Minnesota State Handball Association

Minnesota State Mankato Men’s, Women’s Club Handball Teams Win

Combined National Championship at National Tournament
Men’s team wins national title; women’s team finishes 2nd

Mankato, Minn. – The Minnesota State University, Mankato men’s and women’s club handball teams won the combined national championship at the 2022 United States Handball Association’s national collegiate handball tournament, held Feb. 23-27 at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.

According to Minnesota State Mankato handball coach Mike Wells, it was the first time in 30 years that a university or college other than Missouri State or Lake Forest College has won the combined championship.

The top six players in each gender score toward the combined title. The final combined point total was 4,492 for Minnesota State Mankato and 4,489 for second-place Missouri State.

The Maverick men’s team won the national championship, defeating Lake Forest College 2,258 to 2,241. The Maverick women’s team finished as national runner-up to Missouri State by a score of 2,289 to 2,234.

Individual notes: 

• 13 men and eight women competed for Minnesota State Mankato at the United States Handball Association’s (USHA) 69th Collegiate Handball National Tournament.
• The top six Maverick men (and their ranking) were Ray Ure (3), Michael Gaulton (5), Luis Mendez (10), Andrew Christiansen (25), Joseph Lallier (25) and Jake Johnson (25).
• The top six Maverick women (and their ranking) were Kendra Kaupa (10), Claire Hagstrom (13), Paige Kennedy (21), Molly Hlebichuk (21), Maddie Charbonneau (25) and Carmen Skyberg (25).
• Two Mavericks achieved All-American status. Michael Gaulton finished his collegiate handball career as a four-time All-American. Ray Ure was All-American in his first collegiate national tournament.
• Andrew Christiansen was named the most improved player of the tournament, as he improved 88 places since the last collegiate national tournament.
• Claire Hagstrom was a recipient of the Spirit of Handball award. This award is given to two players at the tournament who show respect, fairness/honesty, self-discipline and camaraderie during the tournament.

Competition brackets are available on the United States Handball Association’s website.

For more information, contact Minnesota State Mankato handball coach Mike Wells by email at michael.wells@mnsu.edu.

The Minnesota State Mankato handball club is one of the sport clubs offered through Campus Recreation at Minnesota State Mankato.

The mission of Campus Recreation is to promote long-term healthy lifestyle behavior through participation in multi-faceted recreational, educational and leisure opportunities.

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,546 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 30 colleges and seven universities.