USHA NATIONAL MASTERS SINGLES
Brickell gets past fellow Tennessean for 55+ title
T Chattanooga was the perfect place to promote the 2009 World Championships in Portland, Ore., and that’s what Peter Service, David Steinberg and Rob Pearse did. match of the weekend also drew the most fan interest. In a grueling three-gamer, Kelley laid down the back-wall shots when he needed them to pull it out. Getting the serve back against Service is key, and Kelley did that after the first game, pushing Service deeper in the court and forcing the rallies. While Kelley escaped with a 21-20 second-game victory in the semis over defending champ Dan Acosta, Service had to expend a lot of energy to knock off another former champ in David Steinberg in three games. No win over Steinberg is easy, and these two went at it for two hours before Service emerged the victor. In a very strong draw, three-wall star Phil Kirk drew Kelley in his opener and was relegated to the drop-down. There he advanced over last year’s runner-up, Karl Stundins, and Dave deLeon. First round: Art Avalos (Toronto) d. Dave deLeon (Atlanta) 13, 12; Leo Havener (Elk Grove, Calif.) d. Bill Bullock (Memphis) 11, 14. Quarters: Dan Acosta (Houston) d. Avalos 9, 2; Scott Kelley (Chattanooga) d. Phil Kirk (Toledo) 8, 12; Peter Service (Toronto) d. Karl Stundins (Dallas) 8, 5; David Steinberg
ennessee handball is clearly as strong as any state’s, when you consider how well the state’s players performed on National Masters Singles weekend. In fact, the 55-plus came down to an allTennessee final, with Jim Brickell facing off against Mac Husband. The hard-charging pair have a long history, with Brickell’s serving holding an edge over Husband’s aggressive offense. With Husband enjoying regular workouts against young powerhouse Nick Mattioni, many thought the edge would go to Husband. And when he took the first game, his conditioning would also seem to be a stron-
McInnis stays perfect in 60+
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ance McInnis is acting his age these days, at least in the way he enters tournaments. Long known for playing down a division or two, McInnis has entered two 60-plus events since becoming eligible this year ... and now he’s 2-for-2 after a solid victory over defending champ Greg Raya. Both are newcomers to the Grand Masters club of players who have won 10 national age-group titles. And McInnis withKelley lines up a left-handed drive against stood a late rally by Raya to win this final in Service in the 50-plus championship match. two games. (Portland, Ore.) d. Havener 5, 9. “If it had gone three, it was looking to Semis: Kelley be in Raya’s favor,” said Charlie Wicker d. Acosta 7, 20; Service after the final. “Raya was running Vance d. Steinberg 9, (15), 5. all over the court.” Final: Kelley d. Service McInnis was devastating through the (13), 13, 8. first game of the final, holding everyone, Drop-down including Raya in that game, to 11 or fewer. Semis: Kirk d. Stundins; “He looks like a machine, a robot,” said deLeon d. Bullock. Tom Benton as he watched McInnis drop Final: Kirk in kills from every angle and height with d. deLeon 14, 10. Kirk numerous strokes and swings against
16 JUNE 2009
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5/12/2009, 4:41 PM