Florida Racquetball Association News

Herrera, Leon win open titles at 2023 State Singles

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 03:58:51 GMT

January 29, 2023

SARASOTA - The 54th Annual Florida State Singles Racquetball Championships were held on January 27-29, 2023, in Sarasota at CoreSRQ North Branch.

An even 100 players from around the state battled for state titles in 19 different divisions.

Andrew Kapec served as tournament director on behalf of the Florida Racquetball Association. President Rod Van Dyke and Vice President Gary Wargo were instrumental in putting the event on as well. The FRA would like to thank the following individuals for their contributions:

Jeffrey Thompson (JT RB) for streaming and commentating on the matches. The streaming has been a great feature for the last couple of state events.
Kyle Ziegler and Core SRQ staff for assistance with tournament prep, internet connection, and other troubleshooting throughout the weekend.
Cheri and Donnie Morrow - for coordinating meals for the event.
Brendan Anthony, Kyle Artman, Matt Fontana, and Sam Schulze for all around help: IT work, working the desk and with refereeing on demand.
A bunch of players for extra contributions (example: help with reffing): Darron Toston, Chad Beacher, Luis Macias, Lincoln Andres-Black, Larry Keshner, Silvio DIaz, Rodolfo Valdes Perez, and Gene Fry to name a few.

The Florida Racquetball Association would like to thank our sponsors for the 2023 Florida State Singles Championships.

Men's Open

Back-to-back Men’s Open champ, Jonathan Burns, was not present to defend his title, but the field still featured three former state open champions : Mike Harmon (7), Alejandro Herrera (1), and Aaron Metcalf (1).

The top-seed Herrera took care of business at the top of the bracket, defeating Assuan Castaneda 15-5, 15-7 before being pushed in the semis by Alex Zamudio 15-10, 15-12.

Harmon, who returned to the court after Tommy John surgery in 2022, raced by Aaron Metcalf in game 1 15-5 before falling behind 11-1 in the second game. Metcalf served well and was able to hold off a furious comeback attempt to close out game 2 15-12. Harmon carried the momentum into the tiebreaker and cruised 11-3. He then blitzed Matt Fontana in the semis 15-2, 15-0 to set up a finals matchup with Herrera.

Herrera dominated game 1 of the finals 15-6. Though Harmon pushed him in game 2, Herrera closed it out with a 15-12 victory to secure his second career state open singles title (2016 first state title).

Congratulations to Alejandro Herrera - 2023 Florida Men’s Open State Singles Champion!

Women's Open

Chanisleydis Leon avenged her only loss in pool play by taking down defending champion Graci Wargo to win her first Florida Women’s Open State title against a tough round robin field which featured three previous state open champions: Wargo (1), Laura Brandt (1), and Sara Noyes (1).

Leon opened play with a hard fought tiebreaker victory over Sara Noyes 15-9, 6-15, 11-7 on Friday night. She then fell to Wargo 15-9, 15-12 before winning another tiebreak against Laura Brandt 8-15, 15-5, 11-5 and securing the two seed in the playoff with a 15-1, 15-2 win against Tameka Johnson-Carter.

On Sunday, Leon squared off with Wargo and ran away with it 15-6, 15-9 for her first state open championship.

Congratulations to Chanisleydis Leon - 2023 Florida Women’s Open State Singles Champion!

Men’s Elite Champion: Yoany Batista survived a 15-3, 13-15, 11-3 tiebreaker in the semifinals before defeating Sam Schulze 15-3, 15-3 in the finals.

Men’s A Champion: Rodolfo Valdes Perez captured the title in the largest draw in the field (20 players) with a 7-15, 15-7, 11-4 victory in the finals over Leonardo Garcia.

Men’s B Champion: John Mora defeated Ignacio Molina 15-3, 15-8 to cap off his fourth victory of the weekend and the Men’s B state title.

Women’s B Champion: Leslie Sistla dropped only one game on her way to winning four matches in a round robin field to secure the Women’s B title.

Men’s C Champion: John Ross earned his top seed with two victories on his way to the Men’s C state title. Ross won 15-10, 15-6 in the semis and defeated Larry Keshner 10-15, 15-11, 11-2 in a tiebreak in the finals.

Men’s 24-/25+ Champion: Yoany Batista won his second gold of the event against defending champ Marcos Reyero 15-8, 12-15, 11-9 in a tightly contested finals match.

Women’s 25/40 Champion: Chanisleydis Leon won her semis matchup 15-1, 15-0 before knocking off Tameka Johnson-Carter 15-4, 15-7 in the finals to secure her second gold medal of the event.

Men’s 45+ Champion: Darron Toston did not give up more than 8 points in wins against Luis Macias and Mike Mondello to take a state title home to Tallahassee.

Men’s 50+ Champion: Chad Beacher used two tiebreakers to get by Aaron Metcalf 10-15, 15-9, 11-4 and Bryan Rucks 10-15, 15-8, 11-5 to secure the Men’s 50+ title.

Men’s 55+ Champion: Scott Reid won his third consecutive Men’s 55+ state title after clawing by Rick Gross in the semis 10-15, 15-11, 11-3 and knocking off Herve Bony in the finals 15-8, 15-0.

Men’s 60+ Champion: Glenn Leib needed three games to take down Rick Gross in the finals, but prevailed 15-10, 14-15, 11-5 to win the Men’s 60+ title. Leib took out Bob Lerow and Charles Cole en route to the finals.

Men’s 70+ Champion: Scott Gill rounds out the age open winners after defeating Ken Drew 15-4, 15-11 in the finals.

Men’s 25A Champion: Enrique Ibarra defeated Kyle Pullen 11-15, 15-11, 11-2 and top-seed Jose Rameriz 15-4, 8-15, 11-9 to secure the Men’s 25A state title.

Men’s 40A Champion: Eduardo Castaneda won three matches to take home gold in the Men’s 40A division.

Men’s 50A Champion: Philip Shoemaker bringing home the title means three gold medals went back to Tallahassee. The second seeded Shoemaker survived an 15-12, 5-15, 11-7 tiebreaker against top seed Brendan Anthony.

Men’s 60A Champion: Carl Gabrielson survived two tiebreakers against Gene Fry and Ivars Blums to win the Men’s 60A bracket.

Men’s 40B Champion: John Mora worked his way through four rounds from the eighth seed to capture the Men’s 40A state championship.

Annual FRA Awards for 2022 Season

FRA Annual Awards Definitions

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 20:15:15 GMT

FRA Annual Awards Definitions

Nominations for these awards are provided to the FRA Board from the membership. The FRA Board votes to determine the winners. The Florida Cup Awards are determined by FRA Ranking points in the Open division throughout the FRA Season. The season starts with State Singles and then ends prior to the next State Singles.

Men’s Skill Player of the Year

This is awarded to the Florida male skill player of any skill level that has provided the most outstanding contribution to Florida racquetball through active participation this past season. Extra consideration is given to the player that represented Florida well by competing at National and World events. This is not necessarily the highest ranked or best open-level player in Florida. This can be for any outstanding skill division male player in Open, Elite, A, B, or C divisions.

Women’s Skill Player of the Year

This is awarded to the Florida female skill player of any skill level that has provided the most outstanding contribution to Florida racquetball through active participation this past season. Extra consideration is given to the player that represented Florida well by competing at National and World events. This is not necessarily the highest ranked or best open-level player in Florida. This can be for any outstanding skill division female player in Open, Elite, A, B, or C divisions.

Pete Scondras Memorial: Men’s Age Player of the Year

This is awarded to the Florida male player that provided the most outstanding contribution to Florida racquetball through active participation this past season primarily in age-based divisions. Extra consideration is given to the player that represented Florida well by competing at National and World events. This is not necessarily an older player or the highest ranked player. It is just for players that focus primarily on age-based men’s divisions of any age, 24- to 90+. Formerly “Men’s Age Player of the Year” (2007-2017).

Women’s Age Player of the Year

This is awarded to the Florida female player that provided the most outstanding contribution to Florida racquetball through active participation this past season primarily in age-based divisions. Extra consideration is given to the player that represented Florida well by competing at National and World events. This is not necessarily an older player or the highest ranked player. It is just for players that focus primarily on age-based women’s divisions of any age, 24- to 90+.

Most Improved Male Player of the Year

This is awarded to the Florida male player that provided the most outstanding contribution to Florida racquetball through active participation this past season and showed the most dramatic improvement in their skills on the court. This could be an Open, Elite, A, B, or C player that has improved and continues to progress by moving-up and starting to compete in higher skill divisions. Extra consideration is given to the player that represented Florida well by competing at National and World events.

Most Improved Female Player of the Year

This is awarded to the Florida female player that provided the most outstanding contribution to Florida racquetball through active participation this past season and showed the most dramatic improvement in their skills on the court. This could be an Open, Elite, A, B, or C player that has improved and continues to progress by moving-up and starting to compete in higher skill divisions. Extra consideration is given to the player that represented Florida well by competing at National and World events.

Junior Male Player of the Year

This is awarded to the Florida male junior player that qualified by age to play junior divisions for all or a majority of this past season (ages 6 to 19). This junior player provided the most outstanding contribution to Florida racquetball through active participation this past season. Extra consideration is given to the player that represented Florida well by competing at National and World events. Consideration is also given to juniors that play in both adult divisions and junior divisions. All candidates must have played a minimum of 3 indoor sanctioned events in the season to be considered. This does not need to be the highest ranked or best junior male player in Florida.

Junior Female Player of the Year

This is awarded to the Florida female junior player that qualified by age to play junior divisions for all or a majority of this past season (ages 6 to 19). This junior player provided the most outstanding contribution to Florida racquetball through active participation this past season. Extra consideration is given to the player that represented Florida well by competing at National and World events. Consideration is also given to juniors that play in both adult divisions and junior divisions. All candidates must have played a minimum of 3 indoor sanctioned events in the season to be considered. This does not need to be the highest ranked or best junior female player in Florida.

Kevin List Memorial: Men’s Sportsmanship Award

This is awarded to the male player that has shown outstanding sportsmanship. Consideration is given to the contributions they made this past season, but the candidate’s contribution over their years of play is also factored in. This player exemplifies the greatest positive attitude on and off the court. Consideration is given to specific incidents that have been witnessed showing fair play and kindness above and beyond what has come to be the expected standard. This person may speak their mind or make their case on the court, but after discussion they are never abusive or argumentative. This person exemplifies great sportsmanship by conducting themselves with poise when they referee fairly to benefit the tournament experience for all. Formerly both “Men’s Sportsmanship Award” (2015-2016), and “Sportsmanship Award” 2007-2015).

Women’s Sportsmanship Award

This is awarded to the female player that has shown outstanding sportsmanship. Consideration is given to the contributions they made this past season, but the candidate’s contribution over their years of play is also factored in. This player exemplifies the greatest positive attitude on and off the court. Consideration is given to specific incidents that have been witnessed showing fair play and kindness above and beyond what has come to be the expected standard. This person may speak their mind or make their case on the court, but after discussion they are never abusive or argumentative. This person exemplifies great sportsmanship by conducting themselves with poise when they referee fairly to benefit the tournament experience for all.

Tournament Director of the Year

This is an acknowledgement award presented to the most outstanding Tournament Director of the Year. You should take into consideration their attention to detail and quality of tournaments. You may also focus on the quantity of superior of tournaments. And lastly, you may also take into consideration the director’s long-term commitment to running sanctioned tournaments in Florida.

President’s Award

This award given out at the sole discretion of the FRA President. This is an acknowledgement award that can be given out for many reasons. This could be for somebody’s exemplary contribution in the current season that made a great difference and has not yet received credit. This could be earned through volunteerism, coaching, Board membership, running tournaments, giving clinics, etc. Going above and beyond their calling to be supportive of racquetball in Florida.

Lifetime Achievement Award

This is an acknowledgement award to be awarded to a male or female. The recipient must have contributed to racquetball or played racquetball over at least a 10 year period of time sometime in their life, and must be a minimum of 30 years old. This award is given to the person that over a lifetime has contributed their time and support to enhance, promote, improve, and advance the sport of racquetball within Florida without the primary goal of personal or financial gain. You may certainly put consideration to their service to racquetball outside of Florida, but they must have had at one time a personal emphasis to improve Florida racquetball. You may put into consideration their racquetball playing, competing, coaching, volunteering, racquetball board membership, tournament directorship, league management, rules education, and their contribution to juniors or new people entering the sport. This is an acknowledgment award, meant to only be given one time to any one individual.

FRA Florida Cup – Men’s Open Seasonal Singles Champion

The Florida resident male player with the most FRA ranking points in the amateur Open division becomes the Seasonal Champion and the recipient of the annual seasonal Men’s Florida Cup. The season begins at State Singles. To qualify, you must play a minimum of any 2 Florida indoor sanctioned tournaments in the amateur Men’s Open Singles division. However, to qualify you must compete in the Men’s Open Singles division in at least 1 of the 3 following qualifying Florida tournaments: 1) FRA’s Florida State Singles Championships. or 2) Florida’s Regional Qualifier or 3) Florida’s IRT Tier-1 Pro Stop Because of the high quality skills and the high participation numbers at this event, for the purpose of the Florida Cup competition, this tournament will receive FRA’s regional level points for the amateur Open division, regardless of whether this tournament is designated and sanctioned as the official USAR Florida Regional Qualifier, or not. If these qualifications are met, the player earns ranking points based on the established FRA ranking system. In addition, points can be earned in the amateur Open division at any Florida indoor sanctioned tournament, any out-of-state indoor sanctioned tournament, at any USAR Regional Singles, and at national level events such as USAR National Singles and world level events such as the US Open, as long as it is in the amateur Open division. The Florida resident player with the most accumulative amateur Open FRA ranking points during the season earns the Florida Cup. This is not a voted on award. The Florida Cup is presented at FRA’s State Singles.

FRA Florida Cup – Women’s Open Seasonal Singles Champion

The Florida resident female player with the most FRA ranking points in the amateur Open division becomes the Seasonal Champion and the recipient of the annual seasonal Women’s Florida Cup. The season begins at State Singles. To qualify, you must play a minimum of any 2 Florida indoor sanctioned tournaments in the amateur Women’s Open Singles division. However, to qualify you must compete in the Women’s Open Singles division in at least 1 of the 3 following qualifying Florida tournaments: 1) FRA’s Florida State Singles Championships. or 2) Florida’s Regional Qualifier or 3) Florida’s LPRT Tier-1 Pro Stop Because of the high quality skills and the high participation numbers at this event, for the purpose of the Florida Cup competition, this tournament will receive FRA’s regional level points for the amateur Open division, regardless of whether this tournament is designated and sanctioned as the official USAR Florida Regional Qualifier, or not. If these qualifications are met, the player earns ranking points based on the established FRA ranking system. In addition, points can be earned in the amateur Open division at any Florida indoor sanctioned tournament, any out-of-state indoor sanctioned tournament, at any USAR Regional Singles, and at national level events such as USAR National Singles and world level events such as the US Open, as long as it is in the amateur Open division. The Florida resident player with the most accumulative amateur Open FRA ranking points during the season earns the Florida Cup. This is not a voted on award. The Florida Cup is presented at FRA’s State Singles.

Men’s Doubles Player of the Year

This award is presented at State Doubles. This is awarded to the Florida male doubles player of any skill level that has provided the most outstanding contribution to Florida racquetball through active participation in doubles within Florida indoor sanctioned tournaments this past season. Extra consideration is given to the player that represented Florida well on the national scene with achievements in doubles at National and World events.

Women’s Doubles Player of the Year

This award is presented at State Doubles. This is awarded to the Florida female doubles player of any skill level that has provided the most outstanding contribution to Florida racquetball through active participation in doubles within Florida indoor sanctioned tournaments this past season. Extra consideration is given to the player that represented Florida well on the national scene with achievements in doubles at National and World events.

Florida Indoor/Outdoor Racquetball Ambassador

This award is presented at State Doubles. This is awarded to the Floridian that has contributed the most to the cross marketing and uplifting of both the Florida indoor racquetball community and the Florida outdoor racquetball community. This could be a cross-over player, a director, or a contributor of any kind.

Fontana wins Men's 50 singles at Florida Senior Games

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 19:03:05 GMT

Rick Bernstein hosted the Florida Senior Games at the DPJCC in Davie, Florida.

The two-day event drew 55 players from across the Sunshine State.

Gerhardt / Gravier win CPRT 40+ doubles at 2022 WOR Florida State Championship

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 18:41:56 GMT

de la Rosa captures IRT Dovetail Open

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 16:10:21 GMT

Mike Kinkin and Team Dovetail hosted the first Dovetail Open on November 3-6, 2022, in Sarasota, Florida, at CORE SRQ.

Amateur Recap

IRT Recap by Todd Boss

Pro Racquetball Stats

Dovetail Open Wrapup

Congrats to your winners on the weekend:

- Singles: Daniel De La Rosa

- Doubles: Javier Mar & Rodrigo Montoya

PRS Singles match report: https://rball.pro/c5l

PRS Doubles match report: https://rball.pro/klr

De La Rosa wins his 9th career tier 1 title, putting him 13th all time. Mar/Montoya win their 4th pro doubles title together, first since Chicago in March.

R2 Sports App home page for event: https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=39931

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Lets review the notable matches in the Singles draw.

Singles Match report in the PRS database:

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In the qualifying:

- Solid win for @ Rodrigo Rodrigues , taking out Sam Bredenbeck in a breaker. A setback for Sam, who looked really strong at Worlds.

- @Christian Longoria got a very solid win over Alan Natera to move into the main draw.

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In the 32s:

- #17 Erick Trujillo impressed against the classy Javier Mar but fell in a breaker.

- #20 @Jaime Martell played well and downed #13 @S Sebastian Fran in two straight forward games, perhaps not really an upset by true talent levels.

- Solid win by #14 Thomas Carter over the upstart Longoria.

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In the 16s, some upsets for sure

- #1 Daniel de la Rosa had to deal with Mar, a matchup that is more of a semis-quality match. 15-2 in the first made it seem like it'd be a laugher, but Mar ground out game 2 to force DLR to win the breaker.

- #8 @Jake Bredenbeck got a quality win over the red-hot #9 Mario Mercado .

- #12 Andres Acuña blew out a rusty #5 @Alejandro Landa 5,7. Landa reportedly had not played since the US Open and showed it on the court against the always-consistent Acuna.

- #4 @ Eduardo Portilla outlasted the dangerous Martell in two tight games.

- #3 Andrés Parrilla was pressed by #14 Carter but moved on 11,8

- #11 Rodrigo Montoya is fast becoming the non-top 8 player nobody wants to see, again claiming a top-8 scalp in dominating #6 Samuel Murray 11,6. Are we finally going to see the uber-talented Montoya take his rightful place at the top of the IRT tour, after years of partial touring costing him the points he needed to stay there?

- #7 @Rocky Carson held off fellow American #10 @Adam Manilla, has he has done for a few tournaments now at this juncture.

- #2 Conrrado Moscoso surprisingly dropped game one to fellow hard-hitter @Eduardo Gara , but bounced back to move on.

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In the Quarters

- #1 DLR continues to bedevil #8 Jake in the quarters when they generally meet (three times in the last year), but Jake did force him to a breaker this time. Being "stuck" at #8 can be a tough place to get out of without the "flip seeding" that the tour seems to have done away with.

- #12 Acuna got a walkover win against #4 Portillo, who was under the weather and was advised not to play. Acuna makes a semi for the first time in his pro career.

- #11 Montoya topped #3 Parrilla once again; it has been more than a year since Parrilla has beaten his cohort-mate in Rodrigo.

- #2 Moscoso cruised past #7 Carson 11,5.

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In the Semis,

- DLR was pressed by the upstart Costa Rican Acuna, but moved into the final 10,13

- In the other semi, what was shaping up to be a fantastic match on paper was cut short quickly when #2 Conrrado tripped over #11 Montoya's feet while back-pedalling to retrieve a ceiling ball, and banged his head on the back wall. He was judged not to have been concussed, but was advised to retire unfortunately.

In the Finals, DLR absolutely destroyed the player who put him out of the US Open, beating Montoya 5,3 to claim the title.

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Points Implications of results;

This tourney expires the 2021 World Singles & Doubles championship, which was DLR over Moscoso in the final. So, DLR defends his winner points, and with just one tier 1 remaining in 2022 has an insurmountable lead at the top of the IRT tour. Congratulations to DLR for securing his second straight #1 year end ranking.

Other expected points machinations:

- Parrilla and Moscoso should switch places at 2/3, but its super close and if one or the other has some random tier 2/3 points that aren't in my model they may stay the same 2/3 order.

- Despite both losing early, Murray should move ahead of Landa at the 5/6 by virtue of having fewer points to defend from Denver.

- Manilla continues to climb the ranks; he's nearly in the top 10 now.

- Keller's absenses are catching up to him; he's nearly out of the top 16 now.

- Kane won't drop too much for the time being: he's entering a period where he missed most of the 2021 slate of events, so he'll have no expiring points. Meanwhil,e Beltran will continue to fall as he recovers from his injury; he'll likely be out of the top 20 soon.

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Doubles review

- The #1 seeds Parrilla/Murray were upset in the quarters by Natera/Acuna.

- The Bredenbecks had to work far harder than they should have to top Cuevas/Ramirez

- Landa & Moscoso teamed up for the first time and looked solid together

- DLR picked up a last minute partner in Carrasco, topped Carson/Portillo, and took Mar/Montoya to a breaker. Not bad.

The final was a walkover unfortunately, when Moscoso got hurt. Would have been a solid match to see Landa/Moscoso vs Mar/Montoya.

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Other notable draws from the event

- Erick Cuevas took the IRT U21 event with a solid win over Trujillo in the final.

- Diego Gastellum took the Men's open with the help of a couple of walkovers from the top two seeds along the way.

- Florida pair @Bradley Knudsen and Matt Fontana took the Men's Open doubles draw.

- Hollie Scott took the Women's Open draw, which featured 7 regular LPRT players, topping Veronica Sotomayor 11-9 in the final.

- Scott teamed up with Maria Renee Rodriguez to win the 5-team Women's Open Doubles over solid competition. Sotomayor and Costa Rican top junior Maricruz Ortiz finished 2nd.

- Finally, two Californians who made the trip won the Mixed Open title when Will Reynolds and @EsEstefania Perez Piña took out the all-florida pair of @Assuan Castaneda and @Graci Wargo in the final.

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Thanks for all the streaming on the weekend, especially from broadcasters Favio Soto and Karen Grisz who worked the mike all weekend.

Thanks to the Tourney Director Mike Kinkin and @ Team Dovetail for putting this event on!

Reminder to Players! Please like and follow this page so that when I tag you, you see it. Facebook will only retain tags of people that like/follow a page, which means lots of you are not getting the notoriety of getting tagged and noticed on Facebook. If your name is here and it isn't tagged ... it probably means I attempted to tag you but Facebook stripped it.

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Next up?

Per our handy master racquetball calendar ...

https://docs.google.com/.../1V6OTid6rZ356voXVkoV2sN7KMMb.../

- @ Racquetball Canada has a selection event next weekend.

- The weekend after the LPRT is back in action in Chicago

- Then there's a lower-tier IRT event in Monterrey, NL Mexico the same weekend.

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Dovetail Open - IRT Matches

New Paragraph

Broward County Senior Games a success in Davie

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 21:09:28 GMT

Rick Bernstein & Co. run another successful event out of the DPJCC.

There were 54 players across 25 divisions in the two day event on October 15-16 in Davie, Florida.

Sotomayor teams with Monchik and Noyes to sweep Men's and Women's Open Gold at 2022 State Doubles

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 20:37:57 GMT

Sotomayor/Monchik: 2022 Men's Open Doubles State Champions

USA Racquetball Announces Timothy Baghurst (Tallahassee) as U.S. Junior Team Head Coach

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Fri, 05 Aug 2022 20:24:59 GMT

August 2, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FROM TEAM USA RACQUETBALL

https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Racquetball/Features/2022/August/02/Junior-Coach-Announcement

USA Racquetball Announces Timothy Baghurst as U.S. Junior Team Head Coach

Colorado Springs, Colorado -- The USA Racquetball Board of Directors, Staff, and U.S. Team Committee are pleased to announce that Timothy Baghurst has been named U.S. Junior Team Head Coach, effective 8/1/22.

