Pickleball’s popularity keeps rising every year, and so does the interest in the CommuniCare Classic.
Produced by the San Antonio Pickleball Association and Valero Alamo Bowl, this pickleball tournament has grown from a one-day affair with 80 participants to a three day competition with over 400 players in the singles, doubles, mixed doubles and PartyPICKLE brackets.
“Pickle for a Purpose” was the theme for the 2024 tournament that ran September 20-22 at Fairchild Park, as all net proceeds from the tournament will help fund scholarships for local San Antonio students.
“We’re excited to take this tournament to next level while growing the sport of pickleball as well as our scholarship awards,” Cindy Waddell, SAPA President and CommuniCare Classic Tournament Director said. “Our first tournament helped fund six scholarships. With this year’s sold-out field and the support of partners like CommuniCare, Amegy Bank, Ortho San Antonio, Parkhurst NuVision, and Whataburger, the San Antonio Pickleball Association and Valero Alamo Bowl will combine to award over 25 scholarships to deserving students.”
Not only did the tournament feature top-notch competition, but exclusive vendors and prizes were available to participating athletes to help boost the sports already intense popularity.
The 2024 CommuniCare Classic Winners are featured below:
Men’s Brackets
Men’s Singles, 3.0-3.49, Age 18+
Gold: Noah Samarripa
Silver: Otniel Gross
Bronze: Michael Garcia
Men’s Singles, 3.0-3.49, Age 50+
Gold: Ben Delgado Jr.
Silver: Sid Shake
Bronze: Eric King
Men’s Singles, 3.0-3.49, Age 60+
Gold: Lyle Hartz
Silver: David Hawkins
Bronze: Ryan Goddard
Men’s Singles, 3.5-3.99, Age 18+
Gold: Louie De La Cruz
Silver: Tien Vo
Bronze: Sai Reddy
Men’s Singles, 3.5-3.99, Age 35+
Gold: Nick Newberry
Silver: Christian Linares
Bronze: David Sedano
Men’s Singles, 3.5-3.99, Age 60+
Gold: Edmund Mitchell
Silver: Reggie Williams
Bronze: Ben Delgado
Men’s Singles, 4.0-4.49, Age 18+
Gold: Nedim Ahmic
Silver: Asish Katta
Bronze: Thomas Hester
Men’s Singles, 4.5+, Age 18+
Gold: Leroy Deran
Silver: Chad Spigel
Bronze: Blake Kelling
Men’s Doubles, 2.5-2.99, Age 35+ (Novice)
Gold: Richard Herbert, Sigi Hinojosa
Silver: Marco Lopez, Edward Borchard
Bronze: Marco Ferrari, Francesco Di Sabatino
Men’s Doubles, 3.0-3.49, Age 18+
Gold: Noah Samarripa, Daniel Cohen-Collazo
Silver: Bryan Lai, Michael Hunter
Bronze: Nicholas Pantanini, Taver Frey
Men’s Doubles, 3.0-3.49, Age 35+
Gold: Harold Greenblatt, Victor Lacayo
Silver: Russell Wells, Michael Cullipher
Bronze: Jeffrey Kolok, Mat Ringer
Men’s Doubles, 3.5-3.99, Age 18+
Gold: Asish Katta, Sai Reddy
Silver: Louie De La Cruz, Antonio Araujo
Bronze: Joe Geneza, Jalon Miyasaki
Men’s Doubles, 3.5-3.99, Age 35+
Gold: Alejandro Parada, Asim Dardani
Silver: Paul Bankston, Daniel Pete
Bronze: Ryan Bragg, Isaac Robledo
Men’s Doubles, 3.5-3.99, Age 50+
Gold: Rod Merritt, Chris Kohnert
Silver: Rolando Pena, Jeff Mankins
Bronze: Eric Mapes, Steve Cochran
Men’s Doubles, 3.5-3.99, Age 60+
Gold: Buddy Loessberg, Patrick Ramos
Silver: John Dinse, John Merritt
Bronze: Kevin Haley, Edwin Arbuckle
Men’s Doubles, 4.0-4.49, Age 18+
Gold: Nedim Ahmic, Jorge Betancourt
Silver: William Craig, Eddie Sada
Bronze: Aamil Sarfani, Bryan Lopez
Men’s Doubles, 4.0-4.49, Age 35+
Gold: Nick Newberry, Alejandro Chong
Silver: Jesus Diaz, Brad Poynter
Bronze: Christian Linares, Jose Linares
Men’s Doubles, 4.0-4.49, Age 50+
Gold: Ramon Florez, Shawn Koonce
Silver: Dave Berrigan, Dave Mikalonis
Bronze: Gary Belt, Reggie Williams
Women’s Brackets
Women’s Singles, 3.0-3.49, Age 18+
Gold: Blythe Otoya
Silver: Alexis Mathew
Bronze: Shwe Sein
Women’s Singles, 3.0-3.49, Age 50+
Gold: Susie Bergmann
Silver: Anne Emshoff
Bronze: Christina Rutherford
