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State Rankings

Current rankings: August 3, 2010

Upcoming Tournaments

DateTournament
Sep 04In-Shape Summer Shootout: Antioch
Sep 10In-Shape Open (Stockton)
Sep 232010 World 3-Wall Championships (Las Vegas)
Sep 29San Diego IRT Tier 1 Pro Am
Oct 22Cross Court Open
Nov 05Pomona Valley Open Pro/Am
Additional Tournaments...

Juniors

DateEvent
May 1-2Juniors State Championships
Nov 15-20Junior Worlds (Canoga Park)

Collegiates (2009/10)

DateEvent
Nov 7Tourney @ UC Berkeley
Feb 6Tourney @ UC Davis
May 1Tourney @ UC Santa Cruz

Masters

DateEvent
Dec 2-42010 NMRA Doubles

Local Events

DateEvent
See main calendar...

Upcoming tournament registration deadlines…

Event Entry Deadline
In-Shape Summer Shootout: Antioch Monday, August 30th
In-Shape Open (Stockton) Monday, September 6th

2010 Junior State Championships

(June 9, 2010) California’s Junior State Championship tournament for 2010 turned out to be another very successful event. The tournament was held at ClubSport in Pleasanton with 56 participants. The All American club and L.A. fitness in San Diego brought up 10 junior players, almost all of them deservedly winning medals. David Leon runs their junior program and the players are hard working and dedicated to the sport. Carliza Valencia came up from Diamond Bar, California, so congratulations to all 11 players for making the trip from Southern California. As we know too well, California is a very large geographical state, so hosting a tournament in either the north or the south constitutes quite a journey for the other side. Having that great group of kids and parents from down south confirms junior racquetball is still growing and thriving in our state. Jody Nance from Stockton brought a few of her juniors to the tournament, including 2 national hopefuls, Daniel (Mauro) Rojas and Antonio Rojas. Daniel, despite being eligible for the boy’s 12 division, played instead in the boy’s 14 division and won the gold medal. We’ll be seeing a lot more of the Rojas brothers in the future. And, also of Stockton, perhaps little Julius Ellis will follow in his father’s, John Ellis, footsteps. Julius won the multi-bounce division; starting his medal collecting at an early age! Brian Dixon of Petaluma brought 9 of his junior players to the tournament; lots of great prospects in that troop. Sawyer Lloyd, at age 14, took 3rd place in the boy’s 18 division; another player to watch for at the national level. Garyn Scott, racquetball director at ClubSport Fremont, had 4 junior players in the tournament, including his son, Donovan, who nicely rounded out the boy’s 18 division. Gil Cepeda of Los Gatos Fitness brought 4 of his junior students, including one first time tournament player. Richard Martin from Auburn Racquet and Fitness was at the tournament with 3 of his junior players, one of whom was also a first time tournament player. ClubSport had 15 junior players in the tournament, and we would like to give a special congratulation to Tyler Lanman for winning the boy’s 18 division. This is Tyler’s last year as a junior player, but he will be attending UCLA in the fall where he will continue to play racquetball on campus and hopefully develop an intercollegiate racquetball team there. Tyler also handled the CSRA membership desk at the tournament, a task that would not normally be handled by a player in the event. Tyler, junior racquetball will miss you, but your work ethic and sportsmanship are something for the younger players to emulate.

It is always fun to see the enthusiasm and awe (and sometimes terror) from our first time participants. The CSRA generously paid the first year membership dues for these new players and I’d like to congratulate them on competing in their first tournament and thank their coaches and parents for encouraging them to play! The kids had a great time playing, eating and running around together. New friendships are forged and doubles partnerships cemented. Our sponsor, Heavenly Bites, wowed us all with delicious flavors of flavorburst™ frozen yogurt and trays full of various cookies. Kristine Shimmin, proprietor, knows how to please both kids and adults with her goodies!

As always, ClubSport has an amazing group of tried and true racquetball players who volunteer their time to help this event run as smoothly as it does. These league and ladder players sit at the registration desk, serve food, referee countless matches, record scores and support all of ClubSport’s junior racquetball players. These same people play our juniors in league and ladder matches, exemplifying the “pay it forward” motto.

