After almost an entire year of no tournaments, racketlon was back on North American soil in February 2021! In Syracuse, NY, on the first weekend in February, 46 players participated across 10 draws for a three day racketlon tournament consisting of table tennis, badminton, pickleball and tennis. This represents the largest racketlon tournament in US history to date!
2019 World Championship Team USA member, Shree Dhond took home his maiden singles title in the Men’s A draw and partnered up again with USA racketlon president Pat Moran to take home first in the Men’s A doubles. Former college tennis player, Alex McCarthy, dominated theMen’s B singles draw. Syracuse, NY locals, Joon Kim and Jason Lam paired up and took home the Men’s B doubles title. Adam Malone showcased his athletic abilities taking first place in the Coed C singles draw and racquetball specialist, Kevin Russell, picked up many new rackets and took home first in the Coed D singles draw.
On the women’s side we saw a very competitive singles draw. Women’s A singles consisted of veteran Racketlon competitor, Shona Kerr,former professional squash player, Dora Kurimay, rising racketlon competitor Dominique Canale and former NCAA tennis player Sienna Susko.
Shona took home first place in the women’s A singles draw beating Dominique Canale in a tight match by 5 points overall. This women’s singles draw showcased great promise for the females of the future for USA Racketlon.
The mixed doubles A draw consisted of 5 strong pairings including experienced racketlon competitor Pat Moran who paired up with former professional table tennis player Dora Kurimay. Racketlon veterans and Massachusetts natives Andy Stenson and Shona Kerr paired up.
Cousins from Upstate New York Dominique Canale and Eric Shear partnered as well as powerhouse couple Adam Malone and Sienna Susko.Both Moran/Kurimay and Shear/Canale were undefeated going into the last match of the tournament. Moran/Kurimay jumped out to a 21-1 leadin TT and hung on to their lead going into the last quarter of the match needing 8 points in tennis to win. Shear/Canale made a mighty comeback getting to 16 points by the time they dropped 8 points in tennis but ended up losing the match by 5 points overall.
The only Gummy-Arm of the tournament took place during an off the books exhibition match between tournament director, Justin D’Antonio and Men’s A Singles and Doubles Champ, Shree Dhond. After coming out with a commanding lead by Shree, Justin came back and forced the match to a sudden death gummi-arm point. Shree came out on top after popping up a lob, which Justin took as an overhead, clipping the tape!
With the positive feedback from the tournament, the future is bright for tournaments at Elevate Fitness. Keep an eye out on our website and onsocial media for upcoming events.
The results:
Singles
Women’s A: 1st. Shona Kerr 2nd. Dominique Canale (74-69)
Men’s A: 1st. Shree Dhond 2nd. Nikola Ristic (67-50)
Men’s B: 1st. Alex McCarthy 2nd. Jon Kangah (72-59)
Coed C: 1st Adam Malone 2nd. Mike Henty (64-50)
Coed D: 1st. Kevin Russel 2nd. Juliya Virovlyanski (74-61)
Doubles
Men’s A: 1st Pat Moran/Shree Dhond 2nd: Matt & John Funicello (71-55)
Men’s B: 1st. Joon Kim/Jason Lam 2nd. Jon Kangah/Brian Emigholz (71-64)
Men’s Beginner: 1st: Chris Keevil/Jon Westfall 2nd: Mike Henty/Vince Schoonmaker (79-65)
Mixed A: 1st. Pat Moran/Dora Kurimay 2nd. Eric Shear/Dominique Canale (68-63)
Mixed Beginner: 1st. Rajesh Kumar/Juliya Virovlyanski 2nd. James & Kathy Byrne (72-52)
By Andy Stenson
