Jason Norwood, a Soldier, maintains the rear mount and works on a submission hold against his Marine opponent, Alex Diemer, during the Fort Bliss Winter Combatives Tournament Friday at Stout PFC. Photo by Wilson A. Rivera.
Smacking good time at Bliss Winter Combatives
Dustin Perry, Editor
Whether turning the ball into a literal blue streak within the walls of the court or cursing a figurative one when a volley didn’t go their way, competitors in the post intramural racquetball tournament were visibly eager to claim victory in the fast-paced sport.
The single-elimination event, held Feb. 12 and 13 at Stout Gym, yielded seven winners across three age brackets in both the women’s and men’s divisions.
Each match was played in a best-of-three format, and two winners in the men’s division managed to sweep their final opponents in fairly short fashion to prevent forcing a third game in both instances. Mike Robledo, a player from the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, faced off against Austin Ortiz from 3rd Battalion, 6th Air Defense Artillery, taking home first place in the 35-to-39 bracket after consecutive 15-8 and 15-7 wins.
Robledo, who has been playing racquetball for 15 years, said his win against Ortiz was hard-fought, and he praised the organizers of the tournament, saying it provided Soldiers with a great opportunity to come out, participate in a fun sport and have a good time.
Ruben Albert, also from USASMA, coasted through the first leg of elimination with a string of what he described as “pretty easy” wins. Albert defeated the 62nd Army Band’s Zachary Collier 15-3 and 15-7 in the final match to earn the top spot in the 40-and-above bracket.
“Most of these guys didn’t have a real consistent backhand, so I tried to overpower them,” said Albert. “I mixed up my serves a lot to keep their timing off (and) I tried to hit the ball where they weren’t … pretty simple strategy.”
The rest of the winners – who finished much earlier in the evening – stuck around for what was unquestionably the most heated and drawn-out matchup of the entire tournament: Charles Nelson and Ryan Sweeney in the 34-and-below bracket finals.
Sweeney, representing 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, won the first game 15-8 after more than 20 minutes of relentless back-and-forth action. Nelson, representing 47th Transportation Company, managed to keep himself alive by winning the second game 15-9, thus forcing a third and final showdown between the two.
Sweeney took an early lead in the third game, outpacing Nelson 4-1 by the first timeout. Nelson garnered four more points, but Sweeney answered back with four of his own. The visibly exhausted Nelson got within two of his opponent, but three straight points from Sweeney sealed the deal for a final score of 11-6 and a first-place trophy.
Sweeney, sporting a few post-game scrapes, bruises and welts on his arms and knees, said both he and Nelson were very tired going into the third game.
“I had a bit more spark than him, but we were both running on fumes,” said Sweeney. “I realized I had to take more kill shots than I had been. I had to play more ceiling shots to force him to make a mistake and so I could conserve my energy.”
Nelson plays racquetball recreationally but this was his first tournament, so to win second place was quite an accomplishment, he said.
“I’ve played with a lot of these guys before, but the tempo picks up when you know you’ve got something on the line,” said Nelson. “The final match was who wanted it more and who had the most stamina, and (Sweeney) played down my energy.”
The sole female winner was Charlene Harger in the 40-and-above bracket.