U S A PA N AT I O N A LS
SENIOR OPEN MEN’S SINGLES
Gold (Center): Scott Moore (CO)
Silver (Right): Dan O’Toole (MI)
Bronze (Left): Glen Peterson (WA)
SENIOR OPEN WOMEN’S SINGLES
Gold (Center): Bonnie Williams (OR)
Silver (Left): Hilary Marold (TX)
Bronze (Right): Alex Hamner (CA)
OPEN MIXED DOUBLES
Gold (Center): Simone Jardim (MI) /
Rafael Siebenschein (MI)
Silver (Left): Christine McGrath (CA) /
Matthew Staub (AZ)
Bronze (Right): Stephanie Lane (TN) /
Kyle Yates (FL)
SENIOR OPEN MEN’S DOUBLES
Gold (Center): Scott Moore (CO) /
Glen Peterson (WA)
Silver (Left): Tyler Sheffield (UT) /
Larry Moon (UT)
Bronze (Right): Mike Schwarz (BC) /
Michael Gates (CA)
SENIOR OPEN WOMEN’S DOUBLES
Gold (Center): Mona Burnett (AZ) /
Luba Zhekhovskaya (BC)
Silver (Left): Yvonne Hackenberg (MI) /
Hilary Marold (TX)
Bronze (Right): Lydia D. Willis (FL) /
Alison Fulton (FL) (missing from photo)
SENIOR OPEN MIXED DOUBLES
Gold (Center): Mona Burnett (AZ) / Scott Moore
(CO)
Silver (Left): Luba Zhekhovskaya (BC) /
Michael Gates (CA)
Bronze (Right): Lydia D. Willis (FL) /
Larry Moon (UT)
men’s singles and 10 women’s singles
tournaments (19+ to 85+).
From Sunday to Wednesday, the
USAPA and Robson Ranch hosted 50
different age group tournaments. Gold,
silver, and bronze medals were awarded
in each event. But, the biggest matches
were yet to come with the competition
moving minutes down the road to Palm
Creek Resort for the $20,000 Open
tournament purses. Palm Creek Golf
and RV Resort features 32 world-class
pickleball courts – a perfect site to host
the best of the best in the National Open
Championships.
Before the weeken d play began,
the USAPA presented a demo day
on Thursday at Palm Creek. The day
kicked off with beginner to 3.5-level
clinics, followed by referee and ratings
seminars. At the same time, sponsors
offered several hundred spectators
the opportunity to jump on the courts
and demo their choices from over 100
different paddles. Next, clinics were
available for advanced players from levels
4.0 to 5.0. Finally, the evening wound
down with the annual Ambassadors
Dinner (hosted by Pickle-ball, Inc.) at the
Palm Creek Resort.
Friday was the day many spectators
were anxiously awaiting – the start of
the men’s and women’s open doubles
championships. During the weekend
Open matches, the USAPA established
live streaming video on its web site. At
one time on Friday, there were 24,479
simultaneous viewers via the web. Over
the course of the weekend, 355,000 total
views were captured on the internet from
76 countries and all 50 states.
In the Women’s Open Championship,
Gigi LeMaster (Surprise, AZ) and Sarah
Ansboury (Portland, OR) outlasted
Corrine Carr (East Lansing, MI) and
Simone Jardim (Mason, MI) in a
third‑set tie-breaker while Mona Burnett
(Surprise, AZ) and Luba Zhekhovskaya
(Surrey, BC) defeated Yvonne Hackenberg
(Kalamazoo, MI) and Hilary Marold
(Corpus Christi, TX) in the Women’s
Senior Open Doubles.
In the Men’s Open Doubles, Matthew
Blom (Nevada City, CA) and Daniel
Moore (Colorado Springs, CO) defeated
Callan and Steve Dawson (Carlsbad,
COURTESY OF PICKLEBALL CHANNEL
Continued »
JANUARY 2016 |
MAGAZINE
21