Next year David Leon has offered to host this tournament in San Diego. The entries from that area certainly warrant holding the junior state championships there. It is my hope that we in Northern California can make the trip down there to insure their tournament is as successful as our 2010 was. On another junior tournament note, the CSRA has set aside money to promote one day junior racquetball programs throughout California. It is very important that all our junior players attend any of these tournaments in their area. We have yet to formally schedule them, and are looking for clubs and racquetball directors to let us know they would like to host one. These tournaments will be CSRA sanctioned events, allowing our players who are new members to make good use of their membership throughout the year. Please contact me, Elaine Dexter, rbqueen@gmail.com or Brian Dixon, bri@jupe.com, if you would be interested in hosting a one day junior tournament. For more information on how to run a one day tournament, an instructional guide will be available. Thanks in advance to all of you for supporting junior racquetball in California.

2010 State Singles

March 26th—28th • Spectrum Club • Canoga Park, CA

Our Thanks to Ektelon, E-Force, Head & Gearbox for their support

We thank all the players who joined us at the State Singles Championships – Congratulations to our Champions!!! A full wrap up of our Champions will be posted shortly with photos.

As special Thank you to Spectrum Club, Debbie Moore and Randy Lam for being our Tournament Directors.

(April 7 2010) It is with sadness the we report that Jim Love, a senior RB player, passed away last week, March 29 2010. He was a good person who inspired all of us who knew him to play and to promote our sport. He’ll live forever in Racquetball Heaven! From the CSRA and his racquetball family, our sympathies go out to his family.

Fran Davis Camps

San Diego June 04–06Burlingame August 06–08

(March 2010) Fran Davis and Jason Mannino will be bringing the Building Your Racquetball Dream House Camps to San Diego (June) and San Francisco (August). The camps include comprehensive video analysis of each student's swing and play, on court tactics, and the ability to play Jason Mannino who assesses and offers feedback on areas to improve your game on the spot. Lectures on stroke mechanics, court position, shot selection, serve/return, mental game, and just about everything you can think of are included throughout the weekend.

California High School’ers Travel to Oregon in search of Gold!!

(March 4, 2010) CSRA was delighted to support our 7 California representatives. Brian Dixon,along with the CSRA Junior Committee (Aaron Embry, Tyler Lanman, Jeffrey Weiss, Elaine Dexter, and Larry Steiner), spearheaded the effort to provide some financial assistance to our players as they headed to the fabulous Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland OR.

Forty High Schools were represented by the 320 players including our own Luke Sewall and Josh Wroblewski along with David Bogosian representing their individual schools. They were joined by our Gold Medalist in Group #1 Marco Rojas. He teamed up with Jose Diaz – winner of Group #2 to take the Gold in the Group #1 Doubles. Alex Guzman took the Gold in Group #3 . These three represented Franklin High of Stockton, finishing 4th in the Boys division. Pretty impressive as some schools sent over 20 players. The reigning girls champ, Devon Pimentelli, took Silver in the Girls Group #1.

We continue to see strong performances by these players coming off of a very successful World Junior Championships. Good thing the California players came to that event or the results might have been significantly different!!!

Californians in Arizona for the 2010 National Doubles

(March 4, 2010) If it’s February, then it must be time to shake off the snow and cold and head to the glorious climes of Arizona for this years edition of the USAR National Doubles event. 336 players did just that, while California had one of the largest contingents to descend on Phoenix, Arizona with 76 players. A very thorough summary is available at the USRA site with the draws and photos. However, I wanted to point out that 52medals out of 70 events were awarded to California players!!!!

We wanted to take a minute to recognize the California Winners and Finalist for this tournament and add our “hearty congratulations” to everyone who participated.

Since this tournament will take place again in February 2008 on its new date on the calendar, we wanted to give you some inspiration!!!

You may notice that there are several multi-medal winners on this list – please forgive me if I left anyone off or goofed your name. Shoot me an email and I will make corrections.

