The annual Landings Club Pickleball Doubles Championships were played last Sunday. Despite the cool temperatures and, at times, challenging wind, the tournament was a big success. While entries were thinner than usual this year, as the event coincided with school spring vacations and trips to the usual far-flung exotic resorts, the matches were spirited, competitive and, in some cases, very long, indicating parity within the respective groups.
Women’s “B” Division, which gets more competitive with each tournament, was won by Leigh Givens-Ulmer and Hilary Thomas who took gold after a ferocious challenge by Ellen Pitts and Marilyn Brady who won silver. The bronze medal went to Trish Tallon and Suzanne Hurd.
In similar fashion, the Men’s “A” Division was a display of terrific pickleball. The team of Peter Dorward and Pat Brooks dominated the division winning gold by defeating Wayne Pero and Richard Nielson, who took silver. Dean Coon and Glen Peschken pocketed the bronze medal.
The final match in Women’s Doubles “A”, arguably the most exciting match of the day, featured Nancy Early and Lisa Tocci as they squared off against Linda Rakosi and Vanessa Marin. After splitting the first two games, the third was won by Early and Tocci, giving them the gold. Rakosi and Marin grabbed silver, while the team of Eileen Moson and Jane Beckley took bronze.
Dinah Zapatka played with the always formidable Claudia Gaughf in the Championship Division. The team lost only one game in four matches earning a well-deserved gold medal. Team Zapatka/Gaughf beat the always powerful Janet Eastwood and Courtney Neely who won silver. Leslie Medinger and Leslie Marino took bronze.
The intensity of play in the Men’s Championship Division generally draws the largest crowds. The play is fast, and the tempo furious, as these teams square off. Last Sunday was no exception. Always steady and calculating, Scott McKessy teamed with the more frenetic Adam Hecht to win the division. Unlike Scott, Adam plays pickleball like an amphetamine laced Dervish. It is hard to imagine one individual covering more territory in one match. Although the contrast is striking, it works, as they didn’t lose a game in four hotly contested matches. AJ Goldman and Max Lemaigre won silver, while Andrew Jones and Mark Medinger took bronze.
To this scribe it seems clear: there are significant changes in the level of play, which are increasingly altering the dynamics of tournaments at The Landings. A year ago, most of our best players were rated at or very close to 4.0. Today at least six men and women are bumping up against a 5.0 rating. At the same time many of the players rated 3.0 – 3.5 a year ago are now approaching 4.0. This is a significant trend which can in large part be attributed to the addition of Alex Fox and Bradley Morse and the dedication of the entire court sports crew.