Alabama resident captures all three wheelchair division titles at 2024 Biofreeze Pickleball Championships
Anthony Ryan sizzled under the November Arizona sun.
So did his wheelchair pickleball play at the 2024 Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships Nov. 9-11 during the Veterans Day holiday weekend.
The Gulf Shores, Ala., resident, hit his way to all three titles and gold medals – taking the 5.0 division co-ed singles, co-ed doubles and co-ed hybrid – outdoors at the Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, Ariz.
It marked the inaugural year for the wheelchair division at the USA Pickleball National Championships. And it’s Ryan who pulled off the top division’s overall triple feat.
Born with spinal lipoma, in his case a benign tumor that formed just under his belly button, the 42-year-old Ryan has played wheelchair pickleball for the past six years. And Ryan went undefeated through the entire tournament.
He defeated his friend and teammate Ryan Anthony from Colombia for the Nov. 9 co-ed wheelchair singles title, teamed with him for the Nov. 10 co-ed wheelchair doubles championship, and then teamed with friend and Florida resident Jonathan Clark for the first time to take the Nov. 11 co-ed hybrid (one wheelchair player, one able-bodied player).
After receiving a first-round wheelchair singles bye and defeating Texas’ Taylor Nichols, 11-2, 11-3, in the co-ed wheelchair singles quarterfinals and Utah’s Corey White,11-3, 11-5, in the semifinals, Ryan defeated Anthony, 11-9, 11-9, for the title.
Tied with Anthony at 9-9 in both sets, Ryan scored the final two straight points to close out the set in each.
It marked the third time they’d played against each other, and Ryan avenged a loss to Anthony just three weeks ago at the World Pickleball Cup in Lima, Peru.
“Just, it feels good to win. But it’s also, like I said earlier, it’s bittersweet to win against somebody that you care about and that you like and that you, you know, consider more than a pickleball fan,” Ryan says.
A day later, Ryan and Anthony teamed up for the wheelchair doubles national championship. They received a first-round bye and won both their matches, defeating Texas residents Joe Gavic and Carl Cogdill, 11-2, 11-4, in the semifinals and then Colorado resident Rick Marion and Canada resident Ken Dumond, 11-0, 11-5, in the nighttime championship match.
But it wasn’t without some surprises. Leading 7-0 in the first set, officials asked Ryan to switch shirts because his bright yellow shirt looked similar to the color of the bright yellow pickleball. Luckily, Anthony had extra shirts in his bag and gave him a blue Colombia shirt to wear. He usually doesn’t pack extra shirts, but this time he did – and he always will now.
“I’m glad I did. And I’m glad I didn’t have a pink one because I had that one in my bag earlier. But I’m sure Anthony could have pulled it off just fine,” Anthony says.
After the stoppage, the pair reeled off four straight points to close out the set. Then, tied at 5-5 in the second set, the pair recorded the final six points to win the match and the title.
“Our objective was to just play clean pickleball. And we continued to fight through that early little burst they had [in the second set], and we were able to get back to clean, striking the ball clean,” Ryan says. “And we knew that if we could do that, then we’d be all right.”
And finally, in Ryan and Clark’s first time together, they took the co-ed hybrid. After a first-round bye, the pair defeated Nichols and Texas resident Jenna Maury, 11-2, 11-6, in the quarterfinals and Utah resident Marianne Orr and Colorado resident Michael Tingstrom, 11-3, 11-7, in the semifinals.
Playing in the shaded and covered center court for the championship, Ryan and Clark knocked off California residents Zach Wentz and Maxwell Lee, 11-8, 11-1, for the gold medal.
Trailing 8-4 in the first set, Ryan and Clark called a timeout – and Ryan gave his able-bodied teammate a little push.
“He goes, ‘Nice guys don’t play hybrid,’” Clark says.
So, Clark started attacking more, and combined with some unforced errors, the duo scored seven straight points to win the first set before opening the second set on a 6-0 run and closing it with five straight points.
In his first time playing hybrid wheelchair doubles, Clark learned plenty and had a blast.
“I love it. Yeah, it was great,” Clark says. “Yeah, so, I mean, I guess there’s more to come because Anthony just told me that I’m his partner from now on. So, here we go.”
