2016 IRF Junior World Championships
From the CNRA Board of Directors and the entire CNRA membership congratulations to our juniors for representing us at the recent IRF Junior World Championships held in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. You were all awesome and played your hearts out! Nikita and Vedant Chauhan, Ricardo Diaz, Dane Elkins, Heather Mahoney, Nikhil Prasad, Ingrid Robledo, Antonia and Daniel Rojas, and Krish and Sahil Thakur
World Cup
G16D -- Briana Jacquet/Ingrid Robledo -- Silver
G18S -- Erika Manilla -- Gold
G18S -- Jordan Cooperrider -- Bronze
B18S -- Wayne Antone -- Bronze
G18D -- Erika Manilla/Jordan Cooperrider -- Silver
B18D -- Jake Birnel/Daniel Rojas -- Silver
Esprit Cup
G10S -- Kareena Mathew -- Silver
B10S -- Benjamin Horner -- Bronze
B10S -- Nikhil Prasad -- Bronze
B10S Red -- Gatlin Sutherland -- Bronze
B10S White -- Brandon Ausucua -- Bronze
G10D -- Ava Kaiser/Kareena Mathew -- Bronze
B10D -- Nikhil Prasad/Gatlin Sutherland -- Bronze
G12S -- Julia Stein -- Bronze
B12S -- Vedant Chauhan -- Bronze
B12S Blue -- Josh Shea -- Bronze
G12D -- Heather Mahoney/Julia Stein -- Bronze
B12D -- Vedant Chauhan/Josh Shea -- Silver
US World Cup Team 3rd (Mexico/Bolivia/USA)
Boys WC Team 3rd (Mexico/Bolivia/USA)
Girls WC Team 2nd (Mexico/USA/Bolivia)
Esprit Team 3rd overall (Mexico/Bolivia/USA)
Boys Esprit Team 3rd (Mexico/Bolivia/USA)
Girls Esprit Team 3rd (Mexico/Bolivia/USA)
2016 Junior Worlds…
Recently the CNRA completed a campaign to help raise money for those CNRA juniors traveling to the Junior World Championships in Mexico. The 50/50 Split Raffle was well received and we just want to say thanks to all who participated, 'sellers and buyers’. We could not have done this without you!
Tourney Director Profile: Debbie Tisinger-Moore
(Nov 28, 2016) Debbie was introduced to racquetball by her Dad and started playing in 1980. She had 3 children from 1983 – 1991 and also in that time was hired as the Teaching Pro/Director at Racquet World C.P. In 1992 Debbie won her first National Championship and the winning continues to this day! Debbie has worked at a number of southern California clubs and is currently working for the 360 Club & Crunch Fitness where she is the Teaching Pro/RB Director. Her resume includes running leagues, teaching lessons, drill sessions, junior programs, and for the last 26 years hosting no less than 6 major tournaments each year.
Along with Debbie’s incredible playing accomplishments on the court she has also received the Peggy Steding Female Age Group Award from USA Racquetball in 2002, 2006, 2012, 2013, and 2014 and as a highlight of her career in 2013 she was inducted into the USA Racquetball Hall of Fame.
If you are interested in league play, lessons, and tournaments in Debbie’s area feel free to contact her at, rbalien@roadrunner.com. (Lesson Flyer (PDF))
Once again thanks to Debbie and her volunteers for all of her hard work promoting racquetball and supporting the CNRA!!!!
Tourney Director Profile: John Ellis
(Nov 08, 2016) The CNRA will be highlighting our Tournament Directors over the next couple of months as a way to say THANK YOU and also let everyone know just how they got started playing, teaching, coaching, and running events. All of our Tournament Directors are very special to us! First up on the hit parade is JOHN ELLIS and look for more to come.
John first hit a racquetball in the fall of 1975 after he had just turned 3 years old and entering his first tournament in Tracy at 5. It was a Juniors 16 & Under Division and his parents just decided to sign him up since dad, Dave, was playing tournaments. Although he did not win the event he beat a 15 year old in his first match. He has now been playing for 41 years at all levels and at one time up to #3 on the IRT, winning 9 pro stops and still plays at a nice Open level.
John is the proud owner of Pro Racquetball Academy and the Racquetball Director for In-Shape Health Clubs as an outsourced entity. He has been the Assistant Coach on the USA National Racquetball Team for several IRF Events and is the lead instructor for the Stockton Junior Racquetball Program. He and his staff have developed the Shootout Style of tournament play that is now very popular in the USA and recently introduced the Jamboree Style of league play that is used at the In-Shape Health Clubs. They have experience in hosting amateur to professional racquetball tournaments, along with junior events from local to the national level.
He has been available for racquetball lessons for over 30 years! John continues to host 2-4 lessons a week. Occasionally he uses video analysis as part of his lessons, but the main focus during lessons is two fold. First, how to score points and defend points easier, and second, how to drill later for improvement on one's own time. Email John at ellistyle@comcast.net if you want to improve!
Thanks to John and all of his hard working volunteer staff for the great job they do promoting racquetball and supporting the CNRA!!!!
CNRA Sends Eleven Juniors to the IRF Junior World Championships
(Nov 02, 2016) The IRF Junior World Championships will be held November 12-19 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Of the twenty-five (25) US junior players attending the CNRA will be sending eleven (11) juniors to the event. What an awesome accomplishment! The CNRA has been doing some fundraising for our junior players, including the $1 donation when players enter tournaments on R2 and most recently selling 50/50 split raffle tickets at tournaments from August through the end of October. With these fundraising activities and the help of the CNRA general fund each player attending the tournament will receive no less than $250 to help defray some of the cost of their trip. Many juniors have led and/or helped in selling the raffle tickets. Those juniors have been tracked accordingly and will receive additional funding. Many thanks to our tournament directors for their assistance in these activities and to everyone for their continued support. Go Team USA make us proud!!!!!!!
Nikita Chauhan – 14 Singles, 14 DoublesVedant Chauhan – 12 Singles (gold) – Silver and 12 Doubles Gold
Ricardo Diaz – 16 Doubles
Dane Elkins – 16 Singles. 16 Doubles
Heather Mahoney – 12 Singles and Doubles Gold
Nikhil Prasad – 10 Singles (gold) - Gold, 10 Doubles Gold
Ingrid Robledo – 16 Singles, 16 Doubles
Antonia Rojas – 14 Singles, 14 Doubles
Daniel Mauro Rojas – 18 Doubles, National HS Champion
Krish Thakur – 12 Singles (gold) – Gold
Sahil Thakur – 14 Singles and Doubles
Thanks from the CNRA Board of Directors
We would like to thank ALL of our dedicated tournament and program directors for all they do for the sport we all love! A special congratulations to Randy Lam on 20 years as Debbie Tisinger-Moore’s awesome ‘right hand man’. All of your dedication to working with the CNRA is greatly appreciated and we look forward to bigger and better things as we are working on several initiatives for our membership.
The CNRA Announces the 2016 Jack Hughes Educational Scholarship Award Recipient
(Oct 24, 2016) The CNRA is proud to announce that Luis Avila has been awarded the Jack Hughes Educational Scholarship for 2016. The $750 scholarship is awarded to any California or Nevada resident, college student, who has demonstrated their desire to expand racquetball while pursuing their education. The award is paid directly to the recipients’ school. Luis is attending El Camino College majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Good luck both on and off the court. Congratulations from the entire CNRA Board of Directors!
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR CALIFORNIA/NEVADA USOPEN PLAYERS!
Fifty plus players from California and Nevada made the trip to Minnesota to complete in the biggest racquetball tournament of the year. Many returned with medals, http://www.r2sports.com/website/event-results.asp?TID=17305, and all renewed old friendships and experienced competition above and beyond. A special congratulations to Jose and Marco Rojas for their FANTASTIC win in the Pro Doubles and to all the medal winners and participants!
Seeking CNRA President's Awards Nominations
(Jul 27, 2016) The CNRA has in past years awarded Presidential Awards in a number of categories. The nominees came from the board and were then voted on by the board. We are changing the process so that our members can be more involved. We are asking you to submit nominations and then the vote will be put out to our CNRA membership. We are looking for nominations for successes and/or recognition during the year of 2015. You do not need to nominate someone in every category just the ones you might choose. When submitting your nomination you must identify the category and also submit a maximum 5 sentence justification.
Here are the categories:
- Female Athlete
- Male Athlete
- Junior Male Athlete
- Junior Female Athlete
- Collegiate Male Player
- Collegiate Female Player
- Racquetball Director
- Contributor
- Newest Rising Star
- Volunteer
Your nominations and justifications are due back to Terry Rogers, CNRA President/Acting Secretary. (rogersta@comcast.net), on or before August 5, 2016.
Jack Hughes Educational Scholarship Award
(Jul 21, 2016) The CNRA is pleased to announce the return of the JACK HUGHES EDUCATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP AWARD! Any California or Nevada resident, college student, who has demonstrated their desire to expand racquetball, may apply for this scholarship.
The window to apply is July 21, 2016 through August 23, 2016. The Jack Hughes Scholarship will be awarded in mid September. The Scholarship will be paid directly to the recipients' college.
For a complete Scholarship packet, please contact Terry Rogers, CNRA President, at your earliest opportunity, to give yourself enough time to complete the application. The CNRA Scholarship Committee will review the information and announce the winner.
Return the completed package via email or mail to:
CNRA c/o Terry Rogers, President
8317 Divernon Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89149
Racquetball Program Initiatives for CNRA Members
California/Nevada Racquetball Players,
We are excited to announce several new programs for racquetball players here in California & Nevada that we hope each of you will take advantage of, as well as your club. Growing racquetball in local clubs and providing players with opportunities to meet and connect with other racquetball players is one of our main goals for the rest of 2016. Working with USA Racquetball and the new Programming Manager, Nick Irvine, we are now ready to help local players grow the game. Below are 3 programs you can take advantage of:
CLUB CHALLENGE LADDERS – Club Challenge Ladders are now available FREE OF CHARGE! Challenge ladders are a way for players of a club to compete against each other in organized competition which will track your matches and create a ranking system for your club. Want to know who is the best at your club? Create a challenge ladder TODAY!
SANCTIONED LEAGUES – Do you have a current league or want to start a new one? Sanction your next racquetball league with USA Racquetball and players will earn “National Ranking Points” as well as the ability to follow the league online through R2Sports. The cost to sanction a league is ONLY $25! Players who are already members of USA Racquetball play FREE OF CHARGE and those not yet a member are required to pay a $5 USA Racquetball League Fee to play. The league will carry an insurance policy to protect you and your event as well as the ability to track and run the league online. Take you league to the next level and SANCTION YOUR’S TODAY!
CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR PROGRAM – Are you teaching racquetball in your club? Do you want to learn how to teach racquetball? USA Racquetball offers an Instructor Certification Program to help people learn how to teach racquetball. This is a great option for anyone teaching juniors, offering FREE introductory lessons in their club or someone looking to teach private lessons. Go to, Materials/2016_USA_Instructor_Flyer.pdf, to view the USA Instructor Flyer for more information about the different levels available and how you can become certified to teach. *****BONUS!!!!! THE CNRA WILL REIMBURSE THE LEVEL #1 CERTIFICATION COURSE FEE FOR THE FIRST 10 PEOPLE, THRU JUNE 2017, INTERESTED IN BECOMING LEVEL #1 CERTIFIED. YOU MUST CONTACT NICK IRVINE TO REGISTER.
If you or anyone you know is interested in the above programs, please contact USA Racquetball Programming Manager, Nick Irvine (nirvine@usra.org) or call 209-817-9984 for more information.
California Juniors Win 59 Medals, including 13 Gold, in the recent National Junior Olympics!
The 43rd 2016 National Junior Olympic Championships presented by PENN and Wilson was held June 22-26, 2016 in Fridley, Minnesota. California was represented by 40 of our best male and female junior athletes. The event serves as the qualification for the United States Junior National Team. In the fall the U.S. Junior National Team will travel to Mexico for the International Racquetball Federation's Junior World Championships. The CNRA supported our junior athletes financially by donating $4000.00 to help defray travel and event expenses. The CNRA would like to thank all of the coaches and parents for their selfless love and dedication to these exceptional junior athletes. Congratulations to all of the players and a special shout out to all our medal winners and USA Junior Team members!!!!!
Junior Team Members and Gold Medal Winners
Nikita Chauhan – 14 Singles, 14 Doubles, 16 Singles - Bronze
Ricardo Diaz – 16 Doubles
Dane Elkins - 16 Doubles, 12 Singles Bronze
Heather Mahoney – 14 Singles Silver, 12 Singles and Doubles Gold
Ingrid Robledo – 16 Singles, 16 Doubles
Antonia Rojas – 14 Singles, 14 Doubles
Mauro Rojas – 18 Doubles, National HS Champion
Other Medal Winners were
Jess Rojas – 16 Singles (white) - Gold
Sahil Thakur – 14 Singles (gold) - Bronze
Vedant Chauhan – 14 Singles (blue) - Gold and 12 Doubles - Gold
Ivan Hernandez – 14 Singles (blue) - Silver
Julius Ellis – 14 Singles (red) - Silver
Krish Thakur – 12 Singles (gold) - Gold
Vedant Chauhan – 12 Singles (gold) - Silver
Nikhil Prasad – 12 Singles (gold) – Bronze, 10 Singles (gold) - Gold, 10 Doubles Gold
Ethan Tu – 12 Singles (white) - Silver, 12 Mixed - Bronze
Angel Eden Galvan – 10 Singles (blue) Gold
Bobby Singh – 10 Singles (whit) - Gold
Haiden Rivera – 10 Singles (white) - Silver
Eshan Ali – 8 MB – Gold and 8 Friendship Gold
David Rojas – 6 MB – Bronze
Miles Rivera – 14 Friendship – Silver
Cody Thomas – 14 Friendship – Bronze
Akhhill Durai Nath – 12 Friendship – Silver and 2 bounce – Gold
Julian Singh – 16 Doubles – Silver
Cody Elkins – 12 Doubles – Bronze
Advait Kartik – 10 Doubles – Bronze
Sonya Shetty – 10 Singles – Bronze, 10 Doubles – Silver, 12 Mixed - Bronze
Jordan Ellis – 8 MB – Bronze
Alondra Canchola – 12 Friendship and 2 bounce – Gold
Arya Cyril – 12 Friendship – Silver, and 2 bounce - Bronze
Esha Cyril – 12 Friendship – Bronze an 2 bounce - Silver
Complete results can be found at, http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=14389
Once again congratulations to ALL our California junior players!!!!!!
CA Juniors Raise $$$$ for the CNRA Junior Fund at the WOR Championships
A very special thanks goes out to the WOR Championship tournament directors in Huntington Beach- Geoff Osberg, Jesus Justarroz and Hank Marcus director of WOR and all of the outdoor players and fans who supported CNRA Junior Racquetball. This is our second successful year of this fundraiser at the WOR Championships!
The fundraiser was a fun "half split" raffle with the winner getting half of the proceeds. The junior fundraisers who worked tirelessly for hours were Jared Anwar, Jasmine Carson, Brooke Breklynn Dane Elkins, Cody Elkins, Madison Elkins (and a small assist from their parents Elkins and Carsons). Ivan and Miguel Hernandez were the lucky winners!!
Thanks to everyone for their incredible support of our CNRA Junior racquetball program.
Twenty-eight Players from CA and NV (CNRA) Attended the 2016 National Singles Championships
Recently 28 players from CA and NV traveled to Denver, CO to compete in the USA National Singles Championships. The competition was fierce and new friendships were made and old ones renewed. California pros Rocky Carson and Jose Diaz qualified for the USA National Team. For complete results visit, http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=14388. Congratulations to all the competitors!
CNRA Announces Penn as the Official Ball of the CNRA
The CNRA is pleased to announce the signing of a new ball contract with HEAD Penn Racquet Sports. This will designate Penn as the official ball of the CNRA. We look forward to a great relationship. Most tournaments will begin using the Penn ball in June. Thanks to HEAD Penn for this terrific opportunity.
website: http://shop-us.head.com/us/racquetball/racquetballs.html
CNRA Junior Fundraiser
Thanks to a special assist from Hall of Fame player and Tournament Director Coach Debbie Tisinger Moore, Brian Dixon and several outgoing California juniors, the Southern California group collaborated on a fundraiser raffle extraordinaire for the CNRA junior fund where the winner receives half of the proceeds collected.
Pictured is Nevada Resident and winner Amir Shahin who won $62.50 as part of the $125.00 collected. The juniors who set up the program were CNRA Jr Board Members Jared Anwar and Dane Elkins co-president of the Palisades Charter High School Racquetball team and Cody and Madison Elkins who made the incredible sales roll-out. Thanks for the incredible support of Junior Racquetball.
The CNRA Endorses the RYDF
Please take a few minutes to view the Reaching Your Dream Foundation (RYDF) website, http://reachingyourdreamfoundation.org, and in particular check out the Ambassador Program with a chance to win a 7-Day Vacation in Mexico! Your recurring donation can make a difference as we all try to support the sport we love. Check out this video, https://youtu.be/zdgfgdpqDcU, by Carla Munoz as a testament to how the RYDF has helped her in her journey.
Juniors Traveling to USA Racquetball National Junior Olympics
Thirty plus juniors from California/Nevada will be traveling to Minnesota June 22-26 to compete in the USA Racquetball National Junior Olympics. Over two hundred junior racquetball enthusiasts from across the country will be looking to capture those gold, silver, and bronze medals. With the help of the CNRA Board of Directors and it’s members, Mike Lippitt/RYDF, the R2 tournament donations, and various fundraising activities, players and their families will receive some level of financial support from the CNRA. This support will be delivered directly to those entered before the tournament deadline!
To enter and/or view the tournament information go to http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=14389.
Play well, have fun, and display great sportsmanship as you make new friends and strive to bring home a medal.
From the CNRA Board of Directors
2016 National Intercollegiate Racquetball Championship
The Intercollegiate Racquetball Championship was recently held at Arizona State. Eleven California collegiate players traveled to AZ to compete. A special congrats to champions: Marco Rojas, Bobby Horn, Jose Diaz, Carla Munoz, and Jazmin Trevino and congrats to all to participants!
- Luis Avila
- Paul Correa
- Jose Diaz
- David Horn
- Andrew Meyer
- Carla Munoz
- Lindsey Raven
- Marco Rojas
- Jazmin Trevino
- Luke Vaughn
- Geraldine Villa
2016 CNRA SoCal Junior State Racquetball Championships
Twenty-six juniors recently took over the courts at the World Gym in Chula Vista, CA for a day of fast and furious competition. Several SoCal CNRA Junior State Champions were crowned. A special thanks to Tournament Director Jackie Paraiso for hosting this event for the juniors. Everyone had a great time. For complete results visit, http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/viewResults.asp?TID=16884.
Growing the sport: Collegiate Racquetball
The Western Collegiate Racquetball Conference (WCRC) is looking for individuals and businesses who would like to invest in the collegiate program. Sponsorship opportunities include conference competition and helping the school program.
Investments in the conference program:- Tournament Food (Breakfast items and a healthy lunch)
- Tournament T-Shirts
- Awards for 1st and 2nd place in 6 divisions
- Club sanctioning fee each quarter/semester
- Club advertising to promote the program with flyers
- Starter kits for new players who join the club (5-10 per school per quarter/semester)
- Coaching compensation for time to coach the team
- School Van rental for events
- Entry into events covered for the players
2016 USA Racquetball High School Championships
This event was recently held at the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland, OR. 314 high school athletes from 8 states converged to play this Olympic format tournament and crown the high school champions for 2016. The CNRA had 7 representatives attending from both northern and southern California. Mauro (Daniel) Rojas Qualified for the U.S. Junior National Team
CONGRATULATIONS to all our players!!!!!