Tim is a highly qualified coach and coach educator with significant experience in a variety of sports at all age levels. He has coached a number of racquetball amateurs and professionals, often via distance training. Tim is a certified racquetball instructor who has attended several IRF World Junior Championship events. He lays claim to numerous international experiences including having resided on three continents (Africa, Europe, and North America).

Since 2019, Tim has held the position of Professor at Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he is the Founding Director of FSU COACH: Interdisciplinary Center for Athletic Coaching. Prior to that, he was Professor of Health and Human Performance at Oklahoma State University where he was the Program Director and Creator of the Sports & Coaching Science program.

Tim holds a Ph.D. in Physical Education; an M.S. in Kinesiology; an M.A.T. in Education; an M.S. in Applied Sport & Exercise Psychology; and a B.S. in Sports Science.

Inside the sport of racquetball, Tim is the Deputy Commissioner of the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour, an experienced livestreaming match commentator, and an Open level player. He also spent many years assisting the International Racquetball Federation with antidoping administration, officiating, and broadcasting.

Tim and his wife Terra-Leigh are the parents of Asa, 16, Asher, 12, Hershey the dog, and Hokie the bunny. They reside in Tallahassee, Florida.

“I am humbled that USA Racquetball has entrusted me with the task of leading the very best junior racquetball athletes in the country,” said Tim. “To coach a national team is one of coaching’s highest honors, and to do so for a country that has adopted me as one of its own makes this particularly special. I am excited by the talent on Team USA and look forward to getting to work.”

U.S. Team Committee Chair Larry Haemmerle commented, ”We are extremely proud to continue our tradition of providing our Junior National Team with top quality Head Coaches. Tim has big shoes to fill in following Charlie Pratt’s amazing work. We’re confident that he is up to the task and will be an outstanding addition to our program.

Tim and his assistant coaches (soon to be announced) will immediately begin connecting with U.S. Junior Team members, their parents, and their private coaches in preparation for the IRF World Junior Championships to be held in Guatemala City, Guatemala, this fall.

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Contact: Renee Isherwood, Director, National Teams, risherwood@usaracquetball.com
Website: www.usaracquetball.com
Facebook: USA Racquetball
Instagram: usaracquetball

Sotomayor/Lotts dominate at 2022 Treasure Coast Open

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Fri, 05 Aug 2022 20:07:28 GMT

Veronica Sotomayor and Sheryl Lotts played in the Open finals in both singles and doubles at the 2022 Treasure Coast Open in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

The July 22-24, 2022, event drew 38 players from three different states (Florida, Ohio, and South Carolina).

In the doubles draw, Veronica Sotomayor / Sheryl Lotts defeated Sudsy Monchik / Shane De Witt after both teams cruised to easy victories in the semifinals round. The LPRT pros took the championship home in two games 15-9 and 15-13.

Sotomayor and Lotts each advanced to the singles final after giving up a combined total of six points each in their semifinals matches. Sotomayor took game 15-2, but Lotts bounced back to secure a 15-8 win in game two. In the tiebreaker, Sotomayor regained form to top Lotts 11-2 to capture the Open Singles division title.

McDonalds win gold; 7 from Florida compete in 2022 Outdoor Nationals

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Fri, 05 Aug 2022 19:00:53 GMT

Seven from Florida compete at 2022 Team Root Outdoor Nationals presented by Pro Kennex in Huntington Beach, CA

Photography of Stephen Fitzsimons

See more from Fitzsimons at: Rogue's Gallery on Facebook

2022 Team Root Outdoor Nationals presented by Pro Kennex

7/14/2022 - 7/17/2022,

Marina Park

Huntington Beach, CA, USA

Click here for results

Seven players from Florida travelled out west to compete in the 2022 Team Root Outdoor Nationals presented by Pro Kennex in Huntington Beach, California.

The McDonalds did what the McDonalds do in mid-July. They went to outdoor nationals and brought home a title. Jack McDonald / Martha McDonald won the Mixed Elite Doubles division and Jack took home the silver medal in the Men's Open Singles. The Gainesville natives were joined by Amir Baig (Jacksonville), Anthony Gambone (Pembroke Pines), Max Heymann (West Palm Beach), and Mike Kinkin (North Port).

B aig, Amir

Jacksonville

Men's Doubles: CPRT 40+ Partner: Max Heymann
Men's Doubles: Open Partner: Max Heymann
Men's Doubles: Combined 75+ Partner: Max Heymann

Gambone, Anthony

Pembroke Pines

Men's Doubles: B/C Partner: Ray Nayyar
Mixed Doubles: B / C Partner: Peggine Tellez

Heymann, Max

West Palm Beach

Men's Doubles: CPRT 40+ Partner: Amir Baig
Men's Doubles: Open Partner: Amir Baig
Men's Doubles: Combined 75+ Partner: Amir Baig

Kinkin, Michael

North Port

Men's Doubles: A Partner: Grant Leber
Men's Doubles: Combined 75+ Partner: Andres Acuna

McDonald, Greg

Gainesville

Men's Doubles: Elite Partner: Martha McDonald
Men's Doubles: 55+ Partner: Martha McDonald
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ Partner: Jack McDonald
Mixed Doubles: Centurion+ Partner: Martha McDonald

McDonald, Jack

Gainesville

Men's Singles: Open
Men's Doubles: Open Partner: Lou Orosco
Mixed Doubles: Elite Partner: Martha McDonald
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ Partner: Greg Mcdonald

McDonald, Martha

Gainesville

Men's Doubles: Elite Partner: Greg Mcdonald
Mixed Doubles: Elite Partner: Jack McDonald
Men's Doubles: 55+ Partner: Greg Mcdonald
Mixed Doubles: Centurion+ Partner: Greg Mcdonald

Team Florida's Excellence at the 2022 Junior Nationals!

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Fri, 05 Aug 2022 18:32:23 GMT

By Gary Wargo

Team Florida's Excellence at the 2022 Junior Nationals!

The 2022 48th USAR Junior Nationals Championships was held June 23-26 at the Des Moines Iowa Wellmark YMCA. A beautiful 8-court all glass-back facility in the metro downtown area of Des Moines. The host hotels were just a 2 block walking distance from the tournament. There were 100 competitors from 17 states. The FRA was honored to provide support to all 4 members of Team Florida on this athletic adventure. This year’s competitors were (L-R): Timmy Hansen, Assuan Castaneda Vazquez,, Graci Wargo, and Samuel Schulze.

This was the USA Racquetball Team USA qualifying event, so all matches were rally scoring, best 3 out of 5 games to 11, all win by 2, all in preparation for Team USA competition at the 2022 33rd IRF Junior World Championships in Guatemala later this fall. Here are some highlights of Team Florida.

Graci Wargo:

FRA’s oldest junior competitor at age 20, Graci Wargo of Clearwater competed in her 13th Junior Nationals. After the pandemic cancelled the 2020 Junior Nationals, Graci aged-out of juniors on January 1, 2021 as the #1 ranked junior female in the USA. Then in February of 2022 the IRF added the Age 21 & Under division, so she was back. Graci earned 1 Gold, 1 Silver, and 1 Bronze in the Girl’s 21 & Under Doubles, Mixed, and Singles. Graci’s doubles partners were Shane Diaz (TX) in the Girl’s Doubles, and Assuan Castaneda Vazquez (FL) in the Mixed Doubles. Just prior to the event, Graci battled through various injuries, multiple MRI’s, and crutches, but still met her goal of qualifying for Team USA for a near record 11th year and will compete for USA in the IRF Junior World Championships in Guatemala. This will be Graci’s 7th international IRF competition, having competed in Dominican Republic (twice), Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, and Costa Rica, as she looks to add to her 2 Gold and 4 Bronze world medals. Graci is currently the only remaining Team USA member that experienced a complete Team USA delegation World Championship (twice in 2008 and 2010). We hope this version of Team USA can bring back the Gold once again to the entire Team USA delegation. Graci was coached onsite by Felix Hernandez-Padron, and also supported by George Bustos.

Samuel Schulze:

At age 20, Sam Schulze of Ocala came on strong this year by competing in his 3rd Junior Nationals. Sam is on an ambitious competition schedule, having competed already in 10 indoor sanctioned tournaments just in the first half of 2022. At this year’s Junior Nationals, Sam earned 1 Silver, and 2 Bronze medals in Age 21 & Under Doubles, Singles, and Mixed Doubles. Sam played his Boy’s 21 & Under Doubles Cody Elkins (CA) and played his Junior Mixed 21 & Under Doubles with Hannah Fitts (MO). Sam also was hired by USAR as the Head Referee for Junior Nationals and will be providing reffing duties at the next 5 USAR championships along with reffing at the upcoming Florida State Doubles. Sam came tremendously close to making Team USA, only 2 points away on the wrong end of a 10-12 5th game tiebreaker in the Boy’s 21 & Under Singles Semi-Finals. Sam also made a tremendous run at making Team USA by coming in second in a tough 4-game finals match in Boy’s 21 & Under Doubles. Sam continues to play awesome racquetball and has 2 more years at Junior Nationals to continue his racquetball journey. Sam received the All-American award as all Team Florida members did, and is part of the first alternate team in the Boy’s 21 & Under Doubles. In addition to Florida Racquetball Association, Inc. support to all Team Florida members, Samuel Schulze was also provided additional support from Mike Kinkin of Team DOVETAIL.

Assuan Castaneda Vazquez:

Next up is Assuan Castaneda of Hialeah. Assuan at age 20 is an awesome young man who experienced his 1st USAR Junior National Championships this year in Des Moines Iowa. Assuan was able to compete for the first time at this Team USA qualifying event since he earned his US citizenship only 14 months ago in April of 2021. Assuan’s racquetball journey got derailed when a week after he got his citizenship, he was on his motorcycle and was involved in a hit and run accident and fractured his leg in multiple places. Assuan is fortunate to have survived. Now, 14 months later after surgery, much rehab, and enduring this adversity, Assuan is excited to have qualified to represent his new home country on Team USA. He will be competing at the IRF Junior World Championships later this year in Guatemala. Assuan received 1 Gold, 1 Silver, and 1 Bronze medal in Boy’s 21 & Under Doubles, Mixed, and Singles. Assuan played his Boy’s 21 & Under Doubles with Micah Farmer (TX), and played his Junior Mixed 21 & Under Doubles with Graci Wargo (FL). Other than playing some racquetball in his youth in Cuba, this was Assuan’s first tournament competition outside of Florida. Assuan was coached onsite by Felix Hernandez-Padron.

Timmy Hansen:

Next up in the box, Timmy Hansen of Wellington. Timmy, at age 19 is the youngest of the 4 members of Team Florida and was competing at his 7th Junior Nationals Championships. Timmy earned 1 Gold, and 2 Silver medals in Age 18 & Under Mixed, Singles, and Doubles. Timmy played his Boy’s 18 & Under Doubles with Andrew Gleason (IA), and played his Junior Mixed 18 & Under Doubles with Heather Mahoney (CA). This will be Timmy’s 6th international IRF racquetball competition, having competed in Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico (twice), and Costa Rica. Timmy already has 1 Gold world medal in Boy’s 14 & Under Doubles back in 2018 with his current doubles partner Andrew Gleason. Later this fall, Timmy will be competing for Team USA in both Boy’s 18 & Under Singles and Junior Mixed 18 & Under Doubles at the IRF Junior World Championships in Guatemala. Although Timmy is provided great advice, support, and onsite behind-the-glass coaching from his racquetball Hall of Fame father, Tim Hansen, Timmy continues to write his own story and drives his own racquetball championship journey.

Results:

Graci Wargo:

- Gold – Girl’s 21 & Under Doubles (Shane Diaz - TX)

- Silver – Junior Mixed 21 & Under Doubles (Assuan Castaneda - FL)

- Bronze – Girl’s 21 & Under Singles

- Team USA Qualifier

Samuel Schulze:

- Silver – Boy’s 21 & Under Doubles (Cody Elkins - CA)

- Bronze – Boy’s 21 & Under Singles

- Bronze – Junior Mixed 21 & Under Doubles (Hannah Fitts - MO)

Assuan Castaneda Vazquez:

- Gold – Boy’s 21 & Under Doubles (Micah Farmer - TX)

- Silver – Junior Mixed 21 & Under Doubles (Graci Wargo - FL)

- Bronze – Boy’s 21 & Under Singles

- Team USA Qualifier

Timmy Hansen:

- Gold – Junior Mixed 18 & Under Doubles (Heather Mahoney - CA)

- Silver – Boy’s 18- Singles

- Silver – Boy’s 18 & Under Doubles (Andrew Gleason - IA)

- Team USA Qualifier

Congrats to Team Florida and their performance at the 2022 Junior Nationals, and all the best at the upcoming 2022 IRF Junior World Championships in Guatemala. Graci Wargo, Assuan Castaneda, and Timmy Hansen will all be competing for Team USA this fall at the Complejo Publico 10 glass-back court facility in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Florida Racquetball Association, Inc.

#TeamUSA

#TeamFlorida

#JuniorRacquetball

#FloridaRacquetball

#USARacquetball

Florida wins gold in 4 Men's, 3 Women's, and 1 Mixed Doubles Divisions at 2022 National Singles & Doubles

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 13:30:21 GMT

COLLEGE STATION, TX - Five Floridians captured six gold medals at the 2022 USA Racquetball National Doubles & Singles Championships Presented by Penn.

Len Knudsen survived 11-8 and 11-9 tiebreakers to win both the Men's 60+ and Men's 65+ Singles. Gordon Kelly was named the Men's 80+ champion. Tim Hansen and partner, Mark Malowitz, won the Men's 55/60+ Doubles national title.

On the women's side, two previous Florida State Women's Open Champions struck gold. Laura Brandt came out on top of the Women's 55+ Singles round robin bracket, downing five other competitors. Janet Tyler and Cindy Tilbury teamed up to take the Women's 60+ Doubles national championship. Renee Fish and Cheryl Kirk were named the first place team in the Women's 65+ Doubles.

Renee Fish doubled up on gold by partnering with Sal Perconti to win the Mixed 70+ Doubles division.

Full tournament results here:

https://www.r2sports.com/tourney/viewResults.asp?TID=38797

Florida was represented by 18 players at the 2022 USA Racquetball National Doubles & Singles Championships Presented by Penn. The tournament took place May 25-29, 2022, at the Texas A&M University Student Rec Center in College Station, Texas.

Brandt, Laura

Southwest Ranches

Women's Age Singles: W55/60/80

Cole, Charles

Coconut Creek

Men's Age Singles: 55+
Men's Age Singles: 60+

Fish, Renee

Dunedin

Women's Doubles: W60D/65D/70D Partner: Cheryl Kirk
Mixed Doubles: MX60/70/75 Partner: Salvatore Perconti

Hansen, Tim

Wellington

Men's Doubles: Open Partner: Timmy Hansen
Men's Doubles: M55D/60D Partner: Mark Malowitz
Men's Age Singles: 60+

Hansen, Timmy

Wellington

Men's Singles: Open
Men's Doubles: Open Partner: Tim Hansen
Men's Doubles: US Team Qualifying Partner: Jose Diaz

Kelly, Gordon

Saint Augustine

Men's Singles: C
Men's Age Singles: M7580

Kinkin, Mike

North Port

Men's Doubles: Elite Partner: Samuel Schulze
Men's Doubles: M40ED/50ED/60ED Partner: Terry Kisling

Knudsen, Len

Wimauma

Men's Age Singles: 60+
Men's Age Singles: 65+
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ Open / Elite Partner: Mike Mondello

Monchik, Sudsy

Vero Beach

Mixed Doubles: US Team Qualifier Partner: Kelani Lawrence
Men's Doubles: US Team Qualifying Partner: Alejandro Landa

Mondello, Mike

Tampa

Men's Age Singles: 45+
Men's Age Singles: 50+
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ Open / Elite Partner: Len Knudsen

Perconti, Salvatore

Saint Petersburg

Men's Doubles: M30A/40A/50A/60AD Partner: Steve Littlefield
Men's Doubles: M65/70/75D Partner: Steve Littlefield
Mixed Doubles: MX60/70/75 Partner: Renee Fish

Schnellenberger, Timothy

Delray Beach

Men's Singles: A

Schulze, Samuel

Ocala

Men's Doubles: A Partner: Rosco Halsey
Mixed Doubles: A Partner: Hannah Fitts
Men's Singles: Elite
Men's Doubles: Elite Partner: Mike Kinkin
Mixed Doubles: Elite Partner: Hannah Fitts

Tyler, Gary

Palm Harbor

Men's Age Singles: 60+ A
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ Open / Elite Partner: Garrett Tyler

Tyler, Janet

Palm Harbor

Women's Doubles: W60D/65D/70D Partner: Cindy Tilbury
Women's Age Singles: W55/60/80

Mixed Doubles: US Team Qualifier Partner: Alex Zamudio
Women's Doubles: WOD/WED Partner: Shane Diaz
Women's Singles: US team Qualifying

Zamudio, Alex

Lakeland

Mixed Doubles: US Team Qualifier Partner: Graci Wargo
Men's Singles: US team Qualifying

Jimenez/Berry win 2022 WOR Eustis Classic 2 Longwall Shootout

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 16:50:41 GMT

Eustis Classic II is in the books!

The weather held out on Saturday, but why not enjoy some indoor/outdoor on Sunday? What an awesome experience. Thank you Ron Ganus for allowing us to play in The Mancave.

Thanks to all of you that traveled from all over to play in this event. I see many of your posts and it makes this all worth it.

Thank you Marcos Gravier and Hale Sakoff for putting together the draws and running the pool play.

Thanks to Beth, James and Craig Metz for behind the scenes help and keeping us fed.

Thank you Team Dovetail and Mike Kinkin for the shirts - they came out really nice.

Sponsors - those on the back of the shirts help so much (see photo) - we all really appreciate your assistance wether it’s a financial donation or in kind.

Special Shout Out to Jimmy Fanning who couldn’t make it to the tournament. We sure missed you. He just had triple bypass heart surgery yesterday. Get well soon brother….

Finals results are here:

https://www.r2sports.com/tourney/viewResults.asp?TID=39057

-Rod Van Dyke

Morales/Zamudio upset Monchik/Herrera for Men's Open Doubles Regional title

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 14:50:08 GMT

"I must say that Chad [Bailey] and Rod [Van Dyke] trained me well over the years and they coached me along for this great event," TD Rob Lyons said after Regionals. "I had help from my immediate family and of course my racquetball family. I would specifically like to mention fellow board member, Kyle Pullen, and Team Ocala's Sam Schultz and Brendan Anthony. They helped me in any and every way this weekend.

"Almost every finals match that we had went to a tie-breaker with a huge upset in Men's Open doubles as Bobby Morales and Alex Zamudio took down 5x world champion Sudsy Monchik and former worlds doubles champion Alejandro Herrera."

See more results here:

https://www.r2sports.com/website/division-list.asp?TID=39029&sortBy=defaultOrder

Congrats to Rob Lyons & Co. on running an excellent event!

DPJCC: Herrera, Leon capture singles Open titles

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Wed, 11 May 2022 23:02:50 GMT

Photos courtesy of Brendan Anthony

See the write-up in the Sun-Sentinel:

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/the-trailblazer/fl-cn-dpjcc-racquetball-tourney-20220421-zbmmjd2rmfhbjdseiae4j2eodu-story.html?fbclid=IwAR2RHQWUUb8X7Uf1Bf13fN0M0ZQ-2NaYv4lhCA_5mIJ47M53hFktm_tw3Z8

The annual David Posnack JCC Racquetball Tournament in Davie played in front of a sold-out crowd for the 13th year in a row.

The popular tournament continues to resonate among the racquetball community as players from seven states as well as Argentina and Bolivia got the opportunity to compete in singles and doubles play.

Miami’s Alejandro Herrera defended his 2021 men’s singles open title with a victory over Florida’s top-ranked player Jonathan Burns 14-15, 15-10 and 11-4 in the tiebreaker.

The 40-year-old Herrera has been playing racquetball since age 8. He has accumulated some impressive victories over his career. In 2014, Herrera won the World Doubles Championship and followed that up with a United States Open singles championship in 2018.

The Fitts twins Hailey and Hannah came in from Missouri to compete in singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches.

Being the father of twins has curtailed some of his racquetball activities, but his passion for the sport remains high.

“This is one of my favorite tournaments and for me, it has always been about racquetball,” Herrera said. “I use to play a lot but since my twins were born, I haven’t been playing as much. I think I’m ranked top three in the state. I’m considered a hard hitter and dive all over the court, while Jonathan is more precise. We always have good matches. We have opposite styles, which makes it great to watch.”

Burns recently won the State of Florida Open singles title and has now won four state titles (2015, 2018, 2021 and 2022).

“Jonathan is a good friend of mine, and he is an amazing player who is very consistent,” Herrera said. “I like to play him a lot and it was a close battle. Jon is 43 and I’m 40 so we are the old men in our sport. Age is just a number and it’s how you prepare yourself. Jon and I are very disciplined. A lot of the younger players may have more talent but lack discipline. I’m consistent and a hard-worker.”

The Susan and Paul Suid Racquetball Center at the David Posnack JCC has courts that are conducive to Herrera’s game. The former tour professional has a lot of overseas experience having played in China, Japan and Korea.

“I grew up playing on concrete in Columbia and I like playing on a fast, hard surface,” he said. “These are very good courts for me and I had some good competition. I was happy to win this. I got a trophy and recognition and that is good enough for me. I’m hoping to come back next year and win my third in a row. I think I’ve won this tournament around eight times and have been in every final.”

In the men’s open doubles competition, Alain Yahia and Rafael Fuentes took the title, while the women’s doubles open championship went to Michele Scott and Clauda Andrade.

Chanisleydis Leon, of Miami, claimed the women’s singles open title.

Twin sisters Hailey and Hannah Fitts from Missouri finished first and second respectively in the women’s singles AB division. Graci Wargo and Alex Zamudio took top honors in the mixed doubles open division.

Co-tournament directors Rick Bernstein and Susan Suid said they were pleased to see some level of normalcy return to the tournament after the 2020 event was a COVID-19 casualty. The tournament in 2021 had a few restrictions but was still a sellout.

Grillmaster Harvey Bernstein was back to the culinary delight of all the players who were fed for the weekend. The tournament continues to be a fundraiser for the Giborim Special Needs program at the DPJCC.

“We raised approximately $20,000 this year,” Bernstein said. “It’s a wonderful thing that we can play a game we love and raise money for such a worthy cause. It’s a win-win. A huge thank you to our players and sponsors that have supported this tournament making it completely sold out for 13 years in a row.”

There was plenty of star power on hand with 26 different age and skill divisions competing among the 136 entrants.

Tim Hansen and Ken Angeloccis won the men’s doubles 55+ division. Hansen is a former U.S. National champion and a racquetball Hall of Famer.

“This is one of the best tournaments in the country,” Hansen said. “The tournament directors Rick [Bernstein] and Susan [Suid] work tirelessly to make this fundraiser a very enjoyable weekend of fun. I love this tournament and will always support Rick and Susan. Winning at this tournament is very special as I enjoy the family of players I grew up with at this tournament. I thank Rick and Susan for their hard work and dedication.”

2022 Beach Bash Recap

Wed, 11 May 2022 23:02:43 GMT

2022 Beach Bash Recap

By Todd Boss, Pro Racquetball Stats

Congrats to your winners on the weekend:

- Men's Singles: Daniel De La Rosa

- Women's Singles: Hollie Scott

- Men's Doubles: Mario Mercado/Javier Mar

- Women's Doubles: Erika Manilla/Katie Neils

- Mixed Doubles: Daniel & Michelle De La Rosa

- CPRT: Eric Faro/Ignacio "Iggy" Espinal

Lots of first time winners here this weekend; both pro doubles winners are first-time outdoor major titlists. But in singles this is more of the same; this was DLR's 3rd Beach Bash singles title and Scott's 3rd as well. Lastly, Faro & Espinal turn back the clock and take the CPRT title nearly 20 years after Faro made the finals of the first big-time rball event on these courts in 2004.

This year's Beach Bash was A great tournament that featured a ton of first-time pros who "got it" and fit into the vibe of the event. One-wall is unique, as is the culture surrounding it, and there's been nothing but positives about the event from all who were there.

