Intercollegiate Racquetball - A review

The 2015 USA Racquetball Intercollegiate Championships wrapped up at the end of March, but as the Pan American Championships were going on last week, we didn't have a chance to review the collegiate champs and where they fit in with recent champions.

With her second title, Kelani Bailey of Shenandoah University joined an impressive list of multiple intercollegiate champions, including two time winners Sharon Jackson, Adrienne Fisher, Kristen Walsh, Christie Van Hees, Cindy Doyle, Crystal Fried, Kathy Gluvna, Barbara Faulkenberry, and three time winners Kristen Walsh and Tammy Brockbank.

Of the 10 women to previously win multiple collegiate, 9 of them played for their country internationally. Only Fisher hasn't. Van Hees and Fried played for Canada and the rest for the USA.

Thus, Bailey, who's been on the USA Junior Team, will likely be making a USA Team appearance in the future.

Elizabeth Simmons and Lindsay Rasmussen of the University of Arizona also won a second time in Women's Doubles, and their titles are back to back. A few teams have done that in the past including Jackson and Kara Mazer (2009, 2010), Lisa Faquin and Renee Trammell (1982, 1983) and Robin Levine and Kelly Pullis, who won three consecutive titles: 1987-1989.

Some other women won multiple doubles titles, but not with the same partners, including two time winners Ashley Willhite, Da'monique Davis, Kristen Walsh, Elle Summers, Susana Acosta, Britt Engel, Chris Deer, Heather Dunn, Jen Yokota, three time winner Mazer, and Jackson, who won Women's Doubles all four years at Alambama, twice with Mazer and once each with Brittany Travers and Madeleine Angles.

2015 Men's Intercollegiate Champion Adam Manilla of the University of Colorado-Boulder isn't yet a multiple champion in Men's Singles or Men's Doubles, but he did win both those divisions this year, taking the doubles title with Nick Riffel. Thus, he joins a short list of men to have won both titles in the same year.

The list includes Taylor Knoth, Jansen Allen, Jose Rojas, Tony Carson, Ben Croft, Javier Moreno, Luis Bustillos, Shane Wood, and Andy Roberts. In fact in the last eleven years, the Men's Singles champion has also won Men's Doubles eight times, including Manilla's victories this year.

Predictive of future excellence?

Bailey and Manilla had great wins this year, but will they win more in the future? As they were multiple winners (in different ways), the players that had similar achievements in the past did go on to bigger things, which suggests Bailey and Manilla will also.

But it's not a sure thing. One of the interesting things from the list of the top four intercollegiate finishers from 5-10 years ago, and see what names are recognizable. Or put another way, wonder what happened to the players who's names aren't recognizable, which happens especially with the 3rd and 4th place finishers.

Thirty women finished in the top four in Women's Singles or Women's Doubles at intercollegiates between 2006-2010, and ten of them have active rankings in the USA Racquetball database (two players aren't in the database and the others come up as a zero ranking). Of those ten, six played on the Ladies Profession Racquetball Tour (LPRT) this year.

Thirty men also finished in the top four in Men's Singles or Men's Doubles at intercollegiates between 2006-2010. Sixteen of them have current USA Racquetball rankings, and three others played International Racquetball Tour (IRT) events in the intervening years. Of the sixteen, six are currently in the top IRT 20.

Of course, not having a current ranking doesn't mean the person isn't still playing racquetball, but for people who were highly competitive players, it's not a good sign that they haven't played a tournament in the last 13 months (the period covered by the USA Racquetball rankings).

Thus, excellence at one level is somewhat predictive of excellence at a higher level, although some of the players who were successful at intercollegiate had already established themselves as good players on the pro tours.

Playing beyond university

People recently talked to us about trying to capture racquetball players who are introduced to racquetball in university to keep them playing after they graduate. It's a great idea, and the data presented above suggest that not everyone is being captured out of university, although again tournament ranking is not an absolute measure of racquetball involvement.

But we think it'll be tricky to implement any strategy to retain collegiate racquetballers, as the period people spend at university is often separate from the rest of their lives.

This is especially so if people go away to university. Then after graduating people often move somewhere else, where they may or may not have easy access to racquetball courts. Thus, even if they were regular racquetball players in university, they may not be afterwards simply due to court access.

Nevertheless, marketing to graduating university players is an idea worth pursuing. We support any initiative to bring more people to racquetball, and especially initiatives aimed at the under 35 demographic, which is currently underrepresented in racquetball.

