|
|
Click
here to see pictures of IHA Men's Singles Champions.
At this year's state singles tournament, champions were crowned
in ten divisions. Only two champs, Keith Vassall in the A division
and Steve Childs in the Masters (40+) were repeats from 2001.
Open Division
The Open bracket finalists were repeat performers of a year
ago, but the winner this time was perennial champion John Davis.
Seeded #2, Davis had little trouble advancing into the finals
against defending champ, Dane Szatkowski. Dane got somewhat
of a scare in his semi-final match against the fast-improving
Jamie Simon. After losing the first game 21-4, Simon got into
a groove and gave Dane all he could handle in the second, but
couldn't quite get the all important twenty-first point. He
lost 21-20, setting the stage for a Szatkowski-Davis shootout.
Neither player disappointed the crowded gallery as Davis blasted
his way to a convincing 21-12 first game win. But the tables
turned as Szatkowski had his way in the second game with a 21-14
win. In the early stages of the tiebreaker it was pretty much
a standoff, but John got hot and Dane got cold, and it ended
11-6 Davis. A most memorable match between two young gladiators.
A Division
As previously mentioned, Keith Vassall repeated in the A Division
with a 21-14, 21-15 win over David Munson. Vassall almost stumbled
in the semi's, but somehow managed to overcome a 10-1 deficit
in a tiebreaker with John Cagney in order to advance to the
finals.
B Division
In the B Division, unseeded Tony Clarke, veteran player Bud
Clarke's son, playing in his first state tournament upset the
number three seed, Colm Connolly in the quarters with a tiebreaker
win, held off Megan Mehilos 21-17, 21-17 in the semi's, and
then won, going away in the finals against Joe Flores Jr. 21-6,
21-11. With more tournament exposure for the talented young
Clarke, bigger things loom ahead.
C Division
The C bracket was won by Garrett Silveira over Samantha England
21-4, 21-11. Silveira with one year of tournament competition
under his belt shows promise of moving up in skill level in
the very near future.
Juniors
The longest and most exciting match of tournament occurred in
the Junior A Division. Nikolai Nahorniak, seeded number two,
met Suhn Lee, seeded number one in the finals. In an exhausting
exhibition of youthful talent, Nahorniak emerged the winner
with a 21-16, 15-21, 11-4 victory. Both players are products
of Don Quinlan's junior's program at the Lattof YMCA and showed
remarkable poise, skill, and sportsmanship, particularly under
the pressure of a tight match.
The Junior B Division finals was another exciting match with
Brain Connolly winning a tiebreaker over Jake Kaiser 21-15,
12-21, 11-4. The Junior participants in this tournament showed
to all who took notice that they are the future of our game,
and it is in very good hands.
40+ Division
The finals in the Masters (40+) Division was a repeat performance
for both the winner, Steve Childs and his opponent, Scott Rosenthal.
Their 2001 championship match went to a tiebreaker with Childs
the winner. However, this year Rosenthal staggered into the
finals after a marathon 21-20, 20-21, 11-9 match in the semi's
against Eli Seaman, whild Childs was never really challenged
in any of his matches. With nothing in his tank for the finals,
Scott was easy pickings for Steve who won in a route 21-3, 21-1.
40+ B Division
Gary Danno, whose wife was expecting at any minute, battled
his close friend, Mike Guinan, tooth and nail in the finals
before rushing off to the hospital. But prior to his departure,
he managed to earn a tough tie breaker win, 21-12, 14-21, 11-6
for the championship.
50+ Division
As a result of the cancellation of the 60+ Division, because
of lack of entries, Bud Clarke elected to drop down to the 50+
Division. Displaying veteran savvy, he advanced to the finals
to meet last year's finalist, Sean Conneely. His veteran poise
won the first game 21-15, but the younger and stronger Conneely
was not to be denied and won the match 21-4, 11-4.
50+ B Division
Art Gray had little trouble in the finals with a 21-9, 21-7
win over the irrepressible Joe Schatz who always adds a dimension
of levity to a tournament with his comedic repertoire.
The I.H.A tournament committee salutes the Lattof YMCA staff
for their cooperation in making the tournament run smoothly,
and we look forward to working with them again at the state
doubles tournament next month. |
|
| |
Copyright ©
2002 Illinois Handball Association. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
