STATE COLLEGE — Pickleball teams from Pennsylvania and Maryland came together Aug. 26 to participate in the 2017 State College YMCA Pickleball Doubles Tournament.
Pickleball is a paddle sport. It is played on a badminton-sized court with large, ping pong-like paddles and a whiffle ball. The net sits on the ground, as in tennis.
Players use a combination of ground strokes, overheads, quick-reflex net play and deft drop shots to confound their opponents.
Pickleball attracts players of all ages and abilities; it is rapidly gaining popularity in the State College area and across the country.
The recent tournament was hosted by the State College Branch of the YMCA and sponsored by Rapid Transit Sportswear, who supplied the players’ tee shirts, and Brother’s Pizza Downtown, who supplied the pizza luncheon.
The tournament was conceived and spearheaded by Rod Khayat, an enthusiastic top-level local player. Khayat worked closely with Josh Cone, from the State College YMCA, and local pickleball players Bo Barbrow, Drew Von Tish and Kenster Rosenberry to design and manage the tournament.
Throughout the day, the atmosphere was friendly, but the competition fierce, as the 24 teams fought to advance to the playoffs.
The intermediate finals was a hard-fought match which kept spectators entertained for the better part of 45 minutes. In the end, Naveen Dadayyapally, of Wilkes Barre, and his doubles partner, Ryan Pollock, of Exeter, took first place, besting Don and Linda Yabiku, of Landisville.
Four teams moved into the advanced championship playoffs. Al Gill, of Frostburg, Md., and partner Tim Tice, of Grantsville, Md., along with John Cardenas, of Lititz, and partner Mark Gilliford, of Lancaster, tied for third place.
Facing each other in the advanced championship finals were Mark Malone, of Cumberland, Md., and partner Tom Riley, of Duncansville, versus Khayat, of State College, and partner Drew Von Tish, of Boalsburg. Malone and Riley entered the finals with a 6-0 record. while Khayat and Von Tish were 5-1, having lost to the same pair earlier in the day in a hotly contested preliminary round match.
During the finals, spectators filled the sidelines along the court as they cheered for both the hometown favorites and the visiting competitors. Both teams wowed the crowd with their tactical abilities, showering the court with precision shots left, right and in-between.
The finals was a best-of-three match. Malone and Riley took the lead, winning Game 1 by a score of 11-3. In a closely fought Game 2, Khayat and Von Tish gained an early lead, but Malone and Riley fought back to close the gap and clinch the game by a score of 11-8, becoming the first champions of the 2017 State College YMCA Pickleball Doubles Tournament.
