Spiking the ball

Bob Handelmen

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Going in, Branford and Saybrook were tied at two games each in the league championship game. Then Branford seniors Rohan Garg ’21 (right) and Max Model ’21 (not pictured) scored to clinch the 2021 intramural spikeball championship, 21–19. The fans, all 20 of them, went wild.

Model, an avid spikeball player who considers himself an ambassador for the sport, says spikeball has been coming into its own at Yale because it’s a COVID-safe sport. It’s generally played outside around a mini trampoline, players are mostly six feet apart, and “it’s not hard to play with masks on,” he says. He hopes the enthusiasm on campus continues to grow. With Model and Garg graduating this year, keep an eye on this year’s other finalists, Saybrook teammates Rajiv Nelakanti ’22 (center) and Alex Urbahn ’22 (left), rising seniors who clearly have a shot at next year’s championship.