By Dick Barton
Cliff Swain once again showed why he is often considered the best in the game, this time with his own brand of “Trick or Treat” at the 2000 Halloween Classic, held Oct. 25-29 at the Athletic Club of Bloomingdale in Illinois. It was East-beats-West as the Boston-based Swain dominated No. 3 ranked Californian John Ellis in the final, as he swept three straight games at the IRT’s fifth tour stop of the season. So in the end, it was Swain’s goodie-bag that was filled with $5,000 in top prize money for his efforts. The total pro purse was $15,000.The pro matches were the highlight of the weekend, but over 250 amateur players also enjoyed some excellent competition during the four-day event. The tournament is known to have one of the largest draws in the Midwest for men’s singles at all levels. It has also earned a reputation as one of the best parties with plenty of food, music, and even a costume contest with cash prizes.
In the pro finals, Swain pulled a few tricks on Ellis, but it was the audience of devoted racquetball fans that were truly treated to some of the finest play seen anywhere. Club Owner Dave Negrete put it best when he said, “Today, we witnessed some of the best racquetball I have seen in over 20 years. Rarely has a player been so dominant in the late rounds. Cliff was unbeatable today.”
Ellis essentially agreed with Negrete’s assessment. “Cliff was more ready than me to play today,” Ellis told Racquetball. “Cliff’s serves today were so right on and I simply wasn’t returning serve at the level that I am capable of.”
“My semi-final match against Sudsy really took a lot out of me,” he said. “So, I was a little tried going into today, but hey, at least I still got to play on Sunday. That’s not too bad!”
Ellis added, “I will be playing in a tournament with Cliff and Tim Doyle in Casper (WY) in a few weeks and I hope to have on a better showing there.”
Swain reached the finals by defeating Ryan Homa, Doyle and Jason Mannino. Ellis got there by dispatching Jack Huczek, Rocky Carson, and Sudsy Monchik.
After the finals match, Swain and Ellis both addressed the audience. Swain exclaimed, “what a way to earn a living! I can’t thank Wilson, my other sponsors, and you the fans enough for making all this possible. I love it.”
Both Swain and Ellis also thanked Dave and Dennis Negrete for putting on the “best party on the circuit.” Swain said he has been coming to the Bloomingdale tournament for nine years and won several times before. “I always love coming here because of Dave and the way he makes the whole thing fun. He lives racquetball and it shows in his tournaments.”
The Negrete tournament was voted the best party tournament by Racquetball magazine in 1999. And, the party rolls on.
“This is my life and I will keep putting on tournaments like this for as last as there is support,” Negrete said. “Even though the major equipment manufacturers don’t really support these tournaments in a big way, my local racquetball family steps up and makes this possible. I owe all of them a debt of gratitude.”
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