Racquetball sees increase in popularity at NU

By Christopher Gleeson
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

As Alex Palilunas dives for a ball just out of his reach, his stomach hits the waxed wood floor and makes a loud screeching noise, he slides along into the hard wall, and is stopped abruptly and painfully.

Racquetball players are now filling the courts underneath Andrews Hall on a daily basis, the level of play rising each and every day as the players get more and more practice and time in on the courts.

Racquetball is not a team sport with uniforms and water boys. It is a sport here for the armatures that come from the woodwork to compete against one another in the privacy of the subterranean courts located under Andrews Hall. Players clad in mismatched gym apparel some wearing sweatbands, others wearing backwards hats and tank tops, all competing for one thing: to go home a winner.

"I play to win," said Ben Morley, a 19-year-old business major from Belfast, Maine. "There's nothing better than beating someone all by yourself and knowing it was all you."

There are no cheerleaders, no concession stands, and no fans: just you, your racket, a 1.4-ounce seamless rubber ball, and your opponent. Each shot off the wall is amplified in the little rooms, along with the screeching of sneakers and the grunts and groans of players exerting all their efforts into hitting the ball as hard as they can.

"It's almost like you're fighting the other player," said Sazi Guthrie, a 21-year-old sports medicine major from Ithaca, NY. "When you score a point, the other player gets so frustrated with themselves, and when you win, man, they get angry, but there's nothing they can do, because it's all their fault."

Players get little reputations as they play time after time and become known down on the courts for their aggressive play and screams of victory. "I'm a very loud player," said Drew Shula, a 20-year-old architect major from South Bend, Ind. " I scream when I win a point, if I had worked hard for it and the game is close."

Games are usually played to either 11 points or 15 points, and the score, depending on the skill of each player, is usually quite close and intense. " I like to scream when I score points, both because I'm happy and also because I like to rub it in my opponent's face," said Shula. " I'm no jerk, but I do love victory!"

Some players walk away angry, some players walk away glowing, but all of them love the sport for everything it has to offer. The close quarters you play in, the speed of the game, the challenge of your opponent, and, oh, yes, the pain you endure from high-speed collisions with other players and rackets in intense play.

"It's just straight up fun," said Jared Hanna, a 21-year-old communications major from Andover, NJ. "I've gotten smashed knees and occasionally cut on my face from getting hit from rackets of other players. You have to watch your back with other players sometimes, because they will aim for you and hit you with the ball if they're mad at you."

Whether you are a varsity athlete on a sports team or play no sports at all, the racquetball courts make everyone equal. All it is in the basement of Andrews Hall is how you play the game, and if you can hold your own with a racket and your skills.

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