Division Players
Women’s
US Team Qualifying
Jacqueline Paraiso and her partner, Aimee Ruiz, of NJ, made the US Team by overtaking Janel Tisinger and her partner, Rhonda Rajsich of AZ
WA Carla Francis and her partner took Silver
W30/35 Judy Hulen and Vivian Schneider took Gold
W45 Jody Nance and Elaine Dexter took Gold
Lori Soares and Roxanne Davis took Silver
W50 Kathy Isett and her partner took Silver
W55A Marquita Molina and her partner took Silver
W60/65 Terry Ann Rogers and her partner took Gold
Nidia Funes and her partner took Silver
Mx Elite Brian Pineda and his partner took Gold
Cindy Gilbert and Tim Annear took Silver
Mx30 Greg Solis and his partner took Gold
Mx35 Debra Garrett-Woods and Roland Grassl took Silver
Mx40 Jody Nance and Mark Nomura took Silver
Mx50 Kathy Isett and her partner took Silver
Mx55 Elaine Dexter and her partner took Gold
M65 Fredrick Roe and his partner took Silver
US Team Qualifying Rocky Carson III and Josh Tucker will represent the US on the MenŐs Team
MO Scott Davis and his partner took Silver
M Elite Brian Pineda and Greg Dorman took Gold
MB & M24B/35B/40B Rod Sharrar and Thomas Alex Baker took Gold
M24 Scott Davis and his partner took Silver
M24B/35B/40B Rod Sharrar and Thomas Alex Baker took Silver
M25 Dale Valentine and Todd Entrikin took Gold
Jason Geis and his partner took Silver
M30 Mike Orr and Shawn Royster took Gold
Craig Lane and Greg Solis took Silver
M35 Tom Fuhrmann and his partner took Gold
Dale Valentine and Jonathan Dunn took Silver
M45A Scott Kramer and his partner took Gold
M50 Erick Sherwood and Steve Wattz took Silver
50B John Parks and Ty Kelly took Silver
M60 Eric Barkey and his partner took Gold
Ed Remen and Mike Pawka took Silver
M65 Mike Pawka and his partner took Gold

Beyond the Short Line - Winter 2009/10
CSRA Newsletter

(Feb 17, 2010) In this issue:

  • Update from CSRA president, Peggine Tellez
  • Patriot Outreach
  • Club Profile: Spectrum Club
  • Juniors, Masters, and Collegiates... oh my!
  • and more…
(See this and past issues on the CSRA Newsletter page)…

Board Update: Thank you Larry Steiner!!

(October 8, 2009) The news of Larry Steiner’s resignation from the Board of Directors of the CSRA is very shocking to say the least. There have got to be a number of things running through our brains. Shock, sadness, confusion are just a few emotions that come to mind. There is still work and programs that we need to continue moving forward and to that end, I have accepted the responsibility to temporarily step in as president with the blessings of my most ardent supporter, George Tellez. My hope is to bring continuity to the members of our organization and our board as we go through this transition.

This is not my organization; I am merely the caretaker while we get things in order and ready it to hand it over to our next leader. We will need to work together to design our path. There have been some very good initiatives implemented over the last year and we should keep moving ahead with those plans. Concentrate our efforts on these positive areas. We should examine the areas that have caused us discord and find out if there is a way to compromise in order to benefit the members and the organization.

Larry needs to be commended for the work he began. We learned that there is always more than one way to do things. There is work ahead of us, work that will be meaningful and important as we continue the mission of the association and I look forward to checking in with each of you about your thoughts, ideas and updates on the projects you have been working on.

Sincerely
Peggine Tellez
President, CSRA

CA Players on the US Junior Team

(Sep 26, 2009)  A number of California's oustanding junior players will be competing for the US Junior Team at the Junior Worlds in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (December 14-20th). Each of these players is responsible for raising a portion of the team's expenses. Your support would be a big help, so pick the cutest mug, or pick em' all:

Aubrey O'Brien (contribute to fundraising)
Aubrey will be playing Girls 16 Singles and 18 Doubles with Danielle Key. She has been playing for 5 years and lives in Auburn, CA.

Devon Pimentelli (contribute to fundraising)
Devon will be playing Girls 16 Singles. Devon started playing at 8 year old and lives in San Bruno, CA.

Jose Diaz (contribute to fundraising)
Jose will be playing Boys 16 Singles. Jose started playing at 6 years old and lives in Stockton, CA.

Jose Rojas (contribute to fundraising)
Jose Rojas is the current Boy's 18 Junior Olympic Champion as well as the Men's Intercollegiate Champion. He lives in Stockton, CA.

Jose Serrano (contribute to fundraising)
Jose will be playing Boys 18 Doubles with Jose Rojas. Jose started playing at 7 years old and lives in Stockton, CA.

Marco Rojas (contribute to fundraising)
Marco will be playing Boys 16 Singles. Marco started playing at 4 years old and lives in Stockton, CA.

