Pickleball's Best Young Talent On Display This Weekend at the DUPR Collegiate Individual National Championships

This weekend in Cincinnati the DUPR Collegiate Individual National Championships (CINC) will take place at The Pickle Lodge. The brand new facility has nine individually fenced indoor courts, with plans for another eight courts by the end of the year.

How to Watch: 3:30pm EST on Sunday, June 2nd - DUPR YouTube Channel 

A collegiate champion will be crowned in each of the following events:

• Women’s Singles
• Men’s Singles
• Women’s Doubles
• Men’s Doubles
• Mixed Doubles

Schedule of Events

• Saturday 9am-1pm, Mixed Doubles Group Play and Quarterfinals
• Saturday 1pm-7pm, Men’s & Women’s Singles Group Play and Quarterfinals
• Sunday 7am-1pm, Men’s & Women’s Doubles Group Play and Quarterfinals
• Sunday 1pm-7pm, All Events Semifinals and Finals

Format

• Round Robin in groups of 6/7/8 depending on the number of participants. Top eight from group play will advance to an eight-team playoff to determine the winner.
• Group play games are to 21, rally scoring with win-on-serve. Playoff games are 2-out-of-3 to 21, with the third game to 11.

Eligibility

• Any college student taking at least six credit hours can compete
• Players that graduate in the 2024 spring semester or are taking summer classes can compete
• Players must be partnered with someone from their own school

Scholarship Money on the Line

Players will be playing for a total of $20,000 in scholarships over the two-day event. Besides being named a national champion, scholarship money is also on the line.

Here are the winning amounts in all events:

• 1st place – $1000 per player
• 2nd place – $500 per player
• 3rd & 4th place – $250 per player
• 5th – 8th place – $125 per player
• $20,000 in total

Top Five Rated Men's Players

(Doubles DUPR/Singles DUPR)

Jack Munro (6.4/5.9) – Munro is coming off two APP Gold medals in the APP NYC in men’s doubles and the newly formed APP Shuffle. He is also on the APP Next Gen National Team. The ambidextrous player from the University of Texas at Austin was drafted to the Chicago Slice in Major League Pickleball this year. Munro is playing singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles.

Jack Foster (5.9/6.5) – Foster is also a staple on the APP Tour and a part of the APP Next Gen National Team. The youngster is playing for the University of Florida and is competing in all three events: singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles. Foster is in The Dink’s most recent Top 20 Men’s Singles Power Rankings and will be the heavy favorite in singles.

Kyle Compton (5.2/5.6) – Compton is the Pickleball Club President at Clemson University. The 19-year-old is originally from Georgia and just played in the PPA Vizzy Atlanta Slam. He earned a bronze medal in men’s singles at the 5.0 level. Compton and his teammate Fiorella Bozzetto won four matches at 5.0 in mixed doubles. He is playing in mixed doubles and singles this weekend – look for Compton to earn a trophy or two.

David Bieger (5.5/5.3) – Beiger helped UVA to the team national championship last fall. The Selkirk sponsored player is a senior, studying both Physics and Computer Science and just graduated. The fitness enthusiast is playing in singles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles.

Drew Holder (5.7/5.6) – Holder is only playing men’s doubles with his partner Luke Anthony, both from Southeastern University (Florida). Holder actually started out at SEU as a kicker on the football team. He now plays for the Lakeland Palms in the All Florida Pro League, leading his team to a tie for first place in the standings at 3-0. Look for Holder and Anthony to push for a medal.

Top Five Rated Women's Players

(Doubles DUPR/Singles DUPR)

Averee Beck (5.3/4.8) – Beck attends Utah Tech University and has played a bit on the pro tour as well. Averee is playing in all three events: singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. Beck made it through pro qualifiers in women’s singles at the recent PPA Red Rock. Her and Kamryn Bliss also played in women’s pro doubles. Beck will be playing mixed doubles with Benson Parry.

Ava Ignatowich (5.3/5.3) – James Ignatowich’s younger sister usually plays on the PPA Tour, but she is playing for the University of Miami this weekend. Ignatowich is playing women’s singles and doubles. She easily has the highest singles DUPR on the women’s side and is the heavy favorite to win. Ignatowich is playing with Brooke Dugarte, who is a good 4.5 – Ignatowich could get to the podium in both events.

Mehvish Safdar (5.3/4.9) – Safdar plays for Indiana University and is a PhD student, studying counseling and sports psychology. Mehvish is a Pakistani-American who played college tennis at the University of Minnesota and was a top 20 tennis recruit. Safdar is a threat to podium in all three events she is playing in.

Alexandra McDonald (5.1/5.0) – McDonald plays for the national championship winning UVA team. She is playing in all three events and partnering with Lauralei Singsank and Brian Song. McDonald is also on the club tennis team at UVA and studies Cognitive and Computer Science. Look for McDonald to get at least one medal in Cincinnati – I wouldn’t be surprised if it was more.

Lauralei Singsank (5.1/4.8) – Speaking of UVA women’s players, Singsank is a JD candidate at the University of Virginia. Originally from Maui, Laurelei earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon before attending Law School at UVA. The Gearbox sponsored lefty is very solid all around. Look for Singsank to at least make the championship with David Bieger and for her to medal with McDonald.