USHA Junior National One-Wall Small Ball Handball Championship (Co-Sponsored by ICHA)

BY MICHELLE HE

With the junior handball community growing comes players who want to add a junior national title to their portfolio.

Charly Guaman is the Player to Watch Out for

Charly Guaman came into the tournament with a determined mind and claimed the title for both the Boy’s 17 and Under Singles and Boy’s 19 and Under Singles. He left all his opponents under 10 points except for one, Jose Quiroz who he faced in the 17 and Under finals.

Boy’s Singles 19 & Under B– Champion Charly Guaman (Right) & Alex Ayala (Left)

Photo Credit: Jared Vale and Cesar Sala

Boy’s Singles 17 & Under– Champion Charly Guaman (Right) & Finalist Jose Quiroz (Left)

Photo Credit: Cesar Sala and Jared Vale

Cathy Chen Steps Up Against 2018 Champion Shnae Cummings

Cathy Chen made her way to the finals in the Girl’s 17 and Under Singles and showed her opponent Vina Weng that she is back for a new title. Chen has competed in ICHA tournaments and was familiar with being in the finals so it was no surprise that she accepted the challenge to compete against the 2018 Junior National Champion Shnae Cummings in the Girl’s 19 Under Singles. While Chen valiently pushed to find a weakness in Cummings, it was nearly impossible.

Cummings served her deep overhands to the left and blocked Chen’s momentum from ever building up. Cummings defended her title and defeated Chen with a shocking 21-0.

Girl’s Singles 19 & Under– Champion Shnae Cummings (Left) & Finalist Cathy Chen (Right)

Photo Credit: Cesar Sala and Jared Vale

Boy’s Doubles Division has a New Player

Shkysi Cummings and Lil Uub tackled the Boy’s 19 Under A Doubles together and climbed their way to the finale against David Kim and Cesar Ayala. To no surprise, Cummings and Uub held up a strong offense by pushing their opponents far back with the deep returns. They won the match with a far score of 21-12.

Boy’s Doubles 19 & Under A– Champion Lil Uub, Shkysi Cummings (Right) & Finalist David Kim, Cesar Ayala (Left)

Photo Credit: Cesar Sala and Jared Vale

Shkysi and Shnae Cummings went for the Girl’s 19 and Under Doubles and to no surprise, they dominated like last year. Laly Prado and Nancy Casimiro gave a strong effort against the Cummings, but it did not break them and the Cummings sisters won 21-1.

Girl’s Doubles 19 & Under– Champion Shnae Cummings (Left), Shkysi Cummings (Right)

Photo Credit: Cesar Sala and Jared Vale

Brooklyn handball players Joseph Lau and Kevin Liang easily won their first two matches, but faced a tougher match in the semi-finals against Joyson Chen and Taison Chen. Despite the longer game, Lau and Liang went for bold shots and their dexterity all paid off at the end when they won 21-17. They remained consistent in the finals match against Justin Zhen and Shuquan Huang and fought their way to the championship title with the final score of 21-16.

Jenny Minchala and Yasmin Mendoza advanced through the Girl’s 17 and Under Doubles easily and triumped over all their competitors with the final score of 21-13 against Kunga Chodon and Karen Lin.

Girl’s Doubles 17 & Under– Champion Jenny Minchala, Yasmin Mendoza (Left) & Finalist Kunga Chodon, Karen Lin (Right)

Photo Credit: Cesar Sala and Jared Vale