Women’s Singles, 3.5-3.99, Age 50+
Gold: Betty Cruz
Silver: Paris Cammack
Bronze: Marguerrite Beckingham
Women’s Doubles, 2.5-2.99, Age 18+ (Novice)
Gold: Ashley Pete, Alexa Ortiz
Silver: Cynthia Herbert, Sari Bohrnell
Bronze: Breanna Gonzalez, Sarah Gonzalez
Women’s Doubles, 3.0-3.49, Age 18+
Gold: Ana Bonilla, Rachel Kemmey
Silver: Taylor Oliphant, Lauren Jones
Bronze: Margaret Pesek, Megan Gagnon
Women’s Doubles, 3.0-3.49, Age 50+
Gold: Tracy Merritt, Sheryl Campbell
Silver: Betty Cruz, Renae Hardy
Bronze: Mary Ross, Debby Villers
Women’s Doubles, 3.0-3.49, Age 60+
Gold: Joanne Sundin, Elaine Blain
Silver: Cynthia Albrecht, Norma Ramos
Bronze: Roberta Urrutia, Mary Armstrong
Women’s Doubles, 3.5-3.99, Age 35+
Gold: Brianna Bankston, Sunny Dugger
Silver: Crusita Lopez, Susie Bergmann
Bronze: Lauren Summers, Natalia Garcia
Women’s Doubles, 3.5-3.99, Age 50+
Gold: Ruby Alaniz, Denise Swanson
Silver: Diane Adami, Kelly Sax
Bronze: Evelyn Schroder, Sandra Haines
Women’s Doubles, 4.5+, Age 18+
Gold: Kathryne Yung, Sabryn Lopez
Silver: Minh Nguyen, Katheryne Tang
Bronze: Liz Alvarado, Veronica Villegas
Women’s Doubles, 4.5+, Age 35+
Gold: Evonne Allerkamp, Nicki Tafolla
Silver: Jane Ayala, Jaime Rowan
Bronze: Stacy Wheetley, Madeline Eden
Mixed
Mixed Doubles, 2.5-2.99, Age 18+ (Novice)
Gold: Chelsey Garcia, Javier Garcia
Silver: Lissette Deleon, Daniel Cohen-Collazo
Bronze: Izabella Hernandez, Noah Samarripa
Mixed Doubles, 3.0-3.49, Age 18+
Gold: Seema Iyengar, Sai Reddy
Silver: Shwe Sein, Tien Vo
Bronze: Rebeca Gross, Otniel Gross
Mixed Doubles, 3.0-3.49, Age 50+
Gold: Shelly Stinnett, Victor Ayala
Silver: Tracey King, Eric King
Bronze: Brandy Hamilton, Michael Rutherford
Mixed Doubles, 3.5-3.99, Age 18+
Gold: Crusita Lopez, Jorge Betancourt
Silver: Grace Slaughter, Adrian Espinoza
Bronze: Meagan Desmet, John Desmet
Mixed Doubles, 3.5-3.99, Age 35+
Gold: Kim Hubbard, Andrew Mohler
Silver: Karla Alvarado, Tom Bergeron
Bronze: Velma Lopez, Cole Crowder
Mixed Doubles, 3.5-3.99, Age 60+
Gold: Penni Harben, Reginald Williams
Silver: Sherri Stallings, Herry Stallings
Bronze: Phyllis Schiebel, Tom Farace
Mixed Doubles, 4.0-4.49, Age 18+
Gold: Katheryne Tang, Darren Anderson
Silver: Paris Cammack, Thomas Hester
Bronze: Minh Nguyen, Taylor Hunt
Mixed Doubles, 4.0-4.49, Age 35+
Gold: Sara Pempsell, Shawn Koonce
Silver: Denise Swanson, Rey Ruiz
Bronze: Stacy Wheetley, Jesus Aranda
To view photos of the winners and other shots from the tournament, click here. To see if you made it into one of KSAT’s news reports from the tournament, please click here.
In the last three years, the San Antonio Parks & Recreation facility at Fairchild Park has grown from 8 temporary pickleball courts available on a part-time basis to 18 dedicated ones open 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day to accommodate demand. To learn more about opportunities to play pickleball locally, you can become a San Antonio Pickleball Association member by clicking here.
The CommuniCare Classic is one of 15 annual fundraisers on the Valero Alamo Bowl calendar that culminates with the 2024 Valero Alamo Bowl. You can view the Bowl’s calendar here.
This year’s game will be played at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Saturday, December 28th and feature the top choices from 24 Big 12, Pac-12, and former Pac-12 teams after the College Football Playoff selection. Kickoff time will be 6:30 p.m. CST. Tickets are now on sale at https://www.alamobowl.com/game-tickets/
Proceeds from SAPA membership and tournaments throughout the year benefits a scholarship fund that awards local high school seniors additional funds to attend the college of their choice. To become a SAPA member, visit https://www.sanantoniopickleball.org/