The Young Guns winning team! Front, left to right: John Pieri, Russ Oster, Jeff Schmidtt, Mike Schuster, Rick Merritt. Back, left to right: Jim Harvey, Rob Ortega, Jay Genevay, David First, Bob Stratton. Not pictured: Pat Hawkins and Troy Fugleberg.
Congratulations to SaddleBrooke Ranch Young Guns 3.5, 55+ Men’s Arizona Pickleball Players League (APPL) State Champions. The Young Guns beat Las Palmas Grande 30-12 to become the first all-SaddleBrooke Ranch resident players to win a state championship. The April 4 playoff day was a challenge, playing in undesirable weather with 12 to 19 mph winds at Casa Grande, but they were cheered on by a SaddleBrooke Ranch crowd.
With an undefeated record for the season, these 12 players are also Arizona’s southern region champions, winning 126 games and losing only 18.