Lake County Gazette

The Lake Forest College men’s and women’s handball season is underway, and head coach Mike Dau said he thinks the team is capable of having a successful season.

“Like every year, I think we’ve got a chance,” Dau told the Lake County Gazette. “We have some kids who are new to the program, and it will be interesting to see how they perform.”

Recently, the team took part in the Milwaukee Classic, which is open to amateur and professional players. A few Foresters turned in solid performances at the tournament. On the women’s side, senior Kyra Vidas reached the semifinals in singles competition, but she was knocked out of the tournament by the women’s No. 1 seed. She recorded a dominant win in the round of 16, knocking off her opponent in two games, winning 21-5, 21-6.

Dau said Vidas is one of the top players on the women’s team, and he expects Frankie Corrado to be a key member of the team.

“On the women’s side we have Kira Vides, who is our No. 1 player,” Dau said. “She was an All-American last year and then we have Frankie Corrado, who is our second best player. They both are seniors, and it will be interesting to see how they do this year.”

In the men’s division at the Milwaukee Classic, senior Carter Kounovsky turned in the best performance, reaching the A Singles semifinals. Leo Canales and Anthony Sullivan both reached the round of 16. Dau said this was a tough competition and overall he was pleased with how the Foresters performed.

“The tournament is open to pros as well as amateurs and our kids gave a pretty good showing playing against the pros,” he said. “It is encouraging for us, but we’ve got a lot of competition, particularly Southwest Missouri State and Mankato State from Minnesota. They both have excellent teams and it’ll be a dogfight between the three of us.”

Dau expects Canales to be the top player for the men’s team. Last year, Canales lost in the finals of the singles competition at the National Collegiate Championships. Dau also said he is excited to see how Sullivan, a freshman does this year. 

“Anthony Sullivan is a guy we recruited, and he is a national junior champion in both three-wall and four-wall handball,” Dau said. “Anthony is going to be in Chicago shortly after Christmas taking part in the junior national tournament. He will be defending his singles and doubles title, and he will add to the strength of our team for sure.”

In addition to Canales and Sullivan, Dau said he expects Ricardo Palma and Kounovsky to perform well for the Foresters in singles competitions. At the Milwaukee Classic, Palma and Canales also participated in doubles play, where they reached the quarterfinals. 

After Christmas break, the handball season will kick into high gear, and the Foresters will be in action nearly every weekend throughout January and February. 

For more information about the Lake Forest men’s and women’s handball teams or to view a full schedule, visit www.goforesters.com.