USA Racquetball Intercollegiate Champions

Women's Singles

2015

1) Kelani Bailey (Shenandoah)
2) Elizabeth Simmons (Arizona)
3) Hannah Shnurman (Northern Colorado)
4) Rachel Creel (Oregon State)

2014

1. Devon Pimentelli (Canada College)
2. Amanda Lindsay (Oregon State)
3. Samantha Simmons (Maryland)
4. Elizabeth Simmons (Arizona)

2013

1. Kelani Bailey (Shenandoah)
2. Danielle Key (Arizona State)
3. Amanda Lindsay (Oregon State)
4. Kelly Gremley (Purdue)

2012

1. Sharon Jackson (Alabama)
2. Danielle Key (Arizona State)
3. Sheryl Lotts (Baldwin Wallace)
4. Hailey Miller (Oregon)

2011

1. Michelle Key (Arizona State)
2. Sharon Jackson (Univ. of Alabama)
3. Sheryl Lotts (Baldwin Wallace)
4. Kelly Gremley (Purdue)

2010

1. Sharon Jackson (Univ. of Alabama)
2. Michelle Key (Univ. of Arizona)
3. Sheryl Lotts (Baldwin Wallace)
4. Ashley Willhite (Oregon State)

2009

1. Sheryl Lotts (Baldwin Wallace)
2. Kara Mazer (University of Alabama)
3. Ashley Willhite (Oregon State)
4. Teresa Diaz (Delta College)

2008

1. Kara Mazer (University of Alabama)
2. Sarah Hettesheimer (Baldwin Wallace)
3. Ashley Willhite (Oregon State)
4. Sue Sublaban (Delta College)

2007

1. Kimberly Irons (Ohio University)
2. Jesi Fuller (University of New Mexico)
3. Da'monique Davis (University of Alabama)
4. Sarah Hettesheimer (Baldwin Wallace)

2006

1. Adrienne Fisher (University of Alabama)
2. Ashley Legget (Oregon State)
3. Jesi Fuller (University of New Mexico)
4. Allison Dauer (North Carolina)

Women's Doubles

2015

1) Elizabeth Simmons & Lindsay Rasmussen (Arizona)
2) Rachel Creel & Sarah Lewis (Oregon State)
3) Anna Schwartz & Madeline Gauch (Missouri)
4) Stefanie Nissley & Kerry Ryan (Pennsylvania State)

2014

1. Elizabeth Simmons & Lindsay Rasmussen (Arizona)
2. Amanda Lindsay & Karissa Beatty (Oregon State)
3. Anna Schwartz & Rachel Schmidt (Missouri)
4. Adrienne Schneider & Sara Moulton (Brigham Young)

2013

1. Danielle Key & Devon Pimentelli (Arizona State)
2. Amanda Lindsay & Karissa Beatty (Oregon State)
3. Elizabeth Simmons & Lindsay Rasmussen (Arizona)
4. Eliza Culverwell & Mary Culverwell (Brigham Young)

2012

1. Madeleine Angles & Sharon Jackson (University of Alabama)
2. Molly Haragan & Sheryl Lotts (Baldwin Wallace)
3. Danielle Key & Izayadeth Aguayo (Arizona State)
4. Leah Redwine & Hailey Miller (University Of Oregon)

2011

1. Brittany Travers & Sharon Jackson (University of Alabama)
2. Sheryl Lotts & Tracy Hawthorne (Baldwin Wallace)
3. Hailey Miller & Leah Redwine (University of Oregon)
4. Izayadeth Aguayo & Michelle Key (Arizona State)

2010

1. Kara Mazur & Sharon Jackson (University of Alabama)
2. Sheryl Lotts & Tracy Hawthorne (Baldwin Wallace)
3. Haley Strom & Holly Hettesheimer (University Of Cincinnati)
4. Izayadeth Aguayo & Michelle Key (Arizona State)

2009

1. Sharon Jackson & Kara Mazer (University of Alabama)
2. Sarah Hettesheimer & Sheryl Lotts (Baldwin Wallace)
3. Alyssa Asay & Ashley Willhite (Oregon State)
4. Eliza Culverwell & Charlotte Macfarlane (Brigham Young)

2008

1. Alyssa Asay & Ashley Willhite (Oregon State)
2. Mallory Parry & Darla Wenger (Brigham Young)
3. Sarah Hettesheimer & Tyler Fridley (Baldwin Wallace)
4. Kara Mazer & Brittany Travers (University of Alabama)

2007

1. Da'monique Davis & Kara Mazer (University of Alabama)
2. Sarah Hettesheimer & Kristin Matushevski (Baldwin Wallace)
3. Michelle Key & Jessica Montemayor (Arizona State)
4. Mallory Parry & Katherine Affeltranger (Brigham Young)

2006

1. Ashley Legget & Ashley Willhite (Oregon State)
2. Da'monique Davis & Kelley Fisher (University of Alabama)
3. Jesi Fuller & Natalie Alexia Lopez (New Mexico State)
4. Gretchen Miller & Kristen Karl (Pennsylvania State)