Beyond the Short Line - Summer 2009
CSRA Newsletter

(Aug 24, 2009) In this issue:

  • Update from CSRA president, Larry Steiner
  • Coaches Corner: Steps to improving…
  • Juniors, Masters, and Collegiates... oh my!
  • and more…
(See this and past issues on the CSRA Newsletter page)…
2009 Racquetball Warehouse WOR Championships

(July 24, 2009)  Marina Park in Huntington Beach, California again hosted The 2009 Racquetball Warehouse WOR Championships. Gorgeous weather, Jimbo’s magic on the grill, and hot tunes booming from the DJ booth all set the stage for an incredible weekend. Nearly 300 competitors from 24 states battled it out over 4 days for the right to be called National Champion.

Pro Doubles was certainly the talk of Day 1, with many surprises in the R32’s.  Robert “Iceman” Sostre and partner Freddy Ramirez have dominated the 1 wall scene, but have logged very little time on these “Championship sized” 3 wall courts.  They took out IRT stars Alvaro Beltran/Chris Crowther with their outdoor savvy and clutch shot making, surprising many in the crowd.  Ken Grandy/Dave Smith were ranked higher than Charlie Pratt/Tony Carson, but most in attendance expected Florida’s #1 team to be outmatched by the young guns.  Smith/Grandy again prove their doubters wrong, and made all the big shots in tiebreaker.  Brian Pineda/John Ivers surprised many by taking out established veteran team of Rick Sandello.  Cliff Swain and Jason Mannino barely squeeked past Willie Tilton/Ravi Sohoni, going 10,(9)10 in an exciting match. 

But the match of the day was clearly Mike Orr/Brad Kirch vs former National Champions Craig “Clubber” Lane and Greg Solis. Lane and Solis played like champions, thrilling the crowd with incredible displays of power and shot making.  But Mike Orr and Brad Kirch played with a magic that had to be seen to be believed.  The last shot of the game was pretty much a microcosm of the entire match, which was a joy to watch.  At match point Kirch/Orr were stuck out of position, with a gaping hole on the right side of the court.  Of course the ball was sent perfectly flying out the right door with seemingly no hope for a return.  Brad Kirch somehow launched himself through the air at mid court and time seemed to stand still. While flying completely horizontal and out the door two feet above the concrete, Brad perfectly hit a forehand for a dead flat kill.  Game over.

For many in the crowd it was the absolute best racquetball shot they had ever witnessed firsthand.  It was that good. 

All this on the very first day!

The rest of the weekend was dominated by Kevin Booth and Mike Peters, in both the Men’s Pro Doubles and CPRT Master’s 40+ Doubles.  Booth/Peters mowed down their first 3 opponents with relative ease until the big semifinals showdown versus IRT star Jason Mannino and living legend Cliff Swain.  The crowd expected an exciting match and nobody was dissappointed!  Mannino picked up outdoor very quickly, and was deadly when the ball was left up.  Cliff is a master of any sized or shape court, regardless of how many walls there are. On one defensive shot, Cliff made an insanely impossible defensive “get”, while seemingly standing on his head. But Booth/Peters would not be denied.  They used court savvy and clutch shot making to win what was probably the most anticipated match of the weekend. 10 (9) 9.

In the Pro Dubs Finals, Booth/Peters were able to fend off Rocky Carson and Mark Koiden in another exciting match.  Carson and Koiden showed how they got to the Finals and made shot after shot, but the Booth/Peters train would not be denied.

In the Men’s Pro Singles, Alvaro Beltran fell to Rocky Carson in the Finals, in what was a rematch of last years Final.  Another “crowd pleaser” of a match in this division was Ben Croft vs Greg Solis.  Everyone in attendance appreciated the heart shown by both players in this intense battle.  Croft’s ability to hit shots was matched only by Solis’s uncanny ability to get everything Ben hit.  Ben Croft too the match 11 (14) and 10, but everyone in the audience was a winner having witnessed that match.

Women’s Pro Doubles had Martha McDonald/Rhonda Rajsich reclaim their title, taking down Janel Tisinger/ Michelle Poage in an exciting match.

Paola Longoria and Jackie Paraiso dominated the Women’s Pro Singles, and the crowd was anticipating a well fought final between these two. They certainly lived up to the hype and then some, battling it out till Longoria came out ahead with 11,(14) 10.

