National Outdoor Racquetball Championship : Hawkes Beats Southern to Regain Title

All is right in the world of outdoor racquetball in Orange County now that Brian Hawkes has returned to the top.

Hawkes completed his breeze through the Men’s Pro Division of the 13th annual Ektelon National Outdoor Championships Sunday afternoon at Orange Coast College with a 21-11, 21-14 victory over defending and 1980 champion Dan Southern. It was Hawkes’ fifth tournament title in the last six years.

Hawkes won the single-elimination tournament four consecutive years (1981-84) before being knocked out in the quarterfinals last year.

Defending women’s champion Martha McDonald defeated indoor national champion Lynn Adams, 21-8, 19-21, 11-10, in the Women’s Pro Division.

Hawkes, a resident of Huntington Beach, was never really extended in the tournament, which started Friday. He didn’t lose a game in five matches and allowed his opponents into double figures in points just four times in 10 games. The most points anybody scored on him was 14 by Southern in the final game.

“Let’s just say last year I had a bad match,” Hawkes said. “This year I had to prove to myself I could come back and win it. I never expect Dan (Southern) to lose. I came out a few days before this year and practiced on these courts to be ready.”

The first rally of the match proved to be the undoing of Southern, also from Huntington Beach. After hitting a returned shot, he ran toward the center of the court, collided with Hawkes and was struck in the face by Hawkes’ knee.

Both players went spinning to the ground, and Southern’s racquet string and bottom plug broke from the racquet. As the two untangled, Southern asked in jest toward the crowd of 300 if it was a hinder.

In the second game, Southern took an 8-2 advantage but Hawkes rallied to take the lead, 9-8, with eight consecutive points. After a service break, Hawkes scored six more points and was on his way to the title.

Hawkes’ serve proved too difficult for Southern to handle in the second game.

“People have been serving to my backhand all week and I’ve been able to handle it,” Southern said. “I just lost my concentration after the collision I guess, I can handle that serve, something just wasn’t there in the last game.”

Minutes after the singles final, Hawkes and Southern teamed to play in the doubles final and were defeated by Steve Cunliff and Ray Medina, 21-9, 7-21, 11-3. Medina served the first nine points and opened a 9-0 lead in the tie-breaker and had little trouble finishing the victory.

In the women’s action, it was the sixth consecutive time that Adams and McDonald had met in the final. Adams had won the first four title matches (1981-84). McDonald has won the last two.

McDonald established early control and won, 21-8, but didn’t seem confident after winning the first game with such ease.

“People came up to me and told me I was playing well and had the match won after the first game,” McDonald said. “But I knew better, Lynn (Adams) is just too good a player.”

The second game was marred by a pair of controversial line calls that led to a 19-19 tie. Adams scored the final two points and won the second game, 21-19.

In the tie-breaker, the lead changed five times. Adams seemed to be in control with a 10-8 lead and was serving match point. But McDonald rallied to win.