R2 Sports App home page for event:

https://www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=31509

Triple Crown Reports: here's links to the "triple crown" winners of all the Outdoor majors, updated to the 2022 Beach Bash:

Men's Singles: http://rball.pro/74BC5A

Women's Singles: http://rball.pro/1A00B2

Men's Doubles: http://rball.pro/E90109

Women's Doubles: http://rball.pro/6DBFD5

Mixed Doubles: http://rball.pro/B63A8C

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Lets review the notable matches in the Singles draws. First up, and first to be mostly competed, was the Men's Singles draw.

Men's Singles Match report in the PRS database: http://rball.pro/6BFD79

----------------

In the 16s:

- Slight upset #8 @Mario Mercado taking out #9 @David Blatt. Blatt's a one-wall specialist from NY, but Mercado has plenty of one-wall experience from playing at Stratton Woods in DC. He squeaked out a 21-19 win.

- #5 @Thomas Gerhardt got a solid win over top IRT touring international @CConrrado Moscoso . Gerhardt's strategy was clear: drive serve on open court to get points, then force the indoor pro into awkward overhead shots on quadrant serving. Moscoso made multiple errors going for too good of a shot early, and Gerhardt rode the lead to the win. A textbook example of how outdoor players strategize their way to wins.

- #13 @Sebastian Franco upset the 4th seed William Rolon 21-14. A tough draw for Rolon, getting an "indoor" pro with a ton of one-wall experience at this juncture.

- The biggest upset of all though was new-to-outdoor @Javier Mar taking out the 4-time champion #2 seed @Robert Sostre 22-20. Mar proved to be quite a quick study to outdoor and squeaked out a close win.

----------------

In the Quarters

- #1 @ Daniel de la Rosa was mostly untroubled by #8 Mercado, advancing 21-13

- #13 Franco advanced past #5 Gerhardt 21-16.

- DC area one-wall enthusiast #6 @ Dylan Pruitt got a statement win by taking out Hall of Famer #3 @FreF Freddy Ramirez with ease 21-11.

- Mar continued his on-the-fly education, taking out a very capable outdoor player in #7 @Andres Acuna again by the 22-20 score line.

Your semis are the #1, #13, #6 and #15 seeds.

---------------

In the Semis

- #1 DLR methodically topped #13 Franco 21-12 to move into the final.

- #15 Mar outclassed the youngster Pruitt 21-6 to move to the final.

In the Finals, Mar and DLR went toe to toe for much of the game, with Mar more than holding his own and showing an amazing combination of power and touch on the one-wall courts. But, DLR was just a hair better, taking the final 21-15. He wins his third Pro Singles title in Hollywood and 2nd running.

----------------

Women's Pro Singles preview

PRS Match Report: http://rball.pro/559CFB

The Women's singles was one of the absolute first draws to get started on Thursday morning, and right off the bat we got the #1 seed and defending champion @Hollie Scott getting pressed by two fellow LPRT pros. She managed to top both @K Kelani Lawrence and @Masiel Rivera Operto by the razer thin score-line of 22-20 to pave the way for a defense of her title. She finished off the sweep of the 4-person round robin with a comprehensive 21-8 win over @kKatie Neil to repeat as Beach Bash women's singles champ.

----------------

Men's Pro Doubles review:

Match report in the PRS database: http://rball.pro/BA011F

There were upsets galore in the Men's Doubles draw, from the round of 16 onwards. Lets recap the unpredictable draw.

In the 16s:

- The #1 seeds and defending champs @BennGolden Benny and Ryan Lopez were handed their walking papers by the #17 seeded team of relative outdoor newbies (but regular IRT touring pros) @Andres Acuna and @Eduardo Portillo 9,10.

- CPRT champs Faro/Iggy took out the #8 seeds @Rick "Soda Man" Koll and @EEmmett Coe in a slight upset in the 8/9 match.

- 2021 Vegas one-wall doubles winners Adam Manilla and Nick Riffel took out the 2018 Beach Bash Champs @ William Rolon and @DaDavid Blatt (aka "The Warrior" and the "Hulkster") in two solid games to advance.

- Singles finalist Mar teamed up with experienced one-wall player @MMario Mercado to take out @Ro Rocky Carson and @AlejaAlejandro Barceló in an upset in the 7/10 match.

So, four of your top 8 seeds were topped in the round of 16. But the upsets were just starting.

In the quarters:

- #17 Acuna/Lalo took out #9 Faro/Iggy in a match that went deep into the night, finishing under the lights on Garfield street. The young touring pros collaborated to take out two of the OGs of one-wall racquetball on these courts in a breaker.

- #12 Manilla/Riffel shocked the 2015 champions Sebastian Franco and @ Joe Young 1,8.

- #3 @RRobert Sostre and @DavDa David Horn held serve over the #6 seeds and 3-time champs Richie Miller and @Nelson Deida in dominant fashion 9,2 to move on.

- And in a massive upset, #10 Mar/Mercado took #2 DLR and @Alvaro Beltran in a tiebreaker. No career triple crown for DLR/Alvi this year.

So, #17, #12, #3 and #10 into your semis.

In the Semis ...

- Portillo/Acuna blasted Riffel/Manilla 5,7 to move into the final. These two IRT regulars have really taken to outdoor.

- Mercado/Mar nearly got whitewashed in game one, losing it 15-2, but then made adjustments like one-wall old hats to cruise to game 2 & 3 wins 15-7, 11-4 to move into the final over one-wall royalty in Sostre/Horn.

In the final: the two teams of IRT pros traded games, but Mercado & Mar pulled away in the breaker to take the title. Final score (12),13,3.

----------------

Women's Pro Doubles review

Match report in the PRS database: http://rball.pro/E72C77

Six teams competed for the Women's pro doubles title, with some throwback teams and some surprising new teams.

From the top, #1 seeds DLR/Scott outlasted the @Kathy Guinan / @Maira Ramos team (each of whom has won prior Pro doubles titles here), in one semi, while the #6 seeds @Erika Manilla and @Katie Neils took out both the #2 and #3 seeds to get to the finals themselves.

In that final ... outdoor veteran Neils and outdoor newbie (but red-hot lately) Manilla completed the sweep of the top seeds here, ousting the #1 seeds and overwhelming favorites mDLR and Scott to take the title. Final score: 8,(10),1.

Fun fact; every match in the Women's pro doubles draw went tiebreaker. Never seen that before.

----------------

Mixed Pro Doubles review

Match report in the PRS database: http://rball.pro/F553E8

The Mixed Pro draw was completed on Friday; the entire draw in one day, very Pickleball style. Here's a recap.

On the top-half, what many think might be the best mixed doubles team of all time (the De La Rosa husband-wife pair) faced a stiff quarter final challenge against the under-seeded Rocky Carson/Kelani Lawrence team, but moved on to face NY one-wall specialists David Blatt (aka, the "Hulkster") and @Susan Stephen in one semi. The New Yorkers pressed the Arizona duo, but fell 11-8 in the breaker.

On the bottom half, another under-seeded team of @Eduardo Portillo and Hollie Scott upset two higher ranked teams (Pagan/Roehler in the 16s then Riffel/Neils in the quarters) to make the Mixed semis. There they met the very tough team of Sostre/Rivera, who cruised past the Manillas in the quarters. The east coast duo of Sostre/Rivera outlasted the young duo of Lalo/Hollie to advance to the final.

In the final, Masiel and Iceman tried to break the DLR streak of wins, but fell in the breaker 11-5. The husband-wife team defends their 2019 title here and wins their 14th career pro outdoor Mixed doubles title together.

----------------

CPRT Doubles review

Though not tracked in the database, the CPRT takes on new importance in 2022 because it counts for the Cup series. So Let's recap.

The top half of the CPRT draw went chalk, with #1 @ Alvaro Beltran and @Rick "Soda Man" Koll advancing with ease into the semis. There they faced the sneaky-good Florida pair of @Eric Faro and @Ignacio "Iggy" Espinal.

The bottom half featured upsets, as 1988 IRT pro tour champ @ Ruben González put down the pickleball paddle he was playing with in Hilton Head and came out of retirement to team with TiTo Montanez and upset the 3rd seeded team of one-wall experts Rolon/Young to advance to the semis. There they faced the dark-horse Florida team of @Max Heymann and Seran Ramkissoon , who won two rounds and upset #2 Freddy Ramierz and @Albert Jimenez to make the semis. Heymann and Seran made fast work of the legends to advance to the final.

In the final ... the experience of Faro & Iggy (Faro is one of the few players who was at the original 2004 outdoor nationals event and is still playing here this weekend) outlasted the upstart Floridians; they take the CPRT title 7,7.

-----------------

Thanks for all the streaming on the weekend, especially from the LPRT-sponsored broadcast team of JT R Ball , Vic Leibofsky , and friends.

Thanks to the Tourney Directors @Peggine Tellez and @Mike Coulter for putting this event on!

Reminder to Players! Please like and follow this page so that when I tag you, you see it. Facebook will only retain tags of people that like/follow a page, which means lots of you are not getting the notoriety of getting tagged and noticed on FB. If your name is here and it isn't tagged ... it probably means I attempted to tag you but Facebook stripped it.

------------------

Next up?

Per our handy master racquetball calendar ...

https://docs.google.com/.../1V6OTid6rZ356voXVkoV2sN7KMMb.../

Next weekend is National Masters in the DC area, but more importantly Mexican Nationals! One of my favorite tourneys every year.

From an Outdoor Major perspective, Leg 2 on the "Road to Vegas" is Outdoor Nationals in July. The r2 site is live now; reserve your spot and start making travel plans to visit sunny Southern California.

Before that though; breaking news: 3WallBall is partnering with the IRT to host a Sunday May 1 Outdoor shootout the day after the IRT pro stop finishes in Fullerton in a month's time. More details coming, but basically we'll run a one-day pro shootout for all the travelling pros to play the day after the tournament saturday night finish.

-------------------

Zamudio/Ramos win Men's Doubles Open; Burns & Wargo take open singles titles at Ocala

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Wed, 11 May 2022 21:57:37 GMT

Team Ocala Classic X has been finalized and recorded in r2. So much work, but so worth it. Thank you to those that donated in memory of Steve Johnson and family.

Thanks to the Team Ocala family for all behind the scenes help. You know who you are. Huge thanks to Rob Lyons with the amount of hours spent on draws and running the tournament desk. His team of helpers makes all this work seamlessly.

Sponsors! They truly are so valuable in helping pull this off so proceeds can go towards expenses, donation to Y youth scholarship fund, and this time, Steve’s family. Team Ocala is very appreciative.

The back of tournament shirt and the names on poster in picture below- they ALL contributed financially or in kind….

Enjoy the pics and looking forward to another Classic in the fall.

Keep your eyes out for date soon and be ready to sign up quick!

-TEAM OCALA RACQUETBALL FACEBOOK

Pena, Cuellar take pro events, Cunningham wins Open at 2022 Capital City Classic

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 21:17:45 GMT

By Andrew Kapec

TALLAHASSEE - The '22 Capital City Classic is in the books! 11 of our 16 divisions were round robin or pool play. We held the first Squash 57 tournament in the Southeast. We had an incredible group of sponsors, volunteers, professional players, and interesting experiments and fresh ideas. This was a fun event to be a part of and I look forward to running more in the future!

I'd like to thank our amazing sponsors:

- Meridium Group & Phil Shoemaker

- Margo Scott Group Keller Williams Tampa Properties

- Visit Tallahassee

- Florida Racquetball Association, Inc.

- Reaching Your Dream Foundation

- Dovetailed by Design & Mike Kinkin

- FSU COACH: Interdisciplinary Center for Athletic Coaching

- Manilla Athletics

- American Federal Benefits Consultants

- GOAT Sports Performance & Dr. Tim Baghurst

- Gene Fry

- Ralph Torres

- Chad Beacher

- Chris Eaton

- David Stob

- Hansen Family

- Signarama

- Habanas Boardwalk - the amazing Cuban dinner Saturday night!

- Formulaflow

- Madison Social

Thank you volunteers and those who helped this tournament go:

- Tim Baghurst for brainstorming the Pro Rules Demo Exhibition and helping lead the pro division and Squash 57 event.

- JT R Ball for flying across the country to stream this experiment of ours and working with us on commercials, tech, scoreboard, and the wonderful LPRT stream

- LPRT for allowing us to stream our Pro Exhibition on their stream

- Chad & Stephanie Beacher and Brian and his wife for cooking, prepping and setting all our meals!

- Bill Duffack

- Darron Toston

- Greg Leibowitz

- Ralph Torres

- Samuel Schultz for helping with the tournament desk

- My dad, David Kapec

- Brendan Anthony for helping with our tablets and tech to ensure all our courts were streamed!

- Nick Knudsen for helping me with graphics, promotions, and this tournaments branding.

Thank you Professional Racquetball players for being willing to travel to Tallahassee to play some hard racquetball with experimental rules. They played their hearts out and gave us some exciting jaw-dropping matches and allowed us to see what racquetball looks like with some different rules. It was a joy to have you here. Thank you and good luck in your future pro events even though they won't be as exciting without rally and 1 serve rules

- Maria Renee Rodriguez

- Micaela Meneses Cuellar

- Erika Manilla

- Noslen Jimenez

- Erick Cuevas Fernandez

- Abraham Peña

We were thrilled to try some new things out like:

- Rally Scoring, 1 serve only, & consecutive serving in our Pro Rules Demo

- Trying out Formulaflow 's new ball. These things just couldn't be broken! Only one broken ball in our entire tournament!

- Every court was streamed on facebook under either Capital City Racquetball or LPRT .

- Due to lack of spectator viewing in two of our courts we streamed their matches on TVs in front of our stadium glass courts for maximum viewership.

- We successfully implemented a mic and speaker in our Pro court for our ref for best communication as our courts weren't built with speakers.

- Squash 57 event - this game is exhilarating and tiring and will wear you out, but at least you'll win your steps wars.

Congrats to our Division Winners!

Men's Pro Exhibition: Abraham Pena

Women's Pro Exhibition: Micaela Meneses Cuellar

Men's Open: Austin Cunningham

Men's Elite: German Sosa

Men's A: Sam Schulze

Men's B: Brendan Anthony

Men's C: Billy Whitesell

Men's Open Doubles: Tim & Timmy Hansen

Men's Elite Doubles: Sam Schulze & Mike Kinkin

Men's A Doubles: Sam Schulze & Brendan Anthony

Men's B Doubles: Brendon Conner & Greg Leibowitz

Men's Centurion/50+: Frank Lopez & Mike Kinkin

Men's 55/65+: Gene Fry

Men's 45/55+A: Michael Miller Jr.

Men's 35/45+: Reid Percivalle

Men's 25/35+A: Jorge Moreno

Squash 57 A: Russ Bruns

Squash 57 Open: Zach Patterson

Lastly thank you participants for coming to our tournament. We hope you enjoyed it and look forward to seeing you all again!

- Capital City Racquetball

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LPRT: Herrera tops Longoria in first Vero Beach Open

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 21:11:56 GMT

Sudsy Monchik and Veronica Sotomayor-Monchik hosted the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour in Vero Beach, Florida, for a first time, pro-only event.

Vero Beach, Florida - The first ever Vero Beach Open was an absolutely stellar event that showcased the LPRT pros! Thank you to our hosts Sudsy Monchik and Veronica Sotomayor for their dedication to making this a hit and for taking great care of the players.

A big thank you to all of the generous sponsors who made the event possible:

Miller Value Partners

Patient Capital Management

Gulf Coast Graphics

Frank Hotels

Performance Chemicals - Mike Currier

Gene Fry

Mike Grisz and Karen Grisz

Team DOVETAIL - Mike Kinkin

Keith Lewis and Bailey Lewis for refinishing the floors, the courts were beautiful.

Results:

https://www. r2sports.com/website/division-list.asp?TID=38227&sortBy=defaultOrder

2022 State Singles: Burns repeats & Wargo wins first Women's Open title

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 20:50:11 GMT

Defending state champion, Jonathan Burns , entered into 2022 State Singles tournament as the top-seed. In the opener against Fabian Cuesta , who had advanced after a 15-13, 14-15, 11-5 tiebreaker victory over Brad Knudsen , Burns rolled to a 15-10, 15-5 sweep. On the other side of the bracket, Matt Fontana advanced to the final a 15-8, 7-15, 11-2 win over Dan Ruiz and a 15-5, 15-11 win over Scott Reid . Burns put on a clinic in the final, rarely missing, en route to a dominant 15-2, 15-5 win and back-to-back state championships. Burns now has four all-time state open singles titles (2015, 2018, 2021, and 2022).

The Women's Open division was decided by a three-team round robin. Graci Wargo opened play with a victory over Carolina Pisana 15-8, 15-14 on Friday evening. Laura Brandt , 2020 Women's Open State Singles champ, knocked off Pisana 15-5, 15-2 to set up a Saturday afternoon final with Wargo. In game one, Wargo cruised to a 15-6 win and, though Brandt played closer in game two, it wasn't quite enough and Wargo walked away with her first Florida Women's Open State Singles title.

The 2022 53rd Annual Florida State Singles Championships is now complete after 148 matches on 5 courts. Here are the FRA State Champion Gold Medal winners:

Men's Open: Jonathan Burns

Women's Open: Graci Wargo

Men's Elite: Marcos Reyero

Men's A: Yoany Batista

Men's B: Yuri Quintero

Men's C: John Ross

Men's 40+: Marcos Reyero

Men's 45+: Aaron Metcalf

Men's 50+: Mike Mondello

Men's 55+: Scott Reid

Women's 55+: Laura Brandt

Men's 60+: Len Knudsen

Men's 65+: Bob Lerow

Men's 70+: Russ Palazzo

Men's 25+A: Yoany Batista

Men's 40+A: Juan Carlos Diaz

Men's 50+A: Andres Urzua

Men's 40+B: Brendan Anthony

Men's 50+B: Steve Disalvo

Men's 60+B: Russ Palazzo

Men's 50+C: Scott Edmiston

Congrats to ALL that competed.

Sunshine State Racquetball Magazine: November 1978

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 02:14:00 GMT

The FRA has recently received past newsletters and magazines from longtime tournament players Renee Fish and Aaron Metcalf. These newsletters will be added to FRA Archives section under their corresponding year.

I wanted to share this magazine from Renee's collection - an issue of Sunshine State Racquetball Magazine from November 1978 (use the arrows toward the middle edges of the pages to flip through it). Please be sure to check out the FRA Archive s section over the next few weeks to see newly added FRA Newsletters from the past.

If you are looking to get rid of an old box of newsletters or magazines related to Florida racquetball or would like to donate them to the FRA Board for preservation, please reach out to Nick Knudsen (904) 534-8043.

Thank you to both Renee and Aaron for sharing with us!

2022 WOR Racquetball Shootout at Holiday Park

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 01:57:53 GMT

2022 Holiday Park WOR Shootout Recap

Authors: Todd Boss with help from Jeff Wright and Rob Mijares

https://www.facebook.com/prorballstats

While huge swaths of the country were bracing for a debilitating snow storm (yours truly included; as I wrote this on Sunday there's a blizzard of snow falling at my home in Virginia), it was 75 and sunny in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for yesterday's 2022 Holiday Park Shootout. Why do we all not live in Florida again?

r2sports home page:

https://www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=38174

Holiday Park is a cool facility. It is home to the Jimmy Evert Tennis center, a 21-court tennis facility named for its long-time teaching professional who happens to be the father of long-time #1 female tennis player Chris Evert (who grew up playing on the courts). The outdoor courts are tucked in-between a gym and a roller rink on the grounds; they're three-wall mid-wall courts that are a bit wider than normal (23' wide), and have side walls that run well past the short line, which makes for very unique play and strategy on the courts as compared to other 3-wall/mid-wall courts. Like many places in Florida, the regulars at the park have the advantage over traveling parties due to these unique factors, and welcome all covers to challenge the locals.

The park's leading benefactor for decades has been the legendary George Daurio, who has worked with local officials for years for upgrades and is known as the "Godfather" of the courts. Tournament play has been present here for decades as well, and the park has been the home court for many top outdoor players over the years, including Ken Mooney, Billy Montana, Dave Smith, Ken Grandy, Dave Conway, and Rob Mijares.

Here's a recap of the day's action, which featured 37 of some of the best outdoor players in the state.

----

Men's Open Doubles recap

12 players/6 teams split into two RR groups of three to determine a group winner advancing to the knockouts. One group was taken by top seeds @Joe Young and @Garry Smith , while the other group was surprisingly taken by Max Heyman and Javier Trujillo, who played consistently all morning and made it to their first ever Open finals.

In the final, the powerful Young/Smith pairing vanquished the upstarts to take the title.

----

Men's Elite Doubles

The story of the day was longtime Holiday Park veteran Valeria Trabucco Clemmensen . The women’s draw was depleted due to some Covid exposures, so she entered into the Men’s Elite division with partner @Juston Cooklin and won the draw. She is a warrior and played amazing against some tough competition. Fittingly, Valeria hit a flat rollout to win it all in the tiebreaker. She has won many tournaments over the years, but this one was epic!

They topped the very tough @Eric Gomez and Luis Gonzalez in the Elite final.

----------

The winners of the rest of the events on the weekend:

- Men's A/B Doubles: Giovanni Pezo / Luis Salinas

- Women's Elite Doubles: Susan Suid / Carolina Pisana

- Mixed Elite Doubles: Miriam Benard / Max Heymann

----------

Thanks to Tournament director Jeff Wright for hosting the event and for all you do for Florida outdoor racquetball. Thanks to tournament staff @Rob Mijares and Hale Sakoff , who are ever-present figures at outdoor events in the state. Thanks to Vic Leibofsky for providing breakfast for the tournament; Vic is another behind the scenes supporter of programming who never asks for credit but who has been a great help to me over the years. And thanks to the city Parks and Rec staff, who gave the courts a fresh pressure wash ahead of the event.

The AGE Solutions Hollywood Beach Battle

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 00:17:41 GMT

The AGE Solutions Hollywood Beach Battle

December 18-19, 2021

92 players from across six states, including 59 Floridians, competed in The AGE Solutions Hollywood Beach Battle. Maddie Melendez served as the event director.

R2 Sports:

https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-results.asp?TID=37870

2021 AGE Solutions Hollywood Beach Battle Wrap-up

Author: Todd Boss, Pro Racquetball Stats, @prorballstats

https://www.facebook.com/prorballstats

Congrats to your One-wall Doubles winners on the weekend:

- Men's Pro Doubles: Robert Sostre/William Rolon

- Women's Pro Doubles: Masiel Rivera/Aimee Roehler

- Mixed Pro Doubles: Robert Sostre/Masiel Rivera

- 75+: Sergio Rivera/Suresh Vemulapalli

R2 Sports App home page for event:

https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=37870

The weather looked great and the competition was awesome all weekend. Here's a recap of the four biggest draws.

------------------

Men's Pro Doubles recap:

12 teams entered this draw, split into three RR groups. The format gave the winners of the RR groups byes into the knockout semis, and then the three second place teams played a winner-take all mini-RR group to determine the last semi finalists.

Group winners:

- @Robert Sostre and William Rolon

- @Yasmani Perez and Alejandro Barceló

- @Ignacio Espinal and Eric Faro

The three 2nd place teams who duked it out for the last semi spot were:

- @Thomas Gerhardt and @Mike Harmon

- @Richie MIller and @David Blatt

- @Freddie Ramirez and @ Joe Young

Ramirez and Young claimed the last knockout spot by topping the wild card RR group.

In the semis, Sostre/Rolon took out Ramirez/Young in a matchup of long-time one-wall partners Iceman and Freddie. In the other semi, Espinal & Faro topped the surprise group winners Perez/Barcelo.

In the final, Sostre/Rolon were just too strong and took out Espinal & Faro in two close games.

-----------------

Women's Pro Doubles Recap:

The Women's pro doubles played one big RR group to determine the top two teams, who then met again in a winner take all final.

In the group stage, LPRT touring pro @Masiel Rivera and Hall of Famer @Aimee Roehler cruised to a group win, with #1 seeds and NY one-wall legends @Maira Ramos and @Kathy Guinan taking second.

In the knockout final, Rivera/Roehler won the rematch against the New Yorkers to take the pro title.

