Friday, February 23, 2024 (No Play)
Last night, laying in bed, the inside of my right knee was aching a bit. It was then that I realized that I hadn’t used my right knee brace yesterday drilling with Jason. Oops. Recovery from knee surgery from June is still dragging on. Or maybe that’s just the way my knee will be going forward. Time will tell.
The Bracket
René had sent me the bracket that Jason and I were in, and later, Jason also sent it to me. I took a screenshot to share here:
Out of the 12 players on the six other teams, I know 5: Dave Cox, John Pacholski, Dieter and Bruce, and Chris Yoder—the husband of Jennifer Watson, the tournament director for this event.
Saturday, February 24, 2024 (Court Day #628)
This PIG (“Pickleball is Great”) Chase tournament was supposed to be held at Cabrillo College but winds knocked over a fence on their courts recently, so the tournament was moved to Soquel High School. (We don’t have tornados here or particularly high winds, so I suspect some posts were corroding!) It’s been nearly a year and a half since my last tournament. My knee, and then knee surgery, put a damper on tournaments.
I got up, got ready, and downed three ibuprofen. As I drove through downtown to pick up Jason my car read 50°F. There were scattered clouds and it appeared that is going to be a very nice day.
I got to Jason’s house at 8:03 a.m.—almost on time—and he popped out his front door as soon as I parked in his driveway. A minute or two later, we were on our way.
Arrival
As I pulled into the Soquel High School lot at about 8:15 a.m., I could see a bunch of players warming up. The tennis courts had orange plastic tape on the ground marking out temporary pickleball courts.
Jennifer Watson was manning the registration table with some help from Josh, the young tennis player who also plays pickleball—and he plays it very well, I might add!
It turned out that an 8th team had been added to our bracket. Dan Bliss and Steve Bachman, both locals. The more the merrier and that meant there’d be no byes . . . we wouldn’t have sit even longer periods between games.
Warm Up
Jason and I warmed up on a court. A couple of guys joined us, splitting the court, a guy named Jason from Gerber and Allan from Red Bluff. Now, that’s a trek . . . Red Bluff is about 4 hour drive without hitting traffic. They asked if we wanted to play a warm-up game. We did and our opponents were up a couple points when Jennifer called everyone. (Jason and Allan went on to win silver in their younger 4.0 bracket.)
Everyone collected at the gate area near the registration table for instructions and the playing of the National Anthem. We’d be playing games to 11, win by 2, and we’d be playing our Men’s 4.0, 53+ matches on courts 7, 8, 9, and 10. (There were 12 total courts.)
Game #1 (Court 8)
Our first game would be an extreme challenge. We’d be playing against Chris Yoder (4.5) and his friend Jim Somerville (4.5). I talked to Jim and he’s a high school tennis coach from Monterey who has known Chris for 25 years.
It started out well, Jason and I were surprisingly up 3-1 against Chris and his friend. Jim got me on a few rallies by driving hard at my backhand and me failing to handle the shots. I was a bit frustrated with that. We ended up losing 7-11. Considering their rating and the level of respect around for Chris’ skills, I wasn’t overly disappointed with the outcome. We wrapped up that game at 9:20 a.m.
Jason later said he was surprised that I was having trouble handling Jim’s drives as I’d done well with those previously when I was drilling with Jason. Something went off the rails. Dunno.
Game #2 (Court 8)
The next game was against locals, Dieter and Bruce. Jason and I were leading 9-5, but then they started gaining on us. They started to lob over and over with us facing into the sun. Jason got very frustrated and threw the game ball over the fence and into the parking lot. He was not focused. We ended up losing 9-11. That was a major disappointment to lose when we were up by 4 points and let them go on a 6 point run. I have no problem with them using the sun as a weapon. We didn’t opt to do that, but it’s their choice and part of the game. There is no rule against it. Tournaments are cut-throat. We finished that game at 9:46 a.m.
