Juniors Kyra Vidas and Leo Canales were Lake Forest College's top players at the Illinois Handball Association State Singles Tournament over the weekend.
Canales was the runner-up in the men's competition, rattling off three straight victories, including two in tie-breaker fashion, before falling to former Forester David Munson in the championship match. Canales eeked out a 21-7, 18-21, 11-2 victory in the quarterfinals and a 19-21, 21-20, 11-3 triumph in the semifinal round to reach the final.
Forester senior Anthony Collado and junior Ricardo Palma also competed in the Men's Open Division. Collado won 21-6, 7-21, 11-2 in the round of 16 but was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Palma posted a 21-16, 21-12 victory in the round of 32 but was knocked out in his next match.
Vidas was Lake Forest's top women's player. She recorded a pair of victories by a combined score of 84-32 to reach the semifinals, where she fell to the event's runner-up.
Sophomore Quinn Matuschek turned in the Foresters' only other victory in the Women's Open bracket, where she prevailed 21-6, 21-2 in a round of 32 contest.
Lake Forest also found some success in the other divisions. Junior Carter Kounovsky was the champion in the Men's B Division after a 21-11, 16-21, 11-4 triumph over the top seed in the final. Sophomore David Carillo finished second in the Men's C/Novice bracket. He knocked off a pair of competitors before falling in the division's championship match. Freshman Chandler Straw added a quarterfinal appearance in the Men's A Division after upsetting the bracket's #2 seed 21-17, 21-9.
In addition to participating in several tournaments this season, Lake Forest is hosting four other less formal events for members of the team and other players in the area. The second of those, the Women's Invitational Doubles, will be next Saturday.