-----------------

Mixed Pro Recap;

An excellent mixed doubles draw was hit somewhat by injuries by Sunday morning, but still featured some top teams battling it out. The 10 teams split into RR groups of five each, with the top two teams advancing to the knockouts.

Group A winners: Sostre/Rivera

Group B winners: @Ruben Pagan / Roehler.

Second place finishers: @David Blatt and @Anita Maldonado from Group A, and @Richard Miller / @Maira Ramos from group B.

In the knockouts, Sostre/Rivera held serve in the top half, while Pagan/Roehler were upset by the NYC pairing of MIller/Ramos. In the final, Sostre/Rivera made it a double, winning the Mixed 21-16.

-----------------

Combined 75+ Recap

The Combined 75+ was nearly as big of a draw as the Men's Pro, and was hotly contested. Like with Mixed, the 11 teams split into two big RR groups, with the top two teams advancing to the semis.

From Group A, @Alejandro Barcelo and @Richie Miller took the group, with the traveling VA team of @Sergio Rivera and @Suresh Vemulapalli taking 2nd.

In Group B: the pro finalists Espinal and Faro took the top spot, while the Miami duo of @Daniel Talamo and @Gleiber Barrios Subires surprised some one-wall top pros to take second.

In the knockouts, some amazing upsets. Barcelo/Miller took out the underdog Miami pairing in the first semi, but the Virginians shocked the pro finalists to get to the finals. There, Rivera and Vemalapalli took out another favored pro outdoor pairing to surprise the tournament and win the final. Kudos to Rivera and Suresh for their big win!

-----------------

Thanks to the Tourney Directors @thao le and @maddie melendez for putting this event on! Thanks to @vic leibofsky for his help on the draws and making sure all of us watching from afar knew what was going on.

Reminder to Players! Please like and follow this page so that when I tag you, you see it. Facebook will only retain tags of people that like/follow a page, which means lots of you are not getting the notoriety of getting tagged and noticed on FB. If your name is here and it isn't tagged ... it probably means I attempted to tag you but FB stripped it.

------------------

Next up?

Per our handy master racquetball calendar ...

https://docs.google.com/.../1V6OTid6rZ356voXVkoV2sN7KMMb.../

... The next big tournament on the schedule is the IRT Suivant Consulting Grand Slam in Mid January 2022. We have a few lower tier events in the early part of January.

2021 Florida Senior Games Racquetball Tournament at The JCC

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 23:59:01 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

Florida Senior Games recap

December 4-5, 2021

DAVIE - The Florida Senior Games were hosted at the David Posnack JCC in Davie, Florida. Rick Bernstein served as the tournament director for 56 senior racquetball players from across the Sunshine State. The event took place from December 4-5, 2021.

https://www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=37930

2021 Sarasota IRT Open Presented by Team Dovetail

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 22:13:40 GMT

IRT Sarasota Open re-cap

Author, Todd Boss, Pro Racquetball Stats, @prorballstats

Congrats to your winners on the weekend:

- Singles: Conrrado Moscoso

- Doubles; Rocky Carson & Lalo Portillo

R2 Sports App home page for event:

https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=37424

------------------

Lets review the notable matches in the Singles draw.

Singles Match report in the PRS database:

http://rball.pro/14339C

----------------

In the 128s and 64s, here was some of the notable results for me:

- 18U New Yorker Josh Shea took out Canadian-turned-Chilean Pedro Castro, but then couldn't overcome #17 Sam Bredenbeck, falling 11-9 in the 64s.

- Floridian Alex Zamudio got a solid win over Bolivian Roland Keller in the first round before falling in a tiebreaker to another Bolivian in Kadim Carrasco .

- Little known Bolivian Esteban Reque Zambrana took out two IRT regulars in Juan Pablo Rodriguez Castrillon and Scott McClellan to move into the round of 32.

- Erick Trujillo had flight issues unfortunately, which gave Guatemalan Javier Martinez a walk-over into the 32s.

- Top Florida player Nolsen Jimenez took out two Guatemalan regulars in Edwin Galicia and Christian Wer to move into the 32s.

- Long-time Costa Rican touring pro Felipe Camacho took out Guatemalan Geovani Mendoza to earn a spot in the 32s.

----------------

In the 32s:

- In the always close #16/#17 match, Sebastian Fernandez was stretched to a tiebreaker by the younger Bredenbeck brother before advancing.

- Forced down into the round of 32, #9 Alvaro Beltran played a very tight match over Guatemala's @Juan Jose Salvatierra, advancing 13,14.

- #12 Sebastian Franco advanced past an improving Erick Cuevas 8,12.

- #14 Eduardo Garay Rodriguez was really pushed to the limit by Carrasco, advancing 11-8 in the breaker.

- #11 Carlos Keller Vargas really had to dig deep to advance past Guatemalan #1 Martinez, splitting the first two games close 14 and 13 before breaking away in the tie-breaker.

- Floridian Jimenez stayed close with last week's winner Mario Mercado, losing 13,13 to the IRT touring pro

----------------

In the 16s:

- #1 Daniel De La Rosa made quick work of #16 Fernandez, as compared to last week.

- #8 Jake Bredenbeck made even quicker work of Beltran, crushing the veteran Mexican 6,3

- #5 Lalo Portillo99 dominated #12 Franco 11,0 to move on.

- #4 Andree Parrilla gave little room for the red-hot Adam Manilla to operate, advancing 11,3.

- #3 Samuel Murray staved off a late game two challenge from Garay to move on 3,14.

- #6 Rocky Carson made quite a statement in his win over Keller, absolutely dominating the vastly improving Keller 1,4 to move on. There might have been an injury issue here, as Keller;s doubles team forfeited later in the evening.

- #7 Conrrado Moscoso reminded the tour of his presence, beating last weekend's winner Mario Mercado in two very close games to move on.

- The sole upset of the round was one that's been months in the making, as the oft-seen grudge match between #2 Alex Landa and #15 Andres Acuña finally turned in an upset. After a close game one, a seemingly disinterested Landa fell rather quickly in game two to lose 14,7. There might have been an injury involved; Landa has had a nagging back issue for months, but this party did not see any evidence of it on the court (though later in the evening the Landa/Murray doubles team forfeited due to "injury" so... maybe that was a factor). This is just he second ever quarter final for Acuna, the first being in Sept 2019.

----------------

In the Quarters

- #8 Jake certainly made it closer than it was last week in Arizona, mounting a furious comeback in the breaker to have match point on his racquet before losing 11-10 to #1 DLR.

- #5 Portillo got a rare win against his former doubles partner #4 Parrilla, cruising to an 11,6 win.

- #3 Murray cruised past #6 Carson 13,8 to move into the semis.

- #7 Moscoso won an international tinged matchup against Costa Rican #1 Acuna in two to move closer to the finals.

---------------

In the Semis

- #5 Portillo topped #1 DLR in an 11-10 thriller to advance to his 2nd ever finals. The two were locked in a tight tiebreaker when DLR jumped to a 10-7 lead, but Lalo got the serve back and then ran out the match. Great comeback and a career win.

- #7 Moscoso took care of business in an 11-8 tiebreaker huge comeback over Murray to make the final.

In the Finals, we got the close match that was expected and hoped for, given two underdogs both fighting for something they rarely have a chance at. The two players played a great , entertaining match; the tiebreaker was awesome, featuring some really great rallies back and forth. Moscoso found a little strategic tweak on his serve towards the end of the breaker and it seemed to make the difference, as he broke away for an 11-9 tiebreaker win and the title. Portillo is thwarted in his attempt to get his first career win, while Moscoso adds title #2 to his resume.

----------------

Points Implications of results; I'm not entirely sure how the points are being calculated right now. But at some point the tour will have to expire points from the fall of 2019, and when they do Daniel is going to have a monstrous lead in the rankings. He has definitely sewn up the year end title, and when that becomes official nearer to Dec 31st we'll be covering it of course.

----------------

Doubles review

Match report in the PRS database:

http://rball.pro/36DE6B

There were no real surprises in the 16s, as seeds held. The real fun started in the quarter finals, where all four top seeds fell.

- #8 Parrilla/Fernandez, a newer pairing after Parrilla had played most of the last two seasons with Portilo, took out #1 DLR/Beltran 14,8. After a close game one, game two was not nearly as close as the score indicated.

- In a projected rematch of the Bolivian national doubles final, the reigning champs Keller/Carrasco forfeited with injury to the dangerous and multi-international champion Moscoso/Keller pairing. We're not sure which party was injured, but wonder if it was a factor in Keller's blowout pro singles loss.

- #6 Carson/Portillo just crushed team Zurek Construction, LLC Franco/Garay 7,3. Carson played the forehand side (a rarity for him in indoor, though he's well accustomed to playing forehand in doubles due to his decades of outdoor experience), and Lalo is becoming a formidable doubles team.

- #7 Mercado/Manilla, two excellent doubles players and a great lefty/righty pairing, got a walkover against Landa/Murray.

In the wide open Semis:

- Moscoso/Keller saved match point against in game two and then took the breaker.

- Carson and Portillo also saved match point against, winning an 11-10 breaker.

In the final, Carson reminded everyone why he's a top doubles player and led his team to a dominant 12,3 win for the title.

----------------

Men's Open, other draws

It was the top 4 seeds into the semis in Men's Open. There, Acuna topped Cuevas, while Sam Bredenbeck got a solid win over Camacho to make the final. There, Acuna took out Bredenbeck for the title. Acuna is a frequent Men's open finalist/champion in the last few IRT events.

-----------------

Thanks for all the streaming on the weekend, especially from broadcasters Dean Baer, Favio Soto, Pablo Fajre and the IRTLive crew

Thanks to the Tourney Directors X and X for putting this event on!

Reminder to Players! Please like and follow this page so that when I tag you, you see it. Facebook will only retain tags of people that like/follow a page, which means lots of you are not getting the notoriety of getting tagged and noticed on FB. If your name is here and it isn't tagged ... it probably means I attempted to tag you but FB stripped it.

------------------

Next up?

Per our handy master racquetball calendar ...

https://docs.google.com/.../1V6OTid6rZ356voXVkoV2sN7KMMb.../

Worlds! Is happening in Guatemala in two weekends. It will be great to have the international community back in action. We'll take a break for Thanksgiving weekend, then kick into gear for both World Adults and World Juniors in Guatemala City.

2021 WOR Florida State Longwall Championships

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 21:55:45 GMT

2021 Florida State Longwall Championships Recap

Author: Todd Boss, Pro Racquetball Stats - @prorballstats

H ot on the heels of the 3WallBall Outdoor World Championships event in Vegas, some of the state (and country's) best long-wall outdoor players gathered at the famous long-wall courts at Waterford Park in Davie, Florida for one of the biggest long-wall only outdoor events each year; the Florida State Long-Wall championships.

Waterford Park houses 8 long-wall courts, four of which are lit, and its tucked into a residential neighborhood in the suburbs north of Miami.

86 players entered and competed in both singles and doubles. Here's some highlights from the top divisions.

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In the Men's Pro Doubles division, 7 teams entered, highlighted by the #1 seeded team of Roy Hernandez and @Marcos Gravier. They advanced to the final by topping the upset-minded team of @Tony Gonzalez and @Nicola Chafloque, who took out the #4 seeded team of @Yelandi Rivero and Robert Sostre in the quarters.

On the bottom half, #2 seeds and long-time top Florida indoor players Jonathan Burns and Mike Harmon showed they have some outdoor chops too, taking a 11-10 nail biter in the semis over the tough outdoor team of Joe Young and @Carlos Bravo to make the final.

In the final...The #1 seeds held serve and Hernandez/Gravier topped Burns/Harmon 10,12 to take the title.

--------

In the Men's CPRT 40+ pro division, 11 teams entered, highlighted by the #1 seeded team of Aaron Metcalf and Ross Greenberg . Metcalf is among the best long wall players in the country, a long-time indoor star and former IRT touring pro who turned to outdoor when the last of the indoor racquetball clubs closed in his native Jacksonville, and he's been a force at long-wall ever since.

However, the #1 seeds were toppled in the semis by Burns and Gravier, who advanced 12,7 to make the final from the top half. In the bottom half, Rivera and Young took a tie-breaker win over #2 seeds @Thomas Gerhardt and Sostre to make the final.

In the final....Young used his pace to help drive his team to the title, with Young/Rivero topping Burns/Gravier 14,4.

-----------

In the Women's Doubles Pro, the #1 seed was the traveling team from Virginia of @aime Brewer and Carrie Handfinger Hoeft, who earned their long-wall chops on the long-wall courts at Stratton Woods Outdoor Racquetball in Herndon VA. They were challenged by 3 all-florida teams in a RR for the title.

The Virginia team swept its three round robin games without dropping a game to take the title Saturday morning. The #2 seeds Teri Delgado and @claudia Andrade finished 2nd.

-------------

In the Mixed Pro Doubles, 6 teams challenged for the title.

The all-Florida team of Harmon and Luanne Pazos Bryant defeated the #2 and #1 teams en route to the title. In the semis they toppled Gerhardt and @Aime Brewer, and in the final toppled Roy Hernandez playing with Carrie Handfinger Hoeft.

-------------

Four brave souls entered the Men's Pro singles division. Singles in long-wall is a test of racquetball shot-making an d endurance, with players not only having to cover pinch shots up front but long bounding shots to the deep of the court.

In the semis, #1 Iceman Sostre took out long-time Florida outdoor player Mike Blackney , who grew up playing at the famous "Spanish Monestary" courts in North Miami. On the bottom side, Hernandez got a solid win over multi-state champion Harmon.

In the final...Hernandez dominated the New York Hall of Famer and took the title 8,7.

------------

Thanks to tournament organizers Rob Mijares (who does so much for Florida outdoor racquetball) and Gravier.

WOR - World Outdoor Racquetball

Splathead Sportsgear

USA Racquetball

Final Results:

https://www.r2sports.com/tourney/viewResults.asp?TID=37824

Florida takes home six gold medals at 2021 U.S. Open

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 21:36:17 GMT

FLORIDA'S 2021 U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONS

SINGLES

Another gold for Jonathan Burns in the Men's 40+ Singles

In addition to serving as the President of the Florida Racquetball Association over the last few years, Jonathan Burns (Delray Beach) has captured a three-peat at the U.S. Open. The top-two seeds in the Men's 40+ bracket: No. 1 Burns and No. 2 Mike Harmon (Sarasota) . Harmon battled all week, but came up short in the quarterfinals against John Goth 11-15, 15-6, 11-5. Burns took out James Black 15-10, 15-8 in his opener before dispatching of Brent Walters 15-4, 15-10 in the semifinals. Burns and Goth played a marathon 2+ hour match in the finals with JB dropping the first game 15-10 before bouncing back to slip by 15-14 in the second. The tiebreaker was another hard fought battle with Burns prevailing 11-8 for yet another U.S. Open title. “It was a grueling week of matches but it feels great to come through with another national title” JB said.

(M40+) Men's Age Singles - 40+

Arenas captures gold in Men's 25A

In addition to his dominant sprint through the Men's A Singles draw, Felipe Arenas (Longwood) won 10 games and only dropped two en route to a 5-0 sweep in the combined round robin Men's 24A/25A.

(2425A) Men's Age Singles - 24A/25A

Sperber rolls through Men's 80+ Singles and claims gold

Donald Sperber (Palm Beach) failed to surrender more than 7 points in a game on his way to a 3-0 record in the Men's 80+ Singles Round Robin. Congrats to Donald for his gold medal performance!

(M80+) Men's Age Singles - 80+ Round Robin

DOUBLES

Rodriguez/Trujillo take home gold in Men's Open Doubles

Erick Trujillo of Mexico and Juan Pablo Rodriguez (Longwood) teamed up to conquer the 16-team Men's Open Doubles draw. The bottom half of the draw was stacked with Florida talent with two All-Florida teams standing in the way of Rodriguez/Trujillo in both the quarterfinals and semifinals. In the quarters, Rodriguez/Trujillo were taken to a tiebreaker by Alejandro Herrera (Miami)/Rafael Fuentes (Miami) , but the match was cut short after Herrera sustained an injury. In the semis, Rodriguez/Trujillo faced Jonathan Burns (Delray Beach)/Timmy Hansen (West Palm Beach) and won 15-9, 15-4 before defeating Preston Tribble/Ben Baron of Arizona to win it all 15-6, 15-10 and capture the Men's Open Doubles gold medal.

(MOD) Men's Doubles - Open

Florida legends Harmon/Hansen team up to win gold in the Men's Centurion+ Open Dubs

The Men's Doubles - Centurion+ Open / Elite division had a Florida flavor throughout the draw with a representative of the Sunshine State playing in each of the four quarterfinals matches. Father-son combo Garrett Tyler/Gary Tyler (Palm Harbor) knocked out No.1 seed Alok Mehta/Cliff Swain in the top half of the draw. Herve Bony (North Miami Beach)/Luis Sanchez (Hollywood) advanced to the quarters with a 15-6, 15-8 win in the opener. No. 3 seed Mike Harmon (Sarasota) /Tim Hansen (West Palm Beach) opened with a 15-8, 15-5 win over Ben Simons / Rafael Filippini. Scott Reid (Tampa) / Todd O'Neil took out Greg Diaz (Miami)/ Rafael Fuentes (Miami) in a tiebreaker 8-15, 15-8, 11-8. Reid/O'Neil won another 15-12, 15-3 to set up a semis matchup with Harmon/Hansen, who advanced thanks to a no-show forfeit in the round of 16s. Harmon/Hansen advanced with a 15-10, 15-8 victory and defeated Rocky Carson I I I/Jerry Hall 15-2, 15-9 in the finals to win the gold medal in the Men's Doubles - Centurion+ Open/Elite.

(MCOED) Men's Doubles - Centurion+ Open / Elite

Tyler/Tilbury sweep their way through the Women's 55/65+ Doubles

Cindy Tilbury/ Janet Tyler (Palm Harbor) put forth a dominant effort to sweep through a six-team round robin bracket. The pair went 5-0 and allowed more than 10 points in only two games. Tilbury/Tyler defeated the second place team Amy Pivovar/Carrie Reitmeier 15-9, 15-8 to lock up the gold medal in the Women's 55/65+ Doubles division.

(W5565D) Women's Doubles - W55D/65D

FLORIDA IN THE MEN'S SINGLES - IRT PRO DRAW

Sebastian Franco (Longwood) , one-half of the defending 2021 Florida State Open Doubles championship team, earned the No. 13 seed and opened the event with a victory over Alan Natera 11-15, 15-8, 11-6. In the round of 16s, No. 4 seed Samuel Murray defeated Franco before losing to eventual runner-up Carlos Keller Vargas in the quarterfinals.

Two players from Florida qualified into the Men's Pro Bracket.

Eduardo Garay (Longwood) was able to advance into the main draw from the No. 2 seed in the qualifying bracket a win over Francisco Gomez Reyes 15-7, 15-12. Garay slid into the round of 16s after claiming a WBF due to a no-show by Rodrigo Montoya. Eventual U.S. Open champion, Daniel De La Rosa took out Garay 15-6, 15-5.

Alejandro Herrera (Miami) qualified in to the draw by beating Ben Baron 15-7, 15-7 and Feleipe Camacho 15-8, 14-15, 11-3 to advance into the main draw and being eliminated by Jake Bredenbeck.

Jonathan Burns (Delray Beach) defeated Abraham Pena 15-7, 15-7 in round one, but fell to Kadim Carasco in round two. Juan Pablo Rodriguez (Longwood) topped Samuel Kelley 15-13, 15-3 and was unable to get by Robbie Collins 15-7, 15-12. Alex Zamudio (Lakeland) advanced into the second round of the qualifiers with a win over Brennan Jennings 15-8, 15-6, but was unable to overcome the No. 3 seed in the qualifying bracket, Sebastian Fernandez. Fabian Cuesta (Tampa) , who had an excellent week in the Men's Elite draw, could not get by his opening match against Troy Warigon.

(MPROM) Men's Singles - IRT Pro Main

(MPRO) Men's Singles - IRT Pro Qualifier

FLORIDA IN THE WOMEN'S SINGLES - LPRT PRO DRAW

Veronica Sotomayor (Vero Beach) defeated Sumin Lee 15-4, 15-0 and Maria Riquelmer 15-3, 15-0 to roll into the LPRT main draw. Sotomayor pulled a 15-8 upset in game one over No. 8 Jessica Parilla, but fell 15-9 in game two and 11-10 in a one-point tiebreaking loss.

Graci Wargo (Clearwater) and Laura Brandt (Southwest Ranches) participated in the qualifying rounds but each fell in their opening match.

TEAM FLORIDA - NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

Wargo makes the second round of Women's Open Singles

Graci Wargo (Clearwater) advanced to the second round of the Women's Open Singles with a win over Stephanie Synhorst 15-12, 15-6. Wargo fell in the second round of action.

(WO) Women's Singles - Open

Cuesta finishes second in the Men's Elite Singles division

Brad Knudsen (Brandon) and Fabian Cuesta (Tampa) both cruised into a head-to-head matchup in the quarterfinals of the Men's Elite Singles division, however, an injury to Knudsen, suffered in a doubles match from earlier in the day, left him unable to take the court and Cuesta advanced to the semifinals with a forfeit. Cuesta proceeded to defeat Felipe Guillen in a 11-2 tiebreaker to advance to the finals and despite a solid showing ended up falling to Juan José Tapia Zúñiga in a hard fought 11-8 tiebreaker for a second place finish.

(ME) Men's Singles - Elite

Arenas finishes second in the Men's A Singles bracket

Felipe Arenas (Longwood) won five matches in the 51 player Men's A Single draw. Arenas didn't surrender more than 8 points in a game until his fourth match in the quarters against Juan Segovia in a 15-11, 15-8 victory. He defeated Duvan Torres: 15-6, 15-13 in the semifinals before finally falling to Diego Gonzalez 10-15, 15-13, 11-9.

(MA) Men's Singles - A

Gaynor opens with a double-donut

Ryan Gaynor (Tampa) opened up with a perfect 15-0, 15-0 win after receiving a bye into the second round of the Men's C Singles. Something for all of us to strive for to open our next event!

(MC) Men's Singles - C

Fontana picks up a silver in Men's 35+ Singles

Matt Fontana (Wesley Chapel) opened with an easy win over Ferd Samson 15-3, 15-6. In second round, Fontana held off Destry Everheart of Alabama 15-13, 15-12 before falling to Jordan Walters 15-9, 15-9 in the finals.

(M35+) Men's Age Singles - 35+

Ferrin makes a semifinals run in the Men's 55+ Singles

Longtime FRA member Rick Ferrin and Bryan Rucks (Orlando) each notched a victory to square off in the quarterfinals of the Men's 55+ Singles. Rucks jumped out to a strong start, but Ferrin finished strong 11-15, 15-2, 11-3. Ferrin fell in an 11-4 tiebreaker to Doug Cohen in the semis.

(M55+) Men's Age Singles - 55+

Shoemaker streaks to a silver in Men's 55+A

Outside of a hard fought second round match with No. 2 seed Rick Betts, Phillip Shoemaker (Tallahassee) gave up a combined total of 12 points in two other matches en route to a second place finish in the Men'S 55+A division.

(M55A) Men's Age Singles - 55+ A

Knudsen makes run to semifinals in Men's 60+ Singles

Len Knudsen (Wimauma) opened play with a 15-6, 15-2 over James Bower and earned a trip to the semis with a win over the always tough Brian Phillips 15-14, 4-15, 11-5. Despite opening with a 15-7 win in a game one of the semis against Tyrone Gilmore, Knudsen fell 15-2 and 11-7 in a tiebreaker.

(M60+) Men's Age Singles - 60+

Tyler and Hernandez take home silver and bronze in Women's 60+/70+ Singles

Janet Tyler (Palm Harbor) finished second and Carrmen Hernandez (Largo) took home third place in the Women's 60+/70+ Singles division. Tyler won seven games and dropped two en route to win four out of five matches and Hernandez earned a 3-2 match split.

(W60/70) Women's Age Singles - W60/70 Round Robin

Mann falls in the finals of the Men's 70+ Singles

Moshe Mann (Sunny Isle Beach) won two matches with ease to make his way into the finals. In the opener, Mann defeated Warren Tetley 15-5, 15-9 and in the semis, he beat Darrell Vincent 15-4, 15-6. Mann faced Frank Taddonio in the finals and lost 15-7, 15-10 and earned the silver medal in the Men's 70+ Singles division.

