Ashaway Sponsors Racquetball Legend Cliff Swain

Racquetball great, leading coach, and now racquet manufacturer, Cliff Swain has become the latest player to join Ashaway Racket Strings' roster of sponsored players. The Hall of Famer who currently coaches Maria Jose Vargas, Jose Rojas, and Coby Iwaasa among others, recently introduced his own name brand racquet and swears by Ashaway's PowerKill® 17.

"This is a somewhat unusual sponsorship arrangement for us as Cliff is officially retired from the IRT," said Ashaway's Steve Crandall, "but then Cliff is an unusual player, even by championship standards. He has won 71 IRT tournaments and has played in more IRT tournaments than any other player (277). Plus, he has more professional match wins than any other player (730). Everybody in racquetball knows who he is and he loves our string. How can we not love that?"

After the most winning career in racquetball history, Cliff retired from the IRT after the 2006-07 season, but has stayed active in doubles and outdoor racquetball, winning the USA Racquetball National Doubles Championship in 2008 with Woody Clouse; and in 2012 and 2013, teaming up with long-time friend and former coach Mike Ladge to win three national 45+ doubles titles. In 2014, he and partner Josh Tucker won the World Outdoor Racquetball (WOR) Pro doubles division taking out pros Rocky Carson and Jose Rojas in the semi-finals.

In addition to his professional coaching work, Cliff continues to play WRT events, and is also very active with youth leagues, teaching lessons and hosting clinics for the RYDF (Reaching Your Dream Foundation). In July 2014, Cliff introduced his own Cliff Swain Signature Series racquet, which features compressed graphite construction, displacement channels to improve in-plane stiffness, and a large 107 sq. in. string bed that maximizes string deflection and increases the sweet spot by 20%. Cliff has announced that these racquets will be strung with Ashaway strings.

"The association with Ashaway is the best of both worlds for me," said Cliff. "After 30 years of playing with every racquet on the market, I have finally been able to design what I consider to be the best racquet in the world, and with Ashaway, I get to use the best string available. That Steve Crandall has offered to sponsor me as well, only adds icing to the cake."

For more information on Cliff Swain's new racquets, his coaching, video blog, and other activities, visit www.cliffswain.com.

Ashaway Racket Strings are made by Ashaway Line & Twine Mfg. Co., the only U.S. manufacturer of string for squash, tennis, racquetball, and badminton. Operated by the Crandall family since 1824, Ashaway has been making racquet strings since 1949, and is responsible for several important technical innovations. Ashaway has been the Official String of USA Racquetball for more than ten years, and has recently been named the Official String of Professional Tennis Registry and the Women's Squash Association. Ashaway Line & Twine Mfg. Co. also makes braided products for medical and industrial applications. For more information visit www.ashawayusa.com