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Florida Wins 2025 APP Collegiate Championships in Nail-Biter Finish

by Jason Flamm on

The University of Florida claimed the team title at the 2025 APP U.S. Collegiate Championships this weekend in Cape Coral, Florida, edging out the University of Texas in one of the tightest finishes we've seen.

The event featured 32 college teams from around the country, including programs like Stanford, Indiana, Virginia, Utah Tech, and several Florida schools. After three days of matches—singles, doubles, and mixed—Florida (Blue) came out on top, winning the gold medal by earning a higher percentage of total points after tying Texas 4-4 in overall match wins.

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Of note, colleges and universities were allowed to send up to two teams to the APP U.S. Collegiate Championships this year, if they qualified to do so in the regional qualifiers. For example, Florida, the winning University, sent two teams (Blue and Orange).

Florida’s winning team included Jake Bower, Christian Franke, Zoe Routson, and Martine Sundsten. They battled through a tough bracket and clinched the program’s first-ever national title.

“The Gators have been close before, but never quite finished the job,” said Bower. “So to finally win it—it means everything.”

Florida Atlantic University (FAU) took home the bronze after beating Florida (Orange) in the third-place match.

Top Talent on Display

The level of play was high across the board. Many of the athletes are already competing—or aiming to compete—on the pro tour.

  • Jack Munro (Texas) grabbed gold in both mixed doubles and men’s doubles.
  • Mary Monson (Utah Tech) dominated in women’s singles and women’s doubles.
  • Will Lieberman (Drury) won gold in men’s singles after an impressive run.
  • Florida’s Bower also earned bronze in singles to go with his team championship.
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Team Competition Top 12 Results w/ Prize Money

  1. Gold Medal: Florida (Blue) - $12,000
  2. Silver Medal: Texas - $6,000
  3. Bronze Medal: Florida Atlantic - $3,500
  4. Florida (Orange) - $2,000
  5. Virginia (Blue) - $1,250
  6. Indiana (Cream) - $1,250
  7. Utah Tech (White) - $1,250
  8. Grand Canyon (White) - $1,250
  9. Utah Tech (Red)
  10. Iowa
  11. Virginia (White)
  12. Mississippi State

Last year's winner was Utah Tech.

GCU's Adam Jones (L) and Justine Brunner (R)

Individual Results

The APP U.S. Collegiate National Championships also included a first of its kind individual player format. For the first time ever, collegiate players were allowed to play with partners from different colleges and universities.

For example, as you can see below, Jack Munro (Texas) won the mixed doubles event with Alexandra McDonald (Virginia). He also won men's doubles with Liam Duffin (Utah Tech).

Collegiate Pickleball Is Growing—Fast

With prize money on the line, packed brackets, and real team pride at stake, this event showed just how far college pickleball has come.

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And judging by the talent on display in Cape Coral, it’s only going to get bigger from here.

Jason Flamm

Jason Flamm

If you've read something on the internet about pickleball since 2022, there's a great chance Jason wrote it. He currently lives in St. Louis, MO and works with some of the biggest names in pickleball.

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