Back to Back Pickleball
Posted on October 19, 2022 by Ching under Pickleball.
I have been back to back with pickleball since the beginning of September and just survived four consecutive weekends of pickleball tournaments.
- September 2-4: Tulsa Pickleball Classic with Robert Mansfield (Intermediate 50/50), Tanner Rice (Mixed 4.5 19+), and Huyen Nguyen (Women’s 4.0 19+)
- September 15: Picklepalooza for Senior Services of Wichita, representing Evergy team
- September 23-25: ICT Fall-out with Jenny Corley (Women’s 4.0 17+, 50+) and Tanner Rice (Mixed 4.5 17+, 50+)
- October 1-2: Shangri-la Pickleball Open with Molly Sager (Women’s 3.5:8-49) and Devon Fuller (Mixed 4.5:8-49)
- October 7-9: PPA Championships in Las Vegas with Jen Reifschneider (Women’s 4.0 19+) and Zach Nguyen (Mixed 3.5 35+)
- October 14-16: Bartlesville Pickleball Classic with Chris Wilson (Advanced 50/50), Jenny Corley (Women’s 4.0 19+) and Michael Douglas (Mixed 4.0 19+)
As much fun as the last month and a half has been, I’ve decided that I never ever want to do this again. I am entirely too old for this crap. LOL.
The Shangri-la Pickleball Open was held at the beautiful Shangri-la resort on Grand Lake in Monkey Island, OK. I’d never been to Grand Lake before and I had no idea this place even existed until this tournament.
Brian went with me and we stayed at our friend Kumar Krishnan’s lake house. It was kind of an exchange because Kumar stayed overnight with us earlier this year for the Rotary Club of Andover’s Picklemania MMXXII event. However, after staying with Kumar, Brian and I realized how very lacking our hosting skills are and definitely need to up our game.
One of the best parts of the Shangri-la tournament was that, not only did we achieve an all matchy-matchy podium, but it was also an all #ictpickleball podium. Gold went to Jenny Corley and Cindy Egan. Silver went to me and Molly Sager. And bronze went to Michelle Voegeli and Shawna Geist.
FUN FACT: The previous weekend it was me and Jenny vs. Molly and Cindy. Jenny and her partner came out on top both times so I guess that means she is the MVP. 😉 It should come as no surprise if you have ever seen her play. She is long and lean and powerful — definitely a force to be reckoned with on the pickleball court.
For mixed doubles, I recruited Devon Fuller to play with me. You might remember him from the Vetta Sunset Dink-in the New Year pickleball tournament. We played 4.0 in that one and got gold so for our second time playing together I figured we could try playing in the 4.5 division this time around.
Devon and I ended getting 4th in a very tough bracket. Gold went to Katie Merrill and Ryan Luelf (my second time losing to Katie in the first round — first time was at TPC when Tanner and I lost to her and Ramon Lozano). Silver went to Summer Freese and Kyle Rinck (my second time losing to Kyle — first time was at ICT Fall-out when Tanner and I lost to him and Colby Fugit). Bronze went to Molly Sager and Michael Harris.
I have only ever beaten Katie one time, when Jenny and I played against her and Genevieve Eskridge in the ICT Fall-out pickleball tournament the previous weekend. I think, hands down, she is the much stronger pickleball player between the two of us and I would love to team up with her one of these days.
After Ryan and Katie beat us in the main draw, Devon and I beat Kelsey Wisdom and her brother (15-10) and then barely beat Krystal Fosnight and Trung Ho (16-14) in the back draw before getting smoked by Summer and Kyle on their way up to the medal stand. Devon made me feel better later by reminding me that the only two teams that beat us that day were the gold and silver medal teams.
Here are a few action shots of me and Devon taken during our match against Krystal and Trung. Devon’s athleticism makes him one of the best mixed doubles partners I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing with.
I got a picture with my fellow Chicken N Pickle #sponsoredathlete teammate Kyle Rinck because I never forget people who kick my ass at pickleball. Getting spanked on the court is never fun but it’s not quite so bad when the guy doing the spanking is as good looking as Kyle.
In the meantime, Brian got to meet and hang out with Cody Kent. Cody is the brains behind many successful pickleball tournaments. He and his wife Dana also stayed at Kumar’s lake house that weekend.
This last pic is one that Marva Stroman took during our first match (against Katie and Ryan). I remember hanging out with Molly at the World Pickleball Tour Kansas City Pickleball Classic tournament over the summer. She’s like, “You know everyone!” Well, it kinda helps when your name is printed in big block letters on the back of your shirt. LOL. Fun times.
Until next time, GNG.
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