I know I don't play as much national racquetball as I used to, but can someone explain the reason why the USRA feels compelled to have a second National Doubles event in the same season??? Does this make sense to anyone??? Did I miss this in an earlier thread???
Brian Pointelin
April 5, 2007
FOR IMMEADIATE RELEASE FROM CLASSIC PROFESSIONAL RACQUETBALL TOUR;
BRIAN POINTELIN RESIGNS AS CPRT COMISSIONER
Brian Pointelin, the first commissioner of the Classic Professional Racquetball Tour (CPRT) resigned from his position over the weekend. Pointelin who was on board from the start of CPRT in the summer of 2006 led the tour to a successful inaugural season with stops in Las Vegas, Nevada, Salt Lake City, Utah, & Rochester, New York.
“Brian was an invaluable part of getting CPRT off the ground and working with the pros and tournaments” commented Hank Marcus. “We are all sorry to see Brian leave and wish him the best of luck, he will always be a part of CPRT”. Pointelin will be leaving for personal reasons, mainly to focus on the impending birth of his first child and to later concentrate full time on his goals in golf.
“I am grateful for the opportunity I was given to work with the players, and the tournament directors throughout the year”, said Pointelin. “At this time, I feel it is important to stay close to home to ensure the safety and comfort of the baby and mother of my child. We face some serious risks with her health and the baby’s health, and for the immediate future, I feel it is best for me to resign my position. I wish the players and the Classic Tour nothing but the best in the future”.
CPRT is a professional tour featuring racquetball’s greatest stars who are 40 years of age and older. CPRT is stars of the past supporting the future of racquetball by raising money at each event and donating it to local and state junior programs.
For more information on CPRT contact Hank Marcus: woroutdoorrball@aol.com
Stay tuned for a big shocker . . . . . . . it is coming.
I have posted a summary and thank you on the Tour updates page on our site, www.classicproracquetball.com. Look for more details.
Well, I have good news and bad news, hahaha. Jim Trammel was closeset on picking total points, but he had the wrong guy winning the event, so he is out of the contest. Big Rod (Aloha Rod) had Ruben winning the event but picked 37 points in the tie breaker.
That means that Bill George of Northern California who picked Ruben Gonzalez to win the event and 39 points in the tie-breaker, wins the first contest for the CPRT Rochester Invitational. Congratulations Bill, PM or email me your size and address so I can have your shoes sent to you.
Thanks for entering the contest and the CPRT appreciates your continued support.
Kathy--ask and you shall recieve, semifinal recaps are on our website, go check them out. www.classicproracquetball.com, tour update pages.
The semifinals are set and ready to go off momentarily. For details about the Quarterfinals, go to www.classicproracquetball.com and go to the Tour Updates page to check it out. Great crowds, great fans, and some great racquetball being played today. More information later tonight.
The Qualifying matches were played tonight, go to www.classicproracquetball.com and go to the Tour Updates page to check out the details.
Well, my first surprise was to find Woody Clouse on the same flight as I got ready to leave Detroit for Rochester yesterday. My relationship with Woody has flourished over the years and I was very glad to see him after a long night before this trip. We got picked up from the airport and went to the club where Woody was supposed to have done two clinics, one for Juniors in the afternoon and one in the evening for the adults. Unfortunately, when he got to the airport in Denver, something happened with his flights and he was late getting in to Rochester. So we went to the club and Woody spent about an hour and a half with a few juniors and a few of the adults that stuck around to see him.
The club is great, the main court has a full side glass wall with great viewing, it has five courts and all of them have glass viewing areas. I think we are going to go see Niagra Falls today, maybe I can see if I can get pictures of Woody hitting balls into it, hahaha. Qualifying matches will begin at 6pm EST, and we will be off like a shot, hahaha.
We have had SOME entries for the Pick-A-Winner contest, Big Rod and BillGeo to name a few, keep em coming and good luck.
Ok guys, we are going to start doing contests during the CPRT events, this is how it works.
1. You must pick the winner of the event, draws are posted on the CPRT website, click on the image in the top right corner.