Nichols also won three gold medals, winning the 4.5 division in co-ed singles, co-ed doubles with playing partner Gina Jenkins (Texas) and co-ed hybrid with playing partner Jenna Maury (Texas).
2024 Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships Wheelchair Division
Co-ed Singles
Nov. 9
First Round
Marianne Orr def. Joe Gavic, 5-11, 11-4, 11-3
Taylor Nichols def. Carl Cogdill, 11-5, 12-10
Quarterfinals
Ryan Anthony def. Marianne Orr, 11-4, 11-5
Zach Wentz def. Ken Dumond, 11-1, 8-11, 11-6
Corey White def. Rick Marion, 5-11, 11-1, 11-5
Anthony Ryan def. Taylor Nichols, 11-2, 11-3
Semifinals
Ryan Anthony def. Zack Wentz, 11-2, 11-5
Anthony Ryan def. Corey White, 11-3, 11-5
Consolation
Taylor Nichols def. Joe Gavic, 15-6
Marianne Orr def. Carl Cogdill, 15-0
Rick Marion def. Taylor Nichols, 15-8
Marianne Orr def. Ken Dumond, 15-11
Zack Wentz def. Rick Marion, 15-2
Marianne Orr def. Corey White, 15-4
Third Place
Zack Wentz def. Marianne Orr, 11-4, 11-8
Championship
Anthony Ryan def. Ryan Anthony, 11-9, 11-9
Co-ed Doubles
Nov. 10
Quarterfinals
Joe Gavic/Carl Cogdill def. Zack Wentz/Steve Paskiewicz, 11-6, 11-3
Taylor Nichols/Gina Jenkins def. Marianne Orr/Corey White, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9
Semifinals
Anthony Ryan/Ryan Anthony def. Joe Gavic/Carl Cogdill, 11-2, 11-4
Rick Marion/Ken Dumond def. Taylor Nichols/Gina Jenkins, 12-10, 11-7
Consolation
Taylor Nichols/Gina Jenkins def. Zack Wentz/Steve Paskiewicz, 17-15
Marianne Orr/Corey White def. Joe Gavic/Carl Cogdill, 15-5
Third Place
Marianne Orr/Corey White def. Taylor Nichols/Gina Jenkins, 8-11, 11-2, 11-4
Championship
Anthony Ryan/Ryan Anthony def. Rick Marion/Ken Dumond, 11-0, 11-5
Co-ed Hybrid
Nov. 11
First Round
Taylor Nichols/Jenna Maury def. Carl Cogdill/Gina Jenkins, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4
Quarterfinals
Anthony Ryan/Jonathan Clark def. Taylor Nichols/Jenna Maury, 11-2, 11-6
Marianne Orr/Michael Tingstrom def. Rick Marion/Ernie Medina Jr., 14-12, 11-13, 11-5
Ryan Anthony/Troy Deutz def. Ken Dumond/Tony Roig, 5-11, 12-10, 11-3
Zack Wentz/Maxwell Lee def. Corey White/Len Rosenblum, 11-2, 11-1
Semifinals
Anthony Ryan/Jonathan Clark def. Marianne Orr/Michael Tingstrom, 11-3, 11-7
Zack Wentz/Maxwell Lee def. Ryan Anthony/Troy Deutz, 14-12, 11-4
Consolation
Corey White/Len Rosenblum def. Carl Cogdill/Gina Jenkins 15-3
Ken Dumond/Tony Roig def. Corey White/Len Rosenblum, 15-9
Rick Marion/Ernie Medina Jr., def. Taylor Nichols/Jenna Maury, 15-4
Ken Dumond/Tony Roig def. Marianne Orr/Michael Tingstrom, 15-6
Ryan Anthony/Troy Deutz def. Rick Marion/Ernie Medina Jr., 15-7
Third Place
Ken Dumond/Tony Roig def. Ryan Anthony/Troy Deutz, 9-11, 11-6, 12-10
Championship
Anthony Ryan/Jonathan Clark def. Zack Wentz/Maxwell Lee, 11-8, 11-1