Community pickleball and tournament players Feb. 5 at Pinon Courts in White Rock. Courtesy photo

PICKLEBALL NEWS RELEASE

Although the groundhog may have predicted six more weeks of winter and Los Alamos courts were mostly snow packed, pickleballers enjoyed a glorious, sunny weekend playing a tournament in White Rock. Volunteer pickleball coordinator Lem O’Neal sought to capitalize on the predicted good weather and clear courts at Pinon Park to  quickly put together a tournament for area players. With only a week’s notice, more  than 24 players from Los Alamos, White Rock and even a few from Santa Fe, were eager  to participate and enjoy tournament play. The group played a total of 41 matches,  comprising approximately 90 games in total! Currently, pickleball is the fastest rising sport in popularity in the U.S. and Los Alamos County is no exception! 

Pickleball players in the singles competition included, from left, Andy Fox of White Rock, Binh Wakeford of Los Alamos, Jeff Levine of Santa Fe and Jeff Whicker of Los Alamos. Courtesy photo

Pickleball Singles Winners:
1^st place: Jeff Levine-Santa Fe  

2^nd place: Jeff Whicker-Los Alamos  

3^rd place Binh Wakeford-Los Alamos  

Pickleball Doubles Winners: 

1^st place: Gilbert Ratliff and Matthew Chancey-LA, (center) 

2^nd place: Linda Hsieh and Gillian Hsieh  Ratliff-LA, (left) 

3^rd place: Kiet Nguyen and Steve Hansen-LA,  (right) 

Lem O’Neal-LA)

Pickleball Mixed Doubles Winners: 

1^st place: Matthew Chancey and Gillian Hsieh Ratliff -LA, (center) 

2^nd place: Annie Maes-SF and Kiet Nguyen-LA (left) 3^rd place: Gilbert Ratliff and Linda Hsieh-LA,  (right)