Trish Hammer, associate dean for faculty affairs and graduate studies in the College of Science, only began playing pickleball three and a half years ago. But now, she’s a national champion.

Last weekend, Hammer won the highest competitive level in her age group in the singles category at the 2024 BIOFREEZE USA Pickleball National Championships in Mesa, Arizona.

Last year at the same competition, Hammer finished fourth, and she spent the last 12 months fine-tuning her skills.

“I have been working for the past year on many specific aspects of my game (mentally, physically, technique-wise and strategically),” Hammer said, “and it was just surreal the way it all came together.”

Below, she answered a few questions about her the national championships and what she has learned from pickleball.

How many matches did you have to win to earn the championship?
Hammer: Three matches, two out of three games with each to 11 and you have to win by two. The third match was against an opponent who I had never faced, but in her match just before me she trounced the woman who knocked me out of nationals last year. So, I entered the gold medal match a bit intimidated, but I beat her 11-4, 11-6. My crowd of supporters went wild. Such a feeling of joy!

So was that your toughest match of the tournament?
Hammer: My second match was the toughest. I knew she had outplayed me in an earlier tournament in New York City by just groundstroking me to death. I got sucked into her groundstroke power during the second game BUT realized I was doing this and was determined to be more aggressive, attack more balls, and move her out of her baseline comfort zone. This is what I did the first game and I was able to do it again in the third game. She was frustrated and I was loving it. 11-3, 5-11, 11-6.

What were some of the personal, off-court moments that you enjoyed?
Hammer: My son Matt came in from Chicago to root for me. He is not a pickleball player at all but became hooked last year as a spectator watching me at nationals. He was just so excited for me and was there every moment with Hal, the love of my life, both cheering loudly.

Another special moment was calling my 93-year-old mom who lives in Indianapolis. She couldn’t travel but has always been my biggest sports fan and has kept close tabs this past year on all I was doing to get myself ready. She was just thrilled with the news.

Do you have goals beyond winning this tournament? What’s next?
Hammer: My next goal is to be competitive at the Masters Pro level — this is a pro division for the very top-ranked players that are 60-plus in age. I am already thinking and working with my coaches/mentors about a development plan for the coming months.

What have you learned about life in general from playing pickleball?
Hammer: I encourage everyone to set some goals (not necessarily pickleball). Work hard. Expect that you will succeed and fail. This has been a blast for me and I never imagined this ol’ gal would be having so much fun. And I’m not done. 

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