USA Racquetball 2025 National Indoor Championships: In the Record Books!
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by Cheryl Kirk
May 14-18, 2025, saw the Racquetball Family gather at the USA Racquetball National Indoor Championships where 177 athletes competed at Bay Club Pleasanton in Pleasanton, California, for the coveted title of National Champion in numerous Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles divisions.
Read on for this recap of the event, and for a full look at the divisions and results, visit HERE
Starting with Stats...
Total players: 177
Male/female: 124/43
Divisions: 48 (combination of single elimination, round robin, and pool play)
States: 28
Top 5: California 85, Texas 16, Arizona 9, Colorado 7, Utah 7
U.S. Team Qualifying
Men’s and Women’s Singles Finalists and Semifinalists (1st-4th place) and Men’s, Women’s, and Mixed Doubles Finalists (1st and 2nd place teams) secured positions on the 2025-2026 U.S. National Adult Team, effective June 1, 2025.
Rally scoring, adopted by the International Racquetball Federation in 2022, was used: Best 3 games of 5 to 11 points, win by 2. Here are the result of the finals:
Mixed Team Qualifying – Erika Manilla/Erik Garcia def. Annie Sanchez/Robert Collins, 11-5, 7-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-7
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Men’s Team Qualifying Doubles – David Horn/Rocky Carson III def. Jake Bredenbeck/Sam Bredenbeck, 11-9, 5-11, 12-10, 8-11, 12-10
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Women’s Team Qualifying Doubles – Michelle Key/Erika Manilla def. Lexi York/Hollie Scott, 10-12, 11-3, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7
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Men’s Team Qualifying Singles – Daniel De La Rosa def. Jake Bredenbeck, 7-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-7
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Women’s Team Qualifying Singles – Naomi Ros def. Hollie Scott, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10
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USA Racquetball Board of Directors Annual Meeting
In conjunction with the USA Racquetball National Indoor Championships, the USA Racquetball Board of Directors gathered on May 13, 2025, for their Annual Meeting. Visit the USA Racquetball website HERE for more about the meeting.
Ladies’ Night Out -- DoubleTree Hotel Lounge
Thanks go to Terry Rogers for her expert assistance in planning this Ladies’ Night Out as well as the Awards and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
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Hall of Fame Induction/Annual Awards
At the Saturday, May 17th Hall of Fame/Annual Awards breakfast celebration at the DoubleTree Hotel, USA Racquetball Past President Stewart Solomon recognized these deserving Annual Award winners for their outstanding competitive results and/or remarkable contributions to Racquetball:
Female Athlete of the Year – Hollie Scott
Male Athlete of the Year – Daniel De La Rosa
Peggy Steding Female Age Group Athlete of the Year – Cindy Tilbury
Bud Muehleisen Male Age Group Athlete of the Year – Tyrone Gilmore
John Halverson Fair Play Award – Annie Sanchez
Joe Sobek Outstanding Contribution Award – Todd Boss
Joe Sobek Outstanding Contribution Award – Mike Grisz
Lifetime Achievement Award – Vance Lerner
The USA Racquetball Lifetime Achievement Award is not considered an annual award. Given only when special nominations are provided to the Hall of Fame Committee, the criteria describe achievements outstanding in nature that have had a profound effect on fellow racquetball players.
Vance Lerner, of Riverside, California, knew before he passed away in March 2025 at the age of 94 that he was to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. Charlie Hauser, a friend of Vance and his son Steve, delivered comments on Steve’s behalf. Steve related, “When I told him a few months before his passing that he was being recognized, he had a big smile.”
Hall of Fame Induction – DoubleTree Hotel
Attendees at the Saturday morning breakfast witnessed the induction of two new members into the USA Racquetball Hall of Fame. Congratulations to:
Christie Huczek (Professional Athlete, Class of 2025)
Dave Negrete (Contributor, Class of 2025)
While Christie Huczek was unable to attend, Dave Negrete was in attendance along with friends and family members. After an introduction by his brother, John Negrete, Dave delivered his induction acceptance speech that included entertaining anecdotes chronicling his life and racquetball journey.
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Mark Your Calendars!
As the 2025 USA Racquetball National Indoor Championships concluded, we were all happy to know that we’ll see our Racquetball family members February 4-8, 2026 (if not before) at the next National Indoor Championships, to be held at the Arizona State University Sun Devil Fitness Complex in Tempe, Arizona. As it turns out, plans to repurpose a number of courts are not coming immediately to fruition, which provides the ideal opportunity to enjoy ASU and all that Tempe has to offer. Those of us who reside in the northern half of the country are particularly thrilled. See you there!
A WHOLE LOTTA GRATITUDE
Operations of National Indoor Championships were described by many as smooth, friendly, and efficient. Music to our ears!
USA Racquetball is grateful to the sponsors, staff, and volunteers (aka the Racquetball Family). Each and every one contributed in their own unique and special way!
Indoor Nationals Sponsors: Gearbox, KWM Gutterman, WIS Inventory Solutions, Visit Tri-Valley, Splathead, AGE Solutions, and APS (Athlete Performance Solutions – Nike).
USA Racquetball Staff: Jonathan Greenberg, Karen Grisz, Cheryl Kirk, Kristin Wattz
Event Staff: Pablo Fajre, Tom Fuhrmann, Nidia Funes, Glen Gitterman, Linda Gitterman, Bill Milbach, Carrie Reitmeier, Sandy Rios, Terry Rogers, Stewart Solomon, David Stob, Cindy Tilbury, Steve Wattz
Referees are unsung heroes! They were instrumental in keeping the tournament on time and providing a fair experience. Some stepped up many times to help as well as to earn some significant cash to help defray the cost of their trip or to make a donation to the U.S. Teams. (Shoutouts to Cole Sendrey and Tony Jammal who so often refereed Team Qualifying matches to ensure things ran smoothly!)
Streaming: Pablo Fajre streamed U.S. Team Qualifying matches for five days straight. Commentators adding texture to the on-court action included Richard Eisemann, Karen Grisz, Carrie Reitmeier, Sandy Rios, and Ken Stone.
Social Media: Aimee Roehler (ABR Communications, LLC) managed the event’s social media presence for USA Racquetball before, during, and after the tournament.
Photography and videography coming out of this event is spectacular and so very valuable when used in many ways to showcase this great sport of Racquetball. Warm thanks to Katterlea MacGregor of Katterlea Ane Photography for her creativity in producing images that contain “forever memories.”
Thanks to SVP/GM Josh Lyon and his excellent staff at Bay Club Pleasanton for their immediate assistance whenever a need arose. They were pleasant and fun and efficient, and they embodied the spirit of “Yes! Now, what’s the question?”
Lifetime Members and Hall of Famers in attendance – you are deeply appreciated for what you mean to our sport.
Warm thanks go to Bruce Adams for his expertise in creating the Hall of Fame videos for the inductees.
Players and Spectators – We appreciate every one of you who competed, supported, or were just there with us at this very special event!
One more thing...definitely last but not least, on behalf of the U.S. Junior Team and USA Racquetball, sincere thanks to go Nyasa Gupta, 15, a U.S. Junior Team athlete who not only competed in three divisions but also baked the most scrumptious brownies as a fundraiser for her Team!
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USA Racquetball
USA Racquetball
USA Racquetball
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USA Racquetball