Jared Anwar - 3rd place #1 consolation doubles
Nikita Chauhan - lost in the semis #1 consolation Mixed Doubles
Dane Elkins - 3rd place # consolation doubles; lost in 1/4s #1 Gold singles; 3rd place #1 Gold mixed
Jared Lee - lost in the semis #1 consolation Mixed Doubles; 3rd place #1 Red singles
Atossa Rejaei - 3rd place #1 Gold mixed; 2nd place #1 Red singles
Ingrid Robledo - 3rd place #1 Gold singles
Mauro (Daniel) Rojas - 1st place #1 Gold singles
For a complete listing of the the draws and results visit http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=14385.
2016 CNRA NorCal Junior State Championships
The In-Shape Sport: West Lane, Stockton, CA played host to the CNRA NorCal Junior State Championships January 23, 2016. Forty seven junior racquetball players participated in this great event and 15 new champions were crowned. Again John Ellis and his staff did an outstanding job with this event for the kids. For complete results go to, http://www.r2sports.com/website/event-results.asp?TID=16820. Congratulations to all the players and keep on shooting!
2015 CNRA State Doubles Championships
The 2015 CNRA State Doubles Championships were held November 13-15, 2015 in Stockton, CA at the In-Shape Sport: West Lane. All divisions were round robin or pool play and as always Tournament Director John Ellis and his staff did a fantastic job with this event. All of the results can be found at http://www.r2sports.com/website/event-results.asp?TID=15426. Congratulations to all the winners!
World Junior Racquetball Championships
(Nov 20, 2015) California was well represented on Team USA as they competed in the World Junior Racquetball Championships November 8th thru the 14th in the Dominican Republic. There were a total of 27 players on Team USA and 8 were from California. The CNRA Board elected to send monetary support and a Thank You to each player with each player receiving $200.
Team USA won a total of 3 Gold medals in the Championships divisions. One of those three was California’s Heather Mahoney in the Girls 10 and under singles. Below are the results of the California players in order of oldest to youngest…
| Player | Division |
|---|---|
| Daniel Rojas | 18 and under (Bronze); 16 and under (round of 16) |
| Antonio Rojas | 14 and under (round of 16); 12 and under (round of 8) |
| Nikita Chauhan | 14 and under (round of 16) |
| Julian Singh | 14 and under Doubles (Bronze) |
| James D’Ambrogia | 14 and under Doubles (round of 8); 14 and under (Bronze - Red Division) |
| Tommy Andraos | 14 and under Doubles (round of 8); 14 and under (Silver-Red Division) |
| Vedant Chauhan | 10 and under (Silver-12 and under Blue Division); 10 and under Doubles (Bronze) |
| Heather Mahoney | 10 and under (GOLD); 12 and under Doubles (Bronze) |
Congratulations to ALL!!!
The CNRA Announces the Jack Hughes Educational Scholarship Award Recipients for 2015
(Sep 18, 2015) Any California or Nevada resident, college student, who has demonstrated their desire to expand racquetball was encouraged to apply for this award. The applicants’ packets were reviewed by the CNRA Scholarship Committee and it is with great pride and pleasure the CNRA is able to award three $500 scholarships to be paid directly to the recipients’ school. This years awardees are Jose Diaz, Stockton, CA, majoring in Sport Medicine at the University of the Pacific, Luis Avila, Wilmington, CA, freshman at El Camino College, and Amir Jabbari, San Ramon, CA, majoring in Computer Engineering at San Jose State University. We look forward to great things from these young men both on and off the courts. Congratulations from the entire CNRA Board of Directors!
CNRA Juniors Fundraising Campaign Begins
Thanks to WOR, the many generous WOR participants who donated, and the California Nevada Racquetball Association, three junior participants at the recent WOR champs raised $162 for the junior program.
Jasmine Carson, Cody Elkins, and Madison Elkins had a successful 50/50 raffle. Rudy Lara won and generously donated $$$ back and used the proceeds to buy himself a new racquetball bag!
Madison, Jasmine, and Cody pictured below with Rudy were also each awarded $10 for their incredible fundraising efforts as the hard working fundraisers!
Congratulations to our National Junior Olympic Participants and Champions
This past week Stockton, CA played host to the USAR National Junior Olympics and once again did an outstanding job. Matches were played at In Shape Westlane and In Shape Quail Lakes. Nick Irvine, John Ellis, Tim Pasisz (The Sport Development Director for Visit Stockton), and the 209 crew went above and beyond including one of the ‘Best banquet (party) I have been to!’
The temperature averaged around 105 degrees most of the week, but the players managed through. It was challenging with most players playing multiple divisions with multiple matches via the Olympic style.
There were almost 200 players representing 26 states aged 6 – 19 competing in the Olympic format draws over 5 days. There were 65 players from California/Nevada!!!!!! Texas had the second most number of players with 36. It was the largest draw a Junior Olympics has seen in many years. We would like to say CONGRATS to ALL the participants and their families and friends for making this event a memorable experience. Many champions were crowned and the complete results can be found at: http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/viewResults.asp?TID=13214
The USA World Cup Team) 18s, 16s, and 14s) and Esprit Team (12s and 10s) were also named. They will be traveling to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to compete in the Junior World Championships in November. The World Cup Team will also be invited to the Junior Training Camp at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs in August.
Junior World Cup Team – California representation
Mauro (Daniel) Rojas – 2nd in 18 and 16 singles
Antonio (Tato) Rojas – 2nd in 14 singles
Julian Singh – 1st in 14 doubles (partner Mitchell Turner of OR)
Luis Avila – qualified by placing 2nd at the National High School Championships
Esprit Team – California representation
Antonia (Tato) Rojas – 1st in 12 singles
James D’Ambrogia and Tommy Andraos – 1st in 12 doubles
Vedant Chauhan – 1st in 10 singles and doubles (partner Josh Shea/NY)
Heather Mahoney – 1st in 10 singles; 1st in 12 singles; 1st in 12 doubles (partner Julia Stein/PA)
Estefania Perez – 2nd in 12 singles
Sarai Santana-Arechiga – 1st in 10 doubles (partner Sage Hartman/MN)
The CNRA is beginning several fundraising activities to help these young athletes and their families travel to the Dominican Republic in November and we can also use your support. Average expense per player, can be $3,000+. If you would like to make a donation to the Junior Program just click on the Donations button on the left side of the homepage or contact Terry Rogers, CNRA President, at rogersta@comcast.net for more information.
NorCal Junior Champs Results
On January 24th 2015, 54 Junior players gathered in Stockton for the Northern California Junior Championships. This was run by John Ellis and his 209 crew. It was a long day of play with all divisions either round robin or pool play. Play started at 8AM and kept the courts busy until well into the evening. There were over 20 new USAR member players!
The younger divisions were very full which looks good for the next few years as they play in the 10’s, 12’s etc. As always, the players were good sports. There were very few injuries and the crying was at a minimum (mostly the parents!)..
A great event and a good preparation for the Junior Nationals which will be held at the same club in June.
Brian Dixon – CNRA Jr Director and Petaluma Valley Athletic Club Junior Director
| Division | Champ | Second |
|---|---|---|
| Girls Multibounce 8 and under | Ava Naworski | Sonya Shetty |
| Girls MB Lower Playoff | Aanshi Thakur | Jordan Ellis |
| Girls 10 U 2 Bounce | Sonya Shetty | Sarai Santana |
| Girls 10 U | Heather Mahoney | Alondra Canchola |
| Girls 10 U Lower Playoff | Sarai Santana | Grace Herberger |
| Girls 12/14 | Nikita Chauhan | Estefania Perez |
| Boys 8 U Multi | Angel Galvan | Noah Brians |
| Boys 8U | Bobby Singh | Angel Galvan |
| Boys 10 U 2 Bounce | Ethan Tu | Jason Rigney |
| Boys 10 U | Vedant Chauhan | Nikhil Prasad |
| Boys 10 U Lower Playoff | Heather Mahoney | Daniel Woodbury |
| Boys 12 U | James D’Ambrogia | Vedant Chauhan |
| Boys 12 U Lower Playoff | Nikhil Prasad | Aidan Tu |
| Boys 12 U Lower Playoff 2 | Estafania Perez | Julius Ellis |
| Boys 14 U | Antonio Rojas | Tommy Andraos |
| Boys 14 U Lower Playoff | Aidan Tu | Bryan Barbera |
| Boys 16 U | Ricky Diaz | Zephan Huang |
| Boys 16 U Lower Playoff | Jared Lee | Nikhil Singh |
| Boys 18 and under | Mauro Rojas | Dima Wert |
| Boys 18 Lower Playoff | Trevor John | Ben Jenkel |
2015 California-Nevada State Junior Racquetball Championships (Southern California)
(Cody Elkins and Dane Elkins, Feb 27 2015) The Southern California Junior State Championships were held on Saturday, January 17, 2015 at the Oakridge Athletic Club with four courts. The tournament kicked off at 8:00 a.m. with 23 players battling for the co-state title designation.
The tournament hosted a range of divisions from the exciting 6 and under multi-bounce to the faster paced 10 and under 2-bounce format. And the event also featured a competitive 18 and under singles divisions plus a combined doubles junior division.
Along with intense match play, the hospitality of the entire tournament extended to all players and their supporters.
As to making all of this happen, the participants in the tournament would like to thank Debbie Tisinger Moore and Randy Lam for orchestrating the entire event along with Brian Dixon- head of the CNRA junior committee. The event raises money to send California juniors to other major Junior events and is our biggest fundraiser!
"A special congratulations goes out to Dane "Bryan" Elkins who won the boys 18's playing left handed (he broke his right playing wrist just 5 weeks before) and taking second in the boys 16's after winning his group and beating USA team member Tommy Andraos in a close battle in the prelims. However, Tommy showed why he made the USA junior team in 2013 with a thrilling victory in the finals 11-1 against a tired Dane." (quote from Cody Elkins)
So who were crowned Junior state Co-champions: Here is the list of all of the talented winners:
| Division | Winner |
|---|---|
| Boy's multi-bounce 6 singles | Kaleb Furman |
| Boy's multi-bounce 8 singles | Advait Kartik |
| Boy's double-bounce singles 10 | Derek Parillo |
| Boy's 10's singles | Cody Elkins |
| Boy's 12 singles | Iain Dunn |
| Boy's 14 singles | Ivan Hernandez |
| Boy's 16 singles | Tommy Andraos |
| Boy's18 singles | Bryan "Dane the Lefty" Elkins |
| Junior All Doubles | Joshua Cohen/Ivan Hernandez |
| Girl's multi-bounce singles 6 and 8's and girls double bounce | Rylee Carrillo |
| Girl's 12 singles | Camilla Gomez |
| Girl's 18 singles | Atossa Rejaie |
It is an honor playing this great state championships event and we wish everyone much future success at Jr. Olympics where California last year captured the title for most points helped in part from our competition in state!
In the boys 6 and under multibounce, Kaleb Furman got first place. In boys 8 and under singles multi-bounce and Advait Kartik got first place. In boys/girls singles multi-bounce 6-8 and under, Advait Kartik captured first place.
2015 National Doubles Championships - California and Nevada Players Perform Well
(Feb 27 2015) 70 California and 7 Nevada players participated in the USAR 48th National Doubles Championships hosted by Arizona State University February 11-15, 2015. The competition was friendly but fierce and a number of our CA/NV players returned home with medals and bragging rights. Congratulations to all the players for a great tournament! Complete results can be found at the tournament website.
Next up the LPRT/CNRA State Singles Championships and National Singles Championships Qualifier, March 20-22, 2015 at Los Caballeros in Fountain Valley, CA
California/Nevada Ladies Shine in Minneapolis
(Jan 27 2015) Five California/Nevada ladies braved the cold and traveled to Minneapolis to complete in the 26th Annual Women’s Senior Masters Racquetball Championships January 16-18. The temperatures inside were warm and cozy and the competition was fierce but friendly and the ladies came away with a number of awards!
| Player | Result |
|---|---|
| Cindy Tilbury | 1st 55+ singles and 2nd 45+ doubles |
| Terry Rogers | 1st 65+ singles |
| Marquita Molina | 2nd 70+ singles |
| Nidia Funes and Merijean Kelley | 1st 65+ doubles |
The Fall Racquetball News Tidbits - November 2014
In this issue:
- ‘Go Pro’ - LPRT and IRT
- The Famous US OPEN
- and more…
Read it all on the News & Tidbits page
2014 CNRA State Doubles Championships
(Nov 21, 2013) Prime Time Athletic Club played host to the CNRA State Doubles Championships and what a great weekend it was. PTAC was the perfect venue to host this event with 7 courts, gracious locker rooms, a great room for registration and displays, a sports lounge, and a staff that did an outstanding job of welcoming and servicing all the players. Hospitality was abundant and the awards were very special. A great time was had by all! The results are posted below and can also be viewed at the tournament webpage. A special thanks to all the players, fans, and volunteers who helped to make this a great event.
| Div | 1st | 2nd |
|---|---|---|
| Men's Open | Gil Cepeda | James Swift |
| Tom Lonardo | Jimmy Oliver | |
| Men's A | Cesar Vazquez | Joel Machuca |
| Benjamin Perez | Kareem McKinnon | |
| Men's B | Jim Rapoport | Charlie Lothridge |
| Rob Barbara | Bill McCormick | |
| Comb. Age 75+ | Gil Cepeda | Bill George |
| Tom Lonardo | Randy Long | |
| Wms Elite | Carla Francis | Kimberly Randolph |
| Sandra Ramos-Mowry | Natalie Russell | |
| Wms A | Ester Lozano | |
| Louise Doran | ||
| Wms C | Patty Perez | |
| Victoria Ferguson | ||
| Mx O/E | Sandra Ramos-Mowry | Kimberly Randolph |
| Randy Long | Freddy Flores | |
| Mx A | Alyse Cori | Maureen Higa |
| Bill Griffin | John Rafkin | |
| Mx B/C | Kimberly Randolph | Patti Perez |
| Ranulfo Alverz | Jeff Morris | |
| Men's 55 | Jim Rapoport | Bill George |
| Rob Barbara | Harry Vernon | |
| Men's 65 | Price Thomas | Tim Scott |
| Jerry Kilroy | Jerry Miller |
Prime Time Athletic Club is playing host to the
CALIFORNIA/NEVADA STATE DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
November 15 & 16, 2014
Lower entry fees, fewer divisions, and finish in one day (depending on divisions played)! All divisions will be round robin or pool play and will be played per the below schedule
| SATURDAY | Men's and Women's Open, Elite, A, B, C, combined age 75+ |
| SUNDAY | Men's and Women's 45+, 55+, 65+ Mixed Open/Elite, Mixed A. Mixed B/C, Mixed combined age 75+ |
To keep the cost down you may choose to order a quality tournament shirt for an additional $10. Shirts must be ordered by October 30th! Early entry discount $5 if entered by October 15th. You must be a California or Nevada resident to participate. USAR/CNRA membership required. Hospitality and Awards!!!!
Ball - Ektelon Classic BlackTournament Directors: CNRA Board of Directors
Questions contact Jack Hughes, racquetballplus@comcast.net, or 702-413-7269
Don’t miss out on State bragging rights as the new State Doubles Champions!!!!!!
CNRA Juniors to Worlds
(Sep 15, 2014) The Junior World Championships are coming up quickly in October. They are being held in Cali, Colombia. We are proud to have 8 players from California qualifying for Team USA and planning to go to Cali. To qualify, players must have finished in the top two singles or the top doubles team at Junior Nationals.
It is not a cheap trip to Colombia, and we are looking to help out our California players on their expenses. A Go Fund Me page has been set up for this.
Check out this video by some of the players attending:
To for more information and to donate go to: www.GoFundMe.Com/CNRA-Jr-Worlds
Every little bit helps…
Please share this with your Racquetball friends.
Thank You,
CNRA Board
The summertime Racquetball News Tidbits - August 2014
In this issue:
- Juniors, Juniors, and more CNRA Juniors..
- Story of my wife
- new Gear for the new season
- and more…
Read it all on the News & Tidbits page
CNRA Announces the Jack Hughes Scholarship Recipient for 2014
(Aug 30, 2014) Congratulations to Geraldine Villa as the recipient of the 2014 Jack Hughes Scholarship Award. Geraldine will be attending Sacramento State in the fall and plans to be part of the Sac State racquetball program. She is excited to start growing as a racquetball player once again and begin competing in college, state, and national tournaments while working to expand racquetball throughout the Sac State campus.
Congratulations Geraldine and best of luck!
WOR Championships, Huntington Beach CA. Junior Team members, past and present are working hard to build up support for the push to send the US Junior Team to Cali Columbia in October (right around the corner)!! Thanks to the generous support of the players and spectators, our kids raised over $400!!! Butch Fish was the winner of the 50/50 raffle pot and donated back to the Junior fundraising efforts.
Thank you for hustling to drum up raffle participants! Team members- Dan Elkins (with and assist from brother Cody!) Sawyer Lloyd, Erika & Adam Manilla (CO) guided by Jasmine Trevino and Devon Pimentelli
Look for us again at shoot-outs and tournaments over the upcoming months and be sure to show your support for our Junior players either by using the Paypal donate button on the front page or the GoFundMe campaign.
We have 8 CA/NV players trying to earn enough to go to the Junior Worlds where we have performed very well thanks to your continued support. See our USA Team on the Juniors page!
- You can support the juniors by donating through the GoFundMe website
Congratulations to the U.S. Junior National Team Members
(Jun 30, 2014) The 2014 Wilson U.S. National Junior Olympic Championships concluded with USA Racquetball naming the 2014-15 U.S. Junior National and Esprit Teams. We are proud to congratulate 4 of our CA/NV players on their being named to the National Team and to the 4 CA/NV players Esprit Team.
| U.S. Junior National Team Members | |
|---|---|
| Wayne Antone IV - Junction City, OR | Boys 16 Singles Runner-Up |
| Jordan Barth - Cold Spring, MN | Boy's 16 Doubles Champion and 14 Singles Champion |
| Justus Benson - Sun Prarie, WI | Boy's 16 Doubles Champion |
| Kaitlyn Boyle - Beaverton, OR | Girl's 14 Singles and Doubles Champion |
| Jordan Cooperrider - Palm Harbor, FL | Girl's 16 Singles and Doubles Champion |
| Ricardo Diaz -Stockton, CA | Boy's 14 Doubles Champion |
| Dane Elkins - Los Angeles, CA | Boy's 14 Doubles Champion |
| Danielle Falvey - Sussex, WI | Girl's 18 Doubles Champion |
| Hollee Hungerford - Milwaukie, OR | Girl's 18 Doubles Champion and Singles Runner-Up |
| Briana Jacquet - Golden, CO | Girl's 14 Doubles Champion and Singles Runner-Up |
| Connor Laffey - Salem, OR | Boy's 18 Singles Runner-Up |
| Sawyer Lloyd - Petaluma, CA | Boy's 18 Doubles Champion |
| Adam Manilla - Centennial, CO | Boy's 18 Singles and Doubles Champion |
| Erika Manilla - Centennial, CO | Girl's 16 Doubles Champion and Singles Runner-Up |
| Akul Ramayani - Poughkeepsie, NY | Boy's 14 Singles Runner-Up |
| Mauro Rojas - Stockton, CA | Boy's 16 Singles Champion |
| Hollie Scott - Lynden, WA | Girl's 18 Singles Champion |
| U.S. National Esprit Team Members | |
|---|---|
| Nick Birnel - Bellingham, WA | Boy's 12 Doubles Champion |
| Hannah Carver - Spokane, WA | Girl's 12 Singles Runner-Up |
| Nikita Chauhan - San Ramon, CA | Girl's 12 Singles Champion |
| Timmy Hansen - Wellington, FL | Boy's 10 Doubles Champion and Singles Runner-Up |
| Heather Mahoney - Penngrove, CA | Girl's 10 Singles and Doubles Champion |
| Rei McCormick - Urbandale, IA | Girl's 12 Doubles Champion |
| Akul Ramayani - Poughkeepsie, NY | Boy's 12 Singles Champion |
| Antonio Rojas - Stockton, CA | Boy's 12 Doubles Champion and Singles Runner-Up |
| Josh Shea - Cortland Manor, NY | Boy's 10 Doubles Champion |
| Julia Stein - Murrysville, PA | Girl's 10 Doubles Champion and Singles Runner-Up |
| Krish Thakur - Tracy, CA | Boy's 10 Singles Champion |
| Graciana Wargo - Clearwater, FL | Girl's Doubles Champion |
Petitions Will Be Accepted For The Board Of Directors
(Jun 19, 2014) The CNRA Board of Directors will name four (4) Directors at the Annual Meeting to be held September 15, 2014. Members in good standing not nominated by the Election Committee, but wishing to be considered for the Official Ballot must gather a petition containing 100 valid signatures including the member’s legibly printed name. The signatures must be CNRA members in good standing indicating their support for said petitioner. Petitions must be submitted to the Nomination Committee, by mail, postmarked no later than July 20, 2014.
