Summit County’s second pickleball tournament, held July 16-17 at Rainbow Park, went fabulously. Year 2 was a blast and such a success. We battled the rain a bit on Saturday, but we won that battle and were able to finish the tournament early in the evening.
We had competitive, but good-natured, play across nine divisions, which we designed on the basis of gender — men’s, women’s and mixed — and USAPA skill ratings — beginner/novice (ratings 1.0 to 3.0), intermediate (3.5), and advanced (4.0 to 5.0).
More than 80 teams competed, about a third more than played in the first Pickle in the Peaks. Many were participating in their very first pickleball tournament. We are growing our tourney at just the right pace.
Players ranged in age from 20 to 83 and hailed from far away as Boston and California. Ella Callison and Daniel Thompson, winners of 4.0+ mixed doubles, were just passing through on a cross-county road trip!
Twenty-year-old Matthew Gerber was a double Gold Medal winner – Mixed Doubles 3.5 with his mom and Men’s Doubles 3.5 with Josh Underwood. He picked up pickleball during COVID, when his family built a pickleball court in their back yard in Kansas City. This was Matthew’s very first tournament and he rocked it!!
Congratulations to the Medalists
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| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
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Mixed Doubles 3.0- | Sarita Baker Glen Baker | Karen Robol Dave Rebol | Tracy Frick Dave Frick |
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Mixed Doubles 3.5 | Shelley Gerber Matthew Gerber | Vicky Mediate Bruno Mediate | Linda Bush Mike Miller |
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Mixed Doubles 4.0+ | Ella Callison Daniel Thompson | Debby Rea Dan Sturzenbecker | Nancy Burford Bill Clark |
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Men’s Doubles 3.0- | Ross Friend Seth Fineman | Dave Frick Dave Rebol | Michael Pickell Peter Welles |
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Men’s Doubles 3.5 | Matthew Gerber Josh Underwood | Wendel Einholz Mike Miller | Bob Haege Steve Kaschinske |
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Men’s Doubles 4.0+ | Rick Birney Jimmy Margolis | Bill Clark Chuck Flanagan | Bill Horstman Bob Worthington |
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Women’s Doubles 3.0- | Tracy Frick Karen Rebol | Karen Miller Sue Feldman | Dotti McKee Jessica Ruda |
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Women’s Doubles 3.5 | Deb Lauer JenniLee Reiss | Sherry Ertelt Anne Kilenny | Dede Pomeroy Therese Paranka |
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Women’s Doubles 4.0+ | Hiko Fritz Lynne Yockey | Pam Horstman Debby Rea | Ann Davenport Jerry Shauer |
The tournament could not have taken place without our amazing volunteers: Mike Miller and Rick Bell – our engineering court designers – measured and chalked every pickleball line on all 8 courts. Linda, Bill C, Pam, Rick G, Deb and Dan (from South Carolina), Steph and Bob W. laid down the tape on all 8 courts. Tourney day volunteers Ruthie, Steph, Linus, Steve B, Shelley, Wendy, Maggie, Kathleen, Kevin, Tom and Richard Stetzer kept the action flowing smoothly. Also, many thanks to those of you who stuck around Saturday evening and helped pull up tape, take down and pack nets and remove our signs! You guys rock and we are deeply appreciative to each and every ONE of you!
Save the date for 2022: July 15-16, with rain date July 17. Pass on the word to all your family and friends to plan their summer vacation in the mountains to include Pickle in the Peaks!
Your tournament directors, Lori and Julie
