The Forester handball team competed in the Illinois Handball Association Contenders Tournament in the Lake Forest College Sports & Recreation Center over the weekend. Sophomore C.J. Laffey (pictured) was one of four Foresters to reach the event's quarterfinal round and freshman Dan Cordova was the tournament's champion.
Cordova's first two victories were against Forester senior Pete Jansen (21-8, 21-9) and Laffey (16-21, 21-2, 11-9). He then prevailed 21-17, 21-12 in the semifinals and 21-4, 21-10 in the championship match.
After an opening round bye, Laffey posted a 21-12, 21-11 victory in the round of 16 before falling to Cordova. Forester seniors Isaac Acosta and Justin Novak also advanced to the quarterfinals. Acosta won 21-11 in both sets in the round of 16 before being edged out 20-21, 21-18, 11-8 in the semifinals to the runner-up in the tournament. Novak prevailed 21-14, 21-18 in the round of 32 and 21-19, 21-16 in the round of 16 before being knocked off by the top seed 21-8, 21-9.
Seven other Lake Forest players advanced to the second round, taking up 10 of the spots in the tournament's round of 16. Sophomore Eric Matiasek had a bye and opening round victories were posted by Jansen (21-6, 21-6), fellow seniors Clark Creasey (21-14, 21-15), Derrick Contreras (21-19, 21-20), and Geoff Douglas (21-9, 21-19), and freshman Matthew Chu (21-11, 21-9).
Freshman Josh Poncedeleon was the only one of three Foresters in the consolation bracket to win in the first round. He blanked his opponent 21-0, 21-0 before falling in the semifinals.
The next event on Lake Forest's schedule is the Milwaukee Classic in West Allis, Wisconsin. The tournament will begin on Friday, November 30, and end on Sunday, December 1.