Please use this PDF file for your petition gathering: 2014-OFFICIAL_BALLOT_PETITION_FORM.pdf
Mail petitions to the CNRA Chairperson:
8317 Divernon Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89149
or Scan and email to rogersta@comcast.net. Lack of legible information will be cause for invalidation of that supporter.
Racquetball News Tidbits - June 2014
In this issue:
- National Singles Recap
- Junior at National Singles heading into Junior Olympics
- Scholarship-palooza
- National Team
- and more…
Read it all by downloading the June 2014 News & Tidbits
Support CNRA JRs to Jr Nationals in Denver
(June 5, 2014) Hi Racquetballers,
The Junior National Racquetball Championships will be held
in Denver June 25-29. The California Nevada Racquetball Association always
tries to support Juniors attending this event. This year we are trying to add a
little more support and looking to the Racquetball community to assist. A Go
Fund Me page has been set up for this…
http://www.gofundme.com/CNRAJUNIORS
We have set a goal of $6,000 which could assist with travel and lodging expense.. With Juniors it can be expensive as usually at least one parent will also be going and sometimes the whole family.
http://www.gofundme.com/CNRAJUNIORS
If we reach out goal, we may be able to look at doing 1 or 2 special requests for players who may not be able to go otherwise…
http://www.gofundme.com/CNRAJUNIORS
Any little bit helps and please feel free to share this with your Racquetball friends via email (just forward this along) or social media (Share link on Face book etc..)
Thanks for the support…
Brian Dixon
CNRA Junior Director
2014 USAR 47th National Singles Racquetball Championships
(May 31, 2014) The 2014 USAR National Singles Championships are in the books and once again ran smoothly thanks in large part to the volunteers, headed by our own Peggine Tellez, that stepped up to do the work behind the scenes. We had a chance to celebrate several annual award winners at the Hall of Fame celebration. Jose Rojas took home the Male Athlete of the Year award while Debbie Tisinger-Moore, for the sixth time, was awarded the Peggy Steding Female Age Group award. The legendary Brian Hawkes of Lake Forest, CA was inducted into the Hall of Fame as an outstanding outdoor player. The CNRA congratulates all of our annual award winners on their accomplishments! Of the 292 registered players 160 were from California and Nevada!!!!! Please join us in congratulating our medal winners listed below Also please let us apologize in advance it we have missed anyone as we have done our best to list everyone correctly. You can view the results of the entire tournament at, http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/viewResults.asp?TID=11901
| GOLD MEDAL WINNERS | Div |
|---|---|
| William Baker | 75 |
| Kevin Barlia | 50A |
| Steve Belmonte | 45A |
| Robert Chavez | 60C |
| Charles Dryer | 70A and 70B |
| Donarea Dunwoody | WD and 50C |
| Dane Elkins | B14 and B18 |
| Tom Fuhrmann | 30+ |
| Yury Furman | 40A |
| Michael Hall | 35C |
| Eric Harper | 35+ |
| CJ Herceg | 40A |
| Jimmy Johanson | 55A |
| Heejin Koo | G18 |
| Brian Laney | 35B/40B |
| Max Lopez | 50B |
| Russ Manino | 65 |
| Mario Najera | 70C |
| Jodi Nance | 50+ |
| Atossa Rejeal | 24-C |
| Nick Richardson | MB |
| Roy San Miguel | 60B |
| Tracy Shearer | 40+ |
| Skyler Stewart | 24B |
| Peggine Tellez | 50A |
| Debbie Tissinger-Moore | 55+ |
| Zaighum Yazdan | MC |
| SILVER MEDAL WINNERS | Div |
|---|---|
| Amit Athalye | 45A |
| Scott Case | 50A |
| Seve Covey | 75+ |
| Bruce Greenberg | 55B |
| CJ Herceg | WA |
| Trevor Jones | 30A |
| Daniel Kreuzer | MHero50+ |
| Heather Mahoney | WD |
| Pat McCornack | 60A |
| Karl Meisenheimer | 65+ |
| Marquita Molina | 70+ |
| Betty Mota | WB/C |
| Roby Partovich | 50B |
| Darin Peterson | 35B/40B |
| Jon Provan | 45B |
| Ruben Puebla | MB |
| Jon Rafkind | 30B |
| Terry Rogers | 60+ |
| Marcos Rojas | US Team Qual |
| Karen Schmidt | 50A |
| Dave Shelburne | 70A |
| Condy Tilbuery | 50+ |
| Janel Tisinger | USTeam Qual |
| Jasmin Trevino | 24- |
| Gary Woolery | 60C |
| BRONZE MEDAL WINNERS | Div |
|---|---|
| Dave Aguirre | 60B |
| Bob Bacharach | 70C |
| Kevin Barlia | 45A |
| Vicky Birkmann | 50A |
| Andrew Blasquez | 60C |
| Joshua Cohen | B18 |
| Joel Franklin | 55A |
| Larry Gee | 60A |
| Jose Hernandez | 30+ |
| David Horton | 50B |
| Greg Kearney | 65A |
| Keith Kiertzner | 45/50/55C |
| Heejin Koo | WD |
| Nicholai Miramontes | MA |
| Ryan Moreno | 24A |
| Haz Nova | 35A |
| Jon Provan | 35/40B |
| Jon Rafkind | MB |
| Karen Schmidt | WA |
| Len Sonnenberg | 70A |
| Cindy Tilbury | 55+ |
| Jasmin Trevino | WE |
| Jim Underwood | 70+ |
Serving on the Board of California/Nevada Racquetball Association / CNRA
(May 14, 2014) Our mission is to perpetuate, improve, promote and expand the sport of racquetball in California and Nevada.
Our Election Committee is accepting applications for candidates who will be actively involved in the Mission of the CNRA by serving as a Board of Director. This job is your opening to use your leadership skills to have an impact on the opportunities and challenges our sport faces. Please submit your Board Candidate Application & Statement of Interest to rogersta@comcast.net mail to CNRA 8317 Divernon Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89149, Fax 702/ 413-7269 not later than 5:00pm, Friday June 6th, 2014.
The nominating committee will review submissions and then put together a slate of candidates. Candidates will be notified on or before June 19, 2014 of their acceptance. Should you not be included on that slate of candidates you will be notified and afforded the opportunity to petition the board to be added to the slate. The petition forms will be provided with instructions and will be due back to the nominating committee by July 20, 2014.
Voting for the Candidates will take place August 2 – September 2, 2014. Results will be announced early September 2014.
CNRA Board of Director Criteria
As you prepare your written Statement of Interest, please keep the criteria noted below in mind so that the Election Committee can best assess our candidates. This is similar to a racquetball resume with examples of your experience matching up to the criteria we are seeking.
The Board is looking for members who will support the Mission of our association and strengthen our organization’s governance.
- Leadership skills in program development to promote growth in the recreational player, junior, High School & Collegiate areas are highly desirable.
- Committee participation is a substantial portion of this Board’s activities pertaining to Membership development, Communications, Media Utilization, Fundraising, Achievements & Acknowledgments, Event Collaborations & Board Governance.
- Participation in monthly conference meetings and bi-annually hosted Association is expected.
- Applicant must be willing to be highly visible advocates for racquetball in word and deed and be prepared to identify potential conflicts of interest.
- Must maintain a current USAR membership, and be a resident of California or Nevada.
Appplication Form: 2014_CNRA_BoD_Application.pdf
Helping California/Nevada Juniors attend the Nationals in Denver
(May 14, 2014) The Junior National Racquetball Championships will be held in Denver June 25-29th.. The California Nevada Racquetball Association (CNRA) board annually looks to assist with California/Nevada Juniors attending the Nationals. Usually enough to offset entry fees. This year we would like to see if we can assist a little more and are looking to the Racquetball community to help out.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up for this purpose. A goal of $6,000 has been set and I hope if we can get the information out there we can reach this goal. Attaining this goal, may allow us to do 1 or 2 special needs assistance as well as the group as a whole..
The Link is: http://www.gofundme.com/cnrajuniors
Feel free to share this with your Racquetball friends via email, Facebook, Twitter, etc….
Thank you for any support towards this goal…
Brian Dixon
Junior Director - CNRA
2012/13 President's Award
(Apr 29, 2014) CNRA is pleased to honor the following members for the accomplishments in 2012/2013. Please join us at the awards ceremony on Saturday evening, May 3rd at the IRT Tier 1 Pro-Stop Ektelon 209 Battle of the Ages/ CNRA State Singles.
| Coach | BILL PROLL |
| Collegiate Female Athlete | LINDSAY RAVEN |
| Collegiate Male Athlete | ERIC AASERUDE |
| Contributor | NICK IRVINE |
| Female Athlete | AUBREY KIRCH |
| Junior Female Athlete | HEATHER MAHONEY |
| Junior Male Athlete | SAWYER LLOYD |
| Male Athlete | JOSE DIAZ |
| Newest Rising Athlete | DANIEL (MAURO) ROJAS |
| Racquetball Director | STEVE COOK |
| Volunteer | NIDIA FUNES |
California Juniors Make Big Impression at 2014 High School Championship In Oregon!
(Mar 20, 2014) (written by participants Dane Elkins, Llewyn St. John, Fausto Santana Jr. and Attosa Rejaie)
California had the biggest representation in years competing for the ultimate national title of high school racquetball champion of the United States. 338 participants came to this standing room only, national championship event which was so large and grand in scale that 3 separate clubs 15 miles away were needed to coordinate the event--the largest junior racquetball event in the country. Every year, the annual USA Racquetball High School Championships which has run for almost 3 decades switches between Missouri and Oregon since both states have sanctioned high school programs where high school students can get PE credit to play racquetball and many choose to participate in this exhilarating high school sport. Racquetball as many of you know is a USA sanctioned Olympic sport and hopefully one day it will make the Olympics and if this event is any indication, a lot of top junior talent is ready to shine when that magical day happens.
Team California may not have a formal high school program like many other states but we had a small, but powerful contingent of top ranked national players and placed strongly. The California team consisted of freshman Attosa Rejaei, Dane Elkins, Llewyn St John, Fausto Santana Jr. and sophomore Daniel Mauro Rojas who led the California with a brilliant, 3 set tiebreaker match for the ages and a resounding victory over Oregon’s own Lil' Wayne Antoine in the gold #1 singles. The High School Championships is played in a format quite similar to a high school tennis league match where the number 1 seeded players play against each other and the number 2 seeds play etc. Everyone from California competed in the top #1 division and in one case in the second highest division against some of the most talented teens in America (and the matches were typically fierce battles but we all demonstrated great sportsmanship even in defeat). After Daniel Rojas first place finish (he is the cousin of Markie and Jose Rojas), the next highest California singles finishers were close friends Fausto Santana Jr., the 2013 USAR Ektelon National Single Champ (junior division) and Dane Elkins, the 10-time world outdoor champion and winner of the 2013 16 year old Junior Olympic Red division. Dane Elkins and Fausto Santana tied for 12th place in the top #1 Gold division (and finished tied for 3rd in the Blue #1 division). Next on deck for Team California was Palisadean resident Llewyn St. John who finished strongly with a 3rd place finish in the challenging boys #2 singles white division. Dane Elkins and Llewyn St. John who had previously have teamed up to win the state’s junior doubles finished their first championships here as the 25th best doubles team in the country in the gold #1 division. Attosa Rejaei, the multiple WOR outdoor world Junior Champ and second place gold mixed doubles finalist with Dane Elkins at Jr. Olympics also turned on the heat with an admirable performance and shot making ability. Attosa Rejaie played her usual power game finishing 8th place in country in girls #1 blue singles competition while Attosa Rejaei and partner Dane Elkins were 17th place in singles in the gold divisions in mixed doubles (and finished 3rd in consolation).
Palisades High School is the home of Attosa, Dane and Llewyn and the school was in 12th place for all high schools nationally as of Saturday but the final position hasn’t been posted at this time. Our close knit California team all had some great matches, made many new friends, created bonds with old friends that we will cherish forever and we were treated to incredible food, hospitality and USA National High School Outfits. No one rolls out racquetball better than the USAR and we are proud to have represented Team California at the High School Championships. And next year we hope to have an even better turnout from Team California. Next up for major junior competition is the Jr. Olympics in June where California should dominate.
CNRA Makes Donation to the Military Racquetball Federation (MRF)
(Feb 10, 2014) The CNRA Board of Directors recently voted to make a monetary donation to the MRF and their Racquetball Rehabilitation Clinics (RRCs).
The MRF is dedicated to promoting racquetball programs and events for our service members here and abroad including support of events for our troops in warzones. Additionally the MRF is committed to assisting Wounded Warriors with their rehabilitation using a new MRF program called Racquetball Rehabilitation Clinics (RRCs). This program's focus is the use of racquetball as rehabilitation for both the physical and mental challenges suffered from combat.
To learn more about the MRF visit, http://www.militaryracquetball.com.
Racquetball News Tidbits - February 2014
In this issue:
- Tourney recaps
- Racquets w/ Funny Names
- What is a Court Grabber?
- and more…
Read it all by downloading the February 2014 News & Tidbits
2014 California/Nevada State Junior Championships
(Dane Elkins; Feb 1, 2014) This month on January 25, 2014 The California-Nevada State Junior Racquetball Championships were held individually in Northern California and Southern California (because of travel) and several talented and extremely deserving co-champs were crowned at each event. The entire results can be viewed below:
56 juniors aged 5-18 including 21 in Southern California and 35 juniors in Northern California played in this famous and historic event that featured friendship, sportsmanship, fair play, self referring and some great completion.
Several world or national junior champions and USA team members competed (and some even lost-a tribute to the talent level) showing why California continues to be the dominant force in our sport.
The Northern California event was hosted by the talented director trio of John Ellis, Jodi Nance and Steve Cook at the In Shape Club in Stockton, California.
Simultaneously, the Southern California's tournament was run by the dynamic director duo of Debbie Tisinger Moore and Randy Lam at the 360 club in Reseda, California.
Both tournaments featured many hard fought battles and some close tiebreaker matches along with a plentiful abundance of great food and even an Ektelon demo with great prizes that I ran in S-cal for the younger kids. For me, the event was particularly noteworthy because my father competed in this same event 35 years ago and I know how special it was to him!
The competition level at states generally rivals that at USA Junior Olympics and its a special event which everyone who participated in can say they will always cherish. Like our tournament shirts cleverly listed, everyone of us was proud to be a part of something special which was playing for "Team California."
And winning in your home state is something every winner below is honored to accomplish. It was a great honor for me to compete in-let alone win at this fun filled, historic event with such great competition! I can't wait to play in the tournament next year and see my closest friends again-the juniors of Team California and good luck to everyone at nationals!
2014 Northern California/Nevada Junior Championships
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2014 Southern California/Nevada Junior Championships
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Racquetball News Tidbits - November 2013
In this issue:
- Tourney recaps
- The Infamous “Stockton Sandwich”
- Green Tea may be the key to longevity
- and more…
Read it all by downloading the November 2013 News & Tidbits
California at Jr Worlds
(Nov 13, 2013) California was well represented at the Jr Worlds recently held in Bolivia…
World Cup
Sawyer Lloyd and partner Adam Manilla from Colorado won a Bronze medal in the 18 and under doubles
Esprit Cup (10’s and 12’s)
Sebastian Fernandez and Julian Singh finished 2nd in 12 and under doubles
Sebastian finished third in Gold singles (12 and under)
Julian Singh finished 5th in Red singles(12 and under)
Tommy Andraos finished third in Boys 10 and under Red division
Also in attendance from California as a coach and trainer was Jody Nance. A few players from California qualified for Team USA, but were not able to attend:
Daniel Rojas – Boys 14 and under
Antonio Rojas – Boys 10 and under and 12 and under
Heather Mahoney – Girls 10 and under Doubles
CNRA Announces the Jack Hughes Scholarship Recipients for 2013
(Sep 11, 2013) Congratulations to Sawyer Lloyd (Petaluma) and Jose Diaz (Stockton) as recipients of the 2013 Jack Hughes Scholarship Award. Sawyer is attending UC Davis and Jose San Joaquin Delta College. Both young men are avid racquetball players and have proven themselves as worthy recipients of those award through their dedication to the sport both on and off the court.
CNRA Announces 2013 Election Results
(Sep 11, 2013) Congratulations to re-elected CNRA Board of Directors, Jack Hughes, Margaret Pederson, George Tellez, and a special welcome to Tony Alfaro as he joins the board for the first time. Mike Deitz was also re-appointed to the board. Thanks to all who voted in this general election and your support of the CNRA.
California Juniors at the Junior National Championships in Des Moines , Iowa – 2013
(Jul 13, 2013) There were 20 California Juniors in attendance at the Junior Nationals held June 26-30th in Des Moines, Iowa. In the competition of the states, California finished first. Of the 20 players, there were only two girls – Nikita Chauhan and Heather Mahoney…Of the 20 players there were 4 from SoCal and 16 from NorCal. Clubsport Pleasanton, had seven players in attendance, tied with the most from one club with the host club (Oakmoor). All California players earned at least one medal. There were no Juniors from Nevada.
