David Zapatka and Dianne Zimmerman, 4.5 mixed doubles gold medalists
In their last 4.5 mixed doubles tournament together, the Zimmerman/Zapatka pair wanted to go out in style. It was extremely tough but that’s exactly what they did. Surviving a 7-11, 11-8, 12-10 semi-final winners’ bracket match and an 11-7, 12-10 winners’ bracket final match, they faced the strong Dex Decker/Michael Cooper pair in the final match of the day. Decker and Cooper were ramped up for the final match and came out firing winning two straight, 11-5, 11-7. That meant both pairs had one loss and this being a double-elimination tournament, one game to 15 would decide the winner. After a short break where both teams talked strategy, our Sun Lakes pair came out with a new and refreshed plan and dominated the final game winning the gold medal 15-6.
Also representing Sun Lakes in this tournament were the cowboys with their ivory guns, Jack Hill and Tom Dawson. Competing in the 3.5 men’s doubles, Hill and Dawson lost their opening round match in oh-so-close fashion 9-11, 13-11, 11-9. If only they could have closed out that second game when they had game point… But not to be denied, they came roaring back in the opportunity bracket winning seven matches in a row to get to the bronze medal match. Talk about a long day, whew! After comfortably winning the first game 11-3, did they run out of gas or did the opponents simply change to a winning strategy? It was a very long day playing nine matches for our ivory duo only to secure the bronze medal in a tight 3-11, 11-8, 11-7 loss. Congratulations men!