Racquetball tournament hosted by Losano Fitness Center

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Charlie Miller
  • 47th Flying Training Wing public affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- --  The Fourth Annual Laughlin Air Force Base Racquetball Tournament was hosted by the Losano Fitness Center here March 14. 

Twenty-two players in two different brackets played 42 matches during the all-day tournament. 

Bracket A was won by Lt. Col. Don Jorgensen, an instructor pilot with the 96th Flying Training Squadron, with Eric Rios, 47th Maintenance Operations Center in second and defending champion Capt. Russ Bastian, 47th Operations Support Squadron, in third. Bracket B was won by Ed Jones, Director of Logistics, U.S. Army, Hohenfels, Germany, with 2 Lt. Matthew Hendrix, awaiting pilot training, in second, and 2 Lt. Ken Pedersen, undergraduate pilot training, finished third.

Lt. Col. Jorgensen coordinated much of the tournament and explained it's the title players vie for every year. "There's nobody here at the tournament that doesn't want to win." 

The tournament is set up as best two-out-of-three, double elimination so all players get a fair chance to win. According to the Colonel, competition inside the court can be fierce. 

"There are some very good players here," said Pablo Reyes, 67, a navy retiree from Del Rio. Mr. Reyes, who has played racquetball for 30 years, was the oldest participant. The youngest was 16. "I wish they held tournaments like this more than once a year."

For 16-year-old Grayson Doucette, this was all new. 

"It's my first tournament," said Grayson, son of Col. John Doucette, 47th Flying Training Wing commander. "I've been playing racquetball here for two years with my friends and my dad but this is different." 

"Myself and four or five other regular players said we'd love to come and help out," said Colonel Jorgensen. "I do a Texas Hold 'Em tournament every year for the troops, so I'm familiar with how to set up brackets." Players were placed in two different brackets according to their racquetball skill level as determined by Colonel Jorgensen and his team. 

Colonel Jorgensen, who has been at Laughlin for 12 years and has played racquetball for 20 years, was quick to explain that the desire to be the champion is great but pride was more important than taking home the trophy. 

There were trophies for the B bracket winners and large containers of racquetballs for the A bracket winner. Everyone who entered received a water bottle and a small package of racquetballs. 

"You meet a lot of different people playing racquetball and that is one of the best things about this sport," said Mr. Reyes.