato) 21-1, 21-2

Semifinals

• Abramson def. Rude 21-10, 21-11
• Vazquez def. Johnson 21-2, 21-10

Final

• Vazquez def. Abramson 21-10, 21-4

3rd Place

• Johnson def. Rude 21-9, 14-21, 11-7

Consolation

• Ken Toering def. Mark Mylan 21-10, 21-10

C SINGLES - Round Robin

1. Brady Grimm (Mankato)
2. Alekzandra (Ali) Miller (Minneapolis)
3. Matthew Date (Mankato)
4. Alex Meyer (Minneapolis)
5. Jessica Bohlken (Hastings)

NOVICE SINGLES - Round Robin

1. Tori Swanson (Mankato)
2. Tanner Sunderman (Le Sueur)
3. Nathan Kime (Maple Grove)
4. Natalie Lange (Mankato)
5. Jessica Wubben (Buffalo Center)

GOLDEN MASTER SINGLES (50+)  - Round Robin

1. Jay Spooner (Fargo)
2. Joe Lacey-Gotz (St. Paul)
3. Phil Kleineschay (Maple Grove)
4. Hank Ulrich (Hudson)

SUPER MASTER A SINGLES (60+)
Preliminary Round

• Chris Foley (Dellwood) def. Glenn Solin (Duluth) 21-9, 21-5
• Greg Taylor (Woodbury) def. Mike McQuillan (St. Paul) 21-6, 15-21, 11-10
• Michael Burke (St. Paul) def. George Langhorst (Moose Lake) 21-10, 21-12
• Bill Ingram (Woodbury) def. Bill G. Brown (Shoreview) 21-9, 21-3

Quarterfinals

• John Nett (Winona) def. Foley 21-7, 21-8
• Brian G. Mahaffy (Minneapolis) def. Taylor 21-2, 21-16
• Brian Coonce (Hastings) def. Burke 21-11, 21-9
• John Miller (Edina) def. Ingram 21-4, 21-2

Semifinals

• Nett def. Mahaffy 21-2, 21-6
• Miller def. Coonce 21-11, 21-7

Finals

• Miller def. Nett 21-17, 21-5

3rd Place

• Coonce def. Mahaffy 21-13, 21-12

Consolation

• Mike McQuillan def. Greg Taylor 21-14, 21-8

SUPER MASTER B SINGLES (60+)
Quarterfinals

• Dan Levey (Minneapolis) BYE
• Tom Pearson (St. Paul) def. John Dockerty (Rochester) 21-8, 21-20
• Richard Pedtke (Minneapolis) def. Ed Simonet, Jr. (Stillwater) 21-14, 21-9
• Mark McQuillan (Shakopee) BYE

Semifinals

• Levey def. Pearson 21-11, 15-21, 11-4
• McQuillan def. Pedtle 21-12, 17-21, 11-9

Finals

• McQuillan def. Levey 21-5, 21-2

3rd Place

• Pedtle def. Pearson 21-5, 21-11

Consolation

• Ed Simonet, Jr. def. John Dockerty 21-11, 21-10

DIAMOND MASTER SINGLES
Quarterfinals

• Paul Ernster (Lino Lakes) BYE
• John Stout (Minneapolis) def. Skip Kiland (Shoreview) 21-6, 21-11
• Tom Olson (Vergas) BYE
• Jim Stephenson (Minneapolis) BYE

Semifinals

• Stout def. Ernster 21-5, 21-8
• Stephenson def. Olson 17-21, 21-4, 11-7

Final

• Stephenson def. Stout 21-18, 21-5

Consolation

• Tom Olson def. Skip Kiland 21-3, 21-1

Youth Singles (Two Bounce)
Preliminary Round

• Nathan Stoffel (North Mankato) def. Daniel Romero (St. Paul) 11-2, 11-3

Quarterfinals

• Stoffel def. Isaac Alberg (St Paul) 11-3, 11-5
• Isaac Gebben Green (St. Paul) def. Antonio Flores (St Paul) 11-4, 11-6
• Leland Engelking (St. Paul) def. Zane Johnson (Falcon Heights)
• Joseph Lallier (Eagan) def. Jonah Engelking (St. Paul)

Semifinals

• Stoffel def. Gebben Green 11-9, 11-1
• Lallier def. Engelking

Finals

• Stoffel def. Lallier 11-8, 11-4

3rd Place

• Gebben Green def. Engelking