Strings Attached

Nicky Jacobs
Daily Egyptian

A Registered Student Organization is redefining the line between club and intercollegiate sports powerhouse. The results from the 2005 U.S. Intercollegiate National Championships left Strings Attached, the SIUC racquetball club, with a new title - 24th-ranked men's team in the nation.

The club sent five of its best student players to test the competition at Arizona State University for the six-day tournament in late March and early April. Andrew Benko, Bryan Manis, Mike DeGonia, Ryan Glasscock and David Gillespie earned the team 212 points in the men's division. Andrew Benko, a senior from Roselle studying engineering technology, said despite going into the tournament virtually unknown, the team held its own.

"It was a very tough competition," Benko said. "A lot of the bigger universities have dedicated coaches for racquetball, and we're just a group of guys that love to play." Benko said he was glad the club could participate at the national level.

"This is our first year there, so we got kind of screwed on the seating," Benko said. "Nobody knew us, or our ability, so they put us up against the best players. We're going to get a lot better seating next year."

Mike DeGonia, a freshman from Orland Park studying education, said he was pitted against the best players in the tournament right away. "We played the No. 1 team from Colorado State in doubles," DeGonia said. "The player on that team is ranked No. 12 in the world. You can see the level of competition we had to play against."

Tomas Velasco, the team's faculty adviser and an associate professor of technology, said he was not surprised with the club's final standing and hopes the team continues to improve. David Gillespie, a junior from Peoria studying automotive technology, said he would like more women to join the team.

"A lot of the teams at nationals had a women's team," Gillespie said. "It would be nice if we could go and represent SIU with some women players." Benko said any person who is a member of the Recreation Center is allowed to participate in Strings Attached. Community members are welcome to join, but only student may participate in the tournaments. Benko said he would be willing to teach the game outside club-play times. "If you're willing to learn, we're willing to teach," Benko said.