The Lake Forest College handball team competed in the Illinois Handball Association Singles Tournament over the weekend. Forester senior Nikolai Nahorniak defeated the top seed and finished as the event's runner-up.
Nahorniak would have had to go through three Lake Forest College alumni to win the title. He defeated 2001 graduate Mike Munson 21-7, 7-21, 11-6 in the quarterfinals and 2002 graduate Bill Mehilos, the tournament's top seed, 21-9, 21-10 in the semifinals. However, #2 seed Suhn Lee '10 edged him out 21-19 in the first game and took the second 21-10 to claim the championship.
Junior Riley Kloss and sophomore Isaac Acosta each won his first match of the tournament before falling in the Open Division's round of 16.
After dropping his opener in the Open round of 16, senior Victor Perez rattled off three victories in a row to claim the A Division championship. Senior Pat Jarvis posted a pair of victories in the same bracket before being eliminated in the semifinals.
No player at the event won more matches than Forester junior Dan Sterrett, who prevailed five times to claim the B Division title. The player he routed 21-4, 21-1 in the final was playing his fourth consecutive match against someone from Lake Forest. He defeated sophomore Justin Novak in the semifinals, Sandy Ng in the quarterfinals, and Geoff Douglas in the round of 16. Sophomores Derrick Contreras and Clark Creasey also reached the quarterfinals before falling to Sterrett and the bracket's top seed, respectively.
Junior Maria Dugas was defeated in the first round of the B Division but rebounded with three straight victories to capture the C Division crown. Classmate Ann Szutenbach also won a match in the same bracket.
The Lake Forest women will be back in action again next Friday and Saturday when the College hosts the I.H.A. Women's Singles Tournament.