In 2007, racquetball lost a great man in Greg Sheffield.  To honor his lifetime of giving to the racquetball community, World Outdoor Racquetball created the Greg Sheffield award.  This award is given to “The Outdoor Racquetball Player Who Most Exhibits Honor, Integrity, and True Love For Growing the Game”.  The 2009 recipient was Greg Lewerenz from Detroit Michigan.  Greg has worked tirelessly to help grow the racquetball community in Michigan as well as in Ohio.  Greg is respected and admired by his peers for all that he does.

The 2009 Racquetball Warehouse WOR Championships was a great success.  Much thanks to Allan Kazem, Steve Cook, John Ellis and the entire event staff for putting on a first class showcase event.

Vic Leibofsky
National Director
World Outdoor Racquetball

[Results][Photos]

Team California: #1 Juniors in Nation

2009 Jr. Nats California Team

(July 6, 2009) Against the odds, California Juniors take the National title for third year…

Heading into the Junior Nationals, it did not look good for California as we had 16 players going to the event and Oregon had 25. We had won the state championship the previous two years after Oregon had a long reign. It looked like they were back in the drivers seat. But wait, Gold in Boys 18's...Gold and Silver in 16's; Gold and Silver in Gilrs 16's yada, yada...California by a few points took the "threepeat". All players attending played a part in this, as one missing piece could have made the difference.

Congratulations to the California Juniors...Lets go for the Fourpeat!!!

Below is a summary of the event written by Elaine Dexter of ClubSport, Pleasanton:


Well, where to start? It’s hard to describe a tournament of this scope adequately for those who have not attended a junior national event. This year, California sent 16 players to East Lansing, Michigan to compete against the best junior players in the country. As proud as we are of our junior players, it is unfortunate that in our populous, sport-crazy state we produce so few national level junior racquetball players. Still, as slight as our numbers may be, our state won the tournament in points! Oregon sent 25 players and both Ohio and Michigan had more entries than our state, yet we emerged victorious. This impressive win says something for the strength of the programs we have here in California; kudos to our coaches for their dedication and our players for their talent. Next year the junior program will be losing one of the greatest junior players California ever produced: Jose Rojas. His winning record and amazing play will forever remain a brilliant distinction in the California junior annals. Jose has inspired his brother, Marko Rojas, and fellow Stockton junior, Jose Diaz, to aspire to his throne and we’re confident that they will. We also have the best 16 year old girls in the country right here in our state: Aubrey O’Brien and Devon Pimentelli, capturing both 1st and 2nd place in their singles GOLD division.

The junior nationals, though, represent so much more than high level racquetball and medals for California and our players. These kids go from high pressure indoor racquetball, resulting in triumphant wins or disappointing losses, directly to socializing with their opponents from all over the country. I watched kids leave indoor racquetball and head straight to outdoor racquetball, to basketball, to swimming. What better club to be able to appreciate sports and activities than the MAC, this year’s host racquetball facility? The kids lined up outside waiting to challenge on the outdoor courts, some went directly to play basketball, or jumped in a sand volleyball game or played dodge ball and keep away in one of the many pools available. It was great to see kids active all day without television or video games☺. As much as I enjoy playing racquetball and working out, I felt privileged to watch our players compete and have the time of their lives in this 5 day, once a year tournament.

With the California State Racquetball Association now spending time, energy and money on our junior program, hopefully coaches can look to encouraging more of our young players to attend this event next year. Fundraising is available; support from our organization is there, so we, as coaches, need to do all we can to bring more kids to the sport.

As soon as we hear where this event will be held next June, we can start preparing our juniors and their parents early enough so that plans can be made and money can be raised. Let’s continue to grow our programs and to support the kids who have dedicated so much effort toward attaining excellence in the sport. — Elaine Dexter

Congratulations to all our California Participants:

