2014 Bean-Smith Paddleball Champions
Bay City Family Y Hosts Annual Tourney
April 6, 2014
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By: O. J. Cunningham
TOP PHOTO -- Bean/Smith Paddleball Tournament -- (Clockwise from top left) Open Champs: Randy Wackerle and Chad Krager; Class A Champs: Adam Koehler Scott Wittbrodt; Class B Champs: Jim Howland and Andy Pappas; Class C Champs: Natalie Gilbert and Nathan Kauffman.
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The Bay Area Family Y hosted the 37th Herb Bean/Fred Smith Doubles paddleball tournament this past
week-end.
Twenty two teams from around Michigan signed up to do battle on the four glass-back
courts.
Bay City's Randy Wackerle won the first Tournament back in 1974 and teamed with Krager in 2014 to notch another win 40 years later.
The first three years the tournament was called the Bay City Holiday Inn Paddleball Tournament
and changed it's name when Herb Bean passed away. The following year Fred Smith passed and the
Bean/Smith was born.
The 37th Bean/Smith saw four divisions shoot up the courts until closing time at
the Y to determine the trophy winners.
In the Open Division Bay City's Randy Wackerle and Chad Krager held on to defend their string
of wins against Bay City's nine time National Singles Champ Mike Wisniewski and Ann Arbor's
National Doubles Champ Jim Swendris 21-18, 21-16 in an entertaining finals.
The "A" Division saw
Bay City's Scott Wittbrodt and Adam Koehler defeat Bay City's Willie Reed and Steve Roe 21-5, 21-
10.
The "B" Division show-down saw Detroit's Andy Pappas and Jim Howland come back in a tie-
breaker 6-21, 21-18, 21-10 to defeat Bay City's Brett "Hitman" Lewless and Paul MacBride.
The "C"
Division finals turned into a two hour marathon. Saginaw's Natalie Gilbert teamed with Alma's Nathan
Kauffman to defeat Bay City's Judy Pretzer and Teddy Jevicks 21-12, 18-21, 11-4.
O. J. Cunningham
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O. J. Cunningham is the Publisher of MyBayCity.com. Cunningham previously published Sports Page & Bay City Enterprise. He is the President/CEO of OJ Advertising, Inc.
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