(M70+) Men's Age Singles - 70+

Sotomayor/Wargo win flight and advance to semifinals in Women's Open Doubles

Defending Florida State Women's Open doubles champions Veronica Sotomayor (Vero Beach)/Graci Wargo (Clearwater) won two tiebreakers 2-15, 15-10, 11-7 against Aisling Hickey/Erin Slutzky and 15-9, 11-15, 11-4 against fellow Florida natives Sara Noyes (Saint Petersburg)/Claudia Andrade (Miami) . Sotomayor/Wargo fell in the semifinals 15-14, 15-10.

(WO/ED) Women's Doubles - WOD/WED

Rameriz takes silver; Knudsen brothers make semis appearance in Men's Elite Doubles

Juan Rivas / Andres Ramirez (Winter Springs) lived on the edge, but marched their way into a finals appearance in the Men's Elite Doubles division. In the opening round, Rivas/Rameriz survived a tiebreaker, winning 15-11, 14-15, 11-5. In round two they defeated Alex Lazenby / Zack Lazenby 15-13, 15-11. Rivas/Rameriz claimed another close victory 15-12, 15-13 in the quarterfinals and defeated Josue Bermeo / Pablo Vera 15-13, 15-12 in the semifinals to earn a trip to finals. On the other side of the semifinals bracket, Brad Knudsen (Brandon)/Nick Knudsen (Lithia) had won their opening two matches and survived the quarterfinals round 15-7, 9-15, 11-7 before falling to the eventual champs, Esteban De Janon/Juan Flores. Rivas/Rameriz played another close one in the finals, but came up on the short end of a tiebreaker 11-15, 15-6, 11-6 to earn the silver medal.

(MED) Men's Doubles - Elite

Weinstein/DiSalvo appear in semis of Men's B Doubles

Jeff Weinstein (Plantation) / Steve Disalvo (Hollywood) used a first round bye into the round of 16s and a 15-6, 15-4 win against Rob Heidbrink/Scott Regenscheid to secure a bid in the quarterfinals. Once in the quarters, their opponent failed to show giving the pair of Floridians a bid in the semifinals where they would eventually fall 15-14, 15-3 to eventual runner-ups Quazi Rahman / Joshua Summers.

(MBD) Men's Doubles - B

Yahia/Fuentes advance to finals of Men's 35+ Doubles

Alain Yahia (Miami) / Rafael Fuentes (Miami) fought through two tough tiebreakers to get to the finals. In the semifinals, the pair faced the runner-up in the Men's Elite Doubles division, Rivas/Rameriz and prevailed 11-7 in a tiebreaker despite dropping game one 15-3. Yahia/Fuentes fell to Brent Walters/Jordan Walters 15-14, 15-10, earning the pair a silver medal in the Men's 35+ Doubles division.

(M35D) Men's Doubles - 35+

Mondello/Reid win two to make semis in Men's 45+Doubles

Mike Mondello (Tampa)/Scott Reid (Tampa) defeated Richard Eisemann / Ross Smith Jr: 15-12, 15-5 to open play and sprint past fellow Floridians Frank Garcia (Miami) /Luis Sanchez (Hollywood) 15-5, 15-7 before falling to eventual champs Keith Minor/Jeff Stark 15-14, 15-6 in the semifinals.

(M45D) Men's Doubles - 45+

Ferrin/Hansen earn silver in the Men's 55+ Doubles division

Rick Ferrin / Tim Hansen (West Palm Beach) received a bye as the No. 1 seed into the semifinals and defeated Greg Reitmeier / Troy Vanbemmelen 15-12, 15-11 to earn a berth into the finals. The pair defeated George Bustos / Ross Smith Jr: 15-3 in game one before falling 15-12 in game two and losing a tight 11-8 tiebreaker to earn a silver medal in the Men's 55+ Doubles division.

(M55D) Men's Doubles - 55+

Fabian Cuesta (right) with pro champ, Daniel De La Rosa (left)

2021 U.S. Open Participants from Florida

Alonso, Joe ( Miami)

Men's Age Singles: 25+ B
Men's Age Singles: 45+ B
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ B Partner: Paul Ryan

Alvarez, Oscar (Miami)

Men's Doubles: 55+ Partner: Greg Diaz
Mixed Doubles: 50+ Partner: Claudia Andrade
Men's Age Singles: 55+

Andrade, Claudia (Miami)

Women's Doubles: WOD/WED Partner: Sara Noyes
Mixed Doubles: 50+ Partner: Oscar Alvarez

Arenas, Felipe (Longwood)

Men's Singles: A
Men's Doubles: A Partner: Francisco Fajardo
Men's Age Singles: 24A/25A

Artman, Kyle (Ocala)

Men's Singles: C
Men's Doubles: B Partner: Patrick Miller
Men's Age Singles: 25C/35C

Baghurst, Timothy (Tallahassee)

Mixed Doubles: X30/40 Partner: T. J. Baumbaugh
Mixed Doubles: Centurion+ Open / Elite Partner: Sandy Rios

Bailey, Chad (Bradenton)

Beacher, Chad (Tallahassee)

Men's Singles: Elite
Men's Doubles: 45+ Partner: Darron Toston
Men's Age Singles: 50+

Bony, Herve (North Miami Beach)

Men's Doubles: Centurion+ Open / Elite Partner: Luis Sanchez

Boyar, Mike (Delray Beach)

Men's Age Singles: 65+

Brandt, Laura (Southwest Ranches)

Women's Singles: LPRT Pro
Women's Age Singles: W24/45/55

Burns, Jonathan (Delray Beach)

Men's Singles: IRT Pro
Men's Doubles: Open Partner: Timmy Hansen
Men's Age Singles: 40+

Burns, Marc (Delray Beach)

Capo, Hector (Miami)

Men's Doubles: Elite Partner: Steven Lewis
Men's Doubles: 45+ Partner: Tim Hansen

Carlson, Glenn (Palm City)

Men's Heroes Singles (Public Service): Open / A
Men's Age Singles: 55+ A

Castaneda, Eduardo (West Palm Beach)

Men's Singles: A
Men's Age Singles: 35+ A

Cole, Charles (Pompano Beach)

Men's Age Singles: 55+
Men's Age Singles: 60+

Cuesta, Fabian (Tampa)

Men's Singles: IRT Pro
Men's Singles: Elite Men's Age Singles: 35+

De Witt, Shane (Vero Beach)

Men's Singles: A
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ A Partner: Steven Lewis

Diaz, Greg (Miami)

Men's Doubles: 55+ Partner: Oscar Alvarez
Men's Age Singles: 60+
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ Open / Elite Partner: Rafael Fuentes

Diaz, Juan Carlos (Miami)

Men's Singles: A
Men's Doubles: A Partner: Frank Garcia

Disalvo, Steve (Hollywood)

Men's Doubles: B Partner: Jeff Weinstein
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ B Partner: Jeff Weinstein

Dunn, John (Ocala)

Men's Singles: B
Men's Age Singles: 55+ B

Faircloth, Harlan (Oviedo)

Mixed Doubles: Centurion+ A / B Partner: Renee Fish

Fajardo, Francisco (Winter Park)

Men's Doubles: Elite Partner: Ivan Villegas
Men's Doubles: A Partner: Felipe Arenas
Men's Age Singles: 45+ A

Fish, Renee (Dunedin)

Women's Doubles: W55D/65D Partner: Jean Trimble
Mixed Doubles: Centurion+ A / B Partner: Harlan Faircloth

Fontana, Matt (Wesley Chap e l)

Men's Age Singles: 35+
Men's Age Singles: 45+

Franco, Sebastian (Longwood)

Men's Singles: IRT Pro
Men's Doubles: IRT Pro Partner: Eduardo Garay

Fry, Gene (Casselberry)

Men's Heroes Singles (Public Service): Open / A

Fuentes, Rafael (Miami)

Men's Doubles: Open Partner: Alejandro Herrera
Men's Doubles: 35+ Partner: Alain Yahia
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ Open / Elite Partner: Greg Diaz

Garay, Eduardo (Longwood)

Men's Singles: IRT Pro
Men's Doubles: IRT Pro Partner: Sebastian Franco

Garcia, Frank (Miami)

Men's Doubles: A Partner: Juan Carlos Diaz
Men's Doubles: 45+ Partner: Luis Sanchez

Gaynor, Ryan (Tampa)

Men's Singles: C
Men's Age Singles: 25+ B

Goldstein, Jeremy (Boyton Beach)

Gower, Richard (Deerfield Beach)

Men's Age Singles: 75+

Hansen, Tim (Wellington)

Men's Doubles: 45+ Partner: Hector Capo
Men's Doubles: 55+ Partner: Rick Ferrin
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ Open / Elite Partner: Mike Harmon
Men's Doubles: LEGENDS POT- LUCK Partner: onetl

Hansen, Timmy (Wellington)

Men's Singles: Open
Men's Doubles: Open Partner: Jonathan Burns

Harmon, Mike (Sarasota)

Men's Age Singles: 40+
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ Open / Elite Partner: Tim Hansen

Hernandez, Carmen (Largo)

Women's Age Singles: W60/70

Herrera, Alejandro (Miami)

Men's Singles: IRT Pro
Men's Singles: Open
Men's Doubles: Open Partner: Rafael Fuentes

Hillman, Mark (Satellite Beach)

Men's Age Singles: 55+ A
Men's Age Singles: 65+ A

Hollander, Bruce (Hollywood)

Men's Doubles: M65D/75D Partner: Danial White
Men's Age Singles: 65+ B/C
Men's Age Singles: 75+

Junki, Julio (Miami)

Men's Age Singles: 50+

Kinkin, Michael (North Port)

Men's Doubles: A Partner: Daniel Mancia
Men's Age Singles: 45+ A

Knudsen, Bradley (Brandon)

Men's Singles: Elite
Men's Doubles: Elite Partner: Nicholas Knudsen

Knudsen, Len (Wimauma)

Men's Age Singles: 60+
Men's Age Singles: 65+

Knudsen, Nicholas (Brandon)

Men's Doubles: Elite Partner: Bradley Knudsen

Kresa, Cari (Holly Hill)

Lewis, Keith (Stuart)

Lewis, Steven (Port Saint Lucie)

Men's Doubles: Elite Partner: Hector Capo
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ A Partner: Shane De Witt

Mann, Moshe (Sunny Isle Beach)

Men's Age Singles: 70+

Miller, Wesley (Bradenton)

Monchik, Sudsy (Vero Beach)

Men's Doubles: IRT Pro Partner: Kane Waselenchuk
Men's Doubles: 35+ Partner: Chris Brinkley

Mondello, Mike (Tampa)

Men's Age Singles: 25
Men's Doubles: 45+ Partner: Scott Reid
Men's Age Singles: 50+

Moreno, Jorge (Wesley Chapel)

Men's Singles: B
Men's Doubles: B Partner: Carlos Eduardo Novoa
Men's Age Singles: 35+ B

Noyes, Sara (Saint Petersburg)

Women's Doubles: WOD/WED Partner: Claudia Andrade
Mixed Doubles: X30/40 Partner: Andres Ramirez

Pablo Rodriguez, Juan ( Longwood)

Men's Singles: IRT Pro
Men's Singles: Open
Men's Doubles: Open Partner: Erick Trujillo

Perconti, Salvatore (Saint Petersburg)

Men's Age Singles: 70+
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ B Partner: David Wolfson

Quinlan, Patrick (Pensacola)

Men's Singles: Elite
Men's Heroes Singles (Public Service): Open / A
Men's Doubles: Elite Partner: Chris Lawson

Ramirez, Andres (Winter Springs)

Men's Doubles: Elite Partner: Juan Rivas
Men's Doubles: 35+ Partner: Juan Rivas
Mixed Doubles: X30/40 Partner: Sara Noyes

Reid, Scott (Tampa)

Men's Doubles: 45+ Partner: Mike Mondello
Men's Age Singles: 55+
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ Open / Elite Partner: Todd Oneil

Rucks, Bryan (Saint Cloud)

Men's Age Singles: 55+
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ Open / Elite Partner: Rod Van Dyke

Sanchez, Luis (Hollywood)

Men's Doubles: 45+ Partner: Frank Garcia
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ Open / Elite Partner: Herve Bony
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ A Partner: Richard Unzueta

Shearer, Randy (Bradenton)

Men's Age Singles: 55+
Men's Age Singles: 60+
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ A Partner: Rod Southwood

Shoemaker, Philip (Tallahassee)

Men's Doubles: 45+ Partner: Craig Herr
Men's Age Singles: 55+ A

Sotomayor, Veronica (Vero Beach)

Women's Singles: LPRT Pro
Women's Doubles: LPRT Pro Partner: Maria Jose Vargas
Women's Doubles: WOD/WED Partner: Graci Wargo

Sperber, Donald (Palm Beach)

Men's Doubles: M65D/75D Partner: David Zabinski
Men's Age Singles: 80+

Toston, Darron (Tallahassee)

Men's Doubles: 45+ Partner: Chad Beacher
Men's Age Singles: 35+ A
Men's Age Singles: 45+ A

Trimble, Jean (Orlando)

Women's Doubles: W55D/65D Partner: Renee Fish

Tyler, Gary (Palm Harbor)

Men's Age Singles: 60+
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ Open / Elite Partner: Garrett Tyler

Tyler, Janet (Palm Harbor)

Women's Doubles: W55D/65D Partner: Cindy Tilbury
Women's Age Singles: W60/70

Unzueta, Richard (Miami)

Men's Singles: A
Men's Age Singles: 45+ A
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ A Partner: Luis Sanchez

Van Dyke, Rod (Ocala)

Men's Doubles: Centurion+ Open / Elite Partner: Bryan Rucks

Voorhees, Wanda (Oviedo)

Wargo, Gary (Clearwater)

Wargo, Graci (Clearwater)

Women's Singles: LPRT Pro
Women's Singles: Open
Women's Doubles: WOD/WED Partner: Veronica Sotomayor

Weinstein, Jeff (Plantation)

Men's Doubles: B Partner: Steve Disalvo
Men's Doubles: Centurion+ B Partner: Steve Disalvo

Whittemore, Rick (Fort Pierce)

Men's Singles: B
Men's Doubles: B Partner: Matt Rustin
Men's Age Singles: 55+ B

Wolfe, David (Boca Raton)

Men's Singles: A
Men's Age Singles: 55+ A

Yahia, Alain (Miami)

Men's Doubles: 35+ Partner: Rafael Fuentes

Yore, Jim (Clearwater)

Zamudio, Alex (Lakeland)

Men's Singles: IRT Pro
Men's Singles: Open

Van Dyke named new FRA President

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 21:48:21 GMT

Rod Van Dyke was announced as the new President of the Florida Racquetball Association at this year’s State Doubles Tournament.

Van Dyke steps into he role that has been held by Jonathan Burns since 2018. During his time as president, Burns completely revamped the state singles and doubles tournaments while providing excellent leadership and continuing compete at the highest levels. JB’s behind the scenes efforts have improved the FRA tournament scene and the FRA is grateful for his service. Burns will remain on the FRA Board.

Over the two decades, Van Dyke has been an active presence on the tournament scene, competing both on the state and national levels. He has been a major factor in growing the sport at the grassroots and led the development of Team Ocala.

Van Dyke was instrumental in driving support to add two courts at his home club, the Frank DeLuca YMCA. The additional courts allowed for the growth of Team Ocala league as well as two tournaments per year. The Team Ocala Classic tournaments are well respected throughout the state, providing a top-notch tournament that is often described as an “old school racquetball experience.” He is eager to help grassroots racquetball grow on a statewide level.

Please join the FRA Board in welcome our next President, Rod Van Dyke!

2021 Florida State Doubles Championships

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 15:43:59 GMT

Men’s Open Doubles

Eduardo Garay/Sebastian Franco won their first Florida State Doubles Open title.

In round one, the two seed took out Bruno Guerrero/Nick Ramos 15-5, 15-12. Third seed Ross Greenberg/Jonathan Burns proved to be more of a challenge in the semifinals, pushing Garay/Franco to a tiebreaker 15-12, 11-15, 11-2. Defending state champs, Mike Harmon/Wes Miller advanced to the finals after wins against Fabian Cuesta/Marcus Reyero 15-6, 15-13 and Kevin Vasquez/Alejandro Herrera 15-5, 15-5.

Harmon/Miller were competitive in the finals, but Garay/Franco prevailed 15-11, 15-10 to capture the 2021 Florida State Doubles Men’s Open Championship.

Women’s Open Doubles

A five team round robin was won handily by Veronica Sotomayor/Graci Wargo . In four matches. The duo only surrendered 10 points in two games respectively, winning by an average of 15-5.25 per game. This is the first Florida State Doubles Women’s Open title for Team Sotomayor/Wargo.

Sara Noyes/Claudia Andrade locked up the silver medal after finishing 3-1.

Mixed Open Doubles

Claudia Andrade/Alejandro Herrera survived two tiebreakers to win the Mixed Open division.

Andrade/Herrera opened with a win over Michelle Scott/Bruno Guerrero 15-4, 15-6. In round two, the pair fell in game two and were pushed to the edge by Graci Wargo/Wes Miller 15-11, 12-15, 11-10.

Sara Noyes/Mike Harmon advanced to the finals with a win over Veronica Sotomayor/Shane DeWi t t 15-8, 15-6.

A 15-14 Harmon/Noyes win in game one of the finals was followed by another close one in game two, won by Andrade/Herrera 15-12. Andrade/Herrera took the tiebreaker 11-3 to secure the 2021 Florida State Doubles Mixed Open Championship.

2021 WOR New Smyrna Beach Shootout: Racquetball

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 18:41:30 GMT

Wargo wins Women's Open at Treasure Coast Shootout:

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 15:54:04 GMT

Graci Wargo (Clearwater) captured the Women's Open division by defeating Carolina Pisana (Plantation) 15-6, 15-7 and Laura Brandt (Southwest Ranches) in a tightly contested tiebreaker 6-15, 15-14, 11-10. Brandt knocked off Pisana 15-8, 15-4 to secure second place.

(L/R) Larua Brandt, Graci Wargo and Carolina Pisana.

Fontana & Hansen win gold; 19 from Florida compete in Colorado at World Singles and Doubles Open Racquetball Championships

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 21:07:38 GMT

World Singles and Doubles Open Racquetball Championships

Florida was well-represented at the World Singles and Doubles Open Racquetball Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, on August 12-15, 2021, at the Highlands Ranch Rec Center. Nearly 300 players participated in the field, 19 of which were from the Sunshine State. The only other states with as many or more players were the host state of Colorado (102) and California (19).

Four Florida residents competed in the pro divisions.

Sebastian Franco (Longwood) won his first round match in the main draw of the IRT bracket 15-5, 15-4 against Mauricio Zelada, but fell in the round of 16s to Conrado Moscoso 15-6, 15-14.

Franco's doubles partner, Eduardo Garay (Longwood), also advanced in the main draw by defeating Sebastian Fernandez 15-9, 9-15, 11-9. He ran into No. 2 seed Rocky Carson III in the next round and dropped the match 15-11, 15-10.

Franco/Garay won two matches as the second seed the Men's Open Doubles bracket, but were knocked out by Rodrigo Montoya/Javier Mar 15-11, 15-7 in the semifinals.

Alex Zamudio (Lakeland) , who put on an impressive performance at Florida State Singles in June, lost in the first round of the IRT qualifier but put up a fight. He beat Juan José Tapia Zúñiga 15-6 in game one, but lost 15-14 and 11-10. Zamudio advanced to the round of 16s in the Men's Open Singles division before falling in yet another tiebreaker.

Graci Wargo (CLearwater) competed in the LPRT Singles, Women's Open Singles, and Women's Open Doubles.

Other highlights included:

Matt Fontana (Wesley Chapel) defeating Nick Blanchard (Colorado) 15-7, 15-10 to win the Men's 35+ Singles division; Fontana nearly made a second finals appearance, winning game one 15-6 before falling 15-14, 11-4 to Keith Minor (Illinois)
Tim Hansen (Wellington) teamed with Jeff Stark (California) to win gold in the Men's Doubles - Centurion+ Open/Elite division. Hansen/Stark swept the competition on their way toward a first place finish in the round-robin bracket.
Mauricio Muriel (Fort Lauderdale) won the Group 2 flight of the Men's 45+B round robin before advancing to the finals of the playoff bracket. Muriel nearly came back to Florida with title but was outlasted in an 11-7 tiebreaker.
Juan Pablo Rodriguez (Longwood) won two matches in the Men's Open Singles division before being defeated by Erick Trujillo (Mexico) in the quarterfinals
Special thanks to Kyle Artman (Ocala) for sharing several photos from his trip to Denver. #racquetballvibez
VIEW FULL BRACKETS HERE .

Hansen wins Junior Nationals; four from Florida compete in Des Moines, Iowa

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 19:55:24 GMT

Timmy Hansen (Wellington) took home the gold medal at Junior Nationals last week at the Wellmark YMCA in Des Moines, Iowa. The win automatically qualifies Hansen for Junior Worlds as a member of Team USA.

Hansen, the number one seed in the Boys 18- Singles, kicked off the event with a 15-1, 15-5 victory over D.J. Mendoza (San Antonio, Texas). He followed it up with another dominating performance, a 15-1, 15-2 win against Cody Thomas (Stockton, California). Hansen also made the semifinals look like a walkthrough 15-4, 15-2 vs Kamahela Britos (Honolulu, Hawaii).

In the finals, Hansen met Julius Ellis, also a son of a racquetball legend, and faced a challenge for the first time all week. Game one looked like more of the same from Hansen as he cruised to a 15-2 win, but Ellis fought back in game two and dealt Hansen his only loss of the tournament, 15-6. Hansen reverted to the status quo in the tiebreaker and streaked by Ellis, 11-3, to secure a spot on the U.S. Junior National Team and the Boys 18- Junior National Championship.

Congratulations to Timmy and the Hansen family!

Samuel Schulze (Ocala) was the only other player from the state of Florida to compete in the juniors division. Schulze dropped his opening round matchup against Ellis in singles and won a match in the Red division before falling in the semifinals. He also partnered with Janka Gerber (Wildwood, MIssouri) in mixed doubles and despite their opening round loss, the pair bounced back to win the Red division in the Olympic-style format.

Graci Wargo (Clearwater) competed in both the U.S. Women's Team Singles and Doubles qualifying events. In the singles, Wargo fell 15-5, 15-1 to eventual champion and LPRT vet, Rhonda Rajsich. Wargo and doubles partner Jessica Chen (Bellevue, Washington) were bested by Lexi York and Linda Tyler in round one, 15-13, 15-3.

Alex Zamudio (Lakeland) dropped his opening match to Maurice Miller 15-3, `5-3 in the U.S. Men's Team Singles qualifying event.

2021 State Singles - Burns takes Men's Open; Andrade wins Women's Open

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 02:36:53 GMT

FLORIDA STATE SINGLES TOURNAMENT A SUCCESS

One of the first state championship events since COVID shutdown indoor racquetball tournaments for much of 2020 went off without a hitch last weekend , June 18-20, 2021, t the Our Y facility in Sarasota.

The 105 player event sold out in the just four hours. FRA Board members Jonathan Burns , Gary Wargo , and Zac DiDonato helped drive sign-ups while Zac and Andrew Kapec led the way all weekend at the tournament desk. Kevin De Marco , Samuel Schulze , Edwin Ramos , and Rob Lyons also contributed at the front desk.

Burns wins first state Open title since 2018

The Men's Open division saw four defending state champions advance to the semifinals. Top-seeded, two-time defending state champion, Noslen Jimenez (Jacksonville) advanced to the semis after 15-3, 15-0 win over Scott Reid (Tampa) . Fourth-seed Alejandro Herrera (Miami) was the beneficiary of two no-shows in the first two rounds.

Herrera cruised to a 15-9 game one win against Jimenez, but the two-time defending state champ fought back with a 15-8 win in game two and a gutsy 11-9 tiebreaker victory to advance to the finals.

In the bottom half of the draw, Wes Miller (Bradenton) defeated Men's Elite Champion, Bill Luce (Jacksonville) 15-6, 15-6 before falling in the quarterfinals to Jonathan Burns (Delray Beach) , 15-14 and 15-10.

