President and coach of the Sacramento State racquetball club, Mark Salinas, with partner and treasurer, Melissa Borgwat, won the gold medal at the National Doubles Mixed Elite Division this year, the highest division before professionals.

And with its recent success, the tandem has revived the racquetball club this year in hopes of returning the glory that was once eminent in Sac State.

Sac State had a team that won the National Intercollegiate Nationals four years in a row. But due to insufficient funding for the team, the club perished from existence.

Salinas became determined to bring those glorious days back to Sac State after winning a gold medal in the Intercollegiate Nationals this year. He was the only one to represent Sac State.

“With the points I earned, the school placed 23 out of 40 schools in the nation,” Salinas said. “I figure if I bring more players next year, our school should be able to win it and repeat history.”

The club became official on Sept. 17th this year and has 11 players enrolled on the squad. The first practice took place on Oct. 11th and was a big success, according to Salinas.

A few notable names that will assist in the success of this club, other than Salinas and Borgwat, are Jason Santos, the coordination?s officer for the team and scholarship winner from California Amateur Racquetball Association, and Paul Babin. Salinas said that Babin “shows a lot of promise in becoming a great player.”

Practice takes place every Thursday at 6 p.m. at the racquetball courts.

For anyone interested in building up the team may contact Mark Salinas at [email protected].