Archive for "Pickleball"
DUPR 16 at Northland Racquet Club
Posted on December 22, 2022 by Ching under Pickleball.
These are the pictures of the teams that competed in iPickle Nation‘s DUPR 16 team event at Northland Racquet Club on Sunday.
Net Assets: Randy and Jeana Shumate, Tamara Cowell, and Duane Rice
Dink and Fireball: Maddy Beasley, Sharon Vanderberg, Michael Cobb, and Pete Petrovic – These guys are really funny. Maddy and Mike told me about their tradition of taking a shot of Fireball at the beginning of the tournament and then another shot at the end. Mind you, this tournament started at 9 AM!
Pickleholics: Michael Ross, Sharon Steimel, Michelle Dreiling, and Jeff Mehaffey
The Law Firm of Batesons, Johnson & Peel: Isaiah Peel, Becky Johnson, Tiffany and Jacob Bateson (Third Place)
Will Smith’s Backhand: Jordan Sparks, Vi Dang, Fernando Martinez, and Amanda Ades (Second Place)
4 Skinnee Js: Jonathan Freeman, Jason Walker, Ali Jorn, and Jenny Schmidt (Champions) – I actually met Jenny at the WPT Kansas City Classic pickleball tournament at Elite this summer. I played against her in both doubles and singles. This woman is a beast and truly lives up to her “The Legend” nickname. I met Jason at the Shangri-la tournament. I had not met their other teammates before this weekend.
I just love going to tournaments seeing people I’ve met before, hanging out with friends, and making new ones. This year has been full of experiences like this one. I’m hoping next year brings even more of these moments but, before that, we are going to end the year with a bang at the One Last Dink pickleball team event at the Pickle Club. Check back for an update next weekend. GNG.
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My First DUPR Teams Event
Posted on December 19, 2022 by Ching under Pickleball, Travel.
iPickle Nation started piloting team events using the MLPLay format (the same rules that Major League Pickleball follows). One of the organizers, Michael Cobb, reached out to me last month about putting together a team but it was too short notice so we missed the first event. I did commit to putting together a team with enough notice. He told me about the December event and I recruited my favorite people to be part of our team. Ramon Lozano (Hays, KS), Tanner Rice (Oklahoma City, OK), and Katie Merrill (Tulsa, OK) were all equally eager to participate and together we formed DUPR Troopers.
I found us a fabulous Cozy in KC house within five minutes of both the Kansas City Chicken N Pickle (aka OG CNP) and Northland Racquet Club (the tournament venue). We were all set to go with our awesome team shirts (we actually have several matching ones now) until, two weeks before the tournament, Tanner gets injured at another team event. We scrambled to find a replacement and, as luck would have it, were able to land Kyle Rinck (Independence, KS).
This actually worked out for us because we were originally going to have four people in a three bedroom house so one of us would have had to sleep on the couch. Ramon and I talked at Smash and agreed that the youngest person should have the couch. Except the youngest person is Tanner and the couch is not a pullout. Out of all of us, I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who could have fit in it and I wasn’t going to give up a bedroom. LOL. Brian and I joked that we should make Ramon be the one without a bedroom to force him to bunk with Katie. I have been desperately trying to bring the two of them together because I think they’d make a cute couple. Anyway, in the end, the three of us agreed that the baby of the group gets to be without a room but because we love Tanner we would hook him up with an air mattress to at least make him more comfortable. I didn’t know that Katie already borrowed one from our friend Deana and so I actually ordered an air mattress and a sleeping bag from Amazon.
We ended up not needing any of these because Tanner had to pull out of the event due to his injury but I didn’t bother returning my stuff. Brian and I figured, at some point in the coming months, I’ll probably have to crash at a friend’s house and, instead of sleeping on the floor, I’ll at least have an air mattress and a sleeping bag to make my stay more comfortable.
We didn’t have to house our fourth team member, Kyle, because he lives just 30 minutes away (unlike the rest of us who had to drive 3-5 hours). Not only did we find a great substitute with Kyle, but he also solved our housing situation.