Player Home Division(s)
Samuel BarreraHuntington Beach Boys Doubles - 14 & Under
Boy's Singles - 14 and Under
Jose DiazStockton Boys Doubles - 16 & Under
Boy's Singles - 16 and Under
Junior Mixed Doubles - 16 & Under
Tyler LanmanDanville Boys Doubles - 18 & Under
Boy's Singles - 18 and Under
Sawyer LloydPetaluma Boys Doubles - 14 & Under
Boy's Singles - 14 and Under
Junior Mixed Doubles - 14 & Under
Aubrey O'brienAuburn Girls Doubles - 18 & Under
Girl's Singles - 16 and Under
Junior Mixed Doubles - 16 & Under
Devon PimentelliSan Bruno Girls Doubles - 16 & Under
Girl's Singles - 16 and Under
Jacob PritchardPlacerville Boys Doubles - 18 & Under
Boy's Singles - 18 and Under
Antonio RojasStockton Boy's Singles - Multibounce 6 and Under
Boy's Singles - Multibounce 8 and Under
Jose RojasStockton Boys Doubles - 18 & Under
Boy's Singles - 18 and Under
Marco RojasStockton Boys Doubles - 16 & Under
Boy's Singles - 16 and Under
Mauro Daniel RojasStockton Boys Doubles - 12 & Under
Boy's Singles - 10 and Under
Bobby SehrgoshaPleasanton Boys Doubles - 14 & Under
Boy's Singles - 14 and Under
Junior Mixed Doubles - 14 & Under
Jose SerranoStockton Boys Doubles - 18 & Under
Boy's Singles - 18 and Under
Luke SewallPetaluma Boys Doubles - 14 & Under
Boy's Singles - 14 and Under
Sabrina ViscusoAuburn Girls Doubles - 14 & Under
Girl's Singles - 14 and Under
Junior Mixed Doubles - 14 & Under
Kevin WinnMeadow Vista Boy's Singles - 16 and Under

2009 Junior State Championships

(May 12, 2009)  The Junior State Championships were held on May 2nd at ClubSport of Pleasanton and provided some interesting twists on this yearly event. Thanks to the many volunteers and helpers, we were able to run the entire tournament over one day. We received a lot compliments and thanks from the parents for managing 55+ junior players and a multitude of events (including singles and doubles) in one day; especially those parents who traveled a long distance to have their children compete. It was great to welcome 9 players from the Southern California area. Thanks for making the trip!

Another innovative bonus was that the CSRA picked up the cost of the first year membership for all of the first time tournament entrants. This, too, was greatly appreciated by the parents and by the tournament directors, since the generous offer enlisted more junior players into the event. As coaches, racquetball directors, and CSRA board members, we are exploring more ways to encourage kids to get involved in the sport and accommodating the families is high on the list. There were 25 new Junior members as part of this tournament.

We used a format that R2 does not have programmed into its system, but one that allowed the juniors to play more games against different opponents than usual. The players were in pools, initially, and every player from these pools advanced to draws: Gold for the top players; Blue, red and white (if enough players) for the rest of the competitors. So, in addition to top finishers listed on R2, players did well in some of the other draws: 10 White singles 1st Brant Kickhofel 2nd Vittoria Tommasini; 14 Red singles 1st, Tyler Llapitan, 2nd Mikey Neishi, semis’ Logan Nance and Ben Koos. 14 White singles 1st Sara Leon, 2nd Michael Hinsberg. The 14 singles girls champion title was won by Sabrina Viscuso over 2nd place Sara Leon.

We offered both 6 and under and 8 and under multi bounce divisions. The youngest division had Ken Stone on the court with the little juniors while they played. He modified games and rules so they, too, could participate in the state championship. Let’s get the kids playing as young as we can!

We’d like to give a special thanks to people sponsoring this event: Larry Steiner, CSRA president and co-owner of Lee and Larry’s Bad Ass BBQ who provided the funds for our lunch. Gil Cepeda, racquetball director and junior coach at Los Gatos Health & Fitness club, provided the ice cream for our afternoon ice cream social. The members of Club Sport (too many to list) who spent so many hours refereeing, making and serving our delicious lunch, running errands, handling the check in desk, and generally assisting in any way they could are the greatest support for junior racquetball anyone could ask for.

Elaine Dexter
Tournament Director
ClubSport Pleasanton Racquetball Director

Women's Pro Stop in the news

(Apr 29, 2009) The Women’s Pro Ektelon Championships held this past weekend in Stockton got the attention of CBS Channel 5 News:

Collegiate Nationals

(Apr 12, 2009) Collegiate racquetball players descended on the ASU courts in Tempe, Arizona for the 2009 USAR Collegiate Nationals in the first week of April. California was represented by players from CSU Fresno, CSU Sacramento, UC Berkeley, and San Joaquin Delta College. This was Delta’s first year on the national collegiate stage, but they brought California junior veterans Jose Rojas, Teresa Diaz, Ismael Aldana, David Horn, and Jose Serrano. Even with just 5 players (out of 12 on a full team), they captured the men’s individual title, 2nd place men’s team, and 5th place overall team. Awesome.

