The Sweet Sixteen, an annual invitational tournament hosted by Lake Forest College, is a no frills event. No entry fee, no tournament shirts, and no trophies. I.H.A. membership is the only requirement and invitations are extended to the sixteen best/avaliable association members. To the winner goes bragging rights for a year.

Although John Davis, Bob Adrowski, and Dave Dohman were unavaliable to participate, a strong contingent that included former Sweet Sixteen winners Dane Szatkowski (2000) and Chris Roberts (1997) were present. The first round of play saw all the seeded players advance, and then the firepower of young Michael Finnegan and his awesome aresenal of offensive shots started to take over in a dominant way. After dispatching Keith Vassall (21-13, 21-11) in the opening round and David Munson (21-11, 21-9) in the quarters, he then eliminated the number one seed, Dane Szatkowski (21-11, 21-6), in the semi-finals setting up the championship match with the fast-improving Bill Mehilos. Seeded second, Mehilos had taken the measure of Jason Keasling (21-10, 21-14), Chris Roberts (21-19, 21-12), and Shane Conneely (21-16, 21-10) on his way into the finals. But Finnegan was not to be denied as from the outset he rolled out shots from every corner of the court and won this year's Sweet Sixteen, ! going away 21-11, 21-6. And to the victor goes the bragging rights.