East goes pickle crazy
This year, Wauwatosa East High School offered pickleball for an extracurricular activity. Enrollment in the pickleball tournament has been increasing the last several years, with 16 teams of two participating in the 2009 season.
Senior Michael Rankin considers himself a “true pickleball enthusist.”
“Why not play pickleball?” asked Rankin. “It is the most important thing to me and my partner.”
Rankin’s partner was fellow senior Joe Pickering.
“I was attracted to [Pickering] as a partner since his name implied he came from generations of pickleball players,” Rankin said.
Rankin aspires to continue playing pickleball, and is serious about the sport.
“It is the only sport I practice and the only sport I plan to pursue after high school.”
Rankin and Pickering, who called themselves the “8th Wonder,” were disappointed in their failure to capture the East pickleball crown.
The championship was won by gym teacher John Simon and English teacher Eric Dale. They beat the pair of senior Matty Patton and student supervisor Robbie Dubinski to win yet another championship.
Simon and Dale won the match two games to one. The faculty duo had to recover from a 14-10 defecit in the first game before winning 17-15.
Patton and Dubinski won the second game handily before dropping the final game of the championship. The win gives Simon and Dale another year of bragging rights and another championship to solidify their pickleball dominance.