THE PRO CORNER
With the pro season marked by the emergence of several young stars and the comeback of an older one, it’s shaping up as ...
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A pick-’em nationals
t has been almost 40 years since the advent of the pro tour, and this year’s USHA National Four-Wall Championships will be the most wide-open affair since the inaugural year of pro handball. Back then, any one of eight players were touted to win the national championship. Not only did six players win stops on the first tour, but two more made for eight different players to make the finals in the ’7374 season. Since last year’s nationals, where Paul Brady continued his string of titles by winning his fourth with a thrilling 11-9 decision over Tony Healy, the pro events have become as tightly contested as that tiebreaker. When you win title after title by such a close margin, sooner or later someone different has to come up with the final shot. And that has been happening a lot lately. This season has produced the same kind of variety for Sunday pro finals across the country — and Ireland, for that matter. Let’s back up to the biggest prize-money event of the season, the Simple Green U.S. Open. There, Healy made his big breakthrough with his first pro victory on U.S. soil. When Luis Moreno upset defending champ Brady, the door was left open. And Healy made the most of it, defeating Sean Lenning in the title match. Semifinalists were Moreno and Emmett Peixoto.
Among notable early season upsets were Moreno (left) winning the Tucson event and Brady taking the Simple Green U.S. Open. Just a week later, a number of the U.S. pros headed to Idaho for Jake Plummer’s Halloween Bash. Naty Alvarado Jr. came out on top with a final victory over Allan Garner. Peixoto and David Chapman were the semifinalists. A week after that, Moreno made his mark again, defeating Chapman in the final of the Yes 2 Kids event in Tucson, which marked Chapman’s first pro event final since 2004. Peixoto and Lenning were the semifinalists. After a break for the holidays, the pros were back at it in St. Joseph, Mo., for the Jon Symon event. Local favorite Chapman moved up to his first victory in a prize-
money tournament since his return, defeating Garner in the final. Moreno and Peixoto were semifinalists. Paul Williams and the Inner City Handball Association offered comparable prize money for the men in conjunction with the Women’s Classic, and Peixoto earned the top prize with a final victory over Moreno. Peixoto’s weekend was especially impressive, considering he added the doubles title as well with Chapman. Singles semifinalists were Garner and Lenning. At the February USHA pro event in Dallas in conjunction with the George Lee Invitational, Moreno earned the title with a tiebreaker victory over Peixoto. Charley
The skinny What: USHA National Four-Wall Championships When: June 8-14 Where: Los Caballeros Racquet and Sports Club, Fountain Valley, Calif. Banquet: Thursday, June 11 Defending men’s champ: Paul Brady (right) Defending women’s champ: Megan Mehilos (left) More information: 520-795-0434 or www.ushandball.org HANDBALL 11
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5/13/2009, 9:12 AM