Below is a list in alphabetical order of players, where they are from and finish (up to 4th place)…An “*” is by a player that finished in semis or higher in a Gold division. A “+” is next to each player qualifying for the Esprit or World Cup team competing in Bolivia this October(World Cup is 18s, 16s and 14s – Esprit is 12s and 10s).
| *+ Tommy Andraos (Laguna Nigel) | 10 and under doubles – Gold
10 and under singles – Bronze 12 and under singles – 1st in Red division |
| *Luis Avila (Wilmington) | 16 and under Doubles – 4th Place
16 and under singles – 3rd Blue division |
| *Nikita Chauhan(San Ramon) | 12 and under doubles – Silver
12 and under singles – 1st Red division |
| *Vedant Chauhan (San Ramon) | 10 and under Doubles – Silver
8 and under singles – Gold 10 and under singles – 3rd in Blue division |
| *James D’Ambrogia (Petaluma) | 10 and under Doubles – Silver
10 and under Singles – 1st in Blue division 10 and under Mixed Doubles - Gold |
| Dane Elkins (Los Angeles) | 14 and under Singles – 2nd Blue division
16 and under Singles – 1st Red division |
| *+Sebastian Fernandez(San Diego) | 12 and under Doubles – Gold
12 and under Singles – Gold |
| Amir Jabbari(San Ramon) | 18 and under Singles – 2nd in Red division |
| Ben Jenkel (Petaluma) | 16 and under Singles – 2nd in Red division |
| *Jared Lee (Danville) | 14 and under Doubles – 4th place
14 and under Singles – 3rd place Blue division |
| *+Sawyer Lloyd(Petaluma) | 18 and under Doubles - Gold |
| *+Heather Mahoney (Penngrove/Petaluma) | 8 and under Singles- Gold
10 and under Doubles – Gold 10 and under Mixed - Gold |
| *Logan Nance (Lodi/Stockton) | 18 and under Doubles – 4th place
18 and under Singles – 4th in Red division |
| Shaanth Nanguneri(Livermore) | 10 and under Doubles – 1st Consolation
10 and under Singles – 4th in Blue division |
| *Walker Plath (Stockton) | 18 and under Doubles – 4th place
18 and under Singles – 3rd in Blue division |
| *+Antonio Rojas (Stockton) | 10 and under Singles – Silver
12 and under Singles - Silver |
| *+Mauro (Daniel) Rojas (Stockton) | 14 and under Doubles – Silver
14 and under Singles – Silver 16 and under Singles - Bronze |
| *+Julian Singh(Pleasanton) | 12 and under Doubles – Gold
12 and under Singles - Bronze |
| *Nikhil Singh(Pleasanton) | 14 and under Doubles – 4th place
14 and under Singles – 1st Blue division |
| *Dima Wert (Petaluma) | 16 and under Doubles – 4th place
18 and under Singles – 4th in Blue division |
2013 Ektelon National Singles - CA/NV Perspective
(Jun 6, 2013) The 2013 Ektelon National Singles Championships are in the books and ran smoothly thanks in large part to the volunteers that stepped up to do the work behind the scenes. We had a chance to celebrate the admission of Debbie Tisinger-Moore to the USA Racquetball Hall of Fame; her accomplishments are amazing when they read the tally. Hardly a dry eye in the house when her daughter, the accomplished Janel Tisinger, struggled to keep her composure while introducing her mom. Debbie also came away with the Peggy Steding award for the 4th time. Marko Rojas earned the Male Athlete of the Year. We had 198 players from CA & 6 from NV. Our US Team Members are Marko Rojas & David “Bobby” Horn & Janel Tisinger which means we have a little fundraising to do to support our US Team players from CA/NV. Join me in congratulating our medal winners
[Men's][Women's][Doubles/Heros/Juniors]
2013 Ektelon National Singles - Men's| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Pewter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marko Rojas | Dave “Bobby” Horn | ||
| Alon Doitch | Maurice McKoy | Brandon Robbins | Karl Meisenheimer |
| Haz Novoa | Rocky Carson | Diwakar Pellakuru | Joel Adler |
| Julio Palencia | Justin Ivers | Blake Conlin | Mauricio Villacres |
| Jason Chacon | Ara Messerlian | Hurbaldo Hernandez | John Ivers |
| Brian Laney | Skylar Stewart | Alon Doitch | Manuel Concepcion |
| Skylar Stewart | Nathan Crane | Tod Mack | Tim Hennesey |
| Luis Pesqueira | Trevor Jones | Mark Duboise | Kevin Barlia |
| Mike Orr | Vincent Ruelas | Scott Case | Roby Partovich |
| Haz Novoa | Thomas Wright | Max Lopez | Frank Martinez |
| Tom Hoover | Edward Garcia | Rick Betts | Ruben Eliana |
| Greg Beistle | David Tedeschi | Bruce Greenburg | Joel Franklin |
| Sterling Altobell | Roberto Sanchez | Gary Woolery | Dave Shelbourne |
| Rick Betts | Aiman Matta | Mickey Bellah | Mario Najera |
| Ramon Quezada | Mike Plattner | Hank Estrada | Robert Varkonyi |
| Robert Chavez | Kevin McAllister | Carl Gustafson | |
| William Baker | John Guerrero | Jim Underwood | |
| Vance Lerner | Larry Gee | Michael Kurty | |
| Michael Kurty | Roger Lone | William Baker | |
| Gary Jones | Thomas Wright | ||
| Len Sonnenberg | |||
| Bruce Cole | |||
| Jerry Holly | |||
| Bob Bacharach | |||
| Jerry Holly |
2013 Ektelon National Singles - Women's
| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|
| Janel Tisinger | Mae Chin-Varon | |
| Rebecca Wilkinson | Kristine Varon | Tracy Shearer |
| Cindy Herceg | Debbie Tisinger-Moore | Ariella Elorriaga |
| Aubrey Kirsch | Janet Schaffer | Hailey Miller |
| Rebecca Wilkinson | Marquita Molina | Heejin Koo |
| Cindy Herceg | Cindy Tilbury | |
| Margie Der | Jean Hellstrom | |
| Marquita Molina | ||
| Mae Chin-Varon | ||
| Christie Noller | ||
| Peggine Tellez | ||
| Vicky Birkmann | ||
| Tracy Shearer |
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Pewter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Janel Tisinger/partner | |||
| Robert Varkonyi/Chong Boley | |||
| Justin Ivers/partner | Luis/Sebastian Fernandez | Georges/Sam Barreras | Greg Vezey/Wil Reynolds |
| Enrique Loaiza/Mike Plattner | Andrew Blasquez/partner | Tony Gamblin/Ted Takagi | |
| Darren Breese/Ron Garcia | Robert Siebert/partner | Ed Goldbaum/ Will Farrow | |
| Len Sonnenberg/Michael Kurty | Ruben Eliana/partner | ||
| William Baker/Dave Shelbourne | |||
| Hank Estrada/Jamey Williams | |||
| Vicky Birkmann/partner | Brad Quartucy/Maria Vasquez | ||
| Rebecca Nielsen | Kristine Varon | Heejin Koo | |
| Nicolai Miramontes | Luis Avila | Walter Plath | |
| Sarai Santana | Atossa Rejaei | ||
| Dane Elkins |
California & Nevada Join Forces
We have an announcement about our merger with Nevada Racquetball in order assist in the revitalization of racquetball in Nevada. Our alliance between California and Nevada is recognized by USAR and will be known as California Nevada Racquetball Association - CNRA. We will endeavor to build racquetball programs and competitions while harnessing the talents some of the more active people in racquetball in both states. It is our goal to bring more racquetball opportunities for our players. Juniors, collegiate, leagues and one-day shoot outs will be a focus. It is our pleasure to have 3 Nevadan's on our board and a few more in the advisory board. Join us in welcoming our neighbors to the east to our working relationship.
You will notice a change to the website as we migrate all of our pages to the CNRA site, however if you do use the existing - californiaracquetball.org, you will automatically be pointed to www.CaliforniaNevadaRacquetball.org site. Over the course of the next few weeks you will see the titles & tabs shift to align with our new identity. Be patient, we are but lowly volunteers!! Our fearless Web Master is working hard to make the changes.
We also want to welcome Tod Mak of Aliso Viejo CA & Mike Dietz of Reno NV to the CNRA Board of Directors. They are taking the place of two of our departing Directors, Michael Leyva & Del Villanueva. We want to thank both Michael and Del for their service to the CSRA Board. Del will continue on providing his experience as he transitions to the CNRA Advisory Board.
Be sure to visit the CNRA website and we look forward to serving you.
Peggine Tellez, President CNRA
Club Profile: Los Caballeros Racquet & Sports Club
Fountain Valley, CA
Most clubs brag about their square footage, Los Cab can brag about acreage - 13 acres, to be exact! It is the largest fitness and sports center in Fountain Valley and even has rental condos on the premise. For the folks who love to swing a racket, you'll find 23 day-and-night outdoor tennis courts, 14 indoor racquetball courts, 3 outdoor racquetball courts and 2 squash courts. The fitness center includes multiple facets for strength and cardio training, free weights, a Pilates and Yoga classes and more. There are 8 aquatic facilities including a 50-meter Olympic-sized pool, and training and wading pools and 3 Jacuzzis. Classes are provided for all sports in group or individual sessions, and there are 45 group fitness and cycling classes a week including Zumba and Body Pump.
Additionally, this enormous facility includes a hair salon, nail salon, catering and banquet facilities and physical therapy. For more information about Los Caballeros, please visit http://www.loscab.com.
Club Profile: Oakridge Athletic Club
Oakridge Athletic club (OAC) has been the premier private fitness facility in Ventura County since 1979. The 50,000 sq ft facility include 4 racquetball courts, 4 tennis courts, jr. Olympic outdoor pool, 2 group exercise studios, a cycling studio, a designated stretch area, a group training area with TRX and kettle bells, a lux locker rooms including sauna and whirlpool, a kids club with specialized kids fitness classes, and tons of the most cutting edge cardio, free weights, and selectorized equipment.
Few clubs have been able to successfully roll and adapt with the steady and dramatic fitness industry waves like OAC. The key to OAC's longevity has been its ability to continually add innovative new fitness programming while maintaining their traditional routes as racquet club. In the last few years OAC has been a trend setter in the industry being one of the first to add group classes like Corebar, RIPPED and TRX. They were also one of the first clubs to implement a kids fitness program to combat the ever growing children's obesity issues. At the same time OAC has remained committed to the more traditional Club programming like Tennis and Racquetball and has seen tremendous growth in both. The OAC racquetball program has become known as an incredible spot to learn the game as well as the home of several of the best players in the area. Future Hall of Famer, Debbie Tisinger-Moore oversees a program that is marked by year-round, competitive leagues and tournaments for all levels and a place where you can always find a challenging game.
Once just known as Oakridge Athletic Club and now using the more modern acronym OAC, whatever you want to call it, it's truly a Club that embraces it roots while constantly evolving. A rare combination indeed.
Set to Compete
Set to compete at the IRF Junior World event in Canoga Park, CA the week of Nov. 12. If you are able to, please go to the USRA.org website and click on the mosaic of junior players to help defray the costs for the kids as the compete in and international event. World Cup (14, 16, 18) and Esprit (10, 12) I count that California has 9 players:
| Boys 18 | Jose Diaz and Markie Rojas |
| Girls 16 | Rebecca Nielson |
| Boys 16 | Sawyer Lloyd |
| Boys 14 | Mauro Rojas |
| Boys 12 | Sebastian Fernandez and Julian Singh |
| Girls 12 | Victoria Leon |
| Boys 10 | Antonio Rojas |
GEM Award - Terry Rogers
(Sep 25, 2012) Terry Rogers has gone the extra mile (GEM) giving of herself to help others in a variety of communities across the United States. Her volunteer efforts have aided Wounded Warriors recover from the physical and mental wounds of battle and there are testimonials that bring tears to your eyes, how the program she is intimately involved with have helped these soldiers so much. Numbers of these Wounded Warriors Testament says the program “Saved my Life,” “Gave me a reason to stop feeling sorry for myself,” “gave me a reason to drive myself in rehabilitation,” and or “the competition has helped me to laugh again, sometimes at myself and to toughen me mentally.”
When I first heard these testaments I wondered what program did this for single, double and triple amputees and those suffering from military post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). And what came to mind was not anywhere near what the program was; but, it made perfect sense when I thought about it and how sports and competition helped to shape a person. As I think about friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and even myself I can see this clearly.
The program is Racquet Rehabilitation Program (RRP) within the U.S. Military Racquetball Federation (MRF). The MRF is a nonprofit organization that helps veterans across the country with their rehabilitation. The MRF has been in existence for 5 years and the Racquet Rehabilitation Program has been in existence for 3 years. In those 3 years the program has involved over 800 wounded servicemen through the program and have raised $25,000 + thru fundraising, donations, and a few small grants.
USAR: Program Manager Announcement
(July 19, 2012) USA Racquetball Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Jim Hiser has accepted the position of Program Manager. Some of Jim’s duties will include, but not be limited to: managing the membership and support services, review of existing membership programs/policies, development of new membership programs/policies and continuing his key role at all national events. Jim will also serve as the manager of the USA Racquetball administrative offices until the Executive Director position is filled.
The USAR Board of Directors would like to thank Jim for his role at Executive Director for the past ten years and we are extremely pleased that he has accepted this new position and will continue in an important capacity with USA Racquetball.
Sincerely,
USA Racquetball Board of Directors
2012 WOR Championships Recap
(July 17, 2012) The WOR Championships is in its 39th year and is the longest running outdoor championship tournament. Outdoor players from all across the country competed for coveted championship plates in nearly 30 divisions including amateur and professional singles and doubles. Top honors in the Men's Pro singles would go to Rocky Carson who captured his 9th consecutive championship. The Men's Pro doubles championship was won by Greg Solis and Kevin Booth. The biggest story of the tournament was Janel Tisinger, who won the Women's Pro singles, the Women's Pro doubles (with partner Aimee Ruiz) and the Mixed Pro doubles (with partner Greg Solis). No other male or female player has ever won three WOR Championships at the highest level at the same event. A special acknowledgement to these Champions – all but Aimee are California homegrown!! There was also a special Hall of Fame Ceremony for Brian Hawkes considered the greatest outdoor racquetball player in history and was the sole inductee in the Hall of Fame class of 2012. Hawkes was the most dominate Outdoor player in the history of the sport having won major National or World singles titles spanning three decades. Hawkes started playing racquetball in 1976 won 20 World or National Pro Singles Titles, dominating Outdoor racquetball as no one has ever done before. Hawkes won the National Pro Outdoor singles title an unprecedented 16 consecutive times from 1981 to 1996.
Congrats to Bill George and Rick Bernstein for the Sheffield Award for 2012! Greg Lewerenz said “Incredibly This pair... my friends... is the heart, soul and backbone of World Outdoor Racquetball! WOR does not function without the hard work, dedication and selfless giving of time from these two guys”. Bill has been a board of Director for CSRA for the last 3 years serving as the Outdoor liaison. Bill is the “go to” guy behind the scenes, making things happen. Of course he will always give credit to his wife, Michelle, who has generously given up her “Bill” time! Congratulations Bill!!!
CA Jr’s Dominate at WOR Champs
Ben Jenkel won the boys 14’s beating Dane Elkins in a close finals. Dane Elkins, five time WOR junior champ won boys 12’s singles championships avenging his loss earlier in the day to his junior doubles partner Ben Jenkel in the finals. Dane and Ben took 3rd together in Gold doubles at Junior Olympics recently. Jaden Elkins 3-time WOR junior champion won the boys 10’s defeating CA state junior champion Tommy Andraos (and Jaden’s CA state junior doubles partner) in the finals. In the boys 8’s Jaden Montano beat Jake Kettering. Attosa Rejaei won the girls 14’s and girls 12 titles while Natalie Martinez took second girls 12. Jasmine Carson who is Rocky Carson’s daughter took first in girls 8’s
Debbie Tisinger-Moore Lands in Cat-like Fashion
(July 16, 2012) Debbie Tisinger-Moore lands on her feet in catlike fashion!!! She has secured a new second racquetball home. Part time at the 360 Club (formally Mid Valley) the management wants the energy and excitement of racquetball back in their facility. And - they think Debbie is the person to do it. “SOOOOOOO - look out people, exciting events coming your way.”
The 360 club has 5 racquetball courts and a promise of one more soon. They will convert two more if racquetball becomes the passion at 360. “I've got the PASSION. Do you?”
Debbie will remain part time at the Oakridge Athletic Club, but is excited to "preach the Gospel of Racquetball" in two clubs. Hurray for racquetball and Debbie!!!.
Club Profile: Twin Arbors Athletic Club (Lodi)
Twin Arbors is owned and operated by the Spare time Corporation. There are clubs in Sacramento, Elk Grove, Gold River and Folsom. Dennis Kaufman is the general manager and an avid racquetball player. Steve Cook is the racquetball director and club pro. Twin Arbors has been at this address for over thirty years. Currently there are six courts. At one time, Twin Arbors had 13 courts, 3 of which were glass back with stadium seating.
Twin Arbors is host to two CSRA sanctioned tournaments a year. The “Stuck in Lodi Open” in February for over twenty-five years and the “Summer Sizzler Open” in August for over seventeen years. Steve has been involved in running these tournaments for the past fifteen plus years.
Throughout the year, Twin Arbors has leagues and a challenge ladder running on a regular basis along with a junior’s class. Bronc Hughes and John Winings assist with the junior class and give free monthly clinics to newcomers to the game. Steve and John are AmPro certified instructors and both give private and group lessons. John Ellis does frequent exhibitions and clinics as well where he will critique your game and show you drills where you can gain knowledge of your game.
Steve Cook has served on the CSRA Board and has been an associate to the board for over ten years. Going to one of his tournaments is like coming home, there is so much warmth there. Everyone is so friendly, so don’t miss his tournaments. Hat’s off to you Steve and your crew at Twin Arbors for keeping the sport active. Thank you for all of your hard work.
Margaret Pederson
NorCal VP
National Junior Olympic Racquetball Championships Recap
(July 6, 2012) Congratulations to ALL the California juniors who recently participated in the National Junior Olympic Racquetball Championships held at the Meridian Club in Fullerton, CA, June 21-24, 2012. Our Gold, Silver, and Bronze medal winners are listed below:
| Gold Medalists | |
|---|---|
| Jose Diaz | 18 singles |
| Sebastian Fernandez | 12 singles |
| Krish Thakur | 8 singles |
| Nikhil Prasad | 8 multi bounce |
| Nikhil Prasad | 6 multi bounce |
| Jose Diaz/Marco Rojas | 18 doubles |
| Sawyer Lloyd/Manilla (CO) | 16 doubles |
| Julian Singh/Sebastian Fernandez | 12 doubles |
| Antonia Rojas/Birnel (WA) | 10 doubles |
| Rebecca Nielson | 16 singles |
| Victoria Leon/Boyle (OR) | 12 doubles |
| Devon Pimentelli/Manilla (CO) | 18 mixed doubles |
| Ingrid Robledo/Sebastian Fernandez | 12 mixed doubles |
| Silver Medalists | |
| Marco Rojas | 18 singles |
| Daniel Rojas | 14 singles |
| Antonio Rojas | 10 singles |
| Vedant Chauhan | 8 multi bounce |
| Daniel Rojas/J. Birnel (WA) | 14 doubles |
| James D'ambrogial/Pamos (NO) | 10 doubles |
| Victoria Leon | 12 singles |
| Heather Mahoney | 8 singles |
| Estefania Perez | 10 singles |
| Devon Pimentelli/Chisholm (MA) | 18 doubles |
| Rebecca Neilson/Hungerford (OR) | 16 doubles |
| Ingrid Robledo/Nikita Chauhan | 12 doubles |
| Jose Diaz/Simmons (AZ) | 18 mixed doubles |
| Rebecca Nielson/Laffey (OR) | 16 mixed doubles |
| Atossa Rejael/Dane Elkins | 12 mixed doubles |
| Heather Mahoney/James D'iambrogia | 10 mixed doubles |
| Bronze Medalists | |
| Sawyer Llyod | 16 singles |
| Julian Singh | 12 singles |
| Benjamin Jenkel/Dane Elkins | 12 doubles |
| Devon Pimentelli | 18 singles |
| Ingrid Robledo | 12 singles |
| Nikita Chauhan | 10 singles |
| Sawyer Lloyd/Simmons (MD) | 16 mixed doubles |
| Estefania Perez/Hartman (MN) | 10 mixed doubles |
Jack Hughes Educational Scholarship Award
(Jun 21, 2012) We are pleased to announce the return of the Jack Hughes Educational Scholarship. Any California resident, college student, who has demonstrated their desire to expand racquetball may apply.
The window to apply is June 15th through July 31st. The Jack Hughes Scholarship will be awarded at the State Doubles tournament to be held September 7 - 9 at Supreme Courts in Sunnyvale. The scholarship will be paid directly to the recipient’s college.
