Long Island Pickleball Challenge Hits Sportime Hempstead Lake

The Long Island Pickleball Challenge hit the pickleball courts of Sportime Hempstead Lake as doubles teams competed across three different divisions.

The teams battled it out in round-robin play which fed into the knockout rounds, with intense competition on court coupled with catered continental breakfast spread, adult beverages and a social atmosphere off the court which kept the event fun and lively.

“Long Island Tennis Magazine and Sportime do such a great job with these events,” said Louis Butzgy, who partnered with Nicole Beiner to win the Mixed Doubles 3.5-4.0 division. “I know they run a lot of tournaments, so we’re excited to just keep it going.”

Butzgy & Beiner defeated Ira Rosmarin & Jolie Weintraub in the Mixed Doubles Championship.

“We were doing a good job of communicating during matches, and we just recently started stacking which has helped our communication,” added Butzgy. “It really comes down to trust. I trust her to control the net when she has to and she does a great job of that.”

Beiner added:

“Talking to your partner and adjusting from opponent-to-opponent is really important, and we were able to do that. The tournament was really well-run, they told you everything beforehand, how the playoffs would work and everything, and that is really helpful to stay ready and focused.”

In the Women’s Doubles 3.5-4.0 division, the pairing of Emilie Katz & Aleksandra Mally developed an on-court chemistry as the tournament progressed which proved to be the difference as they captured the Gold Medal.

The duo defeated Diann Starcke & Renee Lemmerman in the championship match.

“We never competed in pickleball together but we had practiced before which definitely helped,” said Katz. “The first match in group play we got used to each other and then after that we clicked, and it all came together.”

A key factor was being able to find the right times to be aggressive.

“We got better as we played more matches, and were able to change up the pace of points, going from dinking to being more aggressive at times,” Mally added. “We figured out who should be getting the middle balls and that helped us play much more offensively.”

The Men’s Doubles 4.0-4.5 division came down to a championship battle in which Harlan Rappaport & Alex Ricciuti took on Nick Stone & C.J. Shank. In the end, Rappaport & Ricciuti would come away victorious.

“We made the smart plays,” Ricciuti said of their key to success. “We started well in the group stage although we got kind of tight towards the end of those matches, but once we got into the playoffs we got back to playing our game. We put the pressure on them when we needed to and executed our shots.”

Rappaport gave his thoughts on the event overall.

“This was great. A lot of tournaments you are waiting an hour in between matches, but this kept everyone moving and playing, and that’s huge. I actually played a tournament recently where I played a total of seven games total in six hours. So this was perfect.”

The Long Island Pickleball Challenge was another installment of the Long Island Tennis Magazine Summer Series as we continue to make a strong push to provide fun racquet sport events for the local community.

“We were proud to once again put on a professionally-run pickleball event. The entire tournament ran smoothly and we had some great competition,” said co-tournament Director David Sickmen. “We would like to thank our sponsors adidas Pickleball, Halftime Chiller, OSIM USA, Sportime and Viking Athletics. Sportime Hempstead Lake and its 10 pickleball courts (six dedicated, four hybrid) was the perfect host facility. We’re excited to continue our involvement within the pickleball community, and help to further the sport’s growth by running more special events like this moving forward.”

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE LI PICKLEBALL CHALLENGE – SEPTEMBER 16

Pickleball Plus Hosting Parties Bringing People Together

One of the most appealing and attractive aspects of pickleball is the social component that comes along with it. While on-court play can get competitive and intense, there is a unique aspect to pickleball that brings people together, no matter the cause.

Pickleball Plus in West Hempstead has embraced that fact and since its inception more than two years ago has hosted an array of different parties, fundraisers and charity events, using pickleball as a way to bring people together, and has done so successfully.

“I would highly recommend Pickleball Plus for parties, events, leagues and open play. All the staff there is friendly, helpful and a pleasure to deal with.” That sentiment was shared by Breina Lampert, who earlier this year celebrated what she called a “big birthday” at Pickleball Plus. Her goal was to have a birthday party that involved doing something she loved, which isplaying pickleball, and also something that would be open and accessible to all ages.

“Pickleball Plus made that happen,” Lampert said. “I was able to use 10 courts, two were designated for lessons with one of their pros, for people who had never played before, while the other courts featured games and mini-tournaments with another one of the club’s pros. After everyone played, we gathered in the party room for a delicious dinner. The party coordinators helped set up and clean up the party room; it was such an easy way to enjoy pickleball and an evening of fun for all levels.”

Colleen Cluess wanted to honor her mother’s memory, and found the perfect way to do so. Her mother, Mary Ann Cluess, grew up playing at West Hempstead Tennis Center, which is now Pickleball Plus, and was an avid tennis and pickleball player. In fact, she was also the 1981 World Champion in women’s racquet ball, so playing paddle and racquet sports was something she had done throughout her entire life.

So her daughter Colleen wanted to honor that legacy and also help raise money for cancer research, and did so with a fundraiser at Pickleball Plus.

“My mom was always known for bringing people together, making lasting memories, and of course she was known for her loving-yet- competitive nature,” said Cluess. “Pickleball Plus allowed my mom to do what she loved with people that she loved. She passed away in 2022 and left behind a legacy of love and competitiveness after a long battle with breast cancer. About a year after she passed away, I knew the perfect way to honor her memory was a pickleball tournament at Pickleball Plus. I knew she would want the people she loved playing a sport she loved, and enjoying each other’s company and that is exactly what we did.”

And so Cluess got to honor her mom’s memory while also raising money for a good cause, one that is near and dear to her family and that they plan to maintain for years to come.

“The facility is immaculate and allows for both players and spectators to have an enjoyable experience,” she added. “We were completely taken care of by the staff before, during and after the event…It was truly an unforgettable experience that we hope to continue each year in my mom’s honor.”

