Samantha Hauck & Megan Trotter | Staff Writer & News Editor
Duquesne University has introduced a new co-ed intramural sport available on campus— pickleball!
The games are played in a tournament style to narrow down a winner and are open to all students of any skill level.
Despite the sport being typically associated as a game for older adults, pickleball player, Brynn Tripp, has been working at a pickleball facility in her hometown in Rochester.
She said that she was so excited to have the opportunity to play with other students her age and joined a team with others she did not know.
“Pickleball is awesome,” she said. “So, I thought it was a cool opportunity to try something new.”
The student teams are made up of 4-5 members. People can either sign up as a team, or individuals who want to get involved can sign up alone and get assigned to a team. Tournaments take place on Monday or Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. Teams gather on the fourth floor of the Power Center to compete.
Pickleball nets are available not only on the fourth floor of the Power Center but also in the basketball court outside of the Duquesne Towers and Vickroy dormitories.
Michael Cecil, coordinator of Intramural and Club Sports, said it is his first year holding the position.
“We are planning to have another league starting in the end of October through November and another through December,” Cecil said.
The student organization team who wins the current ongoing tournament wins $250 that has been donated to the league. The co-ed league also wins bragging rights, according to Cecil.
Duquesne added the pickleball intramural team when the university purchased equipment last school year. This year, the university has allowed students to play for free.
Tripp said that teams are relaxed and often don’t have official practices. Iovene and Costa play once a day whenever the weather is nice and refer to it as their “practice.”
Greek Life organizations on Duquesne have also gotten involved in the pickleball activities.
Members of Delta Zeta and Delta Chi have teams. Sophomores Izzy Iovene and Eliza Costa and their other team members Alex Boyko and Mackenzie Cahill saw the flyers advertising the league while waiting for the elevator in the Power Center and decided to sign up.
“We thought it would be fun to have a DZ team and not just be known as a sorority,” Iovene said.
Though they started playing on a team officially in college, Iovene and Costa are not new to the sport. Iovene began playing with her grandparents, and Costa played with her mom who also enjoys the sport.
“I think it’s good that Duquesne has pickleball as an option because you’re meeting more people, and it’s all friendly competition,” Costa said.
Cecil encourages students who are looking for a fun way to exercise to sign up for the upcoming winter league.
Students who are interested in signing up can contact Cecil at cecil@duq.edu or scan the QR codes on the flyers posted around campus.