United States Handball Association

USHA Women’s Pro Stop
Mehilos sets up for a shot against Peixoto

USHA Women’s Pro Stop – University of Winnipeg

Winnipeg, Manitoba - Megan Mehilos could relax. She had exceeded her expectations and was just hoping to fine-tune her handball game over the weekend. This was before she stepped in the court for the 2004 Women’s Pro St op final. This fresh attitude paid dividends for Mehilos, as she turned out a remarkable performance, beating Courtney Peixoto in two games, 21-9, 21-9.

“The best I’ve ever finished has been fifth, so I was just happy to be in the finals. There wasn’t any pressure going in there today. I just relaxed and played handball.” said the winner. The Pro Stop final was a first for both players, but not the first time they had faced off. Back in February, the two played in the Women’s Collegiate Final with Mehilos prevailing.

This year’s final was one of the youngest finals as of late, perhaps a sign of the youth movement in women’s handball. Peixoto had won a Canadian Nationals Doubles title with Jessica Gawley the night before, defeating Yvonne August and Allison Roberts in a tiebreaker, 21-13, 4-21, 11-4.

In the third place match, Allison Roberts won by default over Anna Calderon. Calderon had earlier injured her hand, and was unable to continue.

Jessica Gawley defeated Yvonne August in for 5th place, 21-12, 21-12.

Lavonah Madden defeated Alexis Cloutier for 7th place, 21-7, 21-5.

The players were treated to the Canadian Nationals Banquet on Saturday. A special thanks goes to Lisa Gilmore, Merv & Colleen Deckert, Henry Traa, and Manitoba Handball for all their efforts throughout the week.

The Women Pros and Canadian Nationals participants enjoyed a week of excellent hospitality and great handball. Thank you! See complete results below:

First Round - Anna Calderon (Brooklyn, NY) d. Lidia Graseski (Toronto, ON), 6, 4; Jessica Gawley (Regina, SK) d. Becky White (Antigonish City, NS), 3, 4; Courtney Peixoto (Tucson, AZ) d. Jenine Wilson (Ajax, ON), 5, 7; Megan Mehilos (Addison, IL) d. Natasha Bakiewicz (London, ON), 4, 1; Lavonah Madden (Antigonish City, NS) d. Alicia Lerat (Regina, SK), 2, 2; Alexis Cloutier (Vancouver, BC) d. Pam Ness (Minot, ND), 8, 17; Allison Roberts (Lake Forest, IL) d. Abbie Bajon (Winnipeg, MB), 2, 1.

Quarterfinals - Calderon d. Yvonne August (Castro Valley, CA), 5, 18; Peixoto d. Gawley, 10, (7), 4; Mehilos d. Madden, 10, 13; Roberts d. Cloutier, 6, 9.

Semifinals - Peixoto d. Calderon, 9, 7; Mehilos d. Roberts, 8, (20), 0.

Final: Mehilos d. Peixoto, 9, 9.

3rd Place Playoff: Roberts d. Calderon, inj. def.

5th – 6th Place Playoff August d. Cloutier, 6, 2; Gawley d. Madden, 12, 4.

Final: Gawley d. August, 12, 12.

7th Place Playoff: Madden d. Cloutier, 7, 5.

9th-10th Place Playoff

First Round -White d. Wilson, 12, 3; Lerat d. Bakiewicz, (18), 15, 2; Ness d. Bajon, 5, 5.

Semifinals - Graseski d. White, 4, 6; Ness d. Lerat, 10, 3.

9th Place Final - Graseski d. Ness, 0, 4.

Calderon chases down a shot from Peixoto

Calderon chases down a shot from Peixoto

USHA Women’s Pro Stop – University of Winnipeg Winnipeg, Manitoba - Only two years ago at the Women’s Pro Stop in Austin, Megan Mehilos and Courtney Peixoto faced off in the 9th and 10th Place playoff final. This year they’ll meet to playoff for 1st and 2nd.

The two have already played against each other in the collegiate final earlier this year with Mehilos prevailing. Peixoto earned her spot with an impressive two-game win over Anna Calderon.

Peixoto won the first game by jumping out to an early lead and keeping Calderon out of the service box. Calderon came back early in the second, ultizing her powerful serve and strong frontcourt game. After trading side outs with her opponent, Peixoto pulled away and and closed out the match 21-9, 21-7.

Mehilos turned out an outstanding performance in the tiebreaker to turn away Allison Roberts in her semifinal match, 21-8, 20-21, 11-0. Mehilos jumped out to a big lead in the first game and won by a comfortable margin. Game two was a different story as the two players were knotted for most of the game. Roberts fought off match point to get the serve and force the tiebreaker. The tiebreaker was a wake-up call for Mehilos, as she served up a shutout for the win.

Lidia Graseski defeated Pam Ness in the 9th Place playoff final, 21-0, 21-4. Yvonne August will play Jessica Gawley in the 5th Place playoff final on Saturday.

In the Canadian Nationals, ageless Merv Deckert, spotting his opponent 14 years, forced a tiebreaker with Danny Bell before losing, 21-8, 16-21, 11-6. The two Canadian greats are tied at 10 Canadian National titles each, and Bell has the opportunity to earn his 11th on Satu rday. Deckert, part nered with Larry Martin, kept the home crowd happy with a rousing tiebreaker semifinal win over Matt Hiber and Steve Johnson in the doubles.

Jessica Gawley sets up for a backwall shot against Peixoto.

Jessica Gawley sets up for a backwall shot against Peixoto.

USHA Women’s Pro Stop – University of Winnipeg

Winnipeg, Manitoba - The USHA Women’s Pro Stop went north of the boarder for the first time and will be played with the Canadian National Four-Wall Championships. It didn’t take long for an upset as the Women’s Pro Stop began play on Wednesday.

After winning her first round match, Anna Calderon pumped up her game to face No. 1 seed Yvonne August. In the first game, Calderon blitzed August with a devastating serve winning easily, 21-5. August recovered nicely in the second; however she couldn’t completely pull away from Calderon. August held a slim lead at 16-14 before Calderon forced an August error and served an ace to tie the game at 16. August would only manage two more points as Calderon cracked out a serve at match point.

Calderon, nicknamed “The Hornet” for the way she buzzes around the court, was happy with her play. “I just hope to ride this through the weekend.” she said of her upset win.

There was another upset in the Canadian Nationals as 2003 Champion Dan Armijo was bounced out with a tiebreaker loss to Ian Ross of Halifax. Ross surprised Armijo with a game one 21-12 win, but Armijo easily forced the tiebreaker with a 21-2 game two performance. In the tiebreaker, Ross began an incredible run and ousted the champ, 11-8. It was clear Ross was in the zone as he even rolled out a shot from between the legs.