For a complete scholarship packet, please contact Terry Rogers at your earliest opportunity rogersta@comcast.net to give yourself enough time to complete the application. The information will need to be reviewed by the CSRA Scholarship Committee in order to be considered.
Return the completed package to: CSRA - 560 Fathom Dr, San Mateo, CA 94404
Fundraiser for Nor Cal Junior Team Members
(Jun 23, 2012) Thanks to those who participated and supported the recent Junior Fundraiser held at Club Sport Fremont. The one day shoot out raised $1700 for those Nor Cal Juniors who make the USA Junior Team and will compete in the Junior Worlds later this year.
A special thanks to Mike Lippitt for the vision to initiate this shootout and to Rod Guadalupe and Marcus Dunyon for getting the beautiful Club Sport Fremont to open their doors for our tournament. Also thanks to Bronc Hughes for providing shirts in record time and to Marcus for the financial support. Members of the CSRA BoDs provided the tournament set up and desk support. There were a number of great raffle items and the ticket sales soared with the help of Kyle and Vivian Kringle and Julius Ellis.
Go Nor Cal Juniors!
2012 Ektelon USAR National Singles Championships Recap
(Jun 9, 2012) Congratulations to the many California players who placed in the National Singles:
| Event | Gold Medalist | Silver Medalist | Bronze Medalist |
|---|---|---|---|
| WE | Christie Noller | ||
| WB | Tracy Shearer | ||
| WD | Adina Manole | Sarah Duchi | |
| W24- | Jazmin Trevino | ||
| W24C | Sarah Duchi | ||
| W25 | Janel Tisinger | ||
| W30A | Andrea Kringle | ||
| W35 | Kris Kaskawal | ||
| W35C | Cibdy Herzog | ||
| W40 | Christie Noller | Mary Schoumaker | |
| W40A | Dionna Reid | ||
| W40B | Tracy Shearer | ||
| W45 | Debbie Tisinger-Moore | Laura Fention | |
| W45A | Betty Mota | ||
| W50 | Debbie Tisinger-Moore | Jody Nance | |
| W50A | Sue Fast | Carolyn Hollis | |
| W60 | Terry Rogers | ||
| W60B | Margie Der | ||
| W65 | Merijean Kelley | ||
| W65A | Marquita Molina | ||
| W70 | Marquita Molina | Nida Funes | |
| MTO | Marco Rojas | ||
| MA | Enrique Loaiza | Jake Richter | |
| MC | Robert Rivas | Craig Canoy | Howard Favichia |
| MD | Luis Avila | ||
| 14 Under | Miquel Rodriquez | Sebastian Fernandez | |
| 18 Under | Sebastian Fernandez | Luis Avila | |
| M24-B | Jose Hernandez | ||
| 25A | Adam Rowley | ||
| M30/35/40C | Craig Canoy | Jason Chacon | Daniel Poznanter |
| M40A | David Tedeschi | ||
| M40B | Terry Beal | Miki Braun | |
| M45 | Dale Millhollin | ||
| M45A | Steve Ivers | Kevin Barlia | |
| M45B | Billy Hargus | ||
| M45C | Howard Favichia | Mauricio Villacres | Kelly Tucker |
| M50 | Bart Landsman | Robert Siebert | Bobby Friedman |
| M50A | Charles Hallenbeck | ||
| M50B | Sterling Altobell | ||
| M50/55C | Max Lopex | Robert Chavez | |
| M55 | Jim Durham | ||
| M55A | Dave Mark | Rick Betts | Dean Ritter |
| M55B | Roy San Miguel | Steve Levine | |
| M60 | Dave Kovanda | ||
| M60B | Robert Rivas | ||
| M60C | Ruben Eliana | Alan Fradkin | |
| M65B | Greg Kearney | Dennis Breckner | |
| M70 | |||
| M75 | Jerry Holly | ||
| M80 | Vance Lerner | ||
| M85 | Hank Schone | Bill Gencarella |
(June 8, 2012) Special pricing was offered at the Ektelon National Singles for Lifetime Memberships - $1000 ($750 for 65 and over). And it looks like another short term special will be offered during the Jr Olympics June 21 - 24, to be held at the Meridian Sports Club in Fullerton. Contact USAR for more information.
Congratulations and Thank You to our Newest USAR Lifetime Members from California: Marquita Molina, Leonard Sonnenberg, Tim Herman, Roby Partovich, Bruce Greenberg, David Horton, Luis Guerrero, Fredrick Roe. You will no longer have the pleasure of renewing your USAR membership!!
Congrats to our National Singles Medalists from California and to all those who participated and represented our fine state. Go to the results page for a complete listing of all the divisions. http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/viewResults.asp?TID=8987
Volunteers for the National Singles – a Huge Thank You!!!!
USAR Board of Director Appointment went to Peggine Tellez, President of CSRA. This is a tremendous opportunity for California to be heard and recognized as one of the largest membership states in the country. Your input on topics and concerns is very important. Feel free to contact Peggine at Peggine.Tellez@gmail.com for USAR related issues.
The Hall of Fame Awards reception was held during the 2012 Ektelon National Singles in Fullerton with Steve Serot and Bob Shay attending to receive their Hall of Fame inductions. Michelle Gould was unable to attend due to family matters and will have her official ceremony next year. Several other annual awards were given which included the Joe Sobek award presented to Usher Barnhoff for his contributions to the National ranking systems and the John Halverson – Fair Play award presented to Army Cadet Catherine Ball. And then the streak - Female Age Athlete – Debbie Tisinger-Moore, Male Age Athlete – Jerry Holly, Female Athlete – Rhonda Rasjich, Male Athlete - Rock Carson, USAR Presidential Award – Peggine Tellez. Are we sensing a California trend?!!!! A near clean sweep – Congratulations to all.
The John LoMonaco Memorial Grant was awarded to Jessica Amezcua of Portland Oregon. Let’s hear from her – “I had such an amazing experience at Nationals. I was truly overwhelmed by the sheer number of workers and volunteers who worked together to create this fabulous event. I’ve read about the pros in magazines and on the internet, but it was so much fun to actually see them play! And the glass court on top of the parking lot is just incredible.
I loved having the chance to meet (and play against!) fellow racquetball enthusiasts from all over the world! I was especially touched by the many people who let me know that they had been friends with John LoMonaco and how happy they were that I was able to be there. What a wonderful way to honor someone who loved racquetball! I am truly, grateful for this wonderful opportunity. One of these years, I’ll find a way to go back!”
Dear Members of the California State Racquetball Association
(May 30, 2012) The Westside Family YMCA is in the process of constructing a new facility on a high school campus in West Los Angeles. Currently, we do not have the funds to build racquetball courts in the new facility. The board of the California State Racquetball Association graciously offered to send a request on our behalf in the hope that you will support our 130 YMCA players in their fundraising effort.Please join our Westside Family YMCA racquetball and handball players and help us reach our $250,000 goal to include courts in the new facility. For more information, or to make a gift, please visit the capital campaign website at www.YMCAWestLA.org or send an email to KerryToolan@ymcala.org. Please respond with your pledge or donation by Friday, June 1, 2012 to ensure your generosity will be counted toward the court fundraising effort.
Thank you,Kerry Toolan
Westside Family YMCA
11311 La Grange Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90025
KerryToolan@ymcala.org - www.YMCAWestLA.org
CSRA Annual Presidents’ Awards
(Apr 26, 2012) Each year the California State Racquetball Association Board of Directors awards several Presidents’ awards in a variety of categories. The BoDs nominates candidates and then votes to determine the winners. The awards are generally presented at the State Singles, however this year, the awards were made at several locations. All the presentations have been made and it time to reveal the awardees to the entire membership. Congratulations to all the recipients.Male Athlete – Jose Rojas
Junior Female Athlete – Devon Pimintelli
Junior Male Athlete – Jose Diaz
Collegiate Female Athlete – Sue Sublaban
Collegiate Male Athlete – Larry Pack
Newest Rising Star – David Horn
Coach – Jody Nance
Volunteer – Brett Elkins
Contributor – Dave Ralstin
Racquetball Director – Gene Pare
2012 Junior State Championships
(April 18, 2012) For many years the California Junior Racquetball championships has been played in either Northern or Southern California (mostly Northern) and in May. Due to the size of the state, when held in one part of the state, few players from the other part would attend and visa versa. The CSRA (California State Racquetball Association) Junior Committee decided this year to try something different. The tournament was divided into a Southern Championship and a Northern Championship played on the same day. Also, the tournament date was moved to January to avoid conflicts with other sports and school schedules. The result was two events with participation that more than doubled the previous years numbers. Winners are deemed co-champions and a playoff may take place at some point. For all new members to USAR, the CSRA paid the first years dues. We feel overall that this was a successful change and can see participation being even greater next year, helping to create a positive platform for the junior players and hopefully inspiring others to have Junior events…Below is a review of the events and some personal feedback from a couple players.
On Saturday January 21st, the California State Junior Racquetball Championships took place in Northern and Southern California simultaneously.
In Northern California the tournament was played at Clubsport in Pleasanton and directed by Elaine Dexter along with her regular crew. In Southern California it was in held at the Spectrum Club, Canoga Park and was directed by Debbie Tisinger Moore and Randy Lam. The tournaments were filled with fun, many friends were made, and the tournaments pulled the junior racquetball community closer together.
The singles winners in Northern California included Brandon Fung, Sahil Thakur, Antonio Rojas, Daniel Rojas, Estefanie Perez, Nikhil Prasad, Kyle Duchscherer, Krish Thakur, and Jared Lee, and in doubles were Antonio Rojas, Julian Singh, Dina Gafarov and Luke Sewall.
In Southern California, the singles winners included Victoria Leon, Heejin Koo, Kristine Varon, Tommy Andraeos, Sebastian Fernandez, Luis Fernandez, Miguel Rodriguez, and Owen Ocampo. In doubles, the winners were Tommy Andraeos, Jaden Elkins, Sebastian Fernandez, Jacob Toussaint, Dane Elkins, Llewyn St. John, Nathanel Inbar, and Kristine Varon.
Southern California player review by Dane Elkins – The tournament was a great experience I had a lot of fun making new friends that also shared similar interests like playing racquetball. I connected with my friends better, including my doubles partner and all of my competitors. The best part of the tournament was knowing that we were competing against people who were just like us and we had a great time
Northern California player review by Ben Jenkel – The experience at tournaments is always fun, but once you move up an age group it’s a whole different experience. I moved up to 14 and under for doubles this year and met a lot of people. My partner, James D’Ambrogia, packs a punch but he’s only 9. When he would walk on the court our opponents would look pretty confused! We made good friends during the tournament. If you’re lucky you will find an opponent who you are equal with. My partner and I got second in doubles, and I’m happy about that. During singles I played in 12 and unders and there were some new people who I never played before. I placed fourth in singles so I’m happy. I made a lot of new friends that I am almost even with, so we had some pretty good games. I owe most of my good playing to my coach, Brian Dixon. He helped with what serves I should use and what shots are good for the game. He’s a great coach overall. Contributors to article – Brett Elkins, Brian Dixon, Elaine Dexter, Roger Lee, Randy Lam, Dane Elkins, Jaden Elkins, and Ben Jenkel
Winter Splat is BACK!
The Modesto Court Room (MCR) is excited to announce our upcoming Pro Winter Splat Tier 4 IRT Event January 27th-29th, 2012. This will be an IRT Satellite event featuring a Pro division. MCR offers 7 Racquetball Court for the Tournament.
Modesto Court Room is a full service Racquetball and Health Club servicing the Stanislaus County for almost 34 years. MCR takes great pride in the professional yet fun reputation it has in the community and is committed to offer a family friendly, non-intimidating atmosphere that specializes in fitness for all ages.
Visit our website at www.modestocourtroom.net, or register for this event at www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=9167
For additional information contact Denise Draper at 209-577-1060 or mcrfitnessinfo@gmail.com.
Women’s Racquetball Day @ Stockton, California
Article & Photo by Haoning Michelle Yang
(Nov 17, 2011) Almost every racquetball player knows John Ellis for his great racquetball skills and sincere passion and efforts in promoting racquetball in the community. Besides hosting monthly (if not weekly) racquetball events and tournaments across the valley and into the Bay Area of California, John has begun hosting FREE one day women’s racquetball clinics to help players obtain competitive skills and motivate more women to participate in racquetball events.
John hosted his first free one day women’s racquetball clinic on February 26, 2011, and it was a blast with more than 38 women participating in various drills followed by some fun doubles amoungst themselves and a few male players who volunteered at this event. Considering the experience of this first event, John enhanced the program plan and hosted another one day free clinic for women on July 23, 2011. During this July event, 26 women from 14 different cities in California attended with 13 Elite/Open male players along with Jody Nance (Women’s Open player) assisting John with coaching and mixed doubles play. Most of these 13 male players had volunteered during the February women’s clinic event. The list includes: Kevin Kringle, Steve Turner, Dave Gonzales, Jose Rojas, Dave Perry, Bobby Horn, Jesse Serna, John Parks, Adam Rowley, John Winings, Bill George and Dave Ellis. During these past two events, free lunch was provided to all the participants and volunteers. Pat Ellis, Carolina Diaz and Michelle Stone have been a great help with lunch preparation and free drinks.
As an enthusiastic female player, I have been very grateful of John’s free women’s clinics and have learned a lot from the drills and exercises. In addition, the networking and doubles matches that I was able to take part in during the event are invaluable to my racquetball passion. I know John has been going through some physical challenges and series of medical treatments over the past months. The pain and stress has not stopped his passion and kindness of continuing to invest in the racquetball community.
John has scheduled a third free women’s clinic for Sunday, November 27, 2011, with free lunch again to all the participants. I hope his sincere efforts and generous offers will touch the players and encourage more women to come play and compete in California sanctioned events.
A good racquetball player normally possesses good technical skills with decent sportsmanship. A great racquetball player demonstrates both outstanding technical skills and the genuine passion and care for the others in the racquetball community. John Ellis together with his parents Dave and Pat Ellis belong in this rare elite category, and for that I would definitely follow their leadership and join them in making our racquetball community a better place for everyone including myself.
For tournament information:
- Event Flyer
- Event Registration (Free)
September 9th—11th • Spectrum Club • Canoga Park, CA
[Tournament Website]Spectrum Canoga Park was the recent site of the 2011 Ektelon CSRA State Doubles Championships. Debbie Tisinger-Moore and Randy Lam handled the tournament desk along with help from Janel Tisinger and Jack Hughes. The players swarmed the charity auction to benefit the CSRA general fund and the MRF Racquetball Rehabilitation Clinic. Terry Rogers and Merijean Kelley were skillful at guiding the silent auction process. Several manufacturers contributed bags and racquets and such which were in demand.
Pool Play and Round Robin formats insured that there was no shortage of matches to play.
You may view the winners and finalist & photos on the tournament website.
Randy Lam has posted Event Photos to his shutterfly account.
CSRA Collegiate Fund Raiser Recap
(Aug 31, 2011) Our Thanks to the supporters Mike Lippit , Harold Jagoda & Dana Lund and players of the Collegiate Fundraiser- one-day Doubles Shootout at the beautiful Renaissance Club Sport in Walnut Creek, CA.
The proceeds from this event will benefit California's collegiate racquetball teams who compete in a conference circuit prior to Regional and National Collegiate Championships.
One day Double Shootout, Sat Aug 27, 2011, at the
beautiful Renaissance Club Sport, Walnut Creek, CA.
The proceeds from this event will benefit California's collegiate racquetball teams who compete in a conference circuit prior to Regional and National Collegiate Championships: http://www.WCRCRacquetball.org
Renaissance ClubSport - The premiere East Bay location for your off-site meetings, team building events and other business needs. This unique blend offers contemporary surroundings, four diamond hotel, 175 guestrooms, flexible meeting space, a state-of-the-art fitness facility and more all conveniently located directly across the street from the Pleasant Hill Bart Station.
The Hotel - Stylish guestrooms and luxurious suites come with oversized spa style baths, two-line speaker cordless phones, complimentary high-speed internet access, an MP3 player, an executive-sized desk, dry cleaning service, On Command Video with a huge selection of the latest movies and lots of extras to make your stay with us enjoyable.
The Club - Overnight guests have complimentary access to the 85,000 sq. ft. fitness facility. This includes an indoor NBA regulated basketball court (1 full court and 2 half courts), 3 squash courts, 3 racquetball courts, bocce ball, Group Fitness programs, 3 outdoor swimming pools, 3 Jacuzzis, steam room and sauna.
Spa & Boutique - Feel rejuvenated at R Spa, a full service day spa offering a complete menu of massage
therapy, body treatments, facials and nail services.
Dining - c-blue Wet Bar & Bistro, with its contemporary exhibition-style kitchen, serves the freshest in regional California cuisine. Relax and unwind by the fire with a signature cocktail on our outdoor patio. For a more casual meal, our c-blue Deli has a wide selection of sandwiches, salads, energy shakes and health conscious snacks for you to choose from.
There will be bagels, munchies, and a discount price on beer!
2011 Ektelon USAR National Singles Championships Recap
(Jun 30, 2011) This year’s edition of the Singles Championships had a completely different feel. New location, portable court and the addition of Men’s Pro Division all combined to kick off the first of five years at the Meridian Sports Club in Fullerton, California. 500+ players this year – 700 next year?
We will never forget the impact of all the years this that event was held in Houston. Over time, it grew from just using the YMCA to needing 2 other venues to hold all the matches. – That’s Growth!! The history and the memories of our time in Houston will be cherished, even as we turn the page and grow into our new location and we look forward to creating new memories in these next few years – who knows, we could be hosting another 25 year anniversary right here in Fullerton!
Having the National Singles in Fullerton is unique in that there are very few facilities with this many courts that can house so many players in one location, but it seems it wasn’t big enough - So we had to build one more court. In case you weren’t able to make it this year, it has created quite a stir – you could see the glass court from the freeway.
Watching the glass court go up from scratch was inspiring. We put the call out for volunteers and we had an amazing turn out. These folks spent hours helping to build it, their enthusiasm was rousing and they had everything to do with how smooth the event ran this first time out of the gate. I can’t say “Thank You” enough!!