2. On the right side of the page, it gives you a link to send in your entry or your pick.
CONTEST RULES
1. Submit your pick for the winner as well as the total amount of points scored in the final.
2. One entry per person.
3. Closest to the actual points scored is the winner.
4. Winner will get a free pair of T-9 Roadster shoes from Ektelon.
5. Entry deadline is Friday, March 23rd at 11:59pm.
Let me remind you when you are submitting your total amount of points scored that we play best of 3 games to 11 points, win by 2.
Good luck to all those participating.
The event details for the Rochester event next weekend are up and posted on the CPRT website. Again, we have Bret Harnett, Ruben Gonzalez, Mike Ray, and Woody Clouse scheduled to play next weekend. Bret will be looking to win his second event of the season, and Ruben will be looking to win his second straight event of the season. Mike Ray will be looking to get on the books as a Champion and the newest member of the tour, Woody Clouse, will be looking to get in the mix. Event details and schedule are on the website, check it out.
Three weeks away from the Rochester event and the natives are getting restless. This will be the only event we have that will end on a Sunday with the Pro Finals taking place Sunday at noon (March 25th).
Players will be playing for a total purse of almost $5000. First place will walk away with $1500, second place takes $1000.
Keith Lopresto at the Penfield Racquet Club will be putting money in the Open Doubles draw as well so the CPRT players may take a crack at winning that also. Keith also has a Casino Night set up with items being auctioned off from the CPRT, Top Seed Athletics, Ektelon and Head.
Also on hand will be the Art of Racquetball Display by Ruben Gonzalez. His paintings are authentic and creative, come check them out.
Players scheduled to attend include Bret Harnett, Ruben Gonzalez, Mike Ray and Woody Clouse will be making his debut on the CPRT. Also planning to attend is Mike Ceresia. This will give the event 5 top notch professionals. Contact Keith Lopresto at 585-586-7777 to enter or you can go to www.classicproracquetball.com and download the entry form.
We look forward to seeing you in Rochester.
Hey everyone, just wanted to drop in as the weekend draws to a close and the new week begins.
The CPRT's next event is coming up in a few weeks and it looks to be a great one. The CPRT will be travelling to play at the Penfield Racquet Club in Rochester, New York during the weekend of March 23-25. Keith Lopresto has got a great weekend in store for the fans and the players, including a casino night on Saturday night. If you wish to enter, you can go to the CPRT website and download an entry form, or you can contact Keith at the club, 585-586-7777.
This weekend will be a great one as Woody Clouse will be making his CPRT debut, Bret Harnett, Ruben Gonzalez and Mike Ray are scheduled to appear to play. Also got news that Canadian legend and former World Champion, Mike Ceresia will be in attendance as well. Drop by the website to check out the details, right on the front page.
Hope to see you guys there.
Congrats to Rhonda who beat Jo Shattuck and Kristen Walsh in Rawlins Wyoming this weekend at a Tier 3 WPRO Satellite. Apparently Rhonda started off slow and Kristen was red hot, rolling everything from everywhere jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Rhonda batteld back and managed to win the final three games and take home the first place check though.
I loved this tournament when I was travelling and playing, was great hospitality and the players are taken care of very well. Oh, and congrats to my buddy Woody Clouse for winning the men's side of the tournament.
What a great day today was. I mean, the sun was out shining in full force, the birds were singing after they thawed out, it was almost perfect. The day started off with Ruben Gonzalez and Bret Harnett conducting a clinic at the MARV JENSEN REC CENTER during the Utah State High School Racquetball Championships. The pros talked about serving strategy, shot selection, grips, stances, and other tidbits that the HIgh Schoolers wanted to know. All in all, the attendance was great as there were about 60 people in attendance.
Later in the day, the pros would put on a great display of racquetball for nearly 100 fans. With Bret blazing a mixture of drive serves, jam serves and the occassional drive z, he opened up a good lead to open game one. Ruben, known for his never-give-up attitude and his tenacity, slowly crept closer to Bret in the score. Just as Ruben would get close, Bret would make another run though. This kept happening up tot he point where Bret seemingly had enough and opened up a lead of 14-9 and was serving for game one. After three chances to put the game away, Bret finally skipped an easy set up in mid-court to open the door for Ruben. Ruben would then counter with a big run of his own to tie the score at 14. On Bret's last game point, Ruben seemingly skipped a ball but the referee called it good. Always the sportsman, Ruben chose to replay the rally but would then hit a down the line pass on a set up at the dotted line to go back in the service box for the last time. A good lob serve and some great gets by both players would eventually lead to Ruben having a setup 5 feet from the front wall to end the game 15-14.
