2023 Wichita Corporate Challenge
Posted on August 28, 2023 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.
The 2023 Wichita Corporate Challenge kicked off on Thursday, August 17, with corn hole (bags) and pickleball events at Chicken N Pickle. They had so many more teams this year so, for the first time ever, there were 4 different divisions (instead of just 3 like we have had in the past).
I was excited to be able to compete in the pickleball event with Chris Wilson. I always look forward to opportunities to reunite with Chris because he was my first ever tournament partner. We have played enough together that he knows how I like to play and generally knows what balls to take from me.
Here are some pictures from that day…
Chicken N Pickle competed this year and won the pickleball event in Division 1.
We are normally in Division 3 but, because the event expanded this year, many of the Division 3 teams got moved up to Division 4. Once again, we took second to Koch. Not surprising, considering Koch has such a deep talent pool.
Fong Witte and Ev Kim beat out multiple players every year in their pickleball tryouts. This year, Koch had 40 teams (That’s an astounding 80 players!) compete for their pickleball spot.
Overall, I’m pretty proud of how Chris and I played. We lost to Koch in the main bracket so they were undefeated going into the championship match. We first had to get past Cargill in the backdraw before we could come back up and face Koch for a rematch. We were successful at beating them in the first game but, unfortunately, could not win a second time to take the championship.
It looks like Spirit was third and Cargill was fourth in our division last year. However, Cargill improved on their results this year and took third. Evergy has been second at least 2 years in a row. I’m hoping next year will be the year we actually take it but Fong and Ev are a tough team so stars would have to align.
Besides pickleball, I also got to play in billiards this year because we didn’t have anyone else to do it. We won a close one against a tough NIAR team and then lost to some professional billiard players on the Spirit team and then I think we lost to Cargill in the backdraw. I was not awful and actually sank some balls so I think with a little bit of practice we could probably improve our finish next year. That is, if no one else steps up to play and I get to compete in the event again.
We were short a couple of people to get all the points possible for the 5K walk event on Saturday, August 19, but those of us who came had a great time. They relocated the route to the Exploration Place area and it was a beautiful day for a walk. Some who wanted to challenge themselves actually ran the course.
Those were pretty much the only three events I could help with because my schedule has been pretty crazy but I’m glad I was able to contribute and get us some points. Here’s a link to the current standings. Participation has been low the last couple of years and I am hoping this will change because I would like to see us as one of the top teams in our division in the future. Until next year, GNG.
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Our Dinner with Champions
Posted on August 21, 2023 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.
Since all of the younger professional pickleball players were getting all the attention and hype from the pickleball tours, the senior pros created their own league. If you are age 50 or over (49 turning 50 that year counts), then you are eligible to compete in senior pickleball events.
National Pickleball League (NPL) is a professional tour created by champions (aka senior pros) for champions. A couple of weeks ago NPL was at our local Chicken N Pickle for one of their tour stops so I volunteered and got to watch and experience the team event unfold. It was electrifying and inspiring at the same time. If I continue to work to get better and improve my pickleball game, I could be part of this thing in five years (if it’s still around, hopefully – LOL).
When the event wrapped on Sunday, the OKC Punishers celebrated at Jose Pepper’s next to Chicken N Pickle. Brian and I got invited by the two members (now friends) who we were hosting that weekend so we got to spend some time and bond with the team which is currently #1 in the league going into the San Antonio event. Here’s a picture of their amazing team.
Note that their #1 female Beth Bellamy isn’t in the photo because she wasn’t feeling well at the end. Maureen O’Malia actually had to play her final match for her. O’Malia was up for the challenge and played lights out that last match.
Here’s a picture of me and Brian with OKC Punisher Carrina de Vera and her wife Deb. They stayed with us that weekend. They were wonderful guests and event brought a present for Brian and I with various goodies (handmade soap, loofah, lip balm, etc.) from a local soap shop in Ohio which I cannot wait to try.
Here’s a picture of us with Jenny Marcos, #2 female for OKC Punishers. She plays in the top matches with Beth Bellamy. I’ve actually known Jenny for some time through various mutual friends and we got to hang out with her a bit during the US Open this year in Naples. Jenny ended up not being able to stay for dinner because she wanted to drive home that same night and didn’t want to get home super late. We offered to have her stay another night (Carrina and Deb’s flight wasn’t until Monday morning) but Jenny had some lessons or appointments/commitments in the morning that she couldn’t miss.
This woman is amazing and I want to be an amazing senior pro pickleball player/champion just like her when I grow up.
We were lucky that Jose Pepper’s was able to accommodate our large group.
I wish Jenny could have stayed but getting home safely is more important. We had a great time overall. Brian and I are both grateful to be included.
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National Pickleball League in Wichita
Posted on August 19, 2023 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.
I had the best time when National Pickleball League (NPL) came to town for one of the NPL tour stops. We had a couple of pros from the OKC Punishers team stay with us – Carrina de Vera and Jenny Marcos. I’ve known Jenny for some time now through mutual friends and then it was my first time meeting Carrina. They are both Filipino so it was perfect.