Anyway, since we were all arriving on Friday night, Ramon had the brilliant idea to have us play in the Friday night Super DUPR at NRC. It was perfect because (a) then we got to see the venue (and play there) before the event the next day, and (b) I’ve been wanting to check out DUPR events everywhere to learn how different groups are running their events so I kind of treated it as field research. Additionally, our friends Michelle Dreiling, Sharon Steimel, Tyson Steele, Nicole Mathis, and Megan White were able to play that night too which made it even more fun. It’s really nice to save several familiar faces, specially when playing somewhere for the first time.
The Friday night event had an awesome turnout. They broke us out into three groups: 2.00 to 3.19, 3.20 to 3.89, and 3.90 and above. We all ended up in the last group but were split up in different pools (except Ramon and I ended up in the same one). The way iPN does their Friday night Super DUPR is similar to their iPN round robin events. After the round robin, you get paired with someone and then you play in a single elimination bracket. It was interesting how after the round robin was tallied, Tyson and I got teamed up; Katie and Nicole got teamed up; and Ramon and Sharon got teamed up.
There were things that I liked about it but there were also things that I didn’t like. For instance, I’m not a fan of the Wilson ball but I do understand that they need something more durable because they run these events all the time. The balls they use pretty much last forever and don’t have to be replaced as frequently as Duras or Franklins. Not even close. Also, I’m not a fan of splitting the top players between the different pools instead of putting them all together. I’m sure there’s a reason behind this because you get paired up for bracket play but I think the games with be far more competitive if they grouped players by DUPR. Personally, I really like how Ryan and Caroline Luelf run theirs in Tulsa. It is similar to how Tanner does his DUPRs but he recently made a change so that his DUPR are now by team instead of individual sign ups. I’ll have to make another field trip to OKC to check out this new method of doing things.
Anyway, we met up with Tyson and Nicole at the OG CNP before heading to Northland for the DUPR thing but, after that playing for almost 4 hours, Katie and Ramon decided they were hungry again and we ended up getting some Hawaiian Bros to go. It’s one of Ramon’s most favorite places to eat in KC.
Tyson and I weren’t that hungry so we both just got some Spam musubi.
We played Poetry by Neanderthals (NSFW version) until amost midnight while Katie and Ramon had their dinner. I have to say, the guys absolutely sucked at this game while Katie was amazing at it. LOL.
The next day, we played in the DUPR Teams event. There were 4 teams in DUPR 18 (our division) and 6 teams in DUPR 16. I totally think they could have held both on the same day because there was enough room at the venue but they opted to run DUPR 18 on Saturday and DUPR 16 on Sunday. Anyway, here are some pictures of our team in our awesome shirts.
I originally ordered Medium shirts for myself which were a tad big so, when we got Kyle to replace Tanner, I decided to give Kyle the Medium shirts and order Small shirts for myself. Except my new shirts didn’t arrive in time so I had to use the white shirt so I could be in uniform. Ramon hates white anyway so he has a white shirt but I doubt he’ll ever wear it. LOL. The guys wore the gray shirts and the girls wore white so we still kinda sorta coordinated, even though we weren’t perfectly matching. I guess I’ll just have three of these shirts when my Small shirts finally arrive (hopefully, someday soon).
I would have liked to have gotten first place but there were some really good teams/players in our division. Overall I’m happy with how we performed.
You can watch most of our matches in the above video. I couldn’t film the championship though, because my phone ran out of battery.
The MLP format is so fun. Our team had to go to a Dreambreaker with All 4 One (Devon Fuller’s team) twice. He had Josh Hardy, Suzanne Gehrke, and Nikhila Suraneni on his team. However, we had Kyle who really helped us in the singles round. I’m not sure we could have won those Dreambreakers without him.
I’m really glad that I was able to participate in this team event. Not only was it a ton of fun, but I also got some ideas for the “One Last Dink” team tournament we are hosting at the Pickle Club at the end of the month. I can’t wait to tell you all about it in a couple of weeks. Until then, GNG.
