‘Never in a million years’: Wichita duo wins pickleball doubles national championship
Wichita has become known as a hotbed for pickleball, the fastest-growing sport in the United States, and that reputation was backed up at the Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships.
The week-long tournament, which mostly concluded on Monday in Indian Wells, California, saw several players with Wichita ties win national championships in their age divisions.
Perhaps the most interesting story came from Wichita natives Dan Hill and Tony Greenberg, who teamed up to complete an undefeated run to the gold medal in the 65-plus age and 3.5 skill division on Monday.
Hill, 70, and Greenberg, 65, were childhood friends in Wichita and both graduated from Southeast High School. They lost touch for most of their adult lives — Greenberg moved away to Oklahoma City — until recently when the game of pickleball brought them back together.
More than 50 years later, Hill and Greenberg reunited to win a national championship in pickleball.
“Never in a million years would you imagine reconnecting with somebody from your childhood at this age and winning a national championship together,” Hill said in a phone interview. “It’s hard to explain, but it’s very special and very cool.”
Hill and Greenberg have both always liked ball-and-racket sports. After a standout football career at Southeast, which led to him signing with the University of Missouri to play quarterback, Hill picked up the game of tennis in his later years, while Greenberg excelled in the game of squash.
When the pickleball craze hit Wichita, Hill quickly fell in love with the sport. In Oklahoma City, Greenberg followed suit. It didn’t take long for them to run into each other on the competitive scene and start playing together socially when Greenberg made trips back home to Wichita.
“We played in a couple of tournaments together and thought it would be cool if we could get to nationals,” Hill said. “This is kind of the mecca of pickleball here. And Wichita has such a great pickleball community. I’ve met so many great people through the sport, so it’s been a fun ride.”
It turns out Hill and Greenberg make a formidable duo on the pickleball court.
“We’re both really good at just staying patient and not trying to be overly aggressive,” Greenberg said in a phone interview. “Sometimes when you try to be really aggressive in pickleball, it ends up biting you. If you’re more patient, then you can wait for the other team to make a mistake and then capitalize and that’s what we do a good job of.”
The art of “dinking” — barely tapping the ball over the net — is a valuable skill in pickleball and Hill and Greenberg both specialize in it. In fact, they both credit their dinking ability for their success.
“We’re both real steady and we’re both very good dinkers,” Hill said. “If you watch the professionals, that’s what they do and we’ve just tried to copy them. For our age group, we’re very successful with it. It takes a lot of touch and patience.”
In their first trip to nationals together, Hill and Greenberg finished with a perfect 5-0 record and championship. They celebrated their accomplishment with a fancy dinner late Monday evening.
“It was just a lot of fun,” Greenberg said. “And it makes it even cooler that I got to do it with my good friend.”
Other Wichita ties who came away with medals from the national tournament included:
Wichita residents Kim Knotts and Chandi Bongers lost in the quarterfinals, but won six straight matches from the loser’s bracket to win the gold medal in doubles for the 50-plus age and 3.5 skill bracket.
Wichita native Tavon Morrow, a former Maize basketball standout who now resides in Kansas City, won the gold medal with partner Phillip Locklear in men’s doubles for the 19-plus age and 4.0 skill bracket.
Wichita resident Robert Mansfield won the gold medal with partner Steve Fisher in the doubles for 60-plus age and 3.0 skill bracket, while Mansfield also placed second in the singles 60-plus age and 4.0 skill bracket.
Wichita resident and former Shocker tennis player Lucy Kovalova took the silver medal home in the professional mixed doubles field with Wichita native Matt Wright.
The Wichita duo of Zach Nguyen and Erica Lopez placed third in mixed doubles for the 35-plus age and 3.0 skill bracket.
This story was originally published December 14, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
.jpg)