Here are some pictures from the NPL kickoff party on Friday night. Jenny is in pink. Carrina is in black. The red-haired lady is Carrina’s wife, Deb.
This is Mark Milner, OKC Punishers GM and top male player along with Jaime Oncins (below). These two men are probably the most handsome men’s doubles duo in the entire league.
Two full days of competition followed the opening night party. Saturday play featured OKC Punishers vs. Indy Drivers. They split the matches and had to go into a super exciting teambreaker.
Check out this awesome scorpion that Jenny hits early in the game.
Karen Fox and Vickie Hancock were two of our best volunteers.
Day two pictures next…
Jen Reifschneider was such a trooper. She volunteered on both days.
Brian Evenson was on hand to take photos all weekend.
No one was volunteering for broadcast booth help so I signed Brian up for it on Sunday and he really enjoyed his volunteer job. It was right up his alley.
I was court monitor on court 6, which was actually a great volunteer job for me because I got to watch amazing matches all morning. I caught a snap of Jenny taking a nap in between matches. It had been a long two days.
It was a busy weekend but I had so much fun. It was great to see and meet all the senior pros and watch them play. I can’t wait until NPL returns next year.
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Susie’s Pickleball Birthday Party
Posted on August 16, 2023 by Ching under Events, Pickleball.
Susie Ternes, Karen Fox, and I were all matchy match at Susie’s pickleball birthday party at Rolling Hills this past weekend. DJ Jeff Kenworthy was there playing some tunes and lots of people came out to celebrate Susie, as you can tell from the group photo that we took at the party below.
The party was so much fun but the most memorable part for me was getting to play against senior pro Rich Lively. I didn’t even know it was him at first because I didn’t recognize him. I just saw this guy in a blue “Diamond Amateur Championship” shirt who I had never seen before playing with Jason McCutchen. And then we started playing and he was hitting these killer serves. Finally, I was just like, “I don’t think we’ve met before. What is your name?” That’s when I found out it was Boca Raton Picklers’ Rich Lively. No wonder he had killer serves and amazing shots! He’s a pro! Naturally, I tried to engage him in dink battles almost every point. It was so much fun! Pickleball birthday parties are THE BEST!
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Tournament Recap – OKC Picklemania
Posted on August 14, 2023 by Ching under Events, Pickleball.
I had a blast playing in Picklemania at the Life Time in Oklahoma City last weekend, a tournament I wasn’t even set to play in. My friend Mandy O’Neil and I just happened to be texting each other and so it got me looking at the tournament. I found one of the guys from Wichita, Nathan Peters, signed up for men’s doubles but not mixed so I asked him if he would be interested in playing mixed doubles together. With a women’s doubles and mixed doubles partner lined up, I decided to make the trip down since I didn’t have any plans that weekend anyway.
Originally, Brian and Saki were going with me but then Brian’s office move got pushed back to August 4 weekend so then he couldn’t go. It worked out that he had to stay in town because the two iPickle Nation team members we had Amanda Ades and Fernando Martinez were both unavailable to run the Nation Builder that weekend. Amanda had a wedding and Fernando was out of town fishing with his son and, since I was playing in the tournament in Oklahoma, Brian had to fill in for all of us. I’m pretty sure that everyone being out that weekend was main the reason I didn’t sign up for the tournament to begin with — because I had to be around to run the round robin at Riverside — but, with two amazing players as partners, I had to figure out a way to make it work.
I met Mandy at some tournaments and got to spend time with her at one of my friend Tanner Rice’s DUPR events last year and she seemed to me like such a fun person to play with so I’d been looking for an opportunity partner with her so I was glad when the opportunity finally came knocking. And then Nate single-handedly smoked Dustin Herman and me at the ICT Classic tournament so I was excited to actually be on the same side of the net as him this time.
Here are a couple of pictures from Saturday that Mandy’s husband Justin took of us with some of the teams in our division.
I’d never played 4.5 women’s doubles before but that’s the level Mandy wanted to play. For our first time playing together, I thought we did really well. I enjoyed playing with her a ton. She prefers playing on the left and I prefer playing on the right so I felt like we were a perfect match.
Here are a couple of action shots of me and Nate on Sunday. Nate and I did really well for not having played together either. We were second in our pool and made it to quarters in a 4.5 mixed doubles division stacked with 18 tough teams.
We defeated the Luelfs (Caroline and Ryan) in the first round of the single elimination bracket and then had to face a couple of tennis players (Alex Bowers and James Seagrass) in the quarters. It was like having to play against two Nates across the net from me which, as Nate put it perfectly, is my Kryptonite. We ended up losing to them and they ended up going on to win gold.
These are some highlights from mixed doubles play on Sunday:
Besides all the fun, competitive play, I enjoy Picklemania for an opportunity to reconnect with some of favorite pickleball players and fellow Chicken N Pickle ambassadors outside the state. Below is Karen McAllister, matriarch of pickleball’s “first family” in OKC.
This next one is of Antonio Lares, Jared Smart, and Ramon Lozano.
If you are a pickleball player looking to play in a fun tournament, I highly recommend checking out one of the Picklemania events in OKC. It is one of my favorite tournaments to do. I already can’t wait until the next one.
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