The 2011 Queen City Open 4-Wall Handball Tournament took place on Friday and Saturday, December 2nd and 3rd, at the Athletic Club @ Waycross. Participation was a bit low this year, as compared to previous years, as some of the "usual suspects" from out of town chose not to play.

One result was that all of the champions were from the Cincinnati area, keeping the hardware and prize money (?) supporting the local economy.

Tournament Director Jack Dean's infamous hop serve -
the ball doesn't hop, but Jack does

Another surprise (depending on your point of view) was Steve Kehoe's victory over Columbus' Steve Dykes. Dykes is a regular finalist at the Queen City, known for wearing out the competition with long rallies.

In the 60 Singles, John Matacic took advantage of playing singles only, wrestling the title from John Love, who not only went both ways, but had to carry a very heavy load of Lehocky..

Spencer Straw shows how Will taught him to put the ball in play

Spencer Straw won a very competitive B Singles division, defeating David Hernandez, Frank Wagner and finally Albert Bradford in two games.

And, the Juniors players got their share of singles action on Court One on Saturday, thanks to Glenn Gartland, who organized the bracket and handled the matches. Aaron Wurdack won the bracket over Cullen Dunajski, while Chris Arnold took the consolation final from Joe Barrow.

In doubles action, Carl Huether and Scott Walker managed to post a tie-breaker finish in their semi-final match against John Allen and Ty Stinson, probably the most exciting and hard-fought finish in the entire tournament. They then completed the bracket with a win against the "too many Bobs" team of Bardeau and Lohmueller.

One of the Bobs aims for the infamous "crotch" serve

In 50 Doubles, Richard Gregg and Will Straw three-peated, hanging on to the championship title for their 3rd consecutive win by defeating Mike Reilly and Scott Walker.

Perrenial favorites Doug Blankemeyer and Denny Dupps managed a victory over the downtown duo of George Lehocky and John Love in the 60 Doubles.

And in one of the wildest matches of the weekend, Denis Hogan and Pat Shuler managed a tie-breaker win over Cincinnatian Jeff Olsen and Kevin Pape, from Columbus. Pat Shuler with a championship title? Really?

Once again, the GCHA "crew" kept the tournament moving smoothly, with great participation from numerous members and volunteer referrees.

Beacon Orthopedics provided an on-site trainer to answer questions, offer advice and to deal with any physical issues, and once again George Lehocky arranged to have Mindy Lovins and her ATouch of Heaven massage services available for players and other attendees.

George Lehocky peddles some GCHA "merch" 

GCHA thanks our 2011 tournament sponsors:

Beacon Orthopedics & Sports Medicine
Cincinnati Restoration Church
Jack Dean Construction
Rosselot Financial Group

Thanks to all who played, helped out and watched a great weekend of handball!
 

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