Tim Hansen plans to give professional racquetball a try when he graduates from college. But in the meantime, the

Florida Atlantic University senior has been tearing up the game as an amateur.

In racquetball circles, Hansen has become a household name from North Carolina to Miami. The 25-year-old

Palm Beach resident started playing outdoor racquetball seven years ago and made the switch to the indoor courts

a year later. By 1984 Hansen had developed into the Florida men`s open singles` champion. He followed that by

capturing the same division title in the Southeastern Region Championships, which covers North and South

Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

"It was hard to believe that I was accomplishing these things so quickly," Hansen said. "I went to indoor

racquetball to find more competition, and I found it quickly. I was fortunate to play some very good players at my

club, which helped me develop quicker."

Hansen continued to excel in the men`s open division, where only the top amateurs play. Last year Hansen

defended his region championship but was unable to repeat as the state champion. He lost by one point in a tiebreaker.

Hansen rebounded this year by winning the state title easily, gearing for his second defense of the region

championship beginning tomorrow in Jacksonville.

"My game is really going nicely right now," said Hansen, who has never been coached in the sport. "I am playing

better than I ever have and I will need to continue this in order to defend my region championship. I am looking

forward to graduating from FAU in May, so I can start playing in the professional tournaments in September. I

wanted to make sure that I graduated from college before giving the professional ranks a shot."

Hansen won the first indoor tournament that he entered at the Olympiad in Boca Raton as a C-Division Novice

player, giving him plenty of encouragement to continue.

"Winning the first tournament at my own club definitely had me wondering what I could accomplish if I

continued," said Hansen, who moved to South Florida seven years ago from California. "That was a big reason that

I am where I am today. If I had not won that, I might have given up sooner.

"Sometimes I regret that I did not start playing racquetball when I was younger. But then I see so many guys quit

because they are burnt out from the sport. Maybe it`s better that I got a late start. I think there is still a lot of room

for improvement. My forehand is definitely the strong point in my game and my backhand is just a little behind

everything else."

Hansen won the men`s 19-and-over national title in 1984 and placed third in the men`s open division. He is

currently ranked fourth in the nation among open players and would like to tune up for the pro tour by winning

the national title this summer.

"Winning nationals is the biggest goal I have set right now," Hansen said. "The top four guys in the country are

very close in talent; it`s just a matter of who plays the best under the pressure. If I play good racquetball and do

not get nervous, I think I can win it. Nerves will play the biggest part."

The same can be said for the professional ranks. "I have played several of the professionals already and have

beaten some of them. The biggest thing for me will be the experience in the professional tournaments and not

being in awe of playing the best guys for money. There have been times where I could hardly play them because I

was so nervous. I hope that doesn`t happen in the future," he said.

Hansen won the open division of the first Arthritis Foundation Tournament held at the Scandanavian Courtrooms

in Fort Lauderdale last weekend. He beat the No. 15 player in the nation among professional players.

Memo: SportsWeek/Etc.

© Copyright 1986 News & Sun-Sentinel Company

"I was only 12, and I was small for my age. Everyone out there was over 20. I wanted to play, but they wouldn't let me," Calabrese said. "They looked at me and laughed. They said, 'If we hit you with the ball, we'll have to take you to the hospital. You can't play against us.'

"What happened that day gave me my competitiveness. They said I couldn't play, so I was going to prove I could. I became competitive right there."

Calabrese, now 21 and America's top-ranked amateur, returned to the three- wall, cement court a block from where he lived in Hollywood after everyone else had gone home. And he kept coming back. A year later, the older players had no choice but to let him play.

"They had a tournament and I signed up," said Calabrese, who is competing in the Chuck Prince Charity Diabetes Tournament at the Quadrangle Athletic Club this weekend. "I had practiced so much, that my racket was warped. But I beat them all and won the tournament. That's when I became determined to be the best."

Calabrese has been competing and winning ever since. Two weeks ago, he won the U.S. Amateur Championship in Boston. Now, with solid backing from his promoter (Ektelon), he plans to begin conquering the pro tour this fall.

Several weeks ago, he got a taste of the professional game. He faced Marty Hogan, the undisputed king of American racquetball, in a qualifying match for a pro tournament.

"He beat me in four games. But I won a game against him. I showed most of the pro players that I can play with them," Calabrese said. "The first couple of points I was very intimidated. But then I realized that my serve was as good as his and I could match him in most of the other skills. What I didn't have is experience. He beat me on experience.

"I also learned that you've got to be in great shape to win on the pro tour. Marty's in great shape; that's what makes him the best."

Calabrese thinks he has what it takes to one day be the best, although the odds of making a good living on the pro tour are almost impossible.

"Only 24 players qualify for each tournament, and there are hundreds and hundreds of guys trying," he said. "But if you are successful, you can make it. If you're in the top five for the year, you're in the money.

"I want to make the top five by the end of next season (which begins in September). It's going to be tough, but I think I can do it."

Money is not what's driving him.

"The money's not that important. I just like to compete; I'm a competitor," he said. "And the game is fun. I love to play. If I didn't love it, I'd hang up my racket today.

"I became addicted to this game a long time ago, and I made up my mind I was going to try to be the best."