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2022 Diamond Amateur Championships
Posted on December 12, 2022 by Ching under Pickleball, Travel.
Earlier this month Brian and I traveled to Florida so I could compete in the first ever Diamond Amateur Championships. I qualified to compete when I won triple gold earlier this year at the Middle States Diamond Regional tournament in St. Louis. This was our first time at Pictona in Holly Hill, FL. The facility is amazing! They have 49 dedicated pickleball courts in one location, with 13 of them covered, and one being a championship court with stadium seating.
My competition dates were December 1, 2, and 4 and so Brian and I traveled there on November 30 and traveled home on December 5. Brian originally found a cute one bedroom and one bath rental that was directly across the street from the venue and would only be a six-minute walk. However, a week before we were to arrive, we found out that the property incurred some hurricane damage and we could not stay there so we had to scramble and quickly find another place. The new place we found was about 15-20 minutes walk to Pictona. It’s close to the venue but quite a longer ways to walk. Thankfully, Ramon had a rental car. He stayed with Ryan and Kendra at a rental about 2 minutes car ride from our place so we all carpooled each morning while they were there.
Our rental check-in was originally 3:00 PM but we landed in Daytona around 11-ish. I reached out to the host and she said the earliest we could get in would be 1:30 PM so Brian and I decided to go straight to the venue from the airport. I dropped Brian off the Kitchen to have lunch and then went roaming around hoping to find some people I recognized.
As luck would have it, I ran into Jill Blessinger, Jill Thyr, and Kim Stevenson, and they didn’t have a fourth. I think their fourth player was on the way but, as she was there yet, I got to play with them in her place. I met Jill B earlier this year at Marco Island when I went to open play with Joe and Cindy Witte when we were all there for the US Open. It was my first time meeting the other Jill but I had seen Kim at other tournaments before. Anyway, I was so happy to be able to play a little. I mean, I love food just as much as the next person but pickleball > food. Actually, there’s not much in this world higher than pickleball on my list currently. In fact, pickleball > sex these days. And we all know how much I love sex.
Around 1:15 PM, I went back to check on Brian who was feeling much better having eaten lunch. We checked in to our Airbnb and then took a nap (because we were up super early that morning for our 5:00 AM flight). It worked out because it actually rained in the afternoon so I couldn’t play anyway. Then, when Ramon arrived (he actually arrived a day earlier than I expected because I didn’t think he was going to come out until Thursday), the three of us went to dinner at Hull’s Seafood and hung out before Ramon had to drive to the airport to pick up Ryan and Kendra.
The next day was women’s doubles day. Kendra, though she isn’t particularly fond of pink, was a good sport and wore the neon pink Lucky in Love outfits that I picked out for us. I thought it was fitting because the color is perfect for Florida sunshine.
Thursday was fantastic. It was great having our friends there to watch and cheer. Kendra and I won our pool and advanced to the playoffs and then, eventually, to the championship. Brian got all of our matches on video and they’re posted here.
Photographer Toni Bocz got a ton of great pics and they’re posted here.
Kendra and I ended up taking finishing first overall and first in our age group, punching our ticket to 2023 USA Pickleball National Championships.
Friday was mixed doubles day. Ryan and Kendra had an 8:00 AM start so we all decided to carpool. Ramon and I didn’t have to play until later in the day but we wanted to be there to cheer them on.
Ramon and I played in 3.5 35+ but the teams had much higher DUPRs than that. We actually looked everyone up leading to the tournament just to see how we stood. Ramon and I had the third highest DUPR of our division so, while I liked our odds, I knew that it would be a competitive field because there were two other teams higher than us. To top it off, we had the three teams with the highest DUPRs in our pool. I was relieved to make it to the playoffs.
We ended up re-matching the one team that we lost to in our pool and, though we got really close this time around, they still beat us. So we finished in second place. No ticket to Nationals for us but there’s still plenty of chances throughout the coming year to earn a spot.