Men's Singles

2015

1) Adam Manilla (Colorado)
2) Marco Rojas (University of the Pacific)
3) Dylan Reid (Washington University)
4) Brad Schopieray (Colorado State)

2014

1. Jose Diaz (Delta College)
2. Nick Montalbano (Colorado State, Pueblo)
3. Adam Manilla (Colorado State)
4. Joel Barshaw (Oregon State)

2013

1. Taylor Knoth (Oregon State)
2. Nick Montalbano (Colorado State, Pueblo)
3. Cole Burr (Brigham Young)
4. Jordan Matthews (North Carolina State)

2012

1. Jansen Allen (Colorado State, Pueblo)
2. Taylor Knoth (Oregon State)
3. John Craig Chisholm (Boston Univ.)
4. Jose Diaz (Delta College)

2011

1. Taylor Knoth (Oregon State)
2. Nick Montalbano (Colorado State, Pueblo)
3. Danny Lavely (Univ. of Alabama)
4. John Craig Chisholm (Boston Univ.)

2010

1. Jose Rojas (Delta College)
2. Taylor Knoth (Univ. of Oregon)
3. Joey Lakowske (Oregon State)
4. Allan Crockett (Univ. of Alabama)

2009

1. Jose Rojas (Delta College)
2. Allan Crockett (University of Alabama)
3. Tony Carson (Colorado State)
4. Anthony Herrera (University of Colorado, Colorado Springs)

2008

1. Tony Carson (Colorado State)
2. Anthony Herrera (University of Colorado, Colorado Springs)
3. Bradly Rogers (Wichita)
4. Allan Crockett (University of Alabama)

2007

1. Ben Croft (Colorado State, Pueblo)
2. Agustin Tristan (University of Alabama)
3. Evan Ussery (University of New Mexico)
4. Phil Matthews (University of Illinois)

2006

1. Ben Croft (Colorado State, Pueblo)
2. Agustin Tristan (University of Alabama)
3. Mike Harmon (Manatee Community College)
4. Louis Vogel (University of New Mexico)

Men's Doubles

2015

1) Adam Manilla & Nick Riffel (Colorado)
2) Jacob Matthews & Brad Schopieray (Colorado State, Pueblo)
3) Joel Bradshow & Sam Reid (Oregon State)
4) Jon Lanford & Alex Howard (Texas)

2014

1. Felipe Camacho & Brad Schopieray (Colorado State, Pueblo)
2. Adam Manilla & Nick Riffel (Colorado State)
3. Joel Bradshow & Sam Reid (Oregon State)
4. Danny Sardina & Zachary Patterson (Arizona State)

2013

1. Taylor Knoth & Joel Bradshow (Oregon State)
2. Nick Montalbano & Jake Bredenbeck (Colorado State, Pueblo)
3. Cole Burr & Brian Zundel (Brigham Young)
4. Alex Fischler & Joe Koch (Missouri)

2012

1. Jansen Allen & Nick Montalbano (Colorado State, Pueblo)
2. Grant Stalley & Taylor Knoth (Oregon State)
3. Brad Falvey & Danny Lavely (Alabama)
4. Cole Burr & Joseph Blank (Brigham Young)

2011

1. Felipe Camacho & Jansen Allen (Colorado State, Pueblo)
2. Allan Crockett & Danny Lavely (University of Alabama)
3. Joey Pryor & Taylor Knoth (Oregon State)
4. Jeff Skanchy & Joseph Blank (Brigham Young)

2010

1. David Horn & Jose Rojas (Delta College)
2. Jansen Allen & Tyler Otto (Colorado State)
3. Allan Crockett & Jonathan Doyle (University of Alabama)
4. David Laforest & Joey Lakowske (Oregon State)

2009

1. Tony Carson & Jansen Allen (Colorado State)
2. Jose Rojas & Ismael Aldana Jr. (Delta College)
3. Allan Crockett & Jonathan Doyle (University of Alabama)
4. Harry Fuller & Zach Apperson (Baldwin Wallace)

2008

1. Tony Carson & Charlie Pratt (Colorado State)
2. Harry Fuller & Zach Apperson (Baldwin Wallace)
3. David Laforest & Joey Lakowske (Oregon State)
4. Allan Crockett & Jonathan Doyle (University of Alabama)

2007

1. Ben Croft & Mitch Williams (Colorado State)
2. Chris Crockett & Shane Karmelin (University of Alabama)
3. Harry Fuller & Zach Apperson (Baldwin Wallace)
4. Marco Hidalgo & Evan Ussery (New Mexico State)

2006

1. Ben Croft & Mitch Williams (Colorado State)
2. Augustin Tristan & Shane Karmelin (University of Alabama)
3. Scott Perryman & Jared Torres (Brigham Young)
4. Joe Linnell & Benjamin Toth (Ohio State)

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