To most, mid October means plans for settling in for a long winter. Not in Huntington Beach, California where Outdoor Racquetball is thriving.
The Pro Kennex Outdoor Classic was blessed with 75-80 degree weather. Yielding over 30 entrants in the pro division, spectators and players
were treated to weekend of great barbecue and racquetball.

In typical outdoor fashion, fans were lined up in lawn chairs at the perimeter of the courts awaiting the next great match. In the pro singles division,
a center line was placed in the middle of the court spanning from the service box to the back of the court. Much like the IRT tour in the early 1990's,
the server had the opportunity to serve where he wanted upon entering the box, but every serve thereafter was to be kept within the opposing quadrant.
This rule dramatically increased the number of rallies and negated the effect of big serves that have become commonplace in the outdoor game. The
first quarterfinal match featured Jeff Johnson upsetting Son Nguyen. Craig "Clubber" Lane advanced past Kevin Booth and Jesus Ocana showed local
indoor great Mike Orr the ins and outs of outdoor racquetball in a hard fought win. Allen Kazem fell to Greg Solis in straight games. The semis began
on Sunday with Greg Solis and Jesus Ocana. For those that don't remember, Ocana lost to long time indoor pro John Ellis 11-5 tiebreaker at the WOR
Championships. Ocana was bringing the heat and backing it up with a tad bit of trash talking in his usual fashion that gathered fans. Solis seemed
unaffected the smack of the ball and the mouth by Ocana and used his outdoor savvy to advance to the finals. The second semifinal featured outdoor
pros Craig Lane and Jeff Johnson. Johnson seemed off his usual serve and rally style game and committed numerous unforced errors that Lane
capitalized on to advance in straight games. After a five year hiatus from singles, Craig Lane found himself in the finals against his doubles partner
Greg Solis. The doubles partners both came out serving big and bringing the typical outdoor heat needed to win, but again, Solis seemed unaffected by
the power. The big serves were short lived for both players due to the newly implemented center service line. The quick hands and feet of Solis made a
tough combination for Lane to overcome as he fell in straight games to Solis. With this win, Solis is well on his way to another title as the outdoor
points champion.

In the pro doubles division, Solis and Lane were on a collision course with the newly formed team of Rob Hoff and Josh Tucker. Past national champs
Solis and Lane found themselves facing the red hot team of Gary Martin and Pete Gauci. Martin and Gauci, fresh off of an impressive upset over Jeff
Johnson and Rick Sandello, had a ton of momentum coming into the match. The momentum was short lived after big serves and consistent re-kills by
Solis and Lane seemed to stop Martin and Gauci cold. The past champs advanced in straight games, 15-1, 15-4. In a much more eventful semifinal,
Hoff and Tucker faced Kevin Booth and Mike Peters. The always tough Booth and Peters came out in typical fashion by executing a well thought out
game plan. The plan didn't last long as Tucker and Hoff began blasting forehands and hitting precise angles to keep Booth and Peters off of the court
and off balance. The huge serve of Tucker and consistent play of Hoff was no match for Booth and Peters as they fell in straight games.

The finals featured a court consisting of Rob Hoff holding two outdoor national titles, Solis with four, Lane with five. Josh Tucker was not out of place
though. The Missouri transplant has found his niche' in outdoor and was out to prove he belonged in the finals. The indoor touring pro wasted no time
blasting serves in excess of 170 mph and kept both Lane and Solis on their heels. The game plan of Hoff and Tucker was apparent from the beginning.
They played in the "I" formation the entire match and didn't deviate. This seemed to frustrate Lane and Solis as they were unable to consistently put
the ball away, thus making costly errors. The title went to Hoff and Tucker in straight games and the two pulled off the upset in convincing fashion.