Saturday was men’s doubles day so I had a break but Brian and I spent most of the day at the tournament live streaming our friends’ matches. Ramon and Jason ended up in 4th place in 4.5 35+ and then Mike and Dave went completely undefeated in their division, 4.5 55+. Videos of all their matches are available here.
On Sunday, I fought off minor period cramps and ended third place overall in women’s singles 3.0 19+ 35+ and earned gold in my age group. That’s my second golden ticket so I already have a spot in two events at Nationals. I just need to earn my mixed doubles spot. You can see the full results of the Diamond Amateur Championships here.
This was one of the best, most organized, well-run tournaments I’d ever participated in. I had a ton of fun competing, meeting people, making new friends, and hanging out with my pickleball pals. I am so glad that I got to be there for the first one and that I brought back three medals. And, that I have Nationals to look forward to next year. I originally thought this would be my last pickleball event this year but I’ve got two more (a team event in Kansas City and a team event at the Pickle Club) local ones to cap off the year. I just love having these tournaments and events to look forward to. I’m already thinking of which ones (besides Nationals) to hit next year. Until then, GNG.
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Bringing Back Queen of Court
Posted on December 10, 2022 by Ching under Pickleball.
Back in 2020, when I first started getting into pickleball, we used to have a group of ladies that met regularly at Chicken N Pickle early on Saturday mornings for what we referred to as “Queen of Court” play. It was essentially a ladder group, where when you win, you move up a court, and when you lose, you move down a court. Partners split after each round so you get to play with various partners during the session. It was one of my absolute favorite play groups. However, I had to give it up when I started teaching Saturday morning Aqua Zumba classes. Jenny Cole took it over for a while and was organizing the groups but then it just kind of fell apart. I eventually gave up my Saturday morning Aqua Zumba class but I was getting even more into pickleball and found myself out of town a lot on weekends for pickleball tournaments so even though I really missed the group and wanted to bring it back, I didn’t have the capacity to do it because of my crazy schedule.
Fast forward to a few months ago, when I saw a video of my Tanner Rice crowning a “King of Court” at one of his DUPR events… It brought back memories of our old “Queen of Court” days which I have missed and gave me the idea to combine it with a DUPR session. I had hosted several DUPR sessions over the summer before my tournament schedule got insanely crazy. Over the last few weeks, my schedule calmed down enough to where I could actually squeeze in a women’s only DUPR session. I bought a very special crown just for the occasion.
We held our first official one with the crown in October. I remember Cindy Egan having a last minute emergency and asking Brandi Richardson fill in for her and Brandi ended up winning the crown the night.
Since Brandi was the queen, she got to decide when the next QoC would be. She had a bunch of travel in November so we couldn’t have our second one until November 28. I generally don’t like to win my own events but I think I was still so pumped from my #DUPRDoubleDib weekend so I ended up doing really well and winning. So now I’m the reigning queen, at least, until Monday, December 12, when we have our next QoC session. I’m not playing in it this time (unless someone backs out last minute) so there is no way for me to possibly win.
I’m looking forward to passing the our beautiful crown to the next winner. Good luck to all the ladies playing for the crown on Monday! GNG.
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The DUPR Double Dip
Posted on December 9, 2022 by Ching under Community, Food and Drink, Pickleball, Travel.
My “DUPR Double Dip” weekend over Thanksgiving break is hands down one of the highlights of my entire pickleball year. It’s the best things about going to pickleball tournaments without actually playing in one.
My weekend started in Oklahoma City for my friend Tanner Rice’s Friday night group play at Hidden Trails Country Club. I arrived early enough to get my butt kicked at ping pong, which I am decent at, and, even though Tanner told me “he wasn’t very good” at it, his concept of “not very good” is still better than me. The guy is just good at everything.
I also learned the basics of Euchre, which is a super complex card game. Tanner teamed up with Erica Dennis against Katie Merrill and me. It helped that Katie is a ace card player, who is really great at Euchre, and so I think I understand the game enough now that, whenever she and I have to play our friend Ramon Lozano and Tanner at some point (when our #TeamBonding thing ever happens — more on this later), we are going to smoke ’em.
