Another USHA Four-Wall Nationals has come and gone, and hopefully it will not be the last time it is held at Los Caballeros Sports Village in Fountain Valley. Historically, Los Cab has hosted several national tournaments and amid dwindling entries, the sport cannot afford to lose any more courts or venues. Fortunately, the Southern California Handball Association was on hand to serve up amazing hospitality to ensure that no competitors went hungry and had a memorable experience.
The SCHA provided volunteers and ensured everything went smooth and everything was picked up and left in its original state. Hopefully the club will host the event in years to come.
Special Thank you to Mark Zamora, Ralph Fregoso and Gary Cruz for ensuring that all volunteers fulfilled their duties and helped the event run smoothly.
Of the near 270 participants, almost half of them came from California. The next highest number of participants came from Arizona, and shockingly, Ireland, at 19 each. Fourteen participants came from Texas and nine made the cross-country trip from New York.
Speaking of New York, congrats to recent transplant and former four-wall champion, Danielle Daskalakis for winning her second U.S. Women’s National Pro Singles title, defeating one of Ireland’s top women’s players, Fiona Tully. Danielle’s recent time spent playing in SoCal has definitely paid dividends.
As SoCal is pretty much the mecca of handball this side of the Mississippi, here is a list of local winners:
Open Big Ball: Ivan Chapa
Women’s Open: Danielle Daskalakis
50 Singles: Chris Watkins
70B Singles: Bob Houseman
40 Doubles: Eddie Silveyra/Jorge Lopez
Eddie Silveyra, Jorge “Pnut” Lopez
50 Doubles: Chris Watkins/Alex Garcia
L to R: James Coronado, Marcos Chavez, Chris Watkins, Alex Garcia
50 Doubles: John Robles/John Bike Jr.
Summer tournament season is set to begin this month, stay tuned for further announcements!
