Forester sophomore Leo Canales defeated classmate Ricardo Palma in the semifinals on his way to the 2015 Illinois Handball Association Contenders title over the weekend.
Canales, the #2 seed at the event, outscored his first three opponents by a combined score of 90-32 before prevailing 15-8, 15-11 over Palma. He won the first game 15-8 but fell 15-14 in the second in the championship match. Canales took the tiebreaker 11-6 to claim the title.
Palma won his first match 15-1, 15-3 and defeated the #6 seed 15-11, 14-15, 11-1 in the second round. He then faced senior Matthew Chu, the #3 seed, but fell 15-6 in the first game. Palma took game two 15-7 and the tiebreaker 11-6 to advance to his semifinal match against Canales.
Chu had a bye in the round of 32 and posted a 15-4, 15-8 victory in round two.
Sophomore Max Roberts recorded the Foresters' only other victory, a 15-6, 6-15, 11-7 opening round triumph, before falling in the round of 16.
Lake Forest College hosted the event, which included 23 players.
The next event on the Foresters' schedule is the Milwaukee Classic December 4-6.
