The 2021 North vs. South Wheelchair Challenge

The annual North vs. South Wheelchair Challenge took place on October 23-24 at Copper River Country Club in Fresno, marking the 10th anniversary of the California battle.

And this year didn’t disappoint. A total of 18 participants came from all over California to compete. The NorCal team was led by captained by Michael Yousefi, while Jerry Russell took charge of the SoCal team.

Matches were set at two out of three sets, no ad scoring, with a 10-point tiebreaker for the third set.

On day one, NorCal rallied and took some close victories, including Van Williams edging out a 7-6 (4), 6-1 victory, Mike Applegate with a 6-4, 4-6, 10-8 win, and Daniel Ignacio pulling out a 6-2, 7-6 (6) win. But at the end of the day, SoCal held on to the lead 10-8.

On the second day of action, NorCal fought a good fight, but was outmatched. SoCal defeated Team NorCal 15-9. 

Sportsmanship were awarded to Mike Applegate of NorCal and Dan Lombardo of SoCal. The players also enjoyed a dinner hosted by both sections at the tennis facility.

While SoCal is taking home the cup this year, NorCal gave them an impressive run and is already looking forward to the next challenge in 2022!