The Lake Forest College handball team competed at the Circle City Tournament in Indianapolis over the weekend. Forester senior Amalia DeSardi (right) defeated junior Sammie Zender (left) in the Open Singles semifinals and they joined together to claim the Open Doubles title.
Zender won the first set 21-14 against DeSardi but the senior came back to take the second 21-5 and the tiebreaker 11-7 to advance to the final. There she fell 21-5 to Emily Zender, Sammie's older sister and a 2010 Lake Forest College graduate, in the opening set but rallied for a 21-17 victory in the second and an 11-6 triumph in the tiebreaker.
DeSardi and Sammie Zender defeated Forester junior Aimee Fadden and sophomore Amber Craghead 21-14, 21-2 in the Open Doubles final. Fadden and Craghead had eliminated sophomore Gracie Mullins and freshman Christi Valicenti 21-6, 21-5 in the semifinals after knocking off sophomore Caitlin Shetterley and freshman Katrine Buur 21-4, 21-5 in the quarterfinals. DeSardi and Zender defeated junior Lissette Cortez and sophomore Amanda Flaxman 21-1, 21-1 in the quarterfinals and won a 21-15, 21-6 decision in the semifinals.
Freshman Dan Cordova was the Foresters' top finisher in the men's Open Singles. He edged out sophomore C.J. Laffey 21-16, 21-20 to reach the semifinals, where he fell to eventual champion Nikolai Nahorniak, a 2011 graduate of the College. Senior Isaac Acosta joined Cordova and Laffey in the quarterfinals after defeating his first round opponent 21-11, 21-3.
Acosta and Laffey won their Open Doubles quarterfinal match 21-9, 21-5 but fell to Nahorniak and fellow alumnus Suhn Lee, who went on to win the same championship they claimed as Foresters in 2010. Cordova and sophomore Eric Matiasek also won their quarterfinal match 21-6, 21-12. Senior Justin Novak and freshman Matthew Chu reached the quarterfinals with a 21-12, 21-17 victory in the round of 16.
Lake Forest players made up half of the quarterfinal field in the women's A Singles. Valicenti defeated Buur 21-5, 21-12 and Craghead knocked off Flaxman 21-9. Both were eliminated in the semifinals.
Novak prevailed 21-11, 21-18 in the quarterfinals of the men's A Singles division before falling to Lake Forest alumnus James Zender in the semifinals.
Josh Poncedeleon was the only Forester to win a match in the men's B Singles division. He triumphed 21-13, 18-21, 11-4 in the quarterfinals before falling in the semifinal round.
Freshman Irving Snider rattled off three consecutive victories before finally being eliminated in the semifinals of the men's C Singles bracket. Classmate Rick Arko reached the quarterfinals before having his weekend come to an end.
The Foresters will begin competing in the Illinois Handball Association Doubles Tournament on Thursday and competition will continue through Sunday at the Lattof YMCA in Des Plaines.