Game #3 (Court 9)
Our next game was against John Pacholski and David Sullivan. I don’t know David, but I was expecting to win this game. We were up at least 7-0 before they scored any points. Jason and I did end up winning 11-3. I played an error-free game. No mistakes.
Game #4 (Court 10)
Our next game was against Tom Ho and Joe Schertler from the Bay Area. Jason and I were ahead 3-0, but went on to lose 6-11. Joe was the better of the two players, but both were good. Joe had two really nice unexpected poaches in that game for winners. Hats off.
Game #5 (Court 10)
At 10:58 a.m., Jason got text about next game against David DeMateo and Brian Ford from Aromas. Brian is a lefty and they stacked. Jason and I were up 2-0, but got creamed 3-11. Once Brian and Dave got ahead in the game, it was never in doubt.
So far in the tournament, we had won just 1 and lost 4. It was not looking good for playoffs nor medals for us. I was starting to get fatigued and my back was tightening up.
Game #6 (Court 9)
Our next game was against local Dave Cox and Dave Merritt. When I aske, Dave M. said he’s from Seaside. They have a tennis club down there which now has pickleball. He said a 1-day pass is $10 . . . and that a month pass is only $20! (We all know which is the better deal for locals!)
This would be the only game of the day where we were not ever in the lead. They clearly were targeting Jason in this game. Dave Cox no doubt shared some strategy with his partner. We lost 3-11.
Game #7 (Court 9)
Our last game was against locals Dan Bliss and Steve Bachman. Unheard of, my first serve of the game was long. I wasn’t focused enough. But it wouldn’t make a difference. We went on to win 11-2.
The round robin was complete. With record of 2-5, there was no doubt in our minds that we were eliminated from any additional play.
Jason and I agreed in advance when signing up in 4.0 that we’d rather take our lumps and have good games than stay in 3.5 and win medals.
Playoffs
Jason and I stayed to watch the playoffs. It was only about 70 degrees, but with no shade, the sun was making it hot. Dieter’s team would play Dave Cox’s team for the bronze medal in a game to 15 on Court #9. Chris and Jim would be playing for the gold medal against Brian and Dave on Court #7 in the best of three games to 11.
Jason and I sat in chairs along the fence along the sideline of Court #7 and we could see Court #9 beyond which was right next to it.
At one point, I heard the score called by Dieter, “4-4-1”. Close game!
Chris and Jim were ahead, but Brian and Dave came back and won the first game. There was some nice playing going on. Brian politely warned Jim about stepping in the kitchen. Jason, me, and Brian’s wife Michelle did see Jim make 2-3 more kitchen violations, but as observers, we couldn’t say anything other than to each other.
There was a brief break between the games and Dieter and Bruce came over from their court. They had won bronze 15-12. And to think we had them down 9-6! Ah, well. That’s my only regret of the day.
The second game of the gold medal match began. Again, Chris and Jim went out ahead, but it was a close game and was soon 7-7. Brian and Dave stuck it out and won the game, the match, and the gold medal.
Jason and I gathered our things and headed out. But I made a stop by the busy registration table. “Jen . . . [eye contact] . . . thank you.” Organizers don’t get enough credit for their hard work.
Jason admitted in the car that his frustration had cost us the game against Dieter and Bruce. Jason is very competitive. Overly so at times.
At a little before 2 p.m., I dropped Jason off at his house and I then was off to take care of some work responsibilities.
Results
Pickeballbrackets.com had results posted on their website later. Jason and I ended up fifth out of eight teams by virtue of point differential.
And a complete breakdown of scores.
Binh and Shawnté finished 5th out of seven teams in their younger 4.0 bracket.
This evening, I took a couple ibuprofen and iced my knee. I’ve got site coordinator duties at Derby Park tomorrow morning, followed by teach in Aptos.
Local Winners
Given it was a local tournament, we had a number of local players do well.
