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SIMPLE GREEN/USHA Pro Stop #5, Concord, FINAL RESULTS (4-8-01)
Posted Sunday, April 8, 2001 by Mark Carpenter

Big C Athletic Club, Concord, Calif.

April 8, 2001


Alvarado Wins 2nd Pro Stop in a Row, Is New No. 1 On Tour


CONCORD, Calif. – Naty Alvarado Jr. (Hesperia, Calif.) defeated David Silveyra (Commerce, Calif.) to win his second in a row, third in his career, and is the now the No. 1 ranked player on tour.

The SIMPLE GREEN/USHA Pro Handball tour visited the Big C Athletic Club in Concord, Calif., this weekend. Mr. Ken Hofmann, sponsor of the pro stop, personally raised the prize money and additional $6,000 to the top-four places, increasing the total purse to $26,000, the most for a pro stop ever.

Alvarado was told that if he could win this pro stop, he would over take Dave Chapman (St. Charles, Mo.) as the new No. 1 ranked pro on tour.

“I was so nervous,” said Alvarado. “I still can not stop from shaking.”

In the final, Silveyra took control of the match early, and was looking to become the fifth pro this year to win a pro stop, as he won the first and second games easily, 11-7, 11-2.

“I could not get anything going in the first two games,” Alvarado said. “I could not get the ball to the left side. David (Silveyra) was playing great. He was really playing well at the beginning. I figured if I can not go to the left, I could always start going to the right.”

Alvarado found himself in a 2-0 game deficit, and his sights of winning his third pro stop of his career vanishing.

“All I wanted to do was push a fourth game,” said Alvarado. “I knew if I could do that, we would both be even at two games a piece and then I could finish the job.”

Finishing the job is what Alvarado did. Alvarado got his serve working for him in the third and fourth game as he battled back winning, 11-2, 11-7, respectively.

In the fifth game, it was all Alvarado as he built a 7-1 lead.

“I was just feeling it in the fifth game,” said Alvarado. “The big difference from the first two games to the last three was David (Silveyra) was keeping the ball high, so I could not shoot anything. But once I got my serves working for me, I was able to keep control of the match and placement of the ball.”

Concord is where Alvarado won his first pro stop of his professional career in 1999. Last month in Houston, Alvarado upset Chapman in the final, in four games to capture his second pro stop in his career and Concord is his third ever.

The 2000-01 season has been unique. The pro tour experimented with the three out of five game format to 11 points. So far we have seen four different winners in five pro stops, a new No. 1 ranking awarded to Alvarado, which has been held by Chapman for the past seven years (since 1994).

The now new No. 2 Chapman did capture third place with an 15-2, 15-4 victory over Vince Munoz (Whittier, Calif.)

In the pro consolation final, Norm Dunne (San Jose) made a comeback himself after losing the first game 15-9 to Marcos Chavez (Buena Park, Calif.). Dunne managed to scrap together a 15-14 win in the second game to push a tiebreaker. 

In the tiebreaker, Chavez built an early lead of 7-1. Dunne was determined to comeback and so he did winning a close 11-10 tiebreaker.

The pros would like to extend a special thanks to Mr. Ken Hofmann, Bob Solario, Dave Rubaylid and the staff at the Big C Athletic Club. The pros and spectators were treated to first class hospitality.

The final pro stop will be in Chattanooga, Tenn., May 4-6. The pro stop will be held in conjunction with the Southeast Regionals.


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Results
First Round: Dave Chapman (St. Charles, Mo.) d. Tom Little III (Mound City, Kan.) 1, 2, 2; Dan Armijo (Albuquerque) d. Dane Szatkowski (Itasca, Ill.) 3, 10, 6; John Bike Jr. (Hesperia, Calif.) d. Matt Hiber (St. Paul, Minn.) 10, 1, 1; David Silveyra (Commerce, Calif.) d. Anton Wilson (Fresno) 5, 10, 2; Naty Alvarado Jr. (Hesperia, Calif.) d. Norm Dunne (San Jose) 3, 9, (6), 2; Tyler Hamel (Houston) d. James Komsthoeft (San Francisco) 6, 7, 2; Danny Bell (Quebec City, Canada) d. Chris Rusing (Seattle) 4, 6, 2; Vince Munoz (Whittier, Calif.) d. Marcos Chavez (Buena Park, Calif.) 5, 1, (7), 2.

Quarterfinals: Chapman d. Armijo 3, 1, 1; Silveyra d. Bike 8, 5, (8), (9), 2; Alvarado d. Hamel (9), 8, 3, 2; Munoz d. Bell 10, (9), 4, (8), 2.

Semifinals: Silveyra d. Chapman (10), 2, (2), 9, 6; Alvarado d. Munoz 10, (6), 5, (9), 5.

Final: Alvarado d. Silveyra (7), (2), 2, 7, 1.

Third Place Playoff: Chapman d. Munoz 15-2, 15-4.

Consolation Championship
First Round: Dunne d. Szatkowski (13), 12, 6; Little d. Rusing 3, 9; Chavez d. Wilson 7, 9; Hiber d. Komsthoeft 12, (11), 8.

Semifinals: Dunne d. Little 12, 6; Chavez d. Hiber 14, 13.

Final: Dunne d. Chavez (9), 14, 10.


The Simple Green/USHA Pro qualifiers would like to thank Simple Green for their generous support. If there is a possibility you can use Simple Green products at your home or business, please call the USHA or Simple Green direct (800-228-0709) to arrange a free demonstration and receive free trial samples. Please support our sponsors. Thank you.