Berry takes silver in pickleball
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From Mirror staff reports
Dave Berry of Hollidaysburg won a silver medal in pickleball in the Pennsylvania Senior Games held July 29 at Penn State.
Berry, playing singles (much of pickleball is doubles) was competing in the 75-79 age group's 4.0 division. He is 79.
He won his first two matches easily and won the third match, 15-8, earning a ticket to the gold-medal round before losing to the champion from Virginia.
The tourney is open to competitors from all states.
"I got to 5-all, and he took it from there," Berry said. "I was hitting a lot of good drives, and he was running everything down. He played like a 4.5 and was definitely better than I was. He travels around the country with his wife playing tournaments."
By finishing in the top three, Berry qualified for the 2027 National Senior Olympic Games scheduled for next summer in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
A former District 6 tennis champion at Altoona High School in 1966, Berry took up pickleball six years ago.
He won gold and silver medals in the 75-year-old division at the Gamma Pickleball Classic in Pittsburgh in 2022 and '23.
When he saw the PA Senior Olympics were at Penn State, he said, "I registered. I thought I wouldn't get another opportunity."
He researched statewide and tournament competition.
"I had an extended conversation with A1 about playing senior games at the state level," he said. "I figured I'd be playing high-level guys or a bunch of old guys with bad knees. Most of the guys knew how to play pickleball. It was good experience."