MEN’S Doubles Skill: (3.0) Age: (5 To 49)
GOLD
– Mauricio Cuervo (Santa Cruz, CA) (Maurico lives in my neighborhood)
– Diego Paramio (Santa Cruz, CA)
SILVER
– Samuel Udo (Santa Cruz, CA)
– Joseph Axisa (Santa Cruz, CA)
MEN’S Doubles Skill: (3.0) Age: (50+)
GOLD
– Piero Lorenzo (Aptos, CA)
– Gene Gutierrez (Aptos, CA)
SILVER
– Rich Wilson (Corralitos, CA)
– Sean McElhaney (Aptos, CA)
BRONZE
– Dexter Marr (Fresno, CA)
– Mike Leffler (Santa Cruz, CA)
MEN’S Doubles Skill: (3.5) Age: (35 And Above)
SILVER
– Heyward Robinson (Aptos, CA)
– John Simmons (Aptos, CA)
BRONZE
– Stoehr Sukachevin (Soquel, CA)
– Jon Atterbury (Santa Cruz, CA)
MEN’S Doubles Skill: (3.5) Age: (5 To 34)
BRONZE
– Antonio Ruiz (Watsonville, CA)
– Freddy Ruiz (Aptos, CA)
MEN’S Doubles Skill: (4.0+) Age: (53+) (This was my bracket)
BRONZE
– Dieter Rothmeier (Capitola, CA)
– Bruce Bostock (Aptos, CA)
MIXED Doubles Skill: (3.0) Age: (5 To 54)
GOLD
– Melissa Finsthwait (Scotts Valley, CA)
– Spencer Edwards (Santa Cruz, CA)
SILVER
– Brianna Bemel (Scotts Valley, CA)
– Max Montgomery (Santa Cruz, CA)
BRONZE
– Yesenia Cardona-Muller (Santa Cruz, CA)
– Diego Paramio (Santa Cruz, CA)
MIXED Doubles Skill: (3.0) Age: (55 To 60)
GOLD
– Alexandra Norris (San Jose, CA)
– Gene Gutierrez (Aptos, CA)
SILVER
– Lacie Bowers (Watsonville, CA)
– Ron Whittle (Scotts Valley, CA)
BRONZE
– Melisa Schwarm (Santa Cruz, CA)
– Sean McElhaney (Aptos, CA)
MIXED Doubles Skill: (3.0) Age: (61 And Above)
GOLD
– Karen Wilson (Corralitos, CA)
– Rich Wilson (Corralitos, CA)
SILVER
– Ellen Glasgow (Santa Cruz, CA)
– Kip Scott (Santa Cruz, CA)
BRONZE
– Julie Montague (Aptos, CA)
– Freddy Ruiz (Aptos, CA)
MIXED Doubles Skill: (3.5) Age: (5 To 49)
GOLD
– Nicole Young (Santa Cruz, CA)
– Matthew Babb (Scotts Valley, CA)
MIXED Doubles Skill: (4.0+)
GOLD
– Rene’ Baker (Los Altos, CA)
– Nathan Fort (Hollister, CA)
SILVER
– Cassidy Sears (Sacramento, CA)
– Shawnte Hagen (Santa Cruz, CA)
BRONZE
– Jackie Signor (Ben Lomond, CA)
Dieter Rothmeier (Capitola, CA)
WOMEN’S Doubles Skill: (3.0) Age: (5 To 54)
BRONZE
– Brianna Bemel (Scotts Valley, CA)
– Maria Rimbe (Santa Cruz, CA)
WOMEN’S Doubles Skill: (3.0) Age: (55 And Above)
GOLD
– Lacie Bowers (watsonville, CA)
– Monica Lee (Capitola, CA)
SILVER
– Karen Wilson (Corralitos, CA)
– Robin Hopkins (Watsonville, CA)
BRONZE
– Melisa Schwarm (Santa Cruz, CA)
– Ellen Glasgow (Santa Cruz, CA)
WOMEN’S Doubles Skill: (3.5+)
SILVER
– Hui Lancaster (Aptos, CA)
– Robin Davis (Aptos, CA)
Number of days on a court: 628
Number of total hours: 2,731
Number of paid coaching hours: 15.5
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