ST. LOUIS — The 2024 USHA Women’s Classic tournament was a big hit at the handball exclusive St. Louis Hinder Club. Nearly 40 ladies competed in the Classic and all of them played at least three matches.

Minnesota State University of Mankato student Clodagh Munroe brought home the first place title by defeating Ashley Ruiz in the final. Ruiz had not been beaten in the event in quite some time, winning the Women’s Classic the past three times.

Munroe started fast in the final and won game one fairly quickly. Ruiz flipped the script in game two and jumped out to a 16-6 lead, and it looked like there was no doubt the match was going tiebreaker. Munroe had a late run in her thought, and battled back to tie the match at 18. Ruiz finally stopped the bleeding and closed out game two with a beautiful 35 foot back-wall flat roll out down the right side that forced the tiebreaker.

Munroe’s late run in the second game seem to tire Ruiz, and she jumped out to a big lead. Ruiz forced several side outs but struggled to score points when she was in the box. Munroe took advantage of her opportunities and took down Ruiz 11-2 to earn her first Women’s Classic title.

Munroe and Ruiz were each impressive in their semfinal victories. Munroe defeated Mikaila Esser by the scores of 21-8, 21-18 in a well played match. Ruiz played flawlessly against rising star Aoife Holden in her semifinal victory, winning 21-12, 21-4. Holden took down Esser to earn third place.

Jennifer Schmitt was routinely beating players half her age over the weekend and looked to be playing her best handball in a few years. She placed sixth place in the tournament, falling to Suzanne Entzeroth in the fifth place final.

Entzeroth had her third child just two months before this tournament, and she had them cheering her on all weekend and they enjoyed watching her take fifth. Kristen Hughes and Taylor Rumping rounded out the top eight.

In the Women’s B division, rising star Taigan Rivers brought home the title by defeating Rachel Ortberg in the finals in two straight games. Rivers learned the game at Angleo State University less than a year ago and has the potential to be a great player.

It’s great to have a tournament spotlighting the wonderful women in our sport. The level of competition this weekend was incredibly high, and these ladies have the sport of handball in a good place. Thank you to each of them for playing and being great ambassadors for our sport.

Thank you to Missouri State Handball Association for hosting this tournament and putting on a wonderful event.

You can check out all of the results from the tournament HERE.

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