WE had some great results for some of the 31 Washington State players at the 2012 OR Regional Qualifiers.

Congratulations to (last name order):
Nicolas Benton (Marysville) = 1st – Men’s Singles A
Jeff Budnick (Vancouver) = 1st – Men’s Singles C
Nicolas Benton / Will Butler (Marysville/Clarkston) = 3rd – Men’s Doubles – Elite
Will Butler / Coonse – (Clarkston/Idaho) = 3rd – Mixed Doubles Elite
Chad Cherry / Westwood (Washougal) = 2nd – Men’s Doubles Open
Cathy Epperson / Karen Ide – (Lacey/Beaverton) = 1st – Women’s Doubles A
Grace Hughes / Jessica Munoz – (Silverdale/Burlington) …

129 players showed up on March 30th to participate in the 2012 Washington State Singles racquetball tournament. This year the Washington State Singles was sponsored by Racquetball Warehouse, Gearbox, Wilson Racquetball, The Pro Sports Club, Imagine DS, and Awards by Wilson.

As you would expect at the Washington State Singles, there was serious competition at all levels, and several barn-burner matches that had huge crowds of people watching.

You can’t talk about …

Nine players from Washington traveled to Tempe Arizona to compete in the 2012 National Doubles Tournament.  These players combined to bring home Nine medals and crowned Two National Champions!

One of the best matches in the entire tourney was the Men’s’ 40 finals between Jeff Stark/Dale Millhollin vs.  Jimmie Lowe/Tim Hansen.  The Crowd was one of the biggest all week to watch three very fast guys with one big slow guy have an  incredible three game battle.  Any shots you can imagine were used, along with many unbelievable saves …

Standing Room Only: Seattle Pro/Am Plays to Packed House

Seattle’s historical-landmark designated Washington Athletic Club (WAC) set the stage for the last Tier 1 Pro Stop before the IRT’s holiday break. “Seattle’s always fun,” said Richelle Kulju who participated in the event. “It has such a great energy because the WAC’s in the heart of downtown. Players love to come to stay, play, and shop.”

“The urban setting is one of the unique aspects of the event,” explained Co-Tournament Director and Hall of Fame coach, Fran Davis. “Seattle is such a young, …

by Arun Rohila and Wanda Collins

With 136 participants, this tournament continues to be one of the big ones in Washington. It offers first rate competition and great hospitality to everyone who attends. The directors give a big shout out to sponsors and volunteers who helped to bring the Women’s Pros to Olympia. Thanks to Ektelon, Head, Gearbox, Racketskinz, PCI Pest Control, L&E Bottling, Izzy’s and of course Bally’s and John.

If any of the participants wanted to meet the women’s pro players and have the opportunity to get on the court …

by Wanda Collins

The tradition continues, with junior racquetball players from Washington State competing with juniors from British Columbia in a two part series for individual and team honors. The first of the two contests was held in Bellingham this year. Twenty seven juniors played in an all day Saturday shootout, with abilities ranging from multi bounce players to accomplished high school competitors. The point scoring at the end of day showed a tie between the two teams with 32 points each. The second part of this challenge will be in …

The 2011 Auburn VW Open was held on October 22-23 in Kent, Washington with close to 80 players. It was a tournament with some “firsts”.

We had a dynamic Men’s Open draw of 16 players – (1st: Anthony Herrera, 2nd: Jimmy Lowe)
We had the Gear Box traveling bus (very cool!)
We had to relocate the tournament unexpectedly during the 1st day of the event.

A round of thanks and gratitude goes out to Benji Doniego and LA Fitness for their incredible support of the tournament – resulting in a great “save” of the …

Club Sept. 30 – Oct. 2. A total of eighty players joined together to play racquetball and support
the junior players of Washington State. This tournament has been through some large changes,
including a much earlier date than in previous years, as well as the lineup in the Men’s Open
Division. But the consistent factors have been the perseverance and leadership of Neal Heggen,
and the generosity of our sponsors and players. Thanks to the help of John Avendano and the
Women’s Center, George Brewer, and Robert Brown of Max Technologies, this tournament,
even with the …

On September 17th we had our Membership Drive tournament for the North End, and for those who just couldn’t get to the membership drive tournament held by Neal Heggen in Kent the previous weekend. In case you somehow missed the advertising emails, facebook posts, etc that I put out to try and promote the event, the idea was that you’d play this tournament (or Neal’s the previous weekend), and then instead of getting another t-shirt for your closet we’d provide you a one-year membership extension instead.

The Entry …

Jacob Allen(Everett):  Jacob fought hard for 2nd place in the Boys 10 Singles Red Division, losing in an exciting tiebreaker match against Alan Yepiz of Stockton, CA.
Zachary Allen(Everett):  Zach placed 4th in the Boys 8MB Division, with some great competition from California, Texas and Oregon.
Jake Birnel(Bellingham):  Took 3nd in Boys 14 Singles Gold Division, losing to the eventual first place winner, Spencer Shoemaker of Ohio.  Jake scored more points in their match than anyone else Shoemaker played, and he’ll be looking for a rematch next year. Jake also took 2nd …