Swain adds another chapter to legendary career
If you were going to have a discussion on the greatest racquetball player ever, Cliff Swain is one of the names that would likely come up. The Boston native and Naples, Fla., resident is a two-time U.S. Open champion, has finished the season as the No. 1 player six times and has already been inducted in the Racquetball Hall of Fame.
Swain enhanced that legendary status with a stirring comeback victory in the Pro Division this weekend at the Ninth Annual Lou Bradley Memorial Pro-Am, hosted by the Prairie Athletic Club (PAC) in Sun Prairie, Wis.
Swain, currently ranked second on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), defeated Illinois native and 11th-ranked Ben Croft in the dramatic Men’s Pro final. The tournament, sponsored by Sussek Machine and Maly Tile, raised more than $500 for the Lou Bradley Scholarship Fund.
Swain took home the $1,600 first-place paycheck after rallying for a 6-11, 8-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-4 win. Down two games, Swain picked up the pace and finally got his lightning-like drive serve going.
The future of the game is in the hands of young guns like Croft, but Swain showed the value of quite confidence that comes with years of unparalleled success.
Croft, who plays at the University of Colorado and has won the last two intercollegiate titles, won over the crowd with several incredible diving gets and unbridled enthusiasm. However the 40-year-old Swain showed his composure late in the match, taking over midway through the fifth game to roll to the title.
Swain steamrolled into the finals. Sun Prairie’s Paul Krueger (11-2, 11-0, 13-11), Illinois’ Geoff Goldblatt (11-2, 11-5, 11-6) and Aaron Granberg (11-2, 11-5, 11-4) combined to score a total of 37 points against Swain. Granberg, of Golden Valley, Minn., is currently 15th in the IRT rankings.
Croft, a two-time World Junior champ, lost just one game on his way to the final. He took down PAC’s Jamie Arnold 11-8, 11-3, 11-2 in the round of 16, then advanced past 22nd-ranked Kyle Veenstra (Wausau) 11-4, 11-1, 12-14, 11-9 in the quarters.
Charlie Pratt, who upset second seed Jason Thoerner (Ill.) in the quarters, fell 11-7, 11-3, 11-9 to Croft in the semis. Thoerner, who lost in the final to Rocky Carson a year ago, rolled his ankle at 7-7 in the fourth game of his 11-7, 1-11, 11-7, 11-7 loss to Pratt.
Iowa’s Brad McCunniff upended Fon du Lac native and Phoenix resident Tony Carson 15-7, 10-15, 11-7 to win the Open division, which was comprised of players from the pro draw who didn’t advance to the quarterfinals. McCunniff beat PAC players Tracy Chynoweth and Jamie Arnold to advance. Carson stopped Scott White, Iowa’s Ryan Ratchford and Krueger to make the final.
Granberg and Veesntra teamed up to win Men’s Open doubles, topping defending champs Matt Melster and Steve Sensiba in the final. Sun Prairie’s Mike Burie won the AA draw, while Minnesota’s Vallana Lundstrom took home a $150 check for winning Womens Open.
As usual, the Saturday night festivities started with the Pro Final at 8 p.m. and continued late into the night, making for several tough matches Sunday morning. Matches ran from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday; 7:30 a.m. until midnight Saturday and 7:30 a.m. until 6:30 Sunday. An absolutely great weekend of racquetball!
Big thanks goes out to major sponsor Sussek Machine, as well as other sponsors Maly Tile, Bank of Sun Prairie, Chet Bradley, Jimmy John’s Gourmet Subs and Pietro’s Pizza Place. Also to the fine bar staff at the PAC who kept everybody with full glasses all weekend.
Thanks also to the groups that traveled from Minnesota and Iowa, which were fun to have around on and off the court. We hope to have everyone back next year and continue to honor Lou with one of the best tournaments around!
The draw featured more than 140 players from seven different states. Seven of the top 28 ranked players in the country participated. The results of the tournament are listed below.
Men’s Pro: 1, Cliff Swain; 2, Ben Croft.
Men’s Open: 1, Brad McCunniff; 2, Tony Carson; Consolation, Dave Glusick (PAC).
Men’s 35+Open: 1, Brad McCunniff; 2, Carl Evers; Consolation, Paul Krueger (PAC).
Men’s AA: 1, Mike Burie (PAC); 2, Terry Kisling; Consolation, Brad Falvey (PAC).
Men’s A: 1, Chris Madson; 2, Camilo Rivera; Consolation, Elliot Snesrud.
Men’s B: 1, Bill Coon; 2, Peter de Poutiloff; Consolation, Tom Dalebroux.
Men’s C: 1, Jeff Funnel (PAC); 2, Alex Korenic (PAC); Consolation, Scott Kugler (PAC).
Men’s D: 1, Max Dalebroux; 2, Kevin Stubbendick (PAC); Consolation, Zach Holcomb (PAC).
Women’s Open: 1, Vallana Lundstrom; 2, Kim Whalen; Consolation, Kathleen Johnson.
Women’s A: 1, Jesi Haak (PAC); 2, Joanne Miller (PAC); Consolation, Michelle Gustafson.
Women’s B: 1, Angela Bloch; 2, Debbie Finucane (PAC); Consolation, Kim Kujawski (PAC).
Women’s D: 1, Mia Parisi; 2, Jessi Gustafson.
Juniors 1-bounce: 1, Max Dalebroux; 2, Sam de Poutiloff; Consolation, Zach Holcomb (PAC).
Juniors 2-bounce: 1, Conner Funnel (PAC); 2, Michael Fredenberg (PAC).
Men’s Open Doubles: 1, Kyle Veenstra/Aaron Granberg; 2, Matt Melster/Steve Sensiba; Consolation, Adam Reierson/Dave Glusick (PAC).
Men’s A Doubles: 1, Chris Madson/Elliot Snesrud; 2, Lee Kimball/Kyle Snesrud; Consolation, Nick Trentadue/Brandon Miller (PAC).
Men’s C Doubles: 1, Daren Dudgeon/Jason Jensen (PAC); 2, Curt Johnson/Don Klingbom (PAC); Consolation, Nick Uebelacker/Joe Vetter (PAC).
Women’s Open Doubles: 1, Kim Whalen/Kelly Whalen; 2, Becky Denniston/Lorraine Krueger (PAC).
Women’s A Doubles: 1, Pam Larsen/Colleen Maginn (PAC); 2, Jesi Haak/Niki Pierner (PAC).
Mixed Open Doubles: 1, Kim Whalen/Jeff Hird; 2, Matt Stamborski/Trish Beatty; Consolation, Mike Burie/Becky Denniston (PAC).
Mixed A Doubles: 1, Adam Reierson/Niki Pierner (PAC); 2, Dan Powell/Tina Schoewe (PAC); Consolation, Mark Sonday/Pam Larsen (PAC).