Alex Zamudio (Lakeland) advanced past Aaron Metcalf (Jacksonville) 15-5, 15-3 before pushing Mike Harmon (Sarasota) to a tiebreaker in the quarterfinals. Zamudio took game one 15-5 and nearly took game two, but Harmon prevailed 15-14 and 11-8 in the tiebreaker.

Harmon and Burns also played in the 2020 State Singles Semis with Harmon advancing after an 11-9 victory in the tiebreaker. This go-round, Burns defeated Harmon in two hard fought games 15-10, 15-14.

Jimenez raced out to a big lead to start as Burns struggled to find his rhythm and closed out a dominant game one, 15-1.

Burns showed signs of life in game two, but missed enough shots to spot Jimenez an 8-4 lead. Every time it looked like Burns was about to turn the corner and go on a run, he would be undone by a mistake or a timely shot by Jimenez. Both players found their way into the box but neither could score more than a point or two in the middle stretch of the second game before Burns finally broke through to finish the game on an 11-4 run for a final score of 15-11.

Jimenez, known for his ability to cover the court, showed some signs of fatigue as Burns picked his game up and carried that momentum into an 11-0 win to claim the tiebreaker and the 2021 Florida Men's Open State Singles Championship.

Congratulations to Jonathan Burns on this third Florida State Open Singles Championship overall!

Andrade reclaims Open Women's title

The FRA Women's Open division consisted of five competitors and four former Women's Open State Singles Champions: defending champ Laura Brandt , Janet Tyler , Sara Noyes , Graci Wargo , and 2019 champ, Claudia Andrade .

The Women's Open Singles division also came down to Sunday tiebreaker between two former state champions.

Andrade (Miami) opened play on Friday night with a 15-6, 15-10 victory over Sara Noyes (St. Petersburg) . On Saturday afternoon, Andrade was able to knock off Graci Wargo (Clearwater) 15-6 and 11-7 after falling in game one 15-8. Later that evening, Andrade defeated Janet Tyler (Palm Harbor) 15-11, 15-1 to take a 3-0 record into her Sunday matchup with Laura Brandt (Southwest Ranches) .

Brandt advanced to 3-0 with a 15-9, 15-8 win over Tyler to kick off the event on Friday night. Her 15-2, 15-12 win over Wargo preceded a 13-15, 15-8, and 11-8 tiebreaker win over Noyes.

The last two Women's Open Champions faced off on Sunday morning. Brandt struck first with a 15-11 win in game one, but much like the finals on the men's side, Andrade took over in game two and coasted to a 15-5 victory and an 11-2 final in the tiebreaker.

Congratulations to Claudia Andrade on her second Florida State Open Singles Championship overall!

2021 FRA Awards

2021 State Singles Championship Photos

*Click the album to bring up single photos

Men's Skill Divisions

Men's Age Divisions

Women's Skill Divisions

Women's Age Divisions

Florida Men's Open State Finals - Burns vs Jimenez

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 14:27:09 GMT

The Florida Racquetball Association has launched a new YouTube page to store matches from Facebook streams.

Be sure to subscribe to the FRA YouTube page:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1EJ95sTOYpLu-fm_vDwjoQ

Treasure Coast Shootout to be held in Port St. Lucie July 23-25

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 21:09:37 GMT

Racquetball Tournament : Treasure Coast Shootout

Dates : Jul 23-25, 2021

Location : Port St Lucie, FL USA - Port St Lucie Civic Center

Director: Chad Bailey

Entry Deadline : 7/16/2021 11:00 PM

Website Link : https://www.r2sports.com/tourney.asp?TID=37760

We are excited to announce that we are hosting an event at the Port St Lucie Civic Center July 23-25. The city of Port St Lucie has graciously allowed us to use their facility for this event. If you haven't seen this venue, you need to check it out. The civic center has 4 indoor panel courts.

Prize money:

Open Singles $250 1st, $150 for 2nd, $50 for 3rd and 4th

Open Doubles : $250 for 1st, $150 for 2nd

Mixed Open Double s $200 for 1st, $100 for 2nd

Working with Sudsy Monchik on a question and answer session during the event to help promote racquetball and the growth of junior players.

More info to come soon

Chad Bailey

Tournament Director

Times posted for 2021 Florida State Singles Tournament

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 20:27:51 GMT

TO ALL 2021 FLORIDA STATE SINGLES COMPETITORS:

START TIMES POSTED HERE:

https://www.r2sports.com/website/next-match.asp?TID=37450&display=YES

MATCH TIMES:

June 18-20, 2021

Friday: 8:00 AM - 11:00 PM

Saturday: 8:00 AM - 11:00 PM

Sunday: 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

START TIMES:

Complete FULL DRAWS will be available Tuesday, June 15 to help with your travel and hotel decisions. Men's Start Times will be as early as Friday at 8:00 AM. Women's Start Times will be as early as Friday at 4:00 PM.

CHECK-IN:

You must check-in to your match at least 45 minutes prior to match time. Get to the club early to prepare. Once called, both players will simultaneously be given a timed 5 minutes to warm-up. If we are fortunate to be ahead of schedule, it is possible for your match to be begin up to 15 minutes earlier than scheduled.

A Look into Manilla Athletics

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Wed, 09 Jun 2021 16:55:55 GMT

Manilla Athletics is a sponsor for the 2021 Florida State Singles tournament.

International Racquetball Tour pros Adam Manilla and Bobby Horn joined Nick Knudsen to provide an inside look into Manilla Athletics.

While the world shut down during the COVID pandemic, Adam and Erika Manilla founded the Manilla Athletics digital training platform as a way to reach racquetball players across the world.

In our interview, Adam and Bobby detailed the services they can offer through their platform including:

online courses on technique and strategy
live drilling sessions inspired by Peloton
video analysis

For more information check out the Manilla Athletics website or contact Adam, Erika, or Bobby directly with any questions via social media or email.

https://manillaathletics.com/

Burns/Harmon featured in Sun-Sentinel article

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Fri, 04 Jun 2021 17:30:14 GMT

Racquetball foes team for Eustis Long Wall outdoor championship

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/delray-sun/fl-cn-sp-eustis-long-wall-outdoor-championship-20210602-20210528-6bje5dv6nzdqzkilxztnrbvj3q-story.html?fbclid=IwAR114dns1mqjjbugh-0ov-Teaf6PbejjUSoojoD6_ctVYI16PXIflnhmun4

Herrera & Wargo take home Open; Suid & Bernstein raise $30k for charity

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 20:37:18 GMT

A Message from Susan & Rick

After a year delay it was awesome to have our tournament and bring a little normalcy back into our lives after what has been a crazy year. This years tournament looked a little different because of COVID, masks were worn off the court, we didn't have Harvey "The GrillMaster's" awesome barbecue and no stadium seating, but all went extremely well.

This tournament sold out over a year ago and is a fundraiser for The Giborim (Heros) program for special needs children at the DPJCC. And with the generosity of the players, the raffle and our sponsors we were able to raise over $30,000.

"We play a game we love and raise a good amount of money for children in need. It's a win-win."

- Tournament Co-Director, Susan Suid.

Susan and I would like to thank the players and sponsors that make the tournament a success. And of course a big thanks to our amazing staff, Danny Suid, Kevin DeMarco, San Schulze and Michael Bernstein. They kept the tournament running smoothly and on time all weekend.

We love our racquetball family. See you at the next one!

- Tournament Co-Director, Rick Bernstein

DPJCC Open Singles Results

The 12th DPJCC Racquetball Tournament served as Florida's return to indoor tournament play.

Men's Open Singles

Three former state singles champions highlighted the eight man draw.

Alejandro Herrera ( Miami ) worked his way past Timmy Hansen ( Wellington ) 15-7 and 15-5 before knocking off Mike Harmon ( Sarasota ) in two games in the semifinals, 15-11 and 15-4.

In the upper half of the draw, top-seeded Jonathan "JB" Burns ( Delray Beach ) cruised by Michael Barrett ( Hialeah ) 15-3 and 15-2 in the first round. Wes Miller ( Bradenton ) advanced to meet Burns in the semis after defeating Cesar Castillo ( Doral ) in an 11-1 tiebreaker (9-15, 15-9, 11-1). Burns and Miller battled through a tightly contested match, but Burns prevailed 15-12 and 15-14.

Herrera and Burns have combined for three State Singles Open titles since 2015. Burns took the first game 15-12 before falling 15-5 in game two. Herrera finished off the tiebreaker with an 11-9 victory to capture the Men's Open Singles title.

Women's Open Singles

The Women's Open Singles draw only consisted of four players, but three of the four have won one Florida State Singles Women's Open title since 2012.

Play opened on Friday night with Claudia Andrade ( Miami ) knocking off Laura Brandt ( Southwest Ranches ) 15-11 and 15-4.

On Saturday night, Brandt fell to Graci Wargo ( Clearwater ) in an 11-3 tiebreaker (10-15, 15-12, 11-3) and Andrade also won a tiebreaker over Sara Noyes ( St. Petersburg ) 4-15, 15-2, and 11-4.

Brandt and Wargo opened Sunday with wins over Noyes and Wargo defeated Andrade 15-14 and 15-9 to clinch the Women's Open Singles title.

12th DPJCC RACQUETBALL TOURNAMENT

USA Racquetball Cancels the 2021 USA Racquetball National Championships Festival

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Tue, 04 May 2021 02:52:42 GMT

An email sent by USA Racquetball on Monday night confirmed the cancellation of the 2021 USA Racquetball National championships Festival.

Copy of the email text:

Dear USA Racquetball Family,

We are sorry to have inform you that due to unforeseen ongoing COVID-19 restrictions in the St. Louis area, the 2021 USA Racquetball National Championships Festival has to be canceled.

The St. Louis Sports Commission, in partnership with the Missouri Racquetball Association, the Missouri High School Racquetball Association, the Jewish Community Center, Vetta Racquet Sports, and Explore St. Louis built the bid for this event in January. USA Racquetball selected the bid from St. Louis due to the number of courts in close proximity, the centralized location nationally, and the city’s rich history history. During initial acceptance, there was a high probability that reopening measures were going to take place in the middle few weeks in March and that St. Louis County guidelines would move forward to lift the mask mandate for Racquetball play by the end of March 2021.

In mid-April, a few changes in St. Louis County included lifting the mask mandate during play for “low frequency” indoor sports like Tennis, and this created optimism for a continued positive direction for Racquetball. Today, May 3, 2021, state regulations have moved forward, but St. Louis County’s have not. The result of this gridlock, and the lack of assurance that the mask mandate for Racquetball will be lifted, makes this decision very difficult, as so many decisions have been over the past nearly 14 months.

Now being over seven weeks behind on anticipated reopening measures, USA Racquetball lacks enough time to confidently market the event, provide clear information to attendees on event logistics, and give players the overall experience they deserve for their investment of time and money.

So, where do we go from here?

Regarding hotel reservations, if you booked through our GroupHousing portal, all hotel reservations will be cancelled for you and refunds processed -- you do not need to contact them directly! If you made your hotel accommodations independent of using the GroupHousing portal, you should now move to cancel them yourself.

All entry fees will be refunded with credit processing fees absorbed by USA Racquetball.

If you booked flights through the United Olympic Desk, change fees have been waived. This email can be used as supporting evidence for cancellation or change if booked through any other airline.

USA Racquetball is currently working on activating our contingency plan we formulated in the case of event cancellation. Further information on a future National Team Qualifying option for both Adults and Juniors will be out soon. With the IRF World and IRF World Junior Championships still slated for later this fall, it is important that we identify our U.S. National Teams. Beyond the IRF events themselves, the IRF World Championships are the only qualifier for the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, USA.

We are also creating a plan to honor and induct the Hall of Fame Classes of 2020 and 2021. We have reached out to the Hall of Fame Committee as well as our five Hall of Fame inductees. Once a plan is firmly in place, an announcement will be forthcoming!

In conclusion, this announcement weighs heavily on us all after a long period of canceled championships, confusing changes in regulations, and disheartening news across the United States. The 2021 Festival was slated to mark a return-to-play national celebration for our community, and the decision to cancel was not made lightly.

Our Hall of Fame inductees, US Team athletes, and indeed every member of our Racquetball family deserve our best efforts going forward, and that’s exactly what you will have.

USA Racquetball deeply appreciates the teamwork and partnership afforded by the St. Louis Sports Commission and so many other organizations and businesses in the St. Louis area that participated in our Festival planning. The Commission has expressed that they have a very positive vision for the future of Racquetball events in St. Louis, and we feel just the same way!

For any questions regarding this announcement, please contact Connor Shane, USA Racquetball National Events Director, at cshane@usaracquetball.com or 719-635-5396 ext. 1.

Burns/Harmon win WOR Eustis Longwall Tournament

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 17:56:59 GMT

WOR Eustis Long Wall Championships Wrap-up

Pulled from WOR - World Outdoor Racquetball Facebook page

Eustis, FL

The Eustis Long Wall outdoor championships were held Saturday and Sunday April 17-18th at the Sunset Island Complex in Eustis, FL. More than 90 players from Florida, the East Coast and beyond travelled to Central Florida and enjoyed the greater Orlando area for a couple of days, playing some great long wall.

Tournament site and brackets were here:

https://www.r2sports.com/portfolio/r2-event.asp?TID=37333

Here’s a wrap-up of the largest and pro draws:

In the Men’s Pro Draw¸17 teams broke up into four RR Groups to start the competition, with the winners of each RR grouping advancing to the knockout semis. These RR groups were stacked, each containing multiple teams comprised of outdoor veterans and accomplished players.

Here’s the winners of the RR groups:

- RR Group 1: #1 seeds Mike Harmon/Jonathan Burns advanced.

- RR Group 2: #1 Seeds Tommy Medina/Thomas Gerhardt advanced over a group that included the team of Yelandi Rivero/Aaron Metcalf , two long-wall specialists.

- RR Group 3: #2 seeds from West Palm Beach Carlos Bravo/Joe Young upset the #1 seeded group of Andres Ramirez/Scott Graves to advance.

- RR Group 4: #1 seeds Rocky Carson/Tito Montanez took the group.

In the knockout rounds, Bravo/Young took out Medina/Gerhardt in one semi, while Harmon/Burns topped Carson/Montanez in the other semi. In the final, Harmon & Burns defeated Bravo & Young to take the Men’s pro title.

In the Men’s 75+ Draw, no fewer than 30 teams entered the massive Sunday draw. Like with the pro draw, the teams split into 6 groups of 5 teams playing RR action in the morning. The 6 winning teams advanced to second RR group, with each team playing the other to determine 1st through 6th place.

The final standings in the winner’s RR group stage was:

- 1st: Joe Young / Rob Mijares

- 2nd: Carlos Bravo / Yelandi Rivero

- 3rd: Jonathan Burns / Mike Harmon (by virtue of H2H loss to Carlos/Yelandi )

- 4th: Tito Montanez / Rocky Carson

- 5th: Nick Hand / Joddy Stahl

- 6th: Brad Litchfield / Frank Lopez

In the Mixed Pro division, just two teams entered. Native Floridians Mike Harmon/Sarah Noyes downed the visiting Virginians Thomas Gerhardt/Aime Brewer in the final.

Congrats to Rod Van Dyke and Rob Mijares for running a great event and making multiple weather-driven on-the-fly moves to keep the tournament on schedule.

Thanks to Mike Kinkin for capturing draw-sheets and photos for this recap.

Thanks to Rob for transcribing the results to allow me to properly recap this event, and for sending pictures for the posts.

https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-results.asp?TID=37333

Correction

Thanks to Norm McNutt for pointing out that the Eustis event was not the first at Sunset Park and to Gary Wargo for providing further details on previous Eustis events.

Monchik & Waselenchuk kick off The Experience in Vero Beach

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 18:34:13 GMT

Monchik and Waselenchuk cover photo pulled from Restrung Magazine (Credit Freddy Ramirez)

From L/R: Waslenchuk, Hansen, Gleason, and Monchik

"The Experience with Kane and Sudsy was great!!! It really was more than a camp. I hope more people have that opportunity."

- Gene Fry, Casselberry

"Absolutely phenomenal! Great experience...would highly recommend anyone who plays at a competitive level and has the desire to elevat4etheir game to be a part of an 'Experience.'

Or if i you're just a racquetball junkie and want to hang out with the best of the best it's the place to be."

- Shane DeWitt, Vero Beach

Guest author: Cyrus Chinoy

VERO BEACH, FL

WHAT...AN...EXPERIENCE

This past weekend was truly a special one as I was humbled to participate in the 1st Chapter of the KANE AND SUDSY EXPERIENCE held in Vero Beach, Florida at the Vero Fitness Health Club , located in beautiful South Florida. 12 of us lucky ballers were fortunate to attend this 1st ever EXPERIENCE hosted by 2 of the greatest legends in the sport of racquetball in Kane Waselenchuk and Sudsy Monchik .

Many times this event was marketed and repeated to everyone including us, that this was "not a camp" and this was "not a clinic" and boy were they right about that. What was this EXPERIENCE then you may be asking yourself? It was simply as stated an....EXPERIENCE (side note: please get used to seeing EXPERIENCE in capital letters throughout this post because it's going to be a recurrent theme. You have been kindly and positively forewarned ��

The weekend started out with a meet & greet on Friday evening where all the ballers got some time to meet each other, find out where each other is from and specifically what their main reason for wanting to be part of the EXPERIENCE. It goes without saying that we all primarily were thankful to have the opportunity to be able to work with 2 of the greatest minds and phenomenal athletes racquetball has ever seen in Kane and Sudsy .

We were all able to play some friendly doubles with the entire group of ballers while Kane and Sudsy watched all of us closely as they were scoping out who they wanted to be part of their team for the fun and competitive games that were planned for the rest of the weekend. You were either going to be on TEAM KANE or on TEAM SUDSY and we all found out in a fun way as they both posted in on their Instagram feeds. In talking with all the ballers, no matter what team we were to be placed on, we all felt like one big, close family team and that was TEAM EXPERIENCE for the entire weekend.

The next day on Saturday morning kicked off the first day of competition as TEAM KANE vs TEAM SUDSY was in full effect. The format of the day was to play a doubles match with Kane and of his teams ballers vs. Sudsy and one of his teams ballers. Whichever team won the game would record the number of points for their team and the losing team would record their number of points for their team. In essence, every point counted to the weekend's total.

Although there had to be a winner and loser for every game, all of the ballers only considered this EXPERIENCE a win-win situation for themselves in being able to play full games with Kane and Sudsy . For the record, Kane and Sudsy were not taking it easy on anyone either as they were hitting the ball with the greatest of speed and velocity as many of you have seen online or in person. They were blasting drive serves and Z serves all to give everyone that EXPERIENCE of what it felt like to be in a court and play a real game with professional athletes.

There were also a few dives from Kane and Sudsy Were we all having a great time playing in the courts...Absolutely! Were we all trying to win the game for as many points as possible for our team...Absolutely! Was everyone's competitive side coming out in doing everything to win the point and the game for their respective teams...Absolutely! Were Kane and Sudsy trying to provide for us the EXPERIENCE of a lifetime...Absolutely!

In a little competition twist of events, the other half of the day we did a little switcheroo and now Kane would be playing doubles with a baller from Team Sudsy and hence Sudsy would be playing with a baller from Team Kane. Therefore, if Kane won the game with a baller from Team Sudsy, then Team Sudsy would get the points and vice versa if Sudsy won the game with a baller from Team Kane, then Team Kane would get the points. Definitely a plot twist that all the ballers found to be something different and cool. Matches were going on all day long with some great intense rallies and fun and competitive play.

Here's the part of the story where the EXPERIENCE separates itself from other events. During the matches no matter who's team you were on, both Kane and Sudsy would stop play in the moment and point out items for each player of something they could do better in the exact game situation where it might have caused them to take a bad shot or given them advice of what to prepare for next time so it can help them execute their shot and increase their chances of hitting a better shot on the court. I know that helped me tremendously and all the other ballers as well found extreme value in the passing of that knowledge to help better all of our games.

Kane and Sudsy see the game in such a different light as professional athletes than regular racquetball players and that is a gift because it allowed them to share valuable tips and tricks "in the moment" of playing the game. That's where the real learning for all of us ballers happened all day long and that's what made it such a fantastic EXPERIENCE.

With the doubles part of the competition completed for Saturday, it was now time to kick back and relax a little bit after a long day of great racquetball playing by everyone on the courts.

We all descended down to The Wave Kitchen and Bar located in the beautiful Costa d'Este Beach Resort and Spa. Here is where all the ballers got a chance to eat, drink, relax and socialize with everyone and to everyone involved with this EXPERIENCE, this was one of the many highlights of the weekend.

Many laughs, jokes, stories and moments were shared at dinner and it was great to see everyone just getting along, enjoying life and enjoying each other's company. More importantly, we were able to continue to learn more about Kane and Sudsy on a personal level as they are 2 regular human beings who like to do many of the simple things in life that we all as human beings enjoy to do and sitting down for this dinner and to be able to spend time with them and all of the ballers made for a fantastic evening and a great EXPERIENCE.

We now came down to the final day of the EXPERIENCE. Sunday was like a mini racquetball tournament that consisted of all the ballers playing in an all day competition of singles matches where each baller from TEAM KANE would play each baller from TEAM SUDSY.

Points from Saturdays events carried over and points were added to each team after each singles match was completed. The singles matches were played a little bit differently as games were scored point-a-rally to 11 points. As you can imagine, games went really quick and caused urgency right from the get go. Everyone was engaged and doing everything to win their singles match for their team. Great all around playing by all of the ballers making for plenty of fun and competitive matches.

You could tell everyone was competitive and wanting to win for their respective team, but everyone also exemplified a high level of great sportsmanship, integrity and support for each baller, no matter whose team they were on. I'm always a big believer in players having those attributes and these 12 amazing ballers I got a chance to meet, get to know and share in this EXPERIENCE, I now can genuinely call brothers and part of my family.

The culmination of the EXPERIENCE is what all of us were waiting for. Kane and Sudsy were matched up to play a singles match against one another and the winner of the match would have their points added to their respective teams totals to determine the overall winner.

The only thing I am going to share is that both Kane and Sudsy had a great match against one another and it was a treat for all the ballers to be able to witness these 2 great athletes put on a display of speed, hustle, athleticism and shot making ability. It was something that I'll never forget and think I can speak for all of the ballers and that they would agree with me on that statement.

I just wanted to give a few other shout outs to some important people who helped out with different aspects of the EXPERIENCE in making it such a great success.

First off, I wanted to thank Shane DeWitt for helping support the EXPERIENCE from the beginning and secure the Vero Fitness Health Club as our host site for the EXPERIENCE. Thank you kindly for your hospitality in welcoming all the ballers to Vero Beach and to your home club and sharing the history behind it. I greatly appreciate it very much. Great meeting you and being able to find out more about Vero Beach and your passion for racquetball just like all the other ballers.

I also wanted to thank Alfredo Benjamin Ramirez and Roby Partovich for being with us the whole weekend and utilizing their expertise in documenting tons of wonderful video and photo memories to help capture the essence of racquetball and more importantly the first ever EXPERIENCE. It was great talking to each of you and understanding your thought process behind capturing a lifetime of memories through your lenses. Can't wait to see the final and finished products once you are both done. I have no doubt they will be of the highest quality, content and help tell and share all of our EXPERIENCE. Well done gentlemen.

I'd also like to thank many sponsors of our event namely Rollout Racquetball, Krowning Moment, Sudsy Monchik , Donald Williams , Carlos Cabrera , Jonathon Clay , Beast Made Clothing , Head/Penn Racquetball and Aktion Coffee . These individuals and companies were very generous towards making the EXPERIENCE a great success as they provided a plethora of gifts to all of the ballers in addition to many other items which included: racquetballs, headbands, hats, wireless headphones, facemasks, t-shirts, zip up jackets, bracelets, stickers, food, beverages, etc. I can speak for all the ballers when I say a big THANK YOU to them for their generosity and support for racquetball. We all greatly appreciate your kindness and support.

Thank you to Scott McClellan (affectionately known as Scotty Mac) known for being a great IRT referee on tour and helping Sudsy and John Ellis on the Beyond the Court show, but he was also at the EXPERIENCE and helped Kane and Sudsy coordinate the event and helped keep it on track and running on time so they could maximize their time with all the ballers for a great overall EXPERIENCE. Thanks very much Scott for your efficiency in helping with the event and also great to get on the courts with you as a fellow baller and battle it out. Great meeting you.