How did the California players fare? Thanks to Terry Rogers and Jack Hughes, here are the results – CONGRATULATIONS!! If there are any omissions or errors, please contact us at info@californiaracquetball.com
| Event | Gold Medalist | Silver Medalist | Bronze Medalist |
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| WO | Janel Tisinger | ||
| WE | Solanna Taragan | Christie Noller | Kris Kaskawal |
| WA | Rebecca Wilkinson | Rebecca Nielsen | Peggine Tellez |
| WD | Cindy Herzeg | ||
| W35 | Melissa McElfresh | ||
| W35A | Rebecca Wilkinson | ||
| W35C | Cindy Herceg | ||
| W40 | Christie Noller | Kris Kaskawal | |
| W40A | Debralynn Kahikina | ||
| W40B | Betty Mota | ||
| W45 | Laura Fenton | Jody Nance | |
| W45A | Suzanna Fast | Diane Mueller | Peggine Tellez |
| W45B | Andrea Allmon | ||
| W50 | Jody Nance | Kathy Gluvna-isett | |
| W50A | Suzanna Fast | Vicky Birkmann | |
| W50B | Julia Mouser | ||
| W60 | Terry Rogers | ||
| W60A | CeCe Palaski | ||
| W60B | Margie Der | ||
| W65 | Merijean Kelley | CeCe Palaski | Nidia Funes |
| W65A | Marquita Molina | ||
| W70 | Marquita Molina | ||
| MTO | Jose Diaz | ||
| ME | Brandon Davis | ||
| MA | Bart Landsman | Enrique Loalza | |
| MC | Ryan Moreno | Robert Rivas | |
| MD | Anthony Santos | ||
| 10 Under | Jaden Elkins | Cody Elkins | |
| 14 Under | Fausto Santana | Dane Elkins | Jaden Elkins |
| 18 Under | O. Rion Ocampo | Rebecca Nielsen | |
| M24A | Michael Nguyen | ||
| M24C | Ford Rainey | ||
| M30A | Joe Lara | ||
| M30B | Jon Lillemoe | Joe Rosales | |
| M35 | Mike Orr | ||
| MM40 | Orlando Mayo | ||
| M40A | Steve Ivers | ||
| M40B | Jeffrey Dorrington | Durrell McAdoo | |
| M40C | Craig Canoy | ||
| M45A | David Tedeschi | ||
| M45C | Steve Levine | Robert SpitsWamars | |
| M50 | Robert Siebert | ||
| M50A | Butch Fish | ||
| M50B | David Aquirre | ||
| M55A | Ricardo Balderas | John Guerrero | |
| M60A | Dean Ritter | Mike Targon | |
| M60B | Greg Kearney | Tony Vargas | |
| M60C | Robert Rivas | Greg Young | |
| M65 | Mickey Bellah | Frederick Roe | |
| M65C | Dave Shelburne | Bob Bacharach | |
| M70 | Steve Covey | ||
| M75 | Jerry Holly | ||
| M80 | Vance Lerner | ||
| M85 | Bill Gencarella |
California Junior Wins Scholarship
(June 20, 2011) Dane Elkins was awarded one of two IRT racquetball scholarships to the USOC training seminar in Colorado Springs. Dane completed the entire application himself. He is 12 years old and attends Paul Revere Middle School where he is in the highly-gifted program and has straight A's. Dane, who started playing when he was two, is the 2011 California State doubles champion in the 12 and under, the two time world outdoor champion 2011 for singles and doubles 10 and under, and took 2nd place in the Ektelon Nationals in Singles 14 and under (losing to his doubles partner Fuasto Santana Jr) and semifinalist in the 18 and Under at Ektelon Nationals. He is sponsored by Ektelon and is coached by Debbie Tisinger Moore.
Junior Nationals Coming
(May 25, 2011) The USAR Junior National Racquetball Championships will be held in Portland, Oregon this year June 22-26th. Hope to see California Juniors once again make a great showing at the Nationals. This event determines which players will represent USA at the Junior World Championships. The top two singles finishers and top doubles team qualify for the national team. The World Cup consists of Boys and Girls age groups 14, 16, and 18. The Esprit Cup is made up of the 10’s and 12’s. The World Championships are usually held in November or December, giving national team members several months for training and fund raising for the trip. This year is unique with the Worlds happening in the Dominican Republic July, giving USA players only a month to prepare physically, mentally and monetarily…We are hoping people can help with the monetary part. Below are a couple ways that you can help to support the national Junior team in their trip to the Dominican Republic. . These have been provided by Terri Morse of USAR. For California players we will be looking at some one day shootout fund raisers. If you would like to host one or have thoughts on helping to fund the California players, please contact Brian Dixon (Bridix@Gmail.com or 707 766-9105)…
Per Terri Morse…
We have a junior team donation for the whole team but not specifically for the Dominican trip yet. The link is http://www.usaracquetballevents.com/cartProduct.asp?modelID=1001&cartID=28750&productGroupID=49&categoryID=136&brandID=102
If they want to do a specific donation for the Dominican Republic trip, they can call the office for a credit/debit (MasterCard and VISA only) card donation, send a check with a note regarding its allocation, or use the “Give Direct” option on our website (https://www.givedirect.org/give/givefrm.asp?CID=74). Give Direct only sends checks to us monthly but there are no fees on MasterCard, VISA, or Discover. American Express has a small fee that is taken out of the donation but it allows donors to use whatever payment type they would like and has a note area to specify where they would like the funds allocated.
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The Meridian Sports Club in Fullerton features 24 Racquetball Courts, |
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There are 7 different skill division leagues held Monday night thru Thursday night. The club also has two jogging tracks, full court basketball court with basketball leagues held on Tuesday and Thursday. It features two swiming pools with a co-ed jacuzi and cold pool. Full facility locker rooms with steam room, sauna, jacuzi and towels are provided. The club has a 15,000 sq. ft. cardio and weight room along with three Group X Rooms holding a dozen different classes per day seven days per week. The Meridian Sports Club will be hosting for the next Five years the United States National Singles Championships along with an IRT Men's Pro Stop, May 25-30. |
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Team California T-Shirts !
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Front (click for larger image) |
Back (click for larger image) |
Attending the National Singles tournament in Fullerton, CA May 25-30, 2011 or just an avid California racquetball player – show your support by purchasing a Team California shirt for $20 including shipping. Wear your shirt proudly at the Nationals as we attempt to reach a CSRA goal of at least one medal winner in every event!
To purchase your shirt please email racquetballplus@comcast.net and include your shirt size, name, mailing address, and a contact phone number. You will be contacted regarding payment.
March 18th—20th • Supreme Court Sunnvyale • Sunnyvale, CA
Our thanks to Racquetball Warehouse for sponsoring the state championship and also to Gearbox, Pro-Kennex, Head, Ektelon, E-Force, and Wilson for their support of this event and state racquetball. Thanks also to Supreme Court and Dave Ralstin for hosting the tournament and overseeing the BBQ.
» Visit the Supreme Court I web site ...
One of the key factors in any club’s success is its general vibe. People want to feel good when they come into a club, want to know that management genuinely cares about their health and their experience once inside those doors. At Supreme Court 1 in Sunnyvale the positive vibe starts with its owner, Dave Ralstin. A dynamo of energy, he often works the front desk and greets his members by name. He plays handball, squash and racquetball, in fact won a gold medal this year in 55A’s at National Doubles in Phoenix.
Supreme is a funky 70’s era club with 7 racquetball courts (2 glass-backed) and 3 squash courts.
We have over 300 racquetball players and a great program to keep them busy, including leagues, challenge ladder, weekday challenge courts, clinics, want-a-game-board, pro shop and stringer. The court floors were recently refinished, and the lobby, halls and locker rooms were re-carpeted. New tables and chairs in the lobby make it comfortable to sit around and watch action on the 2 glass-backed courts while enjoying a cold one.
Did I mention that Supreme serves beer?
Dave and all of us on staff are proud to be hosting the CSRA 2011 State Singles Championships.
We look forward to the competition from players around the state.
At the 2011 National Doubles Championships our players took a total of ten gold medals, more than any club in the state and likely the country. So show up ready to play!
Here are the players who recently won at the 2011 National Doubles Championships:
| Dave Ralstin | Men’s 55+ A | |
Kevin Loop |
Men’s 55+ A, Men’s Centurion A | |
| Gil Cepeda | Men’s Elite, Mixed Elite | |
Tom Lonardo |
Men’s Elite | |
| Merijean Kelley | Women’s 65+, Mixed 65+ | |
Celia Vigil |
Women’s Elite, Women’s 35+ |
Hope to see you there.
Gene Paré
2011 National Doubles in Tempe, AZ
(February 18, 2011) 353 players from 35 states descended on the ASU campus as they once again hosted the USAR National Doubles, the weather was perfect and the competition fierce. 92 of those players were from our home state of California, second only to the host state of Arizona (102). Players competed in 80 events and California players were awarded over 55 medals. A complete summary of the event can be found on the USAR website, http://www.usra.org/. We would like to recognize the medal winners, listed here, and congratulate all those who participated. While we try to be thorough in gathering the result information, we may have omitted someone. Please contact us at ca-racquetball@att.net to report an error
| Women's | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifier | Jackie Paraiso/Aimee Ruiz | ||
| Open | Celeste Pafford/Kris Kaskawal | Judy Hulen/Vivian Schneider | |
| Elite | Celia Vigil/Melissa Mcelfresh | Judy Hulen/Vivian Schneider | |
| A | Carla Francis/Heather Colon | ||
| 30 | Celeste Pafford/Beth Neff | ||
| 35 | Celia Vigil/Melissa Mcelfresh | ||
| 40 | Christie Noller/Suzanne Fast | ||
| 45 | Leslie Pawka/C.Alatorre-Martin | ||
| 45A | Lori Soares/Vicky Birkmann | ||
| 50 | Debra Tisinger-moore/Malia Bailey | Elaine Dexter/Linda Moore | |
| 50A | Sandy Rios/Vicky Birkmann | ||
| 55 | Carla Francis/Elaine Dexter | Leslie Pawka/ C.Alatorre-Martin | |
| 55A | Cece Palaski/Marquita Molina | ||
| 60 | Merijean Kelley/Nancy Kronenfeld | Terry Rogers/Joanne Johnson | |
| 65 | Merijean Kelley/Nidia Funes | ||
| 70 | Marquita Molina/Mildred Gwinn | ||
| Mixed | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| Open | Jackie Pariaso/Tony Carson | ||
| Centurian O | Ken Stone/Linda Moore | ||
| Elite | Gil Cepeda/Kelani Bailey | ||
| A | Ian Norton/Lori Soares | ||
| B | Julia Mouser/Alex Baker | ||
| 25 | Janel Tisinger/Bryan Crosser | ||
| 35 | Celeste Pafford/Dale Valentine | Ken Angelocci/Melissa Mcelfresh | Christie Noller/David Daniels |
| 40A | Dorcy Norton/Shane Pinkston | ||
| 50/60A | Mike Alderson/Vicky Birkmann | ||
| 55 | Elaine Dexer/Dave Azuma | Jill Mitchell/Patrick Gibson | |
| 60 | Terry Rogers/Barry Hendricks | ||
| 65 | Mike Pawka/Merijean Kelley | Nidia Funes/Price Thomas | |
| 70 | Marquita Molina/Ron Adams | ||
| Men's | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| Qualifier | Rocky Carson/Jack Huczek | Chris Crowther/Shane Vanderson | Jose Rojas/Andy Hawthorne |
| Centurian O | Sam Neer/Robert Siebert | ||
| Centurian A | Kevin Loop/Charles Hauser | ||
| Elite | Gil Cepeda/Tom Lonardo | ||
| A | Ken Courtney/Alex Baker | Steve Harris/Steve Saragosa | |
| 35A | James Clark/Kennedy Clarke | Fernando Pozo/Jose Luis Isalas | |
| 35 | Brian Fredenberg/Tim Doyle | ||
| 40B | Darrin McNally/Ty Kelly | ||
| 45B | Ken Courtney/Alex Baker | Darrin McNally/Ty Kelly | |
| 55 | Charles Hauser/Steve Dayrault | ||
| 55A | Kevin Loop/Dave Ralstin | ||
| 55B | Geg Kearney/Julian Delreal | ||
| 65 | Mike Pawka/Ed Remen | ||
| 65B | Steve Lavorgna/Hank Estrada | ||
WSMRA Nationals Recap
(January 27, 2011) The Women’s Senior/Masters Racquetball 22nd Annual National Championships were held January 14-16, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. Five California gals braved the cold and traveled to the mile high city to the age group tourney. Congratulations to the participants, Terry Rogers, 1st/60+, Merijean Kelley, 2nd/65+, Nidia Funes 3rd/65+, Marquita Molina, and Darcy Bunn. Next year the tournament moves to warm, sunny Florida!
US Open Bucket List
by Sarah Warhaftig, WPRO player and staff writer
(January 11, 2011) The US OPEN is arguably the World Series of Racquetball. The best players from all over the world come to compete and compare themselves amongst the sports best. The atmosphere feel is like no other tournament; it’s the most prestigious event for the best in the game. For many, the first time, is like a kid’s childhood dream of going to the major league park. Players are engulfed in the play and the excitement for competition, but this year for one player the US Open’s meaning went far beyond this.
| “Racquetball to me is family, a small family but one with love and compassion.” — Garyn Scott | 
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Meet Garyn Scott from Fremont California, a lifelong racquetball player. Garyn grew up in Brooklyn and later moved to San Jose where he worked as a police sergeant for many years. A friend introduced Garyn a former handball player to the sport of racquetball. That day, Garyn became hooked to the sport and has been a competitive player ever since.
In 1991, Garyn started competing and traveled to tournaments in California, Arizona and Nevada. He remembers taking Fran Davis’s camp and went on to become AMPRO Certified in 1995. Today, Garyn is the head club pro for Club Sport in Fremont, California, where he has loved teaching and sharing his passion for the game. Since the first day he touched that racquet, Scott’s dream was to get to the US Open the pinnacle of the sport. Work, family and life have yet to allow him to attend, but this year was Scott’s year a trip to a new venue, the same US Open.
Garyn’s excitement and enthusiasm was noticeable as I met him near stadium court on Saturday afternoon. His expressions and demeanor were similar of that first trip to the ballpark, a childhood memory. If you looked through the draws though you would see his name absent. Last August, Scott was given a grim diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. The doctor’s treatments as of the Open had run their course and nothing further was to be accomplished through those protocols. He was preparing for an experimental treatment at Stanford University to start subsequent to his return from Minneapolis. For many of us such words could crush and break any lasting spirits. Garyn’s spirits rose above this, and his lifelong dreams were not being stopped by these words. Garyn knows what lies ahead of him, undoubtedly a tough road, however his passion for this game and his support of the players would not hold him back from being in Minneapolis.
It’s no doubt that Scott loves the game, and his favorite player is Rhonda Rajsich. Scott’s dream was to play, and he got his wish. Saturday afternoon in between the mens’ and women's’ pro semi-finals Garyn teamed up with Rhonda Rajsich and played Ben Croft and Cristina Amaya on stadium court. Garyn’s dream of playing at the Open was coming true, he played and competed with some of the worlds best. Rhonda said, “This was probably the biggest honor I have ever received in my whole playing career. For a player wanting to play with me was better than any tournament win, it makes you step back and realize how precious life really is.”
I met up with Garyn right after his debut on stadium court and we got to chat about life. Gary’s immense passion for life and racquetball was evident. His doctors told him that he should remain in bed for the next few weeks. Garyn said, “Why would I lay in bed and let this cancer get me? It’s about living life and I am doing that everyday.” When asked why racquetball, he says “Its Life”. Racquetball to me is family, a small family but one with love and compassion. His most memorable match he said he worked the night shift until 7 am; his first match was 8 am. He was down in the first game 14-0 and came back to win 15-14. The second game same score down 14-0 and came back to win 15-14. Garyn summed up his whole week at the US Open as a dream come true. This dream came true with the effort of friend Denny Erardi. Denny contacted the WPRO, IRT and US Open Tournament staff to arrange a memorable week for Garyn. Denny planned on playing with Garyn at the California State Doubles Tournament, however at the time of the tournament Garyn wasn’t well enough to compete. Garyn’s son DJ stepped in for his father and he and Erardi made it all the way to the semi-finals before losing in the tiebreaker.
After spending only a short period of time with Garyn, it’s easy to reflect on a true meaning of happiness. As racquetball players and athletes, it’s so easy to get caught up in the competition and frustrations of performance. It’s people like Garyn who remind us that racquetball is a sport, life is a journey, reflect on what it is that truly makes you happy and remember that nothing is guaranteed.
Reproduced with permission from The Waves newsletter of the WPRO: http://www.wpro-tour.com/newsletter/wpro_newsletter_jan_2011.pdf.
(December 20, 2010) Dear Toys for Tots Players: On behalf of Gerry Price and myself (Mike Lippitt), we want to thank you for your gracious support of our second annual Toys for Tots Charity tourney. In a year where Toys for Tots is having difficulties collecting enough toys to meet the needs of children who might go without a toy in the San Ramon Valley, we were able to collect over 1200 toys and $2000 in fees, donations and auction items. Truly we couldn’t have done it without you!
Photos now up: Toys for Tots charity tournament photos.
Featured Club: Sorrento Valley Racquetball & Fitness Center
February 23rd – 27th
(December 12, 2010) Sorrento Valley Racquetball & Fitness Center was built in 1975 and was bought by its current owner, John Brumfield, in 1983. John and his staff and management love to play Racquetball! You can routinely see John or his children Madison and Carson on the courts.
Sorrento Valley Racquetball & Fitness Center is known for its incredible racquetball history, players, courts, leagues, tournaments, & programs …
Jason Mannino making a diving get as the Wiz covers. Marty Hogan in the back court.
You can tell right away this is no ordinary Racquetball club. Sorrento Valley Racquetball & Fitness Center has a rich and storied history, and is considered the premier Racquetball and Paddleball club in the San Diego area. On any given day you can find Charlie Brumfield, “Dr. Bud” Muehleisen, Chris Crowther, Jason Mannino, Mike Orr or Aaron Embry playing here.
But, what really separates Sorrento Valley Racquetball & Fitness Center from other clubs is its friendly atmosphere and the incredible level of commitment to Racquetball and Paddleball. The club regularly hosts amazing tournaments, Monday Night Challenge Court, Weekly Round Robins, In-House Leagues, and offers one-of-a-kind programs for developing juniors and women players.
Sorrento Valley Racquetball & Fitness Center is the proud host of the 2011 San Diego Open Racquetball Championships (Tier 1) February 23rd – 27th, and the 2011 National Paddleball Doubles Championships April 15th – 17th.
For more information about Sorrento Valley Racquetball & Fitness Center, please visit our website at www.SVRacquetball.com.
November 5th—7th • In-Shape Sport • Stockton, CA
Our Thanks to Ektelon, E-Force, Head & Gearbox for their support
Show your appreciation for Racquetball Warehouse by visiting their website (http://racquetballwarehouse.com) and buying great stuff at great prices.
Photos now up: California State Doubles Photos
Wish Granted!
(November 5, 2010) The week of October 20, 2010, Garyn Scott traveled to Minneapolis for the US Open Racquetball Championships, the original and largest “Grand Slam” event and the most prestigious racquetball tournament of the year. Once he was there he received a VIP/GOLD pass, courtesy of the US Open and Doug Ganim, which allowed him to attend the Pro matches and enjoy all the special events and hospitality. On “Super Saturday” scheduled with semi-final matches for both the Men and Women Pro Divisions, Doug Ganim and Shannon Feaster (WPRO Commissioner) went to great lengths on very short notice to arrange for Garyn to have the opportunity to try out the all glass stadium court and play a game with partner Rhonda Rajsich, against opponents Ben Croft and Christina Amaya. All of the players obviously enjoyed the experience and Garyn can be proud of the way he held his own on the court with the three Pros. On “Championship Sunday” Garyn was court side to cheer on his “partner” Rhonda Rajsich as she won her record breaking fourth US Open Championship. Rhonda asked Garyn to join her on the court after the match and presented him with her winning racquet and a big hug. It was an emotional moment for both of them.
Garyn has given and continues to give so much of his time and passion to the game and people of racquetball. Garyn’s trip to Minneapolis was one of those rare occasions when a sport was able to give a little something back to one of its special people.
CSRA Board Elections & CSRA Annual Meeting
(October 14, 2010) Four positions for the CSRA Board of Directors are open for election.
California residents with active USRA memberships are allowed to participate in the voting by mailing
in the ballot below. To be counted, the ballot must be received by November 4, 2010.
CSRA Annual Meeting Saturday, November 6th 1:00 pm at the state doubles tournament. All members are encouraged to attend to hear about the ranking system, automated tournament program and the state of the state.
Featured Club: Mariner’s Square
(October 13, 2010) Mariner Square Athletic Club, located adjacent to Oakland, in Alameda, CA, is currently enjoying its 30th year in business. It has 6 racquetball courts with large glass viewing windows and a catwalk above the courts that makes it ideal for watching competitive matches. The club offers four leagues a year for both singles and doubles, has several in-house round-robin tournaments, and has become famous for its every-Friday-night racquetball social event. In addition to racquetball, the club also has a large indoor swimming pool, weight rooms, exercise classes, fitness trainers, a restaurant, excellent childcare and much more. For more information on MSAC, visit its website at www.marinersq.com. Non-members can check out how fun racquetball is at Mariner Square for free on the first Tuesday or last Friday of the month. Call (510) 523-8011 for more information.