Anyway, we ended up not reporting the results of the Friday night session because one of the players had an emergency and couldn’t make it. I still had a ton of fun, though. I met and played with new people who I’d never met or played with before and that’s kinda my jam. Oh, and I hit a sweet ATP — even without the potential payout as an incentive.
Katie rode to OKC with Erica and then spent the night with me at Avid so the two of us got to do a little “team bonding” with just the two of us. The more I get to know Katie the more I love her. She is just an all-around great human being.
The next morning, the two of us rode to Tulsa together and bonded some more. She took me to her favorite lunch spot in Brookside called Blue Moon Cafe.
It’s hip little place that serves great sandwiches, salads, and other things. I don’t know much about Tulsa but apparently Brookside is kind of the place to go dining and shopping and such.
Here are some pictures of our food…
After lunch, we went to LaFortune early to help set up for the “Paddle Off the Turkey” DUPR event. Tanner was actually working in the area and decided to swing by to help Ryan and Caroline Luelf with their event by entering scores, taking some pictures and videos, and even helping with tear down. So I didn’t get any pictures from Friday because we were all playing but, since Tanner didn’t play on Saturday, I actually have some pics and clips to share. Thank you, Tanner!
I was super impressed with Ryan and Caroline’s DUPR event. They were highly organized and I love that they took the time to group everyone that that the games would be more competitive. Here’s how my rounds went:
Round #1 —- I played with Genevieve Eskridge and Amanda and Jordan Jones (this amazing mom and daughter duo from Edmond). I only won one game this round but the scores were super close. Genevieve and Iost 12-14 and Amanda and I lost 8-11. When I played with Jordan, we won 12-10. She was super excited bec she prefers left side and I prefer right side and so we stacked on our serves. It was my first time playing with the Joneses and it was a blast!
Round #2 —- I played with Caroline, Colby Fugit, and Kali Wilson. This was my favorite round of all because I won all 3 games. And, Kali and came back from being down 2-9 to win our game against Caroline and Colby, 12-10. It was epic!
Round #3 —- I also loved this round because we got to play mixed doubles and I love mixed! Mike Ward and I were paired against Jesse Mabon and Erica Dennis. It was my first time ever playing with Mike and first time meeting and playing against Jesse. The format was best 2 of 3 games to 11, win by 2, but if one team wins in straight games then you switch partners and still play a 3rd game. We split games so ours was a legit 2 out of 3. It went 11-4, 3-11, 11-6. There was clearly a better side but Mike and I pulled it out in the end.
Round #4 —- This was my 5-player group with Caroline Luelf, Erica Dennis, Jordan Jones, and Ben Meyer. This was my worst round. I think in part because we were in hour 4 of playing and also because there was a long break between the previous round and this one. You will see in my DUPR match history that my scores were not good this round.
Anyway, I loved getting to play with different people and I loved how they set up the groups so that the matches would be more competitive. I’m so glad that I made the trip to check out both Tanner’s Friday night session and Ryan and Caroline’s DUPR event because I learned so much this weekend. I can’t wait to implement some of the things I learned at my own events so that matches will be even more fun and competitive for all the players.
On Saturday night, after playing, a bunch of us decided to check out Roosevelt’s. We wanted to have dinner there but the wait was over an hour so we stayed and took some pics while we waited for everyone to arrive but then ultimately ended up eating a nearby Mexican restaurant called Chimi’s instead.
Here are some pictures of our dinner…
You can never go wrong with Mexican food!
We took some pictures on our way back to the car after dinner.
It was so great that a couple of friends from Wichita (Colby Fugit and Ben Meyer) came to check out the DUPR event and also joined us for dinner.
I am so grateful to Katie for letting me stay with her that weekend. I not only got to bond with her but also met and bonded with her sweet dog Rosie. It was the best weekend ever and one that I won’t soon forget, specially now that I’ve written about it here. Definitely one of the highlights of the year for me. I just love spending time with my Oklahoma friends and can’t wait to visit them again. I’m already counting the days until my next OKC tournament! Until then, GNG.
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