A huge thank you also goes out to Alison Ashby for all of her hard work in helping make all the ballers feel welcome from the first day to the end of the EXPERIENCE and in taking care of us in regards to bringing us food and drinks all weekend long so we were well fed and hydrated. She was very helpful in making us all feel at home and helped answer any questions we had in the planning of the event while we were there. Great meeting you Alison and getting to know more about you and Kane and we really appreciate all your help and support the entire weekend. Thank you kindly.

In addition, a huge thank you also goes out to Sudsy's wife Vero Sotomayor . Thank you Veronica for allowing us to borrow Sudsy for a few days so that he could help create the best EXPERIENCE for all the ballers. You and Sudsy have great kids and it was great that they could come out and witness it for a short time. It was a pleasure meeting you. Thank you once again for your support.

A truly unique event and EXPERIENCE this past weekend all of us 12 original ballers will never forget. Kane and Sudsy , thank you both very much for all your hard work and careful thought process to make this EXPERIENCE not only successful, but also one of great value to not only highlight your love and passion for racquetball, but also to share more in depth of your personal lives as human beings and all the stories that led you both to where you are in your lives. Those personal stories are your EXPERIENCE and you helped translate that drive, passion and knowledge and were both able to provide a fantastically wonderful EXPERIENCE for all 12 ballers this past weekend and we are all greatly appreciative of your efforts.

Thank you both for now...Until the next EXPERIENCE slated for July 2nd - 4th, 2021 in Austin, Texas. Keep an eye out shortly for registration details.

Peace to all.

Rocky Carson tours Florida; hosts clinics & plays in Eustis event

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 21:25:13 GMT

IRT Pro Rocky Carson tours Florida

IRT pro Rocky Carson hosted three clinics and played in this past weekend's outdoor tournament in Eustis.

The first clinic took place on the outdoor courts of Sunset Park in Eustis, the second at the Frank DeLuca YMCA of Central Florida in Ocala, and the final at the renovated Richey Racquet Racquetball & Fitness Center in New Port Richey.

Team Ocala/Eustis Racquetball with Rocky Carson. (Photo courtesy of Ron Kinkin)

Rocky Carson Outdoor Clinic Wrap-up 4/16/21,

PULLEED FROM WOR - WORLD OUTDOOR RACQUETBALL FACEBOOK

By Todd Boss & Rick Bernstein

Eustis FL - Outdoor legend Rocky Carson held an outdoor racquetball clinic on Friday evening 4/16/21 at the Sunset Island Complex in Eustis, FL, site of the Long Wall tournament being held this same weekend. Thanks to some untimely rain, the group moved indoors to a unique private facility at a local racquetball enthusiast’s home (pictured above) that has 3-wall long wall courts inside a private gym.

Rocky had 12+ participants and covered the following topics, with a focus on Outdoor racquetball strategy and specifically Long Wall strategy as a prep for players competing in the tournament being held this same weekend.
- Court position and shot selection strategy.
- Serve and service return strategy.
- Both singles and doubles playing pointers.
- Playing and critiquing on the court.
- Giveaways and wrap up.

Carson conducted these clinics working with legendary coach Fran Davis. Contact either Fran or Rocky for future clinics and sites.

Florida Racquetball Remembers Ken Arrowsmith

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Sun, 18 Apr 2021 13:48:33 GMT

Former FRA President, Ken Arrowsmith

"One of my biggest competitors on the court that ended up being one of my best friends and doubles partner. You will be missed Ken. God bless your family. "

- Ron Burris

Arrowsmith Obituary Pulled From HERE :

ARROWSMITH, Kenneth Lee "Ken" of Lutz, FL, died suddenly at age 66 of complications from a pulmonary embolism March 19, 2021, at his home in Stanley, NC. Ken was the beloved father of Katie Arrowsmith Kuebler; beloved father of Kenneth Charles Arrowsmith; and beloved grandfather of Skylar Jesse Kuebler, Ivyhays McCormick Kuebler, Nathaniel Field Rylee Kuebler, Elijah Lee Arrowsmith, and Brady John Arrowsmith.

Ken was predeceased by his parents, Lee Scovil Arrowsmith and Regina Kenny Daigle. Ken is survived by his sisters, Patti-Lee D'Ausilo and Sandra Arrowsmith. He is also survived by his best friend, Nola, his yellow lab who he loved dearly.

Ken was born in Summit, NJ, February 17, 1955, and went on to attend the University of Florida. Throughout the 1990s, Ken was frequently ranked nationally as a top men's racquetball player and served as president of the Florida Racquetball Association in 1997.

Ken loved to fish, play the guitar, and enjoyed singing for all of his family. Ken was well-liked by everyone who met him, and his greatest joy was spending time with his grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held May 1, 2021, 6-8 pm, at In the Loop Brewing, 3338 Land O' Lakes Blvd., Land O' Lakes, FL 34639. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Ken's name to the Florida Racquetball Association, Inc., 110 Buena Vista Drive North, Dunedin, Florida 34698.

All donations will support youth racquetball players.

From March/April 1996 FRA Newsletter

REGISTRATION OPEN2021 Outdoor Nationals Racquetball Championships

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Sat, 10 Apr 2021 17:54:09 GMT

Pulled from home tab of the tournament's main R2Sports page:

https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=31967

Welcome to the 2021 Outdoor Nationals Racquetball Championships

July 8th-11th

Marina Park, Huntington Beach California

The 2021 Outdoor Nationals is the most prestigious Outdoor event of the year with the most history and showcasing the top Pro’s and Amateur’s from Outdoor, the IRT, WRT, LPRT and the CPRT. Marina Park has the biggest 3-wall courts in outdoor racquetball so get to work on your lob, High-Z and be ready to run! Also, this year we will be limiting the number of participants to 220, That will help us to keep from having matches played at night, so make sure you sign up early and aren't left out in the dark.

The Youth divisions start play Sunday at 10am. There is a two-division maximum per player. Courts 4&5 will be reserved exclusively for the Juniors so be sure to come over and encourage the future of our great sport.

Paddleball

Yes, there will again be Paddleball at the Outdoor Racquetball Nationals. If you are planning on playing Paddleball please click the Paddleball Link and sign up there.

https://www.r2sports.com/portfolio/r2-event.asp?TID=37420

Players with time issues or conflicts must inform the tournament directors in advance of the sign-up deadline. If you can’t play on Thursday you must be able to play Friday, no exceptions!

This year we will try our hardest to not schedule any night matches, if for some reason we have to, we will have extra lights for the courts we use. Also, with trying to schedule no night matches be prepared to play all 4 day's this year, so be ready to ball Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

In the interest of fairness, no player will be allowed to drop 2 levels to play doubles or mixed doubles. For example, a Pro/Open player will not be allowed to drop down and play in Elite’s regardless of the partner’s skill level.

SIGN-UP DEADLINE

Late online entries will be accepted up until Saturday 7/3/2021 by 11:00 AM (Central Time) for an additional fee of: $20, please do not ask to sign up late. The draws will be completed by Monday July 5th, there will be no changes or additions past that date. Thank you for understanding.

This just in, we now have two hotels working with us, Springhill Suites in HB ($149-$169) and Comfort inn and Suites in HB ($135-$145), click the links for reservations, and discounted rates.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING EVERYONE IN JULY AT NATIONALS!!

FRA Board Member Karen Bouchard featured in Daily Racquetball article

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 15:26:32 GMT

WCW #36 – AKA Women Making Racquetball History Now! – Karen Bouchard

The Daily Racquetball blog recently interviewed FRA Board member, Karen Bouchard .

Are you a pro player, coach, association board member, tournament organizer, or racquetball broadcaster AKA why do racquetball players know you?

I’ve been playing racquetball for 38 years now and been on the Florida Racquetball Association Board for 19 years: 1 year as an “at large” member, 2 years as Referee Certification and 16 years as Treasurer. As Treasurer, I handle all tax, semi-annual accountant reporting, Annual Reports, handling of all monies from our events and USAR Rebates and Final Tournament Reports to the Board. Most people probably know me though from just playing in lots and lots and lots of tournaments over all of those years. I’ve been lucky enough to connect with so many cool people with so many cool stories through racquetball...

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE

REGISTRATION OPEN2021 National Championships Festival

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 15:19:29 GMT

2021 National Championships Festival

USA National Racquetball Festival dates, details, R2 Sports site are now live. Click on the below link for all the tournament info for this year's Nationals events (Singles, Doubles, Juniors) In St. Louis from June 3rd-12th.

2021 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS FESTIVAL

We are excited to have National Championship Racquetball back! The 2021 National Championships Festival Presented by Penn is a combined National Singles, National Doubles, and National Juniors. COVID-19 has been an enormous challenge for everyone and everything, racquetball included. This Festival is a celebration of the return to racquetball. We hope you can join us.

National Singles June 3rd – 6th

National Doubles June 6th – 9th

National Juniors June 9th – 13th

The U.S. Team Juniors Qualifying June 10th – 13th

Jimenez, Berry win outdoor shootout at Crystal Springs

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 18:17:30 GMT

Jimenez (left) and Berry (right) of Jacksonville took the title

Pulled from WOR - World Outdoor Racquetball Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/WorldOutdoorRacquetball

KRG Eustis Long-Wall Warm-up Doubles Shootout

By Todd Boss/Rick Bernstein

Sunday March 28th, 2021

Crystal Springs Park, Jacksonville, Florida

Florida outdoor racquetball enthusiast Norm McNutt organized a one-day doubles shootout on Sunday in his hometown of Jacksonville to prepare the teams for next month’s big Eustis Long-Wall event. He got together 10 teams, scattered from over a half dozen parts of Florida and nearly all of whom plan on competing in the Eustis event, and had a quick one-day single elimination bracket for more than $300 in prize money.

Here’s how it shook out:

In the Semis:

#1 seed Andres Ramirez/ Scott Graves , who advanced in the quarters over Jacksonville outdoor legends Bill Luce/Aaron Metcalf by the skin of their teeth, topped #5 Jim Fanning / Brandon Gilliland 12,12 to move into the final.
#6 Noslen “Cuban Missile” Jimenez /James “Thunder Arm” Berry topped #2 “Doppler” David Branco/Charlie “Tuna” Giannakouros 9,14 (yes, the nickname game is strong in North Florida).

In the final, Jimenez/Berry beat Ramirez/Graves (10),12,9 to take the title on an ace serve from Berry to the right-hand side. Jimenez is the reigning State indoor singles champion and played a lot of rover in the I-formation required to dominate on the Crystal Springs Park long-wall courts to help power his team to victory.

Norm McNutt organized the prize money, refreshments (adult and otherwise) and the rest of the hospitality, earning plaudits from the participants. Thanks to Norm for organizing and streaming all weekend on the Keep Racquetball Great Facebook group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2301727263400648/

See you all in Eustis!

Final draw pulled from Facebook [ LINK ]

WOR Shootout at Tropical Park, Shootout Results

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 17:27:41 GMT

WOR Shootout at Tropical Park, Shootout Results

Pulled from WOR Facebook page (Photo credits: Rick Bernstein)

March 20th, 2021 Tropical Park, Miami Florida

https://www.r2sports.com/portfolio/r2-event.asp?TID=32193

52 players entered the March 2021 WOR Shootout, held at Tropical Park in Miami, FL to compete on a beautiful sunny spring day. Tropical Park’s courts are “small 3-wall courts” in that they are mid-wall, the short line is at just 16’ and the entire court plays well under the size of a conventional racquetball court. These dimensions end up favoring home-court players and promote really fast play and lots of quick hands on the court.

Here's a quick run-through of the top/pro division results on the day:

---

The Men’s Open/Pro division featured nine teams of top Florida players; they played a round robin to determine the playoff semi-finalists. In those semis:

Roy hernandez/Marcos Gravier defeated Mike Harmon/Jonathan Burns 4,7
Ismal Noa/Kevin Vasquez defeated Maykel Rodriguez/Garry Smith in a tiebreaker
In the final, Hernandez/Gravier downed Noa/Vazquez in a close tiebreaker 9-15, 15-11, 11-9.

---

The Women’s Pro/Elite division featured four teams, who played a round robin competition to determine the winner. In the end, one of the classified “elite” teams took it to the two open teams and came out on top.

1st place goes to Miriam Benard/Carolina Pisana ,
2nd place to Valeria Clemmensen/Ileana Villarreal .

---

In the Mixed Pro/Open division:

Four mixed teams competed in a round robin for the title.
First place was taken by Mike Harmon/Sara Noyes .
Visiting long-wall specialist and former WOR National tourney director Greg Lewerenz teamed up with Valeria Clemmensen to take 2nd place.

---

There was also a huge Elite men’s draw, a 40+ draw, Elite Mixed doubles and an All-Age draw. Lots of racquetball being played on the day.

---

Thanks to tourney directors Roy Hernandez and Marcos Gravier for hosting and organizing the event. Thanks to Rick Bernstein for posting pictures and updates all weekend. Thanks to William and Miriam Bernard for food sponsorship for the event. And thanks to Hernandez and Lewerenz for giving me results to write up this post.

FRA State Singles June 18-20, 2021

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 13:41:44 GMT

Registration opens April 15, 2021

The 2021 52nd Florida State Singles Championships is sanctioned for June 18-20, 2021.

Though the pandemic has pushed State Singles away from it's typical end of January time period, the FRA is determined to present this event. This indoor singles-only championships will be held at the Sarasota YMCA Frank Berlin Branch, keeping with the FRA's current alternating tradition of "West Coast Singles / East Coast Doubles" championships.

State Singles will start Friday at 9:00 AM and will be in the books by Sunday at 3:00 PM, so amend your schedules now. Last year's State Singles sold out in 1 day, so you will get ample notice as to the upcoming registration opening announcements.

Now is time to simply pencil it in. Time for Florida indoor racquetball championship events to be back!

Message from FRA President, Jonathan Burns

Hi Everyone,

The 2021 State Singles Championships will take place June 18-20 2021 at the Sarasota YMCA Frank Berlin Branch. Our State Championship events have recently sold out in less than one day so please be sure to sign up quickly after registration opens up. We expect to open registration on April 15th at 10:00 am. We had originally discussed holding the event in May but given that we really wanted the JCC tournament to happen this year we have decided to push State Singles to June. Please sign up early. This guarantees you are in the event and generally drives up participation at the events.

Please note that there will not be required mask wearing on the courts while playing but please anticipate wearing a mask while watching matches or hanging around the tournament. If things change between now and June we can of course amend the expected mask wearing rules. If you anticipate that wearing a mask in the club while you are not playing will be an issue, please simply skip the event. The FRA Board is not interested in patrolling the tournament to remind people to wear a mask. Again, if things change regarding the pandemic between now and June, we will be thrilled to loosen any mask requirements.

We are really looking forward to seeing everyone again and reigniting the momentum that had been building for our indoor state championships prior to the pandemic. Thank you, JB

REGISTRATION OPEN: 12th Annual DPJCC Racquetball Tournament announced for May 20-23, 2021

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 21:02:19 GMT

Bernstein & Suid announce new date for DPJCC Tournament in Davie

Post from the tournament's Facebook page:

GREAT NEWS TO SHARE!

After a year of COVID-19 masking and social distancing and postponing the 2020 DPJCC tournament, we are excited to announce that we now have a 'tentative' date for the DPJCC INDOOR RACQUETBALL TOURNAMENT in Davie, FL.

Mark your calendars for May 21 – 23, 2021!! We are still SOLD OUT. If you previously registered for the 2020 tournament, you are already confirmed for this tournament. If you cannot make these dates and/or prefer not to play for any reason, please let us know right away. If you were on the wait list, you are still on the wait list and we will contact you to let you know if anything opens up. Look on R2Sports for regular updates and information.

https://www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=32069

We will be following the David Posnack JCC covid rules at the time of the tournament. You will not need to wear a mask while playing. More details to follow.

This is still a fundraiser event and the money we raise will go towards programs at the David Posnack JCC including their award winning Giborim program and camp which is for special needs kids and adults.

We are looking forward to seeing you all back indoors!

Contact Rick Bernstein for all player related questions. Rballrick1@gmail.com

Contact Susan Suid for all operational, sponsorship, and donations questions. ssuid@smartsourcellc.com 954.529.8229

WAIT LIST instructions:

If you'd like to be added to the wait list, email Rick at Rballrick1@gmail.com put WAIT LIST as the subject, included your name, divisions, partner(s), phone number and when you are available to play.

Classic Racquetball - Chuck Leve: Pro Racquetball Ref

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 20:23:33 GMT

Chuck Leve: Pro Racquetball Ref

Description courtesy of the Classic Racquetball V channel on YouTube:

In the early 1970s, when racquetball was still in its infancy, young Chuck Leve graduated from journalism school. His dad Mort Leve and partner Bob Kendler were running the US Handball Association, and they asked Chuck to add some racquetball pages to the Handball magazine. As racquetball grew, in popularity, the number of pages for the new sport increased, until a Racquetball Magazine was created, with Chuck as its editor.

Next Leve began organizing regional and national racquetball tournaments...before ever playing the game. Eventually, Kendler formed a professional racquetball tour with Chuck as national director and the main ref for the pro quarters, semis and finals. Here, in a recent interview, Chuck Leve reminisces about those early days, the pioneer pros, with a few controversies and funny anecdotes thrown in.

Chuck Leve was an innovator in the sport of racquetball. There were no official rules when he started running tournaments, so he had to invent them. He added line judges and appeals to the game. He shortened the tie-breaker to 11 points. (At one time, a racquetball match was two out of three games to 21). Eventually, Leve added the technical foul to discourage unsportsmanlike behavior.

The introduction is by racquetball legend Charlie Brumfield, who excelled in handball and paddleball before becoming a professional racquetball champion. Both he and Leve were inducted into the USA Racquetball Hall of Fame for their contributions to the sport.

Please forgive the glitches in the video. I made many cuts to tighten the audio. Also the wavering voice is due to inconsistent internet connection during our zoom interview. During covid times, especially for someone at high risk like Chuck Leve who is battling lymphoma cancer, we had to speak remotely

REGISTER TODAY2021 WOR Eustis Longwall Tournament: Racquetball

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 19:24:53 GMT

Van Dyke and Mijares set to host WOR event in Eustis

Sign up NOW! Eustis Outdoor Classic 1 - LINK HERE

Come play in Beautiful Eustis located in Central Florida. There are 6 Lighted Outdoor Longwall Courts located in Sunset Park Complex.

High Quality Tournament Shirts, goodie bags, cash prizes, medals for 1st and 2nd place, and food all weekend for participants. Depending on the number of entries, there will be CASH prizes as well. Juniors play FREE!

Bring your Family - the city is surrounded by lakes and the downtown area has great shopping. There is lots to do before or after the tournament.

Host Hotel - the Holiday Inn Express is less than 10 mins away from the facility. See the hotel info on this site and please support the local businesses.

Sponsors are still being secured. If you want your name or your company to be on the world famous shirts (lol), please contact me. A portion of proceeds from this tournament will go to Project Graduation for our local high school program. My goal is to get the youth interested in racquetball here locally and build from there. Again, please contact me if interested in providing any support.

We are capping this tournament to 100 players. Pay at the tournament - but if you sign up and don't show, you will be billed for your entry fee. Don't be "that guy/gal."

PRACTICE ON THESE COURTS? Any of you are welcome to come play at the courts before hand. We usually try and play every Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6 - 8:30 pm. Feel free to show up.

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones. Get ready to battle!

Rod Van Dyke

Tournament Director

863.651.4058

teamocala@gmail.com

Florida Racquetball Remembers Steve Johnson

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 04:39:46 GMT

Stevey J was not only a close friend and an amazing athlete, he was a loving Father and Husband to his family. Values hard to find these days.

I am still in shock and devastated, but I know that he is looking down smiling on all his family and friends because he touched our hearts in many ways.

Steve and I battled in the Ocala league finals 25 times over the last 10 years with him winning the last 15. I created a beast, lol.

He had this fire to win and worked hard at it. I was so proud to see his progress as a player. More important – he was humble. It didn’t matter what level player you were, he would play, share tips to help players improve, and still make sure you didn’t get over 5 points per game.

When he played, if he stopped in the middle of the match and tied his shoes, you knew it’s about to roll.

Steve did love to stress me out at major doubles tournaments by either going to the wrong club or showing up 10 mins after match time. I will miss you Steve and so will Team Ocala. You won’t be forgotten.

Love ya brother from another mother.

Rod Van Dyke, Ocala

Stevie was a fierce competitor who was a true class act at all times both on and off the court. Despite picking up racquetball as an adult, Stevie worked himself to becoming a legitimate Open player and a very successful age division player.

Despite his competitive streak, Stevie was so affable that one could never tell whether he was winning or losing a match. I really enjoyed our discussions about family and life in general and always looked forward to seeing him at events around the state. Our tournaments are enjoyable because of people like Stevie J. I will miss him.

Jonathan Burns, Delray Beach

From L/R: Team Ocala: Rod Van Dkye, Steve Johnson, Jason Gray, and John Dunn.

Team Ocala at the Frank DeLuca YMCA in Ocala, FL

This is so sad! Steve Johnson was an amazing guy! He was a man of God, a Father, a husband, a friend, someone I looked up to in the racquetball world!

I met Steve at the Y one of my first days there playing racquetball. Him being one of the top players at the Y (I didn’t know that at the time). He acted just like a normal guy when I asked him to play me in singles. He ran me all around the court while he just stood in the middle returning my shots. And it wasn’t like he’d do a kill shot, he would do a nice shot so the rally could keep going.

I learned so much from him in racquetball! I still call some of the shots I practice “The Steve Johnson shot” because I would always see him hit these couple of shots so consistently and I wanted to do the same! I could continue on with countless other racquetball stories of his humbleness and just his love of the game.

Something I’d say every time I saw him at the courts, Steve, wanna teach me a lesson? He would always play whether he just walked in or after 4 hours of playing and about to go home!

He with be dearly missed! I know as a man of God he is in heaven now with no pain, no stress. Just happiness!

Kyle Artman, Ocala

Team Ocala 2018

Steve was my doubles partner back when he was playing in B's many years ago. He was the kindest, most supportive man!!! I was inspired by his faith and his genuine goodness as a human being. My heart breaks for his family.

R est in Peace my friend!

Kevin Donnelly

Steve Johnson vs Charlie Pratt Singles

There aren’t any words that can do justice to the impact that Steve had. He always had a way to make his presence known in the most quiet, humble, and supportive manner.

Steve was there and that’s what will be missed the most.

H e was there to compete, he was there to support Team Ocala in a match, he was there to help after a tournament, he was there to talk to when needed and Steve was there to make us all better on and off the court.

Mike Bloom, Ocala

Birthday Month: from L/R: John Dunn, Rob Lyons, Steve Johnson, and Rod Van Dyke

You know I looked at Steve as a man of God. Anyone who ever met Steve can see his unwavering commitment to his Lord and Savior.

His character on and off the court was the same. I will remember Steve as a soft spoken man with the confidence to play anyone at anytime. He wanted to play the Mike Harmon and Alejandro Herrera first round because he feared no one on the court. He and I always joked about him playing the best as you probably have read on many Facebook threads.

He will be dearly missed by his racquetball family. This man could have won the FRA Sportsmanship award every year for the way he carried himself on and off the court.

The selfish part of me ask why was he taken so soon but I know he is home.

Robert Lyons, Sarasota

Steve Johnson

Absolutely the wrong guy to play when you're tired!

Playing doubles with Stevie J was a LOT easier than playing singles against him.

Gifted athlete, relentless competitor, great court demeanor, and an even better person. One of the good guys and the gold standard for Florida Racquetball.

Taken way too soon. Condolences to family and friends.

Len Knudsen, Wimauma

Ernie Macias and Steve Johnson

To my friend Steve, he will be missed on and off the court.

It's hard to express the kind of person he was in a few words.

He was a person that treated everybody with the same respect. I always enjoyed watching him play racquetball and if you were fortunate enough to play him it was an experience to remember.

Rest in peace my friend you will always be remembered and greatly missed.

Bob Trottier (Tanman), Ocala

Steve Johnson lining up to serve

So shocked and sad to hear.

