The Lake Forest College handball team claimed the men's, women's, and combined titles at the United States Handball Association Collegiate National Championships in Houston, Texas, over the weekend (February 25-28). It was the second year in a row and fourth in team history that the Foresters captured all three titles.
On the men's side Lake Forest junior Nikolai Nahorniak (Des Plaines, Ill.) was the champion in Open Singles and Open Doubles. Nahorniak defeated five opponents on his way to the singles title, including senior Suhn Lee (Glenview, Ill.) 21-18, 21-17 in the final. Nahorniak and Lee then teamed up for a 21-8, 21-7 triumph over juniors Victor Perez (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Pat Jarvis (Chicago, Ill.) to claim the doubles championship.
Senior Aimee Ulbert (Des Plaines, Ill.) matched Nahorniak's performance on the women's side. She won 21-9, 20-21, 11-6 over sophomore Maria Dugas (Halifax, Nova Scotia) in the singles final and the duo knocked off senior Emily Zender (Fishers, Ind.) and junior Sarah Brusig (Rifle, Colo.) 21-1, 21-5 in the doubles title match.
Handball All-America honors are earned by singles semifinalists and doubles finalists. Ulbert and Lee accomplished the feat for the fourth straight season and Zender, who reached the singles semifinals before falling to Dugas, for the third year in a row.
Perez and junior Nicole Moser (Oak Lawn, Ill.) won their respective fifth-place singles matches over Jarvis and Brusig, respectively.
Freshman Isaac Acosta (Ozone Park, N.Y.) won the men's A Singles title with a 21-9, 21-15 victory in the championship match. He also teamed with senior Brian Connolly (Lemont, Ill.) to win the B Doubles title.
There was a mixed doubles division for the first time in the event's history and sophomore Riley Kloss (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) and senior Viri Del Bosque (Rockford, Ill.) defeated freshman Clark Creasey (Lexington, Ky.) and junior Bianca Greene (Santa Monica, Calif.) 25-21 in the final.
The team's three national titles give head coach Mike Dau 36 championships in the 42-year history of the program.
In addition to Ulbert, Lee, Zender, Connolly, and Del Bosque, the program will lose fellow senior Joey Urbani (Bozeman, Mont.) to graduation in May.