The second game was almost over before it started though as Ruben kept the momentum from his game one victory, running out to a 7-2 lead. Ruben changed his serve from his patented little cut serve that sometimes cracks out to a deep nick lob serve to Bret's backhand. Bret tried to stay patient but with the Ektelon Classic Black balls reacting like super balls, it was hard to keep a ball of the back wall. Ruben would lose his lead, oh so briefly, as Bret would get it back to 5-7. Bret tried everything but was skipping balls he normally kills. Ruben would make little runs until he got to 15 as he hit a kill from the center of the court at about 35 feet.
Final Score of the match, 15-14, 15-9, Ruben Gonzalez over Bret Harnett.
Brian Pointelin
Tour Commissioner
Hey everyone, just checking in tonight as I am hitting the sack. Tonight we had our Charity Doubles event at the JORDAN VALLEY ATHLETIC CLUB and it was a big hit. There were about 60 fans and players for this lining up to take on Ruben and Bret in doubles competition, and we raised some decent money for the High School racquetball program tonight with this event. There were 8 teams of all varying skill levels, but most important was that everyone had a good time. The only amateur winners on the night were the team of Roberto Cantos and Garrett Gimore as they defeated the pros by the score of 11-9. All the proceeds from this event and also the Silent Auction will go towards the High School Racquetball Association.
Saturday should be a great day, the weather is supposed to be in the mid-50's, the guys are doing a clinic at 10am and then at 5pm it is showtime over at the MARV JENSEN REC CENTER. I will keep you updated on the winner-take-all match on Saturday night. Until then, FORE!!!
Brian Pointelin
Tour Commissioner
Well, it has been a while since we have had an event and my house currently looks like a storage shelter for racquetball stuff with boxes everywhere :cheesy: . We are about 24 hours away from the kick off of the weekend here in Salt Lake City and everyone is excited.
Friday night we will be holding a Charity Doubles Challenge at the JORDAN VALLEY ATHLETIC CLUB from 6-8pm. Players will be able to pay $30 to take on Bret Harnett and Ruben Gonzalez. What a treat this will be as neither player has been to Salt Lake City since the late 80's when they were contending for a National Doubles title. Signups will be limited and it will be done on a first come first serve basis.
Saturday morning at 10am, the pros will head over to the MARV JENSEN REC CENTER to do a clinic during the Utah State High School Racquetball Championships. Admission to the clinic is free to all high school and junior players. Any adults that would like to come and participate, we would ask them to donate to the High School Racquetball Association to help grow the sport.
Saturday afternoon at 5pm, the pros will play in a winner-take-all exhibition. I have a little surprise in store for the players before they get on the court, I will keep you posted as to what happens.
Stay tuned as we will try and get pictures and posts up on both Friday and Saturday nights.
Brian Pointelin
Tour Commissioner
The following are the adopted Seeding Policies for all CPRT events.
CPRT TOURNAMENT SEEDING POLICY
1. Classic Professional Racquetball Tour events will be seeded by CPRT Ranking Points earned by players at each event.
2. Any ties will be decided by a flip of a coin by CPRT Commissioner.
3. All entrants who have no ranking points will be placed in the draw based on their playing abilty after all players with ranking points.
4. Players with no CPRT ranking will be placed in the draw determined by CPRT in conjunction with local tournament director.
Brian Pointelin
Tour Commissioner
Ok, so as we are making changes, (thanks Bill for the props on the new look and I look foward to seeing you sometime soon also), I have just recently added a new item to our site. I am going to call it "The Wood Shed", but it is the Instructional/Clinic tab. It is named as such because Woody Clouse has generously agreed to write "Peak Performance" Articles as a member of the CPRT, hence the play on words.
I hope you enjoy the instructionals that we continue to add and maybe archive to our site. Thanks again for all the support.
Brian Pointelin
Tour Commissioner
