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…
David Zapatka With the sport of pickleball becoming so popular in the Valley and across the United States, pickleball clubs, city park courts and tournaments are springing up all over the country. Sun Lakes residents David Zapatka and Dianne Zimmerman scored big in the inaugural PebbleCreek Pickleball Championships winning a bronze medal in the 4.5…
The13th annual Duel in The Desert was held at Palm Creek’s beautiful 32 pickleball-court garden in Casa Grande. This ever-popular tournament draws players from numerous states and out-of-towners were exactly what Simmons and Zapatka faced in the 4.5 men’s gold medal match. Rodney “Rocket” Grubbs, owner of Pickleball Rocks, Inc. from Indiana and Mark Beltz…
Sun Lakes resident Steve Smitham teamed with ex-Sun Lakes resident Bruce McClain to make a big splash in the inaugural Leisure World Pickleball Championships winning the bronze medal losing in a tight match to familiar Ahwatukee competitors Steve Speight and Don Cantrill.
Outside of the USAPA Nationals, the Grand Canyon State games is the granddaddy of them all when speaking about pickleball tournaments in Arizona. This is a four-day tournament that drew nearly 500 participants from all over the country and is the only Arizona qualifying event for the State Games of America to be held in…
Sun Lakes pickleball players Dianne Zimmerman, Sheila Parkinson and Steve Smitham competed in the 2016 All City Pickleball Tournament. All three players brought medals home. In the women’s doubles, tough-as-nails Zimmerman and Parkinson bested one of the toughest pairs from Tempe, Diana Brown and Missy Myers 15-3 to get to the bronze medal match. The…
Susan Gottschalk Our 19th season ended just as temperatures are starting to rise. We’ll enjoy our summer break and look forward to next season the end of October. Watch the July Splash for final scores of the year and the October Splash for news of the new season. Monday Flight 3/28. (Tie) Shirley Gosselin, Helen Richardson, Phyllis…
Ruth Rees, Publicity For the past month, the Oakwood Ladies Golf Association play days have been held in wonderful weather among friends and with most dissatisfaction centered on stray shots or missed putts. Many ladies gather after play on the golf clubhouse patio, where friends commiserate, encourage one another to try again next week, and…
If you are interested in joining a great group of people to play golf as a couple, consider joining the Oakwood Couples 18 Hole Golf League. Our goal is to play golf, have fun and meet new people. You do not have to live in IronOaks or Sun Lakes to be a member. We generally…
Arlene Burkhardt The following are the high scores for the last week of our bowling season. 4/04. Men – High Scratch Series: Bob Welch 630 and Tony Halkiadakis 567; High Scratch Game: Terry Lochbaum 236 and Ed Poltonavage 209; Women – High Scratch Series: Arlene Burkhardt 492 and Tammy Visser 477; High Scratch Game: Ruth…