Racquetball club ‘hits hard’ at nationals
The Utah State racquetball club team traveled to Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona on March 25 to compete with schools nationwide.
With more than 50 schools in participation, including college-eligible, globally-ranked professional players, the Aggies were able to place 12th overall.
“There was competition that was really easy and competition of professional level,” said Joe Nielson, a member of the Utah State racquetball team who will be team president next year.
Racquetball president Josh Greenwell singled out Harlee Wolfley’s tournament performance.
“Everybody played really well,” Greenwell said. “But Harlee Wolfley probably played as best as I have seen her play.”
Wolfley led the women’s team to a break-out performance at nationals, helping them place 8th as a team despite having half the number of members compared to other teams.
Wolfley also placed 4th individually in her division and qualified as an All-American athlete. Wolfley credits her coach for the successful season that she had.
“Hitting it hard,” Wolfley said. “It’s what my coach told me to do. ‘Hit it hard.’”
Although this is a simple yet effective strategy, it is clear that the team improved this season. The majority of the squad was beginner-intermediate level. It took hours of practice on the courts in their free time to improve.
“Personal and team success is all about the time you put in the courts,” Greenwell said. “It’s not just playing games but doing drills and really focusing on skills you’re weak at.”
The feeling of being around professional-level competition will be beneficial the racquetball team’s learning, Nielson said.
“We got to watch them (globally-ranked players) play,” Nielson said. “Especially the final, we learned a lot from watching the really good guys play.”
Greenwell, Nielson and Wolfley were all quick to point out the improvement and success of everyone on the team.
“Everybody really improved. I couldn’t pick out one person,” Wolfley said. “We all did well enough to compete at nationals and get medals.”
Nielson and Greenwell agreed and said that while everyone improved personally, they also grew together as a team.
Looking forward to next year, Nielson will seek to further improve the growth of this already rapidly-growing group. He has been teaching the class Utah State offers for racquetball, gaining experience this past year so he will be ready to take the reigns as the new season approaches.
“It gave me a different perspective, and it amped my game up,” Nielson said. “Now I feel like I haven’t played better racquetball than I do right now.”