Site MapNORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST WHATS NEXT- The Georgia Regional Tournament
Nothing is better than a Georgia Peach!
The Florida State Pickleball Club heads to a regional tournament hosted in Georgia to get the competition going. What do the teams have in store?
To attend a regional tournament or nationals, you must be a pickleball club member. At Florida State University (FSU) two girls and two boys were selected to represent FSU at the tournament. The Florida State collegiate athletes that were chosen- Lily Shaw, Zack Florendo, Bella Kontil, and Joshua Phillips- consistently highlight their skills on the court!
One of the FSU pickleball members chosen, Lily Shaw, is a Junior at Florida State University (FSU). She has been playing pickleball for 5 months. The first tournament Shaw played in was the Embry Riddle tournament in March 2024. The co-ed team, Shaw and her partner Colby Tabb, placed 3rd overall! This tournament was her second tournament ever. This only prepared her for the next big tournament, The Georgia Regionals.
Shaw says the competition in Georgia was more challenging. Additionally, she adds “There were schools from all over the country that participated in the Georgia tournament whereas the Embry Riddle tournament only consisted of teams from UF, USF, UCF, UNF, ERAU, and FSU.”
Let's rally, Who's in
There were schools from all over the country that participated in the Georgia tournament. They scrambled to fill on these beautiful courts. Will the balls stay in the courts or go flying! SOURCE: JOSH PHILLIPS
On Saturday afternoon, the first day of the tournament, the atmosphere was electric as pickleball enthusiasts from far and wide gathered for a Regional Tournament located in Georgia. The Florida State collegiate athletes - Lily Shaw, Zack Florendo, Bella Kontil, and Joshua Phillips- were eager to showcase their skills.
The courts were filled with talented collegiate pickleball athletes. Each college brought their school spirit while sharing the bond of the sport. Shaw says, “We were all very excited for this tournament and of course, there were some nerves, especially in the first match on Saturday, but it didn’t take too long to lock in”.
To mentally prepare for each game, Shaw did not use a hype song, she had her amazing teammates to provide the energy! Before every match the club members: Florendo, Phillips, Kontil, and Shaw had pep talks. This motivated the players to boost their energy and encouraged each other on and off the court.
The matches on Saturday were rally scoring to 21 points and the teams had to win by 2 and freeze at 20. The team started off playing the University of Florida (UF) Team 4 at 11:30 am. The women’s match was played first and Shaw and Kontil lost 19-21. The games went back and forth and had the audience standing on their toes! The men’s team played next, and they won to pick the team back up! Co-ed teams took over the courts next, Shaw and Phillips lost their match verse UF. To finish out the intense matches with the UF pickleball team, Kontil and Florendo won their match!
Court Conqueror
Therefore, the teams went into a dreambreaker where each player played 4 rallies at a time and the players kept alternating every 4 rallies until a team reached 21, however, when a team reached 20 they had to score the last point when serving. The order of the FSU pickleball team with matches was Florendo then Phillips, Kontil, and lastly Shaw. Unfortunately, the team did not win the Dreambreaker and lost 23-21.
Shaw and the team experienced many hardships but specifically, Shaw explains the biggest challenge leading into the tournament was that she had not previously played that much with Kontil and Phillips. Shaw joined the FSU pickleball club this semester. However, the team still played exceptionally well and had a great time together. Shaw’s favorite part of the tournament was bonding with the team and cheering each other on.
The team then played Clemson 1 and all 4 of FSU teams lost. The last game on Saturday was against JSU and all 4 FSU teams won by a significant amount. Unfortunately, the team did not make it into the top 16 so they were out of the running to win the tournament. The team was not satisfied with the results on Saturday as they felt they did not play to the best of their abilities, especially against UF 4.
Comeback Season, maybe just maybe!
On Sunday, the second day of the tournament, the team played 2 consolation matches. The first match was against Virginia Tech, and the FSU pickleball team lost 3-1. The women’s team lost 20-22, which was an extremely close match! That was not the only loss of the day, the men’s team and one mixed team also lost. But to save the day one co-ed team won!
The final game the team played in Georgia was against Clemson and FSU finished the tournament strong winning all 4 matches! Shaw emphasizes, “I wouldn't have traded this experience for the world. I learned a lot from this tournament and hopefully shook some nerves off as I got my first big tournament under my belt. I am excited to get redemption at the next tournament!” The Georgia Regional Tournament made thrilling matches and the event served as a showcase of talent to the vibrant and inclusive pickleball community. Go Noles!
