Irene D’Aloisio
The 7th Annual Norris Invitation Tournament (NIT) was held on March 2 to March 5 this year at the Cottonwood pickleball courts. It was hosted by the Sun Lakes Pickleball Club Cottonwood, and it was another super week of pickleball fun. Nearly 100 teams participated in four days of competition with all levels being represented from 1.5/2.0 through 4.0 and up. The tournament gets better every year, and bigger too. This year’s tournament was run by over 50 volunteers and went very smoothly. The winners of each division are listed below. If you didn’t catch us this year, please come watch next year. Better yet, if you play pickleball, we’d love to have you in our event!
And the winners are:
Mixed 2.0: Gold, John Rolfs/Judy Rolfs; Silver, Neal Broidy/Kim Layher; Bronze, Dan Hallberg/Betsy Hallberg. Mixed 2.5: Gold, David Planting/Ann Hegney; Silver, Terry Braun/Sharon Lawrence; Bronze, Tom Robertson/Nancy Marley. Mixed 3.0: Gold: Tony Mast/Donna Mast; Silver, Marcel Lapointe/Karen Lapointe; Bronze, Lonnie Dockter/Tammy Dockter. Mixed 3.5: Gold, Jan Kristensen/Krissy Thompson; Silver, Ken Kinderknecht/Cheryl Nelson; Bronze, Paul Nichol/Janie Grosman. Mixed 4.0+: Gold, Mustafa Bayoumy/Sue Rodke; Silver, Jack Hill/Sheila Parkinson; Bronze, Keith Ori/Judy Kohlmann
Women 2.0: Gold, Kim Whalen/Judy Rolfs; Silver, Anna-Marie Friesen/Kim Layher; Bronze, Carolyn Patten/Marie Irwin. Women 2.5: Gold, Ann Hegney/Lorrie Bucholz; Silver, Nancy Marley/Jean Heilshorn; Bronze: Jeannette Dickinson/Jeannine Pickering. Women 3.0: Gold, Joan Dixon/Bev Bryce; Silver, Rhonda Stanford/Maia Raimey; Bronze: Jacque Hick/Karen Lapointe. Women 3.5: Gold, Cheryl Nelson/Krissy Thompson; Silver, Tammy Dockter/Mary Braton; Bronze, Judy Kohlmann/Terry Rutan
Men 2.0: Gold, John Rolfs/Neal Broidy; Silver, Dan Hallberg/Gary Dickinson. Men 2.5: Gold, Rick Chase/Rob Kohlberg; Silver, Hardy Wise/Lonnie Kermoade; Bronze, Marty McIntire/Mike Schulz. Men 3.0: Gold, Dave Planting/Tom Truax; Silver, Randy Tedrow/Felix Petrillo; Bronze, Jim Thompson/Kevin Kelty. Men 3.5: Gold, Peter Northcott/Ed Frees; Silver, Jeff Dunn/Rod Rutan; Bronze: Bob Lynne/Tom Snider. Men 4.0: Gold, Tom Dawson/Jack Hill; Silver, Doug Speager/Hank Bryce; Bronze, Keith Ori/Jerry Strom