Jose Rojas Playing
Jose Rojas playing Anthony Carson (CSU, Pueblo) in the Men’s I semi-finals. Jose went on to win the men’s individual championship.
Cuerno Windmill
The Cuerno Windmill—click on the photo to see the windmill in action. Contest
Images from the racquetballonline.tv live video streaming of collegiate nationals. Used with permission. They have videos of Div I finals matches on their site now. Viewers will need to sign up for a free account.

Additional information and results are available at USA Racquetball.

Racquetball Warehouse CSRA State Singles
The Wrapup

(Apr 10, 2009) The CSRA State Singles Championship was held March 20–22 in Fresno. Thanks to Racquetball Warehouse and our other sponsors for their help in building the event, and to all of the organizers and players who made it such a great event.

Results at r2sports.com


tournament results

Photos


Photos

Videos at racquetballonline.tv


Videos

Discuss at meetandplay.com


Forums

The state singles championships came to Central California this year taking place at Sierra Sport and Racquet Club along with Centerpoint Athletic Club… Players from throughout the state attended the event held March 20-22.

John Ellis, Steve Cook and their band of tournament elves made the tournament run smoothly the whole weekend. Several CSRA Board members were on hand to help where needed. Merijean Kelley did an excellent job organizing the terrific Saturday night banquet.

The event began Friday afternoon with play at both clubs. Matches were self ref other than Open matches or if players requested a ref. This seemed to work out smoothly. Matches were on time for the most part.

Play continued early Saturday ending with a great match between Stockton buddies and junior stars Jose Diaz and Marco Rojas…

From there the players moved on to the banquet—an excellent Mexican dinner with the decor to go with it was arranged by Merijean along with Colleen Keating and Debra Nathan.

As players were eating their enchiladas etc. an awards presentation was done. First honored were the 2008 Junior Stars of the year. Seven Junior players were honored who made some significant accomplishments in 2008. Brian Dixon, CSRA Junior Director, made the presentations. Those honored included (by age): Sabrina Viscuso, Sawyer Lloyd, Devon Pimentelli, Jose Diaz, Marco Rojas, Aubrey O’Brien and Jose Rojas.

The awards proceeded with the presentation of the Presidents awards. Peggine Tellez (past CSRA President) made the presentations to the recipients who earned the honor by having an impact on Racquetball in 2008.

Play started up again Sunday with continuation of some round robins and the playoffs of pool play. The day culminated with the final of the Open match. This saw the new rivalry of John Ellis versus Junior star Jose Rojas. It was an exciting match with the crowd divided in who they should root for...It went to a tie breaker with John pulling it out 11-9!! You can catch this match as well as some others at www.Racquetballonline.tv.

Stay tuned for the State Doubles coming up in the Fall…

Again, a big thanks to our title sponsor Racquetball Warehouse as well as other sponsors Ektelon, Head, Gearbox, E-Force, and Pro Kennex

Collegiate Racquetball Update

(Mar 23, 2009)  On February 28th, players from University of Southern California (USC), Azusa Pacific University (APU), and Claremont University Consortium (CUC) met at the Claremont Colleges to represent their schools in the collegiate shootout.  After a grueling day of round-robin play, with each player playing a minimum of 4 matches, Pascal Cooper (USC) beat Jeffrey Weiss (CUC) in the finals.  In the consolation game, Ankit Bhargav (USC) and Joel Roberts (APU) tied for third due to the exhaustion of both players.

The support of Pro Kennex is gratefully acknowledged for providing prizes for winners of the tournament, as is the work of Jeffrey Weiss and the Claremont racquetball team for hosting the tournament.

The next collegiate racquetball event is going to be the UC Santa Cruz Surf & Slam, May 2nd–3rd. Collegiate events are open to all full-time college students. Visit the WCRC website for more information.

Wishing you were at National Doubles?

(Feb 12, 2009) Selected Men's and Women's US Team Qualifying matches are being streamed via live video through the Team USOC website:

Older news articles continued in the news archives