And don't miss the Shootout being hosted at Mariner's Square on November 20th.
Congratulations to Nidia Funes
(October 10, 2010) At the recent IRF World Senior Racquetball Championships California’s own Nidia Funes was this years recipient of the Al Wetherill Award. The award is presented annually at the IRF World Senior Racquetball Championships in Albuquerque, NM. The WSRC (World Senior Racquetball Council), which runs the tournament, selects a recipient for his/her demonstration of sportsmanship on the racquetball court. The award has been presented since 1988. Each recipient is awarded a traveling trophy for the following year along with a permanent memento of their having received this recognition.
Congratulations again Nidia on this well deserved award!!!!!!f
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.
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.
(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 Men’s 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
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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:
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Aubrey O'Brien (contribute to fundraising) |
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Devon Pimentelli (contribute to fundraising) |
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Jose Diaz (contribute to fundraising) |
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Jose Rojas (contribute to fundraising) |
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Jose Serrano (contribute to fundraising) |
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Marco Rojas (contribute to fundraising) |
(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
Team California: #1 Juniors in Nation
(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:
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 Anthony Carson (CSU, Pueblo) in the Men’s I semi-finals. Jose went on to win the men’s individual championship. |
 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 |
Photos
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Videos at racquetballonline.tv |
Discuss at meetandplay.com |
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.
So Where Did You Last Play Racquetball?
“Beware Jet Blast”
Racquetball Pros Join the Fleet onboard USS BONHOMME RICHARD (LHD 6)
[see MilitaryRacquetball.com for more photos and videos]
(Dec 5, 2008) For the first time in history, a portable outdoor racquetball court was placed on the flight deck of a naval vessel to showcase the benefits of racquetball as it relates to fitness for Sailors. The USS BONHOMME RICHARD (LHD 6) welcomed the top professional racquetball players from the International Racquetball Tour, Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization, World Outdoor Racquetball and Classic Professional Racquetball Tour. “We’re making history onboard this vessel, as we promote health and fitness for our Sailors through the sport of racquetball,” said Lt. Cmdr. Steven Harper of Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron Five and event organizer. “This is an opportunity to show Sailors how to play the game and promote the sport in the military,” said Alvaro Beltran, the number four ranked player on the International Racquetball Tour.
The idea of merging Navy fitness with the game of Racquetball began two years ago, while Lt. Cmdr Harper was deployed to the Gulf onboard a Norfolk based Cruiser. “Initially I was only thinking of how cool it would be to bring some type of court onto my ship while underway.” says Lt. Cmdr Harper.” But then I learned about the possibilities of portable outdoor racquetball courts, and I thought it would be more exciting to bring the game of Racquetball directly to Sailors who have never been exposed to it and who know nothing about the physical and mental challenges of the game”.
He put his idea into action while attending the 41st USA Racquetball Association National Singles Championship, where he met Hank Marcus with World Outdoor Racquetball and Peggine Tellez with the California State Racquetball Association. Together, this dynamic team orchestrated the two day demonstration onboard the USS BONHOMME RICHARD, November 12-13, then seamlessly launched the All Military National Championship at Naval Base San Diego, November 14-16.
The planning of such a huge undertaking took massive coordination between organizers, sponsors and the ship’s staff. In fact, timing was critical as the BONHOMME RICHARD had just returned to port (San Diego) from for a four month exercise – conducting maritime exercise missions with coalition forces, and it was scheduled to fulfill additional operational mission requirements. Yet, even with such a tight schedule, the ship’s Commanding Officer, CAPT N. Parrott and CMDCM T. Verschueren thought this would be a unique way to introduce the sport and feature a new option for physical fitness to Sailors.
The day before the event kickoff Chuck West, of GIMEL Properties, and his crew transported and built the portable outdoor court on the flight deck of the ship. Working from sunup to sunset, they meticulously erected the court that would be used to make naval history. Then it was time to play.
The clinic began with exhibition matches between the professional players. Sailors were also given the opportunity to test their racquetball skills against the pros so see if they could score a few points. The professional players in attendance were IRT Professionals Rocky Carson, Jason Mannino, Alvaro Beltran and Chris Crowther; WPRO Professionals Rhonda Rajsich and Angela Grisar; CPRT Professionals Bret Harnett and Jimmy Lowe; and WOR Professionals Greg Solis and Craig Lane.
Between games, the sponsors, players, and guests were given the opportunity to tour the ship and have lunch with the crew. Professional players Rhonda Rajsich and Rocky Carson, agreed that this event was unique, as it was the first time either player had an opportunity to experience life on a warship. “We are pro’s in the sport of racquetball, but these Sailors are dedicated and committed to keeping this country free and democracy strong.” said Rhonda. “We are the ones who are honored, just to be able to promote the sport to these Sailors.” she continued. Rocky added, “We see the camaraderie amongst these Sailors, and pride they take in serving this country.”
The Sailors expressed gratitude and admiration for the Pros as they, in most cases, received their first introduction to the game of Racquetball. “It’s a very challenging sport and it’s an awesome way to keep in shape,” said Seaman Darren Larsen. “This was a successful event overall, both in terms of a morale boost for the crew and in promoting the ships continuing commitment to a culture of fitness,” said Anne Bolton, BONHOMME RICHARD’s Afloat Recreation Specialist. “We support a variety of fitness programs on BONHOMME RICHARD, and this racquetball clinic introduced the crew to an alternate method of staying in shape. It was a great event and it’s awesome that we [BONHOMME RICHARD] were the first to host such an event.”
As the clinics and demonstrations on the USS BONHOMME RICHARD; aimed at promoting racquetball to a new military audience, came to a close, the All Military National Championship, hosted by the Southwestern Region MWR, was just getting started, thanks to the generous support of Romano’s Macaroni Grill, E-Force, Ektelon, GearBox Racquetball, Head, ProKennex, Wilson, NMRA, & CPRT.
Over 100 military players from across the country and abroad (Germany and Italy) came to compete in this tournament; the first of it’s kind in over 15 years. In a celebration of military service, active duty and veteran service members from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard convened on Naval Base San Diego over Veteran’s Day weekend in Round-Robin competitions to determine who would rein as the military Champion. “It’s a passion and the Inter-Service competition keeps me coming back,” Lt. Cmdr Chhem Young-Pen, from SPAWAR System Center Pacific “I mean, this tournament brought out the best players.” Ron Dorst of Saratoga, N.Y. at 74, Dorst was the oldest player in the competition. The retired Vietnam-era veteran, who served in four branches of the military, has been playing racquetball for more than 25 years, said"It's fun coming together to have fun and see my friends."
“This week was a success for the sport of racquetball as we were extremely well received, not only by the tournament players, but also by those Sailors who had never heard of the game.”, said Lt Cmdr Steven Harper. “Getting the Military Racquetball-family back together again was just Great”, said Jeff Elder, (Air Force MSgt, ret.), former Presidential aircrew member of AIR FORCE ONE. “After 15+ years, it’s been a long time coming, and a dream of many to put on this type of event. We have to keep this program alive in the military”. And that is exactly what the supporters of this event intend to do!
To view photos, to read more about the demonstration onboard the USS BONHOMME RICHARD, or for a complete list of winners from the All Military Racquetball Championship visit www.militaryracquetball.com.
State Doubles Results
Los Caballeros in Fountain Valley was the site of the 2008 State Doubles Championships. Pool Play and Round Robin formats insured that there was no shortage of matches to play. You may view the winners and finalist on the CSRA below. Also check out photos from the event in the photo gallery. Thank you’s all around to the CSRA Board of Directors and Don DiPalma and Los Caballeros. And a special thank you to Terri Ann Rogers, she just knows how to make a tournament flow smoothly!!!
| Division | Winners | Finalists |
|---|---|---|
| Men’s Elite | John Wong/Scott Davis | Keith Fisher/Kevin Watson |
| Men’s A | Alberto Gutierrez/Michael Myers | Mark Root/Warren Pettit |
| Men’s B | Joshua Buras/Larry Stephens | Steve Levine/Scott Mortensen |
| Men’s C | Joe Rosales/Pedro Jimenez | Alex Fischler/John Fischler |
| Men’s 25/30+ | A/B Mark Root/Warren Pettit | Steve Levine/Scott Mortensen |
| Men’s 35+A | Bryan Handlen/Ruben Lopez | Brad Levine/Joe Hayward |
| Men’s 35+/40+ | Keith Fisher/Kevin Watson | Gabe Medina/John Wong |
| Men’s 45+ A/B | Hatch Saakian/Tom Keefe | David Horton/Steve Amezaga |
| Men’s 55+ | Pete Chmielewski/Steve Cohen | Bill George/Mike Lippitt |
| Men’s 50/60+ | Steve Cohen/Pete Chmielewski | Dennis Riggs/Mike Alderson |
| Men’s 65+ | Hal Price/Luis Guerrero | Frederick Roe/Howard Nellor |
| Mixed Elite | Kris Kaskawal/Scott Davis | Debra Nathan/Randy Long |
| Mixed Age | Solanna Taragan/Grant Beatsen | Margie Der/David Aguirre |
| Mixed A | Vivian Schneider/Ernie Dominguez | Nico Richardson/Juan Diaz |
| Mixed B/C | Julia Mouser/Vic Martinez | Mickey Bellah/Dionne Reid |
California State Racquetball Association (CSRA) Chooses Ektelon as Official Ball
(Oct 1, 2008) Ektelon is proud to announce that the California State Racquetball Association (CSRA) has chosen Ektelon to be the official ball of the CSRA effective immediately and continuing through August 31, 2012. CSRA has chosen the Ektelon Classic (black) as its ball of choice for most tournament play. However, all 3 Ektelon balls will be used throughout the term of this agreement – including Premium Select and Fireball which will be used at selected events.
Over the past three years Ektelon has taken an extremely proactive role in developing the best quality racquetballs in the sport. This development of three different yet consistent types of racquetballs is reflected in Ektelon’s partnerships as the “Official Ball” of the Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization (Fireball), World Outdoor Racquetball (Fireball), Classic Professional Racquetball Tour (Classic Ball), National Masters Racquetball Association (Classic Ball), Commonwealth of Virginia Racquetball Association (Fireball) North Carolina Racquetball Association (Fireball) and now the CSRA.
“We are proud and excited to become a partner with the CSRA. California is the most active state in the sport, consistently boasting the largest number of indoor and outdoor events in the country,” said Scott Winters, General Manager at Ektelon. “We look forward to working closely with the CSRA Board and members in developing new and exciting events for all types of players and working together with them to grow the sport.”
In addition to providing top-quality balls to the various CSRA tournaments, as part of the agreement, talented California-based Team Ektelon players such as Rocky Carson, Rhonda Rajsich, John Ellis, Jose Rojas, Greg Solis and Craig Lane, will hold ongoing CSRA junior camps and complimentary clinics throughout the state to help grow the sport among younger players. Players and fans will be able to find these events and clinics by visiting the CSRA website: www.californiaracquetball.org.
“Ektelon has always been one of the premier names in racquetball and the CSRA Board of Directors is delighted to begin this new alliance” commented CSRA President Larry Steiner. “Aside from their providing elite quality product, we appreciate the partnership with Ektelon because they, like us have a sincere interest in growing racquetball in the state of California.”
Based in Bordentown, New Jersey, Ektelon is a division of Prince Sports, Inc. For more information they can be contacted at (800) 283-2635 or through their website at www.ektelon.com
Junior National Championships
come to Concord California…
(July 9, 2008) The Junior National Championships were hosted at the Big C in Concord this year. There was also additional play at the Renaissance Club Sport in Walnut Creek. Thanks to CSRA Board members Jack Hughes and Margaret Pederson for assistance there!...There were over 200 players from across the country (32 states) attending the event. For the third year in a row, California won the state competition over second place Oregon. The next three were Ohio, Colorado and Michigan.. Play began Wednesday morning and wrapped up Sunday afternoon. Part of the result of the Nationals is determining which players make the National team. Of the 30 players on the team, 9 are from California. This team will compete in the World Championships to be held in December at Arizona State University.
California players finishing in the top three in the Gold Division include (alphabetical order):
- Ismael Aldana—3rd 18 Doubles
- *Jose Diaz—2nd 14 and under singles; 1st 14 and under Doubles
- Teresa Diaz—3rd 18 and under Singles
- Cameron Ghoddoucy—3rd 8 and under Multibounce
- David Horn—3rd 18 and under Doubles
- Dillon Huang —1st 6 and under Multibounce
- *Victoria Leon—2nd 8 and under singles; 2nd Multibounce; 3rd 10 and under
- *Sawyer Lloyd—2nd 12 and under singles; 1st 12 and under Doubles; 1st 12 and under Mixed doubles
- *Aubrey O’Brien—1st 16 and under; 2nd 16 and under doubles
- *Devon Pimentelli—1st 14 and under singles; 1st 14 and under doubles; 2nd 14 and under mixed doubles
- Antonio Rojas—2nd 6 and under multibounce
- *Jose Rojas—1st 18 and under singles; 1st 18 and under doubles
- *Marco Rojas—1st 14 and under singles; 1st 14 and under doubles
- *Bobby Sehrgosha—3rd 12 and under singles; 1st 12 and under doubles; 3rd 12 and under mixed doubles
- *Sabrina Viscuso—1st 12 and under singles;1st 12 and under doubles; 3rd 12 and under mixed doubles..
Those marked with an * have made the National team. Others finishing in the top three of Non-Gold divisions included: Logan Nance, Luke Sewall, Zach Brancato, Cody Alsup, Mauro Rojas, Conor Pimentelli, Dima Gafarov, Tyler Lanman, David Horn, Cameron Ghoddoucy, Antonio Rojas, Andres, Barrera, and Michelle Hernoko.
Congratulations to all of the player who participated and good luck to the National team! Thank you to Jim Evans and his crew at the Big C for making this a great event. Thank You to John Ellis and Larry Steiner for some of the behind the scenes negotiations for this to take place
See the Juniors News page for coverage of the CSRA State Juniors Championships in May.
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2008 WOR Ektelon Championships
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Fresh as a can of unopened racquetballs
(May 20, 2008) Recent updates to the site and other points of interest.
- Photos - Photos from the California State Juniors (May 16-17th)
- State Rankings - State Rankings updated May 1, 2008
- National Rankings - National ranking database now shows all matches you have played in recorded competition—I'd encourage players to check this out.
( USAR Rankings: Women | Men ) - Photos - Photos from the Concord Classic (Apr 10-13th)
- Coach's Corner - April 8th article on "Drive Serve Visualization"
California State Singles Championships
Anastasia's Club Fit, Los Gatos ; March 28–30, 2008
Anastasia's Club Fit, Los Gatos ; March 28–30, 2008
(Apr 9, 2008) The California Singles championships were held March 28th-30th at Anastasia’s Club in Los Gatos. Players from throughout the state came to play all weekend. With all events either Pool Play or Round Robin all players got a lot of games in. (See the tournament results and the photo gallery.)
Always an abundance of food and the host club was terrific…
| Division | First | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| Women’s Open/Elite | Aubrey O’Brien | Margaret Demorest |
| Womens’ Skill | Patti Van Der Burg | Monica Yamaoka |
| Women’s Age | Patti Van Der Burg | Monica Yamaoka |
| Men’s Open | Gil Cepeda | Armando Villa |
| Men’s Elite | Ben Goldenberg | Mitch Derr |
| Men’s A | Joel Franklin | Kevin Barlia |
| Men’s B | Jim Russo | Hank Estrada |
| Men’s C | Noel Ranario | John Fischler |
| Men’s D | Kyle Vickroy | Paul Choi |
| Men’s 24A | Cody Alsup | Tyler Lanman |
| Men’s 24 B/C | Kevin Winn | Joe Lucchesi |
| Men’s 25 | Brian Feng | Michael Leyva |
| Men’s 25 | Kevin Kringle | Richard Aal |
| Men’s 25 B/C | Thomas Kozumi | Rhon Williford |
| Men’s 35 | Armando Villa | Steve Wattz |
| Men’s 35 A | Alfonso Perez | Mario Estevez |
| Men’s 35 B | Dan Matthews | Mairo Moreira |
| Men’s 35 C | Philip Haseltine | John Fischler |
| Men’s 45 | Gil Cepeda | Steve Wattz |
| Men’s 45 A | Rick Betts | Kevin Barlia |
| Men’s 45 B | Erick Razz | Greg Young |
| Men’s 45 C | Noel Ranario | James Dedauw |
| Men’s 55 | Bert Castelanelli | Jack Mahrt |
| Men’s 55A | Hank Estrada | Ron Souza |
| Men’s 55B | Greg Young | Dennis Mattish |
| Men’s 55C | George Calizar | Gary Albright |
| Men’s 65 | Gary McAuley | Ron Dorst |
Coach's Corner: Early Racquet Preparation
“Early racquet preparation is important in all racquet sports. It is one of the leading, key aspects for success in racquetball. There are so many things one could think about, so I like to limit it to four general categories. Almost all the things to consider, when hitting the ball ... ” [read more]
This is the first installment of what we hope to be a regular offering of tips and advice columns from coaches and trainers. We hope that players will benefit from the advice directly and that it will encourage them to seek out opportunities to continually grow and enrich their racquetball game.
The Big C Doubles Shootout
(Jan 22, 2008) It was a cold but sunny morning in the city of Concord California as the states greatest racquetball gladiators stood before the firing line itching to be selected next for battle. (See the tournament results and the photo gallery.)
(Dec 15, 2007) The 5th Juniors Only racquetball tournament held at ClubSport of Pleasanton on Saturday, December 8th hosted junior players from Petaluma Valley Athletic Club, Auburn Racquet & Fitness Club, Meridian Sports Clubs in Novato, Fitness West Daly City, Solano Athletic Club, Supreme Court 1 in Sunnyvale, Cross Court Athletic Club, ClubSport San Ramon and ClubSport of Pleasanton. Seeing the improvement in these players, most of who are returning players in our junior events, should make the program directors and junior coaches from these clubs very proud. The participating juniors were examples of fine players showing great sportsmanship. Not only do they love to play, they love to referee! Running an event for junior players is such a rewarding experience, not to mention a “breeze” compared to hosting adults. Hopefully we will have more of these fun, one-day events for our very deserving junior players. They are our future league, tournament and possibly professional players, and also our future program directors, racquetball teachers and coaches.
(Read more for full results)…Collegiate: SoCal Scrimmages
(Nov 10, 2007) Momentum in Southern California continues to grow for collegiate racquetball. On Saturday, November 11, the two leading schools with racquetball programs in the LA area, USC and CSUF, met for some head-to-head competition. (read more)…
Collegiate: Fall WCRC Tournament at UC Berkeley
(Nov 13, 2007) The 2007-2008 WCRC season is off to a HUGE start as we had 55 players from 9 different schools compete in the Fall WCRC tournament at Berkeley. Sacramento State edged Berkeley for the tournament win and the lead in the season standings. Danielle Evans (UC Santa Cruz) over Amy Benson (UC Davis) in the Women's I gold finals in a hard-fought tie-breaker. (We have a guess what Danielle wished for when she blew out her birthday candles that day!) Alejandro Ron (Sac State) over Carlos Penagos (SJSU) in the Men's I gold finals. Men's Division II: Jake Abernathy (UC Berkeley) over Stephen Hibbs (Stanford) in a tiebreaker. Men's Division III: Siva Gunda (UC Davis) over David Wong (UC Berkeley), also in a tie-breaker. Great matches! (writeup and full results at the WCRC website)…
California Players at National Doubles
(Oct 12, 2007) Fall is in the air so it must be time for the National Doubles. We had 107 players in Tempe AZ representing California at the 2007 National Doubles with 416 players from across the country joining in to make their best showings. We wanted to take a minute to recognize the California Winners and Finalist for this tournament and add a “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!!!
