Handball Club Toronto Wins Gold at US Nationals
It was a tournament to remember for the Senior Men’s Team, earning the gold medal at the US Nationals Open Division Two. From start to finish the team was dominant showcasing their poise, experience and resilience, never dropping a game throughout the tournament in Adrian, Michigan.
Opening the competition in the seeding stage, the men won in convincing fashion over the Long Island Tigers beating them by 13 goals with a final score of 26-13 and followed that up with another comfortable win against DC Diplomats with a score of 28-21. Going into the knockout stage, they faced a strong Columbus Armada team in the semi-final, but were able to persevere winning 26-22. Punching their ticket to the final, they showed the entire field why they were the best in the division, beating the Wolves Team Handball Club 29-17 for the championship.
Left-back Alexis Renaud was named tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) and goalie Julien Renaud was named Most Valuable Goalkeeper (MVG) in the division. Alexis, along with Juan Sotes and Jason Miller were also named as Impact Players by The American Handball Company.
On the women’s side, they showed immense strength and resilience throughout the tournament placing 6th in the women’s division. Despite being down players early, the team came together to play some fantastic handball.
In the first game the women lost a tough fight at the hands of Cal Heat with a score of 17-23, but rebounded in the second game, with a three-goal win against LA Team Handball Club 23-20. In their third game, it was a battle of Canada and the future National Champions Handball Quebec got the better of our ladies winning 9-23. In the final game of the seeding rounds, Toronto came back strong defeating New York with a score of 18-11. Playing for 5th place, the women came out strong and despite a balanced attack, lost a heart breaker to Cal Heat by one goal with a final score of 20-21.
Special thanks to some of the women’s players from Quebec who joined our club for the competition. Congratulations to all the other teams, and big thank you to USA Team Handball and Detroit Handball Club for a fantastic tournament.