Steven Johnson was a great racquetball competitor, friend and one of the sincerest people I've ever met.

Always looked forward to seeing him and catching up. He will never be forgotten on or off the court.

Gonna miss ya brother. Prayers to family and friends.

Jim Fanning

Steven Johnson/Mike Mondello vs Rick Ferrin/Charlie Pratt - Team Ocala Classic
(Match starts around 17 minute mark)

When I think of Steve, I think of the word genuine in everything he stood for.

He was genuine in how he treated people, about his faith, and most importantly, his devotion to his family.

G reat ambassador for racquetball, all of us could learn by his example.

Mike Mondello, Tampa

Rod Van Dyke and Steve Johnson

Our hearts are broken to hear the very sad news!

Send love and prayers for you, Erroka & beautiful family! RIP Steven we racquetball family love and miss you already!

Wish I could make your favorite key lime and strawberry cheese cakes for your Birthday before you have gone when you asked me for my recipes! I am shock and heart broken for your beautiful family!

Lan Huynh, Venice Beach

Steve Johnson and Ernie Macias square off

John Dunn and Steve Johnson

I’ve played with Steve many years dating back to college. He was always my first call when I was in Ocala visiting the in-laws and needed a match.

Steve would make me work on the court without breaking a sweat while reminding me of our age difference.

Loved the trash talking, loved the competitive matches, and he was just an overall great guy.

Still shocked and saddened by the news – he will be truly missed in the racquetball community.

Brad Knudsen, Brandon

From L/R: Brad Knudsen, Len Knudsen, Steve Johnson, and John Dunn

To know StevieJ was to respect his on and off the court personality.

He was passionate about his family and his hobbies including racquetball. He was a fierce competitor but humble beyond belief. You knew when he tied his shoes you had little chance of winning. If you ever got more than 5 points you were doing well.

We will all miss his infectious personality and spirit and he will be remembered with smiles.

Jason Gray, Ocala

S teve Johnson won several gold medals in the local Ocala YMCA league

Steve was not a man of many words, but I always felt better when he was around. In a conversation, he would sit and listen and then the few words he would share ended up carrying significant weight.

Beneath a humble exterior was a fiery competitor who feared no one. When I moved back to Florida, after living in New York for several years, and returned to the tournament scene, Steve was the first person I saw when I walked into the club at my first tournament back.

He smiled, shook my hand, and welcomed me back to Florida Racquetball with a simple and direct statement, “You know you’ve still never beat me.”

It wasn’t the last time I heard about it. He was fond of humbly sharing that fact on repeat.

I was able to witness his fight up close as his doubles partner in several events. Steve was phenomenal teammate who rolled with the punches throughout a match and kept the focus on competing. We never had a single issue on or off the court.

The tournament scene across Florida has afforded me the opportunity to meet some great people. Stevey J was one of them.

He will be missed.

Nick Knudsen, Brandon

Steve Johnson and Ernie Macias

I met Steve 20 years ago in a 20 x 40 room. I spent the next couple of hours watching this man reach every corner of the room in what seemed like a single step. His quickness was absolutely amazing. I knew he was destined to be a great player.

Over the next 20 years, I watched this man hone his skill and become a fierce competitor and champion in this room. His unrelenting desire to improve his game was only overshadowed by his personality and caring nature.

He hated to lose but never spoke an ill word on the very rare occasion in which he did.

We enjoyed smack talking back and forth but it was always followed by a laugh and a smile. We had some great times.

He was an absolute pleasure to compete against.

Through those years, I also got to know the man that Steve was. Imperfect like any of us but perfect in his own unique way. He helped me be a better father and example to my family.

In times of need, he always had a gentle word of support when I needed it most. He was an amazing father, husband, and friend.

His accomplishments on the court were overshadowed only by his accomplishments as a man.

I will truly miss my friend. This world and our sport lost a true champion.

I'm pretty sure that the good lord met him at the pearly gates with a gold medal.

Rest in peace Stevie J. and thank you for all the lessons you taught me on and off the court.

Ernie Macias, Ocala

2020 State Doubles Cancelled

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Fri, 11 Dec 2020 00:54:30 GMT

A Message from FRA President Jonathan Burns

Dear FRA Members,

It is with significant sadness that the FRA Board announces that 2020 State Doubles will be officially cancelled. Due to the continued rise in COVID cases, we have determined that the best thing for our members and organization is to cancel 2020 State Doubles and focus on having 2021 State Singles in April or May likely in Sarasota. The exact date for 2021 State Singles will be worked out in the coming months.

Thank you for your understanding,

The Florida Racquetball community remembers Bradley Johnson

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 17:45:58 GMT

Drawing provided by Rusty Hein.

Friday, October 30, 2020

In a year which so much has already been taken from us, I was deeply saddened to hear the news about the loss of Bradley Johnson this week. I didn't know Bradley all that well outside of our interactions at a few racquetball tournaments, but in the little time I spent around him, I saw what countless others around the Florida Racquetball community saw: an energetic force of positivity.

Bradley was the type of guy who would greet you with a big smile and a handshake the second you walked in the room. He was a tough competitor on the court who could keep a rally going with his long reach and he enjoyed plenty of success working his way up the ranks into the Elites.

I, like many of you, have been missing tournament racquetball this year. The Florida tournament scene offers the ability to compete at a high level and meet great people like Bradley Johnson. This week, many racquetball players from around the state reached out to share their thoughts about Bradley.

Nick Knudsen (Brandon, FL)

Although I have only known Bradley a short time, he made an incredible impact on my immediately.

I had just moved from Tulsa, OK to Sarasota for a job in January. I visited the local racquetball club and played for a few hours with the large group that was there.

I had set my bag down at the far end to not take up the spaces that the regulars might use (about 20+ feet from the other chairs). At the end of the night when we finished playing and I was putting my equipment away, Bradley walked over and struck up a conversation with me asking the usual questions about where I was from, about my family, job, and other things. We talked about churches and he invited me to his which I did start visiting pre Covid. In all we probably chatted about 30 minutes after everyone had left. I am on the quiet side so to have someone reach out and initiate a conversation was awesome for me.

From that day on when we would see each other, he always made a point to make sure to say hi and ask how I was doing (my family is still in OK as my youngest finishes college so he knew I was all alone here with no family or friends for at least 15 months).

Recently, I have joined the group that goes out to eat after Monday racquetball. Bradley and I arrived last together so we were at the end of the table. I had pulled my money out to prepare to pay for my food. In a soft tone Bradley told me to put my money away he was buying tonight and said keep it quiet and don’t make a big deal about it and grinned. So after Bradley paid, he quietly slipped out and left without really an official goodbye to the group. That was unusual and I believe he did this to not draw attention to the fact he paid the tab for all 7 of us.

I say all this as a tribute that Bradley was happy to do things for other people, even without getting the recognition for doing it. For me personally, he greeted this new and lonely transplant from Oklahoma and made me feel welcome in this group, including making sure I knew of a church to attend if I wanted. His kindness towards me and the great attitude I saw him have with our racquetball group will never be forgotten.

Bradley was a great racquetball player, a caring friend, and an even better all around person.

Brian Watson (Sarasota, FL)

Dee and I got to know Brad at racquetball tournaments where he would always make a point to stop and talk with us at the Rapha table.

He had a huge heart for young victims of trafficking. He would always donate or buy something to support the kids.

It was his desire to travel to the safehouses, but for now he said his job was here with his beautiful wife and kids. He adored them.

He was filled with the Spirit. He was kind, patient, loving, gentle and a good sport .

He was one of the best of us.

Sal Perconti (St. Petersburg, FL)

Our family is saddened to hear of the loss of our racquetball broth er Bradley Johnson , who passed away much too soon at age 31 after a tragic car accident. When my son Evan Wargo and Brad competed with each other on the court, Brad befriended Evan often with some valuable college advice. When I think of Brad, I think of kindness, a joyful spirit, and that Brad was an awesome family man. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Brad's wife Nicole and their 2 young da ughters.

Gary Wargo (Clearwater)

Shocked by the heartbreaking news of the passing of Bradley Johnson. Bradley was a fierce competitor inside the court with incredible reach due to his immense stature. Just as big was his smile, that warmly greeted you every time you saw him. Always positive, always polite and always down for a beer after racquetball. A devout believer in God he was and now rests alongside him. May God bless his girls, wife and family. He will be missed.

Bruno Guerrero (Orlando, FL)

Another Florida racquetball family member taken way too soon, thoughts and prayers for Bradley’s wife and two daughters.

Mike Mondello (Tampa, FL)

I had the privilege of knowing Bradley and playing racquetball with him for several years. Extremely nice and respectful man who loved racquetball and all the banter that goes along with being part of our racquetball family. The news of his untimely death is incredibly sad. I will remember his contagious enthusiasm for racquetball and his enthusiasm for life. My thoughts and prayers go out to his beautiful family.

Wes Miller (Bradenton, FL)

Just thinking about what i see by do many people who talk about Brad.

He was a guy that literally lit up a room with him smile and energy. He was one of the best people I ever met in my life. I sent my son to him for advice because he is a grounded Christian with immeasurable character. Above all else he was a man with a heart for God that put his family first in everything he did.

Rob Lyons (Sarasota, FL)

Bradley Johnson (back row/third from right) with his Sarasota racquetball family last Monday night (10/26). (Photo Provided by Rob Lyons)

Driving up to Sarasota to play racquetball will simply not be the same anymore. Brad was humble, caring and grace. He was one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet and a class act on and off the court. He was a big guy with an even bigger heart. I still can’t believe this has happened and my thoughts and prayers go out to his beautiful family. We have all been blessed to have known such a wonderful person. Rest In Peace Brad, you will not be forgotten.

Nick Ramos (Estero, FL)

When I first met Bradley I thought what a great guy inside and out. He made a lasting impression on me for not only being a great athlete but a great son- husband-and father to his beautiful kids. Prayers for strength to his family. He will surely be missed but never forgotten

Rod Van Dyke (Ocala, FL)

Brad was a Great Guy with Great Faith in a Great God and now he's in a Great Place called Heaven!

Steve Johnson (Ocala, FL)

I am shocked and saddened to hear that Bradley Johnson is no longer with us. When Brad and I first met in 2015 we were in Tallahassee playing a collegiate racquetball tournament. After that, we met many more times inside and outside of tournaments. Often enough, Brad would talk me into staying in Sarasota after a tournament to play a few extra games. Brad had a cheerful personality that you could not say no to. He set excellent examples of how to be a driven, a family man, and showed lots of grit on the court. I’m grateful for the opportunity to say that I was friends with such a great person. My deepest condolences go out to Brad’s wife, two daughters, and the Johnson family.

Kyle Pullen (Orlando, FL)

Having a very hard time writing this. While I only really new Bradley Johnson as a racquetball friend and competitor. We spent a lot of time talking about the game and strategy. I think he took dominating center court to heart. One of the most happy go lucky guys I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. My heart and prayers to his family.

Rick Gross (Bradenton, FL)

For me, Brad was a light in the room. His actions centered around his faith and shared that genuine wisdom with me in the times we were together. He wanted me to use my talents and gifts to glorify God and gave advice for his time at the University of Florida. Brad demonstated what it meant to be a man of faith with his time, character, and finances. I’m forever thankful for the way he carried himself and inspired me to bring life with intentional conversations.

Robby Lyons (Gainesville, FL)

Brad joined our Sarasota racquetball group a few years ago. One thing we noticed about Brad from the beginning was how energetic and positive he always was. No matter what he always wanted to bring everyone together and get people involved in racquetball.

Brad always made a point to check in with me when my son was sick or hospitalized. He always had words of encouragement and support. Brad had a truly genuine heart and opened it up to anyone in need.

He will be missed more than words can describe. I know our future racquetball get togethers will never be the same without him. We will not only miss his contagious smile but the competitive spirit he always had on the court.

Mike Harmon (Sarasota, FL)

It’s hard to put into words the thoughts we have for anyone we lose way too soon, but it’s especially hard for those we lose from our close-knit racquetball family and someone who affected so many people even from a distance with his joy for life.

I did not get the opportunity to befriend Bradley, but the few occasions we crossed paths it was obvious to me he was a brother of Christ and that he dwelled on the happiness in his life like his family and racquetball. Even without knowing him well Bradley’s peaceful and joyful personality resonated with me.

In all the racquetball matches I saw with him there was rarely a moment of anger or ire just unadulterated competitiveness and love of the game. I wish I was able to get to know Bradley more than the occasional run-in at a racquetball tournament as that was only a small inconsequential piece of his life. I pray for peace for his family and that the remembrance of his life will continue to affect others’ lives remembering how he lived joyfully every day for his family and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Andrew Kapec (Tallahassee, FL)

Brad was one of the most positive people I have had the pleasure of being around especially when it came to people. He always looked at things as the glass is half full and not empty and always looked at the positive side. He never had a bad thing to say about anybody or anything and would try to convince you to view things differently if you were taking the side of the negative. He always had a smile on his face and we will all miss that along with the seeming unforeseeable wisdom and knowledge he had on many topics! I will miss him greatly on the racquetball court but will miss him even more at our after racquetball dinners where we had some great times and laughs! I will miss you big karate Bradley and rest in piece, Love ya bud, Josh

Josh Purdy (Sarasota, FL)

Brad is one of the most giving and positive people I’ve ever met. He roomed with me in college for about a year one of the best memories I have of Brad is when I was running one of the tournaments at USF and had another 5-8 people staying at the condo during the event. On Saturday night everyone else from the tournament went out to eat and drink and came home super late and when we came home I know everyone was being loud and must have woken Brad up. I remember leaving out the door early Sunday morning still buzzed to go run the event and Brad was already up early cooking breakfast for everyone who stayed at the condo.

It was a real privilege to see him evolve and mature over the years. I remember him just starting out playing at USF and seeing him progress. I was lucky enough there was a little one day tourney at the y here back in January that we played together in I know that’ll always be a memory I treasure.

Chris Young (Sarasota, FL)

Brad was always the consummate gentleman on and off the court. He was such a competitor yet always maintained his pleasant demeanor. That big smile and big heart will be sorely missed!

Sara Noyes (St. Petersburg, FL)

Bradley was one of the most kindest, soft spoken, generous, people I have ever met. He was a true example of a Christian man. I will forever be thankful that I knew such a wonderful guy. You will be missed dearly my friend.

Bobby Morales (Fort Myers, FL)

I'm going to miss your wonderful positive energy you brought on and off the courts, Bradley. Your passion for life was and will continue to be reflected in your community, friends, and family. Keep swinging that racquet in heaven, Brad; keep swinging my friend.

Shark (Sarasota, FL)

Bradley was such an upbeat and happy guy, always had a smile on his face from ear to ear and lit of the room with it, you can tell that he didn’t just have love of racquetball or the people involved in the sport of racquetball but just pure love in general. Because of that love I know it put me in a happier place whether we were in conversation, or “bitter enemies” on the court. He will be missed in our racquetball community not because he was a member of our little club, but because he was such a beloved friend to all of us. Brad, you will be missed.

Zac DiDonato (Palm City, FL)

Bradley was a positive, polite gentle giant who was also a fierce racquetball competitor. Not only could he touch about every corner of the court with a step and reach, he never failed to touch our heart with the enthusiasm he had for life and his religion. I will always remember his positive energy, his love of family, and more importantly, the love and respect he showed towards everyone. The Good... They die young.

Gene Fry (Casselberry, FL)

R.I.P Bradley Johnson. We will miss your competition on the court and your kind spirit off the court. Thank you for your friendship.

Shane Fairchild (Sarasota, FL)

Will miss Bradley's presence in all tournaments!! Always there with his smile and warmth, with his " Hey Fabian" made me feel welcome and reminded me racquetball tournaments are about doing your best but also taking the time to enjoy those around you. He was a nice guy and I wish he could've stayed with us longer. God bless his family and give them peace!

Fabian Cuesta (Tampa, FL)

Florida represented by 31 players in Vegas for 3WallBall World Pro Championships

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 14:52:25 GMT

Stream matches live on the USA Racquetball Facebook feed

The 2020 3WallBall World Pro Championships in Las Vegas at The Strat Hotel started yesterday and will run through Sunday, October 18. Florida will be represented by 31 players, from Tallahassee to Miami, who will compete across approximately 75 entries.

Check Brackets Here

Graves/Rameriz win 40+ & Maupin/Smith take home Centurion title at New Smyrna Beach 40+ Doubles Shootout

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 15:40:59 GMT

August 15-16, 2020

NEW SMYRNA BEACH - Tournament Directors Scott Hirsch (Boca Raton) and Norm McNutt (Green Cove Springs) ran Florida's first racquetball tournament since March. The two-day, outdoor event was held last Saturday and Sunday at the 27th Avenue Park.

The New Smyrna Beach 40+ Doubles Shootout drew 42 players from all over Florida, though the majority of the draw hailed from Jacksonville, Orlando, and South Florida.. McNutt said this was the fourth time in which they've hosted the event and was quick to praise his partners, " "None of them would of happened if not for WOR HOFers Scott Hirsch & Marty Hogan (Chesterfield, MO) ."

McNutt and Hirsch first met while competing in the junior divisions throughout the 1980's.

" Scott is a proven event director," McNutt continued, "and likes to let me have some credit for the event, but without him, I wouldn’t even attempt it."

Hogan has helped promote the event and, this year, he brought along fellow pro racquetball legend, the logo himself, Cliff Swain (Minneapolis, MN) .

The event featured two divisions, 40+ doubles, consisting of 19 teams, and Centurion doubles, consisting of 21 teams. Each division started with pool play before whittling the field down to eight teams for the playoffs.

40+ Doubles

Group 1:

1st - Brad Litchfield/Frank Lopez

2nd - Cliff Swain/Marty Hogan

Group 2

1st - Scott Graves/Andres Rameriz

2nd - David Branco/Kosta Giannakouro s

Group 3

1st - Aaron Metcalf/Yelandi Rivero

2nd - Garry Smith/Eric Harper

Group 4

1st - Ignacio Espinal/Raul Berrios

2nd -David Levy/Jim Fanning

View Full Pool Play Results

Graves (Fern Park) and Rameriz (Winter Springs) made it through the day unscathed. On top of going 4-0 in pool play, the defending champs rolled through the first two rounds before taking down Garry Smith (Fort Lauderdale) and Eric Harper (Fort Lauderdale) in the finals to claim the 2020 New Smyrna Beach 40+ Doubles Shootout title.

Congratulations to Scott Graves and Andres Rameriz!

View 40+ Playoff Bracket

The 21-team Centurion bracket took to the courts on Saturday.

Centurion Doubles

Group 1:

1st - Norm McNutt/Ken Hendricks

2nd - Cliff Swain/Marty Hogan

Group 2

1st - Ignacio Espinal/Yelandi Rivero

2nd - Garry Smith/Mark Maupin

Group 3

1st - Agustin Carvallo/Michael Blackney

2nd - John Negrete/Norberto Denico

Group 4

1st - Miguel Alvarado/Mitch Slater

2nd -Loren Hirvela/Blaine Mtichell

View Pool Play Results

Smith and Maupin (Fort Lauderdale) defeated McNutt and Hendricks (Hobe Sound) in round one, before advancing past Negrete/Denico (Orlando) into the finals. Hirevla/Mitchell (Orlando) knocked off Swain/Hogan 11-10 in the semis to advance into the finals, but Smith/Maupin were too much and prevailed 15-10 to win the 2020 New Smyrna Beach Centurion division.

Congratulations to Garry Smith and Mark "The Panther" Maupin!

View Centurion Playoff Results

McNutt said he hopes to see the event continue to expand and plans to be back in 2021 for a fifth straight year.

DPJCC Racquetball tournament postponed from October to April 2021

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 23:09:45 GMT

August 6, 2020

DAVIE- After further consultation with the JCC, Rick Bernstein and Susan Suid have officially postponed the DPJCC Racquetball Tournament from late October 2020 to April 15-18, 2021.

Rick and Susan run a great event and you can find more information about how to register on their R2 Sports page:

https://www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=32069

Ganim confirms 2020 U.S. Open is off; plans set for 2021

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 13:06:11 GMT

Sudsy Monchik and John Ellis had U.S. Open Tournament Director Doug Ganim on their latest episode of Beyond The Court to confirm the status of the 2020 U.S. Open. The event was set to double as the 25th anniversary and Ganim's farewell.

"As everybody knows, we are in a worldwide pandemic situation. Unfortunately, we're going to have to postpone the 25th U.S. Open," Ganim said in his opening statement. "Our plan is to run it in the following October [2021]. We did look at options to run it in the spring, but the best option, it appears, is to run it in the following October.

"Lot of factors went into this, but in the end, it was out of our hands. Right now, Minnesota is at 25% occupancy for health clubs--and that includes the members of the club and the employees of the club.

"Obviously, for the U.S. Open, we'd have to be at 100% occupancy to accommodate the 2,000-3,000 people we have in the Target Center club at any one time."

Ganim announced the 2021 event will take place next October 6-10 in Minneapolis.

U.S. Open Press Release (July 15, 2020)

Major Announcement

July 15, 2020 -- In these unprecedented times, the health and safety of our players, fans, and staff is our top priority. Due to the persistence of the Covid-19 pandemic, I am forced to postpone the 25th Anniversary UnitedHealthcare US OPEN celebration this Fall until October of 2021. The exact dates will be October 6-10, 2021. All other aspects of the event will remain the same including the host City (Minneapolis), the host facilities (Lifetime Fitness and Univ. of Minnesota Rec. Center), and all official host hotels. In addition, I am pleased to announce that ALL major US OPEN sponsors have agreed to remain in support of the tourney for our 25th Anniversary celebration.

Of course, many questions will come to mind relating to this decision. Following is specific information that should address the majority of these questions:

2020 Entries and Ticket Sales

The 25th Anniversary of the US OPEN is going to be a “home run” event as we have experienced incredible demand in every area of the tourney. A record number of early entry registrations and ticket sales have already occurred. All entries and ticket sales already purchased online will carry forward to the new dates in 2021. In the event that any of the folks who have already registered (entries, ticket sales, pro-am doubles registrations, etc.) find that they will not be able to attend in 2021, they can request a refund anytime prior to August 15, 2021. To request a refund, please send an email to usopen@usaracquetball.com with your request. Please allow 2-4 weeks to process your request. All refunds will be sent by check.

Gold Boxes / Gold Seats

For quite some time, every single Gold Box and Gold Seat have been sold out for the 25th Anniversary event. In addition, there are 87 people on the waiting list for Gold Box seats should they become available! Our intention is to try to expand the Stadium Court area to accommodate as many of the folks on the waiting list as possible in this special year to come. All current Gold Box reservation commitments and Gold Box waiting list registrations will carry forward to the new date in 2021. If you have a current Gold reservation, or if you are on the waiting list and would like to remove your name, please send an email to usopen@usaracquetball.com no later than December 1, 2020. If you would like to have your name added to the waiting list for the 2021 tourney, please email me at this same address ASAP -- waiting list requests appear on the list in the order received.

Hotel Room Reservations at Host Hotels

We have a record number of hotel room reservations already on the books at our host hotels. If you booked a room in one of our US OPEN room blocks at our special rates, those reservations will automatically be cancelled in the next week or so. New rooms for the 2021 dates cannot be booked until December 1, 2020. We will send out a worldwide email blast on that date to remind everyone to book new rooms at that time!

For any other questions, please contact me directly (Doug Ganim, US OPEN Director) at usopen@usaracquetball.com

I look forward to hosting everyone at the UnitedHealthcare US OPEN in October 2021. I promise you it will be worth waiting for!

Sincerely,

Doug Ganim

US OPEN Director

Latest Tournament Updates

webmaster@florida-racquetball.org (Florida Racquetball Association) — Thu, 09 Jul 2020 22:53:35 GMT

Tournament updates

Here is the most up to date schedule of current events on the calendar.

All tournament dates are subject to change depending on restrictions surrounding COVID-19. We will continue to post updates on any changes.

Doug Ganim will announce his plans for the 2020 U.S. Open next week on "Beyond the Court" with Sudsy Monchik and John Ellis.

New Smyrna Beach 40+ Doubles Shootout

August 15-16, 2020

27th Ave Park. / New Smyrna Beach

Tournament Directors: Scott Hirsch / Norm McNutt