(read more)…Aubrey O'Brien Appears in Sports Illustrated
The column, "Faces In The Crowd" recognizes O'Brien as one of the elite athletes who have achieved excellence through competition. O'Brien was a triple gold medal winner at the Junior Olympics where she won the 14-under singles, 14-under doubles and 16-under mixed doubles.
Aubrey is currently training and preparing to compete in the 2007 IRF World Junior Championships in Cochabamba, Bolivia. She will represent Team USA in singles and doubles. For more info about Aubrey and the USA Junior National Team, visit their web-site: www.usajuniorracquetball.com
Full article: Sports Illustrated Faces In
The Crowd
CSRA Supports US Juniors Team
(Sep 13, 2007) The CSRA Board and its members are pleased to announce a $1000 donation to the support of the US Junior Racquetball Team, specifically for the players representing California.
Thank you to all the players who have donated generously to this cause and to the coaches of our players. These are the future greats of our sport!!
-Peggine
Collegiate: SoCal Scrimmages
For many people this was their first time playing in a competitive setting, and they all played great and fought hard. It was a long day of competition with everyone having to play 9 singles games. For CalState Fullerton Jon Varona and Vito Caccuciolo dominated the event by winning all their matches, and Andre Mora scored 91 points for the team, but USC was a strong and steady, conistent team. The two Trojans who led their team in points was Alan Zhang and Grant Stubbins, but all their players made contributions to the overall total which made the huge difference. The final score was 644 to 524 points. Congratulations USC!
Thanks to Grant Stubbins and Jon Varona for working together and setting this up. Thanks to the teams at USC and CSUF for participating.
After hearing about the great turnout CSU Long Beach decided that they want to get into the mix. Next scrimmages are CSULB vs. CSUF and CSULB vs. USC, dates are TBD. There are schools starting clubs on other campuses and their is a lot of interest for collegiate racquetball; if this momentum continues look out for a Southern California WCRC Tournament in the Spring! If anyone has friends that play racquetball in any Southern California University please email the information to Jon Varona at jon.varona@gmail.com. He has been working with schools in the area to help start up recognized campus racquetball clubs.
(See the WCRC website for more information on collegiate racquetball)California Players at National Doubles
(Oct 12, 2007) Fall is in the air so it must be time for the National Doubles. We had 107 players in Tempe AZ representing California at the 2007 National Doubles with 416 players from across the country joining in to make their best showings. We wanted to take a minute to recognize the California Winners and Finalist for this tournament and add a “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 | Place |
|---|---|---|
| W US Team Qualifying | Jacqueline Paraiso and her partner Aimee Ruiz, of New Jersey | US Team |
| WB & W45B | Adrienne Velasquez/Nico Richardson | Gold in both divisions |
| WC | Julia Mouser/Pearl Torres | Silver |
| W25A | Nancy Large and her partner from FL | Silver |
| W35+ | Debbie Tisinger-Moore and her partner from AZ | Silver |
| W40+ | Roxanne Davis/Lori Soares | Gold |
| Elaine Dexter/Jody Nance | Silver | |
| W45+ | Debbie Tisinger-Moore and her partner | Silver |
| W50+ | Elaine Dexter and her partner | Gold |
| Leslie Pawka and her partner | Silver | |
| W55+ | Merijean Kelley and her partner | Gold |
| Terry Ann Rogers and her partner | Silver | |
| W60+ | Merijean Kelley/Nidia Funes | Gold |
| Marquita Molina and her partner | Silver | |
| MXO | Janel Tisinger/Jason Samora | Silver |
| MXA | Dennis French/Dorcy Norton | Silver |
| MXB | Juan Diaz/Nico Richardson | Silver |
| MXC | Pearl Torres/Ralph Torres | Gold |
| MX35+ | Amy foster and her partner | Gold |
| Rafeal Filippini and his partner | Silver | |
| MX40+ | Jody Nance/Mark Nomura | Gold |
| MX45+ | Debbie Tisinger-Moore and her partner | Silver |
| MX50+ | Elaine Dexter and her partner | Gold |
| MX55+ | Steve Cohen/Terry Ann Rogers | Silver |
| MX60+ | Merijean Kelley/Mike Pawka | Gold |
| Luis Guerrero/Nidia Funes | Silver | |
| MO | Brian Klee/Jason Samora | Gold |
| ME | Gil Cepeda/Danny Newman | Silver |
| MB | Jim Latter/Kevin Loop | Gold |
| M24A | Ro Blackwood/Thomas (Alex) Baker | Gold |
| M35B | Jim Latter/Kevin Loop | Gold |
| Andrew Espinoza/David Aguirre | Silver | |
| M45 | Danny Newman/Gil Cepeda | Silver |
| M45B | John Dalisky/Vic Koliczew | Gold |
| M50 | Gene Pare and his partner | Silver |
| M55 | Bert Castelanelli/David Ortega | Gold |
| Eric Barkey and his partner | Silver | |
| M55A | Jon Christ/Steve Cohen | Gold |
| Barry Clyde/Mike Lippitt | Silver | |
| M60 | Mike Pawka and his partner | Silver |
| M65 | Luis Guerrero and his partner | Silver |
| M70 | Ken Moore/Paul Banales | Silver |
Rule for CSRA Skill Division State Champions
The winners of each CSRA State Singles or Doubles Championship Skill Division will be ineligible to play in that division for a minimum of one year or until after the CSRA State Championship Tournament the following year.
This rule applies to the winners of the Men's and Women's A, B, C and D divisions.
The winner of the Men's and Women's ELITE Division will not be eligible to ENTER an ELITE Division, but may enter an Open/ELITE Division and drop down if they lose in the first round and the man is not ranked in the top one third of the Open Division and the Woman is not ranked in the top 10 of the Open Division.
If the player accumulates no points in the higher division during that year, he/she may petition the CSRA Board of Directors to regain eligibility to play in the lower division.
Players on the Road to the Nationals
(Apr 3, 2007) Are you looking for a roommate? Maybe we can help connect people heading to Houston to share some of the costs and maximize your experiences! Email us with your name/gender/phone contact/email contact and you can make the connections. Here is the first person asking about Houston:
| Player | Contact | Share |
| Carlos Contreras | Ph: 707-585-7813 www.bearfinancialgroup.com | |
USAR/CSRA Membership Drive
There is currently a drive for new members of USAR/CSRA. For every new member you sponsor, your name gets thrown in the “hat”.
The USAR will have a drawing on May 1. The winner receives airfare and a free entry into the National singles.
CSRA will have a separate drawing at the same time. With an award of Free entry into the 2007 State Doubles and 2008 State Singles tournaments + 1 year Free USAR/CSRA membership going to the member that sponsors the most new members. Also, two names will be drawn out of our “hat”, with one receiving 2 years Free USAR/CSRA membership and the other receiving 1 year Free USAR/CSRA membership.
New members will get the benefits of receiving the USAR magazine which arrives every other month full of great information. The instructional tips alone are worth 3X+ the cost of membership. Members are also on the list to receive notices of upcoming events. Every member is also eligible for secondary medical coverage during a sanctioned event in case of injury and has the opportunity to compete for a place on the US team as well as attend performance and training camps.
Membership is NOT just for tournament players. Club players trying to improve their game can get tons of great advice from the magazine. Juniors can get inspired and will be informed of events they may not know of otherwise.
The membership form can be downloaded here: membership-drive-jan-2007.pdf
2007 State Championships
The Fitness West Club in Daly City played host to this years State Singles Championships. This was also the first year that a State Singles could be eligible as an alternate Qualifier for entry into the 2007 National Singles in Houston.
The R2Sports online entry system is gaining in popularity with the players across the country with the players about to gain access to their start times and division draws as well as entering the tournament. The players in the State Singles have also shown a partiality to the online system with over half of the 120 participants signing up on the web.
Jack Hughes was able to update the draws actively during the tournament utilizing a paperless system for the first time. For future events, this online system is available to all tournament directors for all sanctioned events and includes the assistance of our board members whom have experience with the R2Sports system.
This year the Board of Directors tried something a little different with prize money pools in every division. For straight draws, prize money was awarded though the Semi-finals and for Round Robin draws, prize money was awarded by points for 1st, 2nd & some 3rd places based on winning at least one match and the size of the draw.
Several players chose to donate their prize money back to the racquetball association for use in the Juniors and general development programs as well as a few folks making a donation on their entry form. Our sincere thanks to: Jack Easterday, Tony Jammal, Nidia Funes, Tori Davis, Jeff Marshall, Mark Nives, Alyse Cori & Margaret Pederson.
I would personally like to thank the participating Board of Directors for their efforts over the weekend to provide a quality event centered on the players satisfaction: Jack Hughes, Brian Dixon, Del Villanueva, Larry Steiner, Margaret Pederson and a super special THANX our perennial volunteer – Terri Ann Rogers.
Congratulaions to all players for participating in your State Singles Championships. The following is the Champion and Finalist results for the 2007 State Singles Championships. For complete results, please review the draws by going to the tournament website through the californiaracquetball.org/calendar link.
| Division | Winner/Finalist |
|---|---|
| Men’s Open | Jason Samora / Herb Yamashiro |
| Men’s Elite | Matt Barserian / Gil Cepeda |
| Men’s A | Jeremy Mayer / Kevin Loop |
| Men’s B | Kyle Kazmierczak / Jim Latter |
| Men’s C | Zachary Brancato / Jack Easterday |
| Men’s D | Jesse Serna / Mitch Forrest Jr. |
| Men’s under 24 | Matt Berserian / Kyle Severns |
| Men’s 25+ | Brian Feng / Jason Samora |
| Men’s 35+ | Armando Villa / Richardo Espinosa |
| Men’s 45+ | Jim Durham / Steven Ducich |
| Men’s 55+ | Jim Ferrell / John Lomonaco |
| Men’s 65+ | Ron Dorst |
| Men’s 75+ | Vinnie Caramagno / Jose Sanchez |
| Men’s Under 24 A | Carlos Penagos / Tony Jammal |
| Men’s 35+ A | Joel Schneider / Jeff Marshall |
| Men’s 45+ A | John Lomonaco / Richard Aal |
| Men’s 35+ B | Charlie Terrazas / Jose Castillo |
| Men’s 45+ B | Paul Flores / Clay Alexander |
| Men’s 55+ B | Hank Estrada / Carlos Contreras |
| Men’s 45+ C | Jack Easterday / Doug Litwin |
| Men’s 55+ C | Warren Hackbarth / Henry Taylor |
| Women’s Open | Mary Tessier / Aubrey O’Brien |
| Women’s Elite | Esther Lozano / Margaret Pederson |
| Women’s A | Alyse Cori / Devon Pimentelli |
| Women’s B | Haoning Yang |
| Women’s C | Jessica Winn / Irene Djohan |
| Women’s D | Linda Winn / Beverly Bachoo |
| Women’s 45+ | Lee Hardiman |
| Women’s 25/35 B/C | Haoning Yang / Amy Palko |
| Women’s 25+ C | Irene Djohan / Angela Hahn |
Collegiate: 2006 Tournament at Berkeley
![[Cal Tourney Photo]](images/2006berkeley_groupshot.jpg "Group Photo, Berkeley 2006")
The Aggies came hunting for Bear, and bagged one in the end. Their weapon of choice, a stellar women's team. That didn't stop the men's ballet squad from mugging for the trophy photo, though... Seriously, congratulations to the team— we're all looking forward to the next tournament.
[Read the full tournament recap at the WCRC website]
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![[Cal Tourney Trophy Photo]](images/2006berkeley_trophy.jpg "Trophy Photo, Berkeley 2006") WCRC Commissioner John Bardos awarding the travelling trophy to the UC Davis Aggies. |
2006 Juniors Nats - “Zach’s Nats”
| “Last summer, a few of my racquetball buddies and I went to Lansing, MI for the Junior National Racquetball Tournament. This was the second time I went to the Nationals but it was my first time going with just my friends. …” | ![[Zach]](Juniors/zak_portrait_sm.jpg "Zach") Zach |
2006 State Doubles Sweatshirts
We have a limited number of Large sweatshirts from the 2006 State Doubles available for purchase - $15 includes shipping. Grey - No shrink.
—Peggine (
)
Their Moment in the Sun
Congratulations to the California state players for an awesome showing in Tempe this past month at the USAR National Doubles. See anyone you know? Tell them “congrats,” and if you see yourself, give yourself a pat on the back. Hours of additional entertainment from this list:
- Call up each of these heroes-in-our-midsts, find out what their favorite cookie is, and then send it to them!
- If you didn't go, pencil your name in and daydream about the fun you would have had. (feel free to make up any placing you want—nobody's looking)
- Print out the list and use it as a road-trip game for your kids: have them count how many state players had multiple placings!
- Hunt for typos, and then send them to the ...
| State Player(s) | Division | Placing |
| Rocky Carson | MO | 1st |
| Jason Samora | MO | 3rd |
| Marc Pollack,Ricardo Soto | ME | 2nd |
| Dave Peckinpaugh/Mike Peckinpaugh | MB | 1st |
| Richard Aal/Tom Lonardo | MB | 2nd |
| Raphael Carrillo/Robert Balsimo | MC | 1st |
| Jason Geis/Rafael Filipini | M24/25 | 4th |
| Ro Blackwood/Thomas Baker | M24/25A | 2nd |
| Bill George/Bronc Hughes | M24/25A | 4th |
| Raphael Carrillo/Robert Balsimo | M25C | 3rd |
| Gregg Solis/Jon Dunn | M30 | 2nd |
| Mark Nomura/Tim Annear | M30 | 3rd |
| Randy Long/Ron Miremontes | M35A | 3rd |
| Jon Christ/Steve Cohen | M45/55B | 1st |
| Ruben Baraja/Bud Bristol | M45/55B | 2nd |
| Hank Estrada/Dave Peckinpaugh | M45/55B | 3rd |
| Gregg Imuta/Roy San Miguel | M45/55B | 4th |
| Bert Castelanelli/Dave Ortega | M50 | 4th |
| Gene Pare | M50 | 2nd |
| Bert Castelanelli/Dave Ortega | M55 | 3rd |
| Eric Barkey | M55 | 1st |
| Mike Pawka | M60 | 1st |
| Robert Lattanzio/Scott Rudoni | M60 | 4th |
| Janel Tisinger | WO | 2nd |
| Lori Soares/Roxanne Davis | WE | 3rd |
| Sue Goodwin | WE | 1st |
| Paula Likens | WA RED | 2nd |
| Carla Francis | WA Blue | 2nd |
| Esther Lozano/Louis Doran | WB | 1st |
| Arleen Jimenez/Carolina Cruz | WC | 1st |
| Janel Tisinger | W24/25 | 1st |
| Elaine Dexter/Jody Nance | W30/40 | 1st |
| Debra Tisinger/Solanna Taragan | W30/40 | 2nd |
| Arleen Jimenez/Carolina Cruz | W35 RED | 3rd |
| Debra Tisinger | W45 | 1st |
| Brenda lee/Cindy Gilbert | W45 BLUE | 1st |
| Marni Wagner/Paule Likens | W45 BLUE | 3rd |
| Leslie Pawka | W50 | 2nd |
| Sue Goodwin | W50 | 3rd |
| Elaine Dexter | W50 | 1st |
| Kathy Trotter/Nancy Large | W50 RED | 3rd |
| Terry Rogers/Carla Francis | W55 | 2nd |
| Nidia Funes | W60 | 2nd |
| Jason Geis/Lori Soares | MXE | 1st |
| Roxanne Davis/Marc Pollack | MXE | 3rd |
| Cindy Gilbert/Gil Cepeda | MXE | 2nd |
| Lori Soares/Dan Malsack | MXA | 1st |
| Pearl Torres/Ralph Torres | MXDC | 3rd |
| Colleen Keating/Jeff Sligar | MXDC | 4th |
| Debra Nathan/Rudy Chavez | MXD24/25 | 3rd |
| Kari Gardner/James Swift | MXD24/25 | 1st |
| Amy Foster | MXD30 | 1st |
| Jody Nance/Brian Klee | MXD30 | 3rd |
| Brenda Lee/Tim Annear | MXD30 | 4th |
| Lisa Hjelm/Mark Nomura | MXD35 | 4th |
| Cilia Vigil/Tom Lonardo | MXD40 | 3rd |
| Ken Stone | MXD45 | 2nd |
| Debbie Tisinger | MXD45 | 3rd |
| Elaine Dexter | MXD50 | 1st |
| Kim Cameron/Rick Ramirez | MXD50 | 3rd |
| Russ Mannino | MXD55 | 2nd |
| Terry Rogers/Mike Pawka | MXD55 | 3rd |
| Nidia Funes | MXD60 | 1st |
| Fred Roe | MXD60 | 2nd |
| Marquita Molina | MXD65 | 1st |
| William Baker | MXD65 | 2nd |
2006 State Doubles
Photos from the recent State Doubles tournament have been posted in the Photo Gallery.
Website Renovations
(Sep 25) I've been making some changes to the website, and appreciate your feedback and help in getting it updated. If you have revised club information, or if you see a problem on one of the site's pages, please email your
As part of the website's design, I wanted to have an image of a player as a graphical framing element on the page. John Ellis was kind enough to provide a good-quality image that I used. Several of the board members as well as several state members suggested that I should take care to avoid the appearance of favoritism for a single manufacturer (and I think John's wife, Jen, was concerned about the rumors of all of the teenage girls printing out the page and pasting it on the covers of their school books).
For the time being, I'd like you to say "hi" to
Zippy, our bouncy blue friend. Zippy's blue color was carefully selected to be a tint that would
show no favoritism to any single ball manufacturer. Long-term, I'd like to explore displaying images from our
state players on a rotating basis. I'd encourage folks to send me good-quality pictures that
will fit the design. (Images should show a single subject, should have a simple uniform background,
and be related to racquetball–I'll be happy to discuss the possibilities of a photo further with
anyone who sends email.) Please send submissions to the error-prone webmaster mentioned above...
—your error-prone (but well-intentioned!) webmaster
CSRA Election Results
The Board of Directors of the CSRA is pleased to announce the results of our recent vote for the Board of Directors. Jack Hughes and Michael Martinez have been re-elected, and we're delighted to be joined by Larry Steiner as our newest board member.
Friends of the CSRA
We are setting up a Friends of the CSRA web page to acknowledge the financial contributions of individuals and organizations who are making a special effort to support our state racquetball program.
At this point, we'd like to recognize the following contributors at the Gold level: Mike Lippitt, Rick Betts of Spartan Supply, Brian Dixon of First Security Loan, and Peggine Tellez of Edward Jones; the following contributor at the Silver level: David van Deren of Comfort Air HVAC and Jack Easterday; and the following contributors at the Bronze level: Allan Nuttall, Bill Goddard, Gary Kahler, Barry Lynes, Jim Railey, Joe Greenleaf of Greenleaf Printing, and “Bozo” (the state’s most anonymous supporter).
—We thank you.
Beyond the Short Line
September 2006 CSRA Newsletter
In this issue:
- Juniors coverage: State Championships and US National Junior Olympics
- Recap: Elana Aalways Smiles Charity Fundraiser
- Recap: Spring Sprung at the Sierra Spring Splat
- Recap: Fundraiser Tournament for Contra Costa County Homeless Shelter
- Upcoming Events, and notes on upcoming 2006/07 Season
Read it all by downloading the Sep 2006 CSRA Newsletter