With the social aspect of pickleball being a key reason for the sport’s rapid growth, Pickleball Plus had made a conscious effort to use its facility to help bring people together. Whether it’s celebrating a birthday or honoring a loved one’s memory, pickleball is the chosen activity of many.

CLICK HERE TO READ A RECAP OF THE SEPTEMBER LONG ISLAND PICKLEBALL CHALLENGE 

Long Islanders Taking Viking Athletics to New Heights

At the height of the COVID-19 global pandemic a couple of years ago, two friends in search of a business opportunity decided to buy Viking Athletics, which at the time was a company dedicated to platform tennis.

In the years since taking over, Viking Athletics has branched into other sports as well, and this past spring, it officially launched the pickleball part of the business.

“The goal when we took over was to take Viking from strictly a platform tennis company and build it into a multi-sport racquet brand, and that’s been our bigger vision as we move forward,” said Matt Wierzel. “Over the last 18 months or so we have spent a lot of time on pickleball, and we went to market with our pickleball line back in May. We’re players ourselves, so we know what the market wants, what the market needs and what we need to do to expand.”

That “we” refers to Wierzel and Alex Bancila, who purchased Viking Athletics from a private equity firm back in the beginning of 2021. The two have known each other dating back to their time on Long Island when they met while working at the Cherry Valley Club in Garden City, when Wierzel worked underneath Bancila. Wierzel was a late bloomer to tennis, only beginning to play when he and his family moved to Long Island when he was in eighth grade.

“On the new block we moved to, everyone there played tennis,” recalled Wierzel. “I was a baseball player at that time, but I decided to try out tennis. I picked it up fairly quickly without a ton of lessons or instruction, and was able to make the JV team at Chaminade as a freshman.

Because of the work ethic instilled in him by his parents, Wierzel began working around this time as well, and landed a job at the Cherry Valley Club, where Bancila was the Director of Racquet Sports from 2003-2010. It was there that he really developed as a tennis player, as in between Bancila’s own lessons, he would give instruction to Wierzel, and spent hours hitting against a wall at the club.

“I give a lot of credit to Alex and the other pros that worked there,” he recalls. “If they didn’t have lessons going on, they would spend time with me and helping to train me just out of good will.”

So the two would continue to get to know each other over the years working together at Cherry Valley, and what started out as a boss-employee relationship developed into a lifelong friendship. Wierzel would go on to play college tennis at Holy Cross where he competed at the top of the Crusaders’ lineup, before moving to Chicago after graduation to become an options trader. But he and Bancila always kept in touch, and Bancila got a job working for Viking Athletics, where held a multitude of responsibilities. Because Bancila had such an intimate knowledge of the day-to-day operations of Viking Athletics, the private equity firm that owned the brand went to him first when they decided to put it up for sale.

Intrigued by the idea, he contacted Wierzel as the two were in search of a business opportunity to venture into together.

“It was a part of the firm’s portfolio and they really didn’t know a lot about the sport or the brand, so they went to Alex first,” said Wierzel. “That’s when he approached me, and the situation and timing worked out nicely. It was in a space where Alex had 20-plus years of experience, and I had been a teaching pro with business experience. We said to each other, it’s a business we know and are passionate about. We have complimentary skill sets that makefor a successful business relationship.”

And for the last two years, the pair has grown Viking Athletics beyond simply a platform tennis brand into what Wierzel calls a “three-headed monster”, adding padel tennis and pickleball to its repertoire. After overcoming some early challenges caused by the pandemic, including supply chain and manufacturing issues, Wierzel and Bancila have used their wealth of experience and knowledge as players themselves to provide their customers with exactly what they need.

The company has expanded to feature a bigger staff which has allowed them to expand into other sports. As the growth of racquet and paddle sports continues to grow both nationwide and globally, the Viking team is excited for what lies ahead.

“There is a ton of competition in the space, and that’s something we welcome,” added Wierzel. “Competition is good, it forces everyone to be better, innovate and create, which in turn helps grow the overall market. Pickleball was the big venture we wanted to get into when we first bought the company, and we are intrigued to watch that side of our business continue to grow.”

Pickleball Padel Product Review: adipower Carbon Team ATTK

Looking to take your pickleball game to the next level? Well, adidas has you covered.

The new Adipower Carbon Team ATTK is the latest innovation from adidas pickleball and is the perfect paddle for you to raise your level and dominate the pickleball court this summer. The new adidas adipower CARBON Team ATTK Pickleball Paddle will bring everything you need in your game.

Its 3K Carbon construction will make power to be on your side in every moment.

The paddle shape and Low Density Polypropylene Honeycomb LD Corewill allow you to experience a pure sensation of comfort. Now with Structural Reinforcement Technology, which creates tortional rigidity and durability from edge to edge providing a solid and stable hitting surface across the entire paddle.

Newly added Spin Blade + technology has a durable sand blasted surface for increased spin and ball control.

Specifications:

• Sport: Pickleball
• Paddle Width: 7.5
• Length: 16.5
• Weight: Approx. 7.9 oz
• Player Type: Intermediate-Advanced
• Colors: Multicolor (Orange, Yellow,Aqua Blue)/Black
• Composition/Construction: Spin Blade + Surface, Low Density Polypropylene Honeycomb LD Core/3K Carbon Construction
• Core Thickness: 16 mm
• Technology: adidas Spin Blade + (3D relief for more spin), Structural Reinforcement (Perimeter reinforcements around the paddle)
• Grip Circumference: 4 1⁄4
• Grip Length: 5.5
• Shape: ATTK
• Misc: USA Pickleball Approved
• Sweet Spot: Top