MLP DAYTONA LIVE EVENT ANALYSIS & UPDATES – SATURDAY FEED

MARCH 25, 2023

Check back all day long for game updates, scores, and the inside track on MLP Daytona Beach! First up at 9 AM is the New York Hustlers up against the SoCal Hard Eights on the Championship Court and the New Jersey 5’s squaring up with the Las Vegas Night Owls. Let’s go!!!!

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UPDATE 8:54PM – The Semi-Finals are set for Sunday! 

LA vs. Seattle hits at 9am and BLQK vs. NJ happens at 11am. Both matches are on Championship Court!

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UPDATE 8:29PM – The New Jersey 5’s beat St. Louis 3-0 and are headed to the Semi-Finals

The 5’s ladies Waters and Jansen were down in Women’s Doubles in game 1, but came back to beat Jardim and Jones 22-20. The 5’s men Patriquin and Ignatowich took the momentum from the win and beat St. Louis (Lange/Devilliers) 21-15. Hayden “Big H” Patriquin (our Ora Athlete of the Day yesterday) continued showing up big and making plays. In MX1, Jansen and Ignatowich initiated firefights early and often and moved comfortably to victory 21-15.

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UPDATE 6:37PM – The Los Angeles Mad Drops beat the NY Hustlers 3-1 and move on to the Semis.

WD – In game 1, The LA Mad Drops Catherine Parenteau and Irina Tereschenko faced off against the New York Hustlers Lacy Schneeman and Anna Bright in an energetic first game of the match. Schneemann and Bright played an aggressive fast-paced playing style with many speed-ups. That combined with Tereschenko and Parenteau’s consistency and resets brought thrilling points. Hands battles were a common theme throughout the game, such as at 17-17 which then fueled the New York hustler’s to the finish line, ultimately winning 21-17.

MD – In game 2, both substitutes played against each other, with New York’s Rafa Hewett and Brenden Long playing against Hunter Johnson and the rowdy Julian Arnold. At side out, the LA Mad Drops were up 11-5. At 7-14, Brenden Long signaled a pistol with his finger after a put-away, bringing some character to the game, showing that he was a player to not be underestimated. An incredible ATP hit by Rafa Hewett the next point immediately after brought the crowd to an uproar. That was the fuel rafa Hewett needed to bring the match to a close 15-17, with him getting animated after every winner. The game ended with Hunter Johnson dramatically falling down to dodge an out ball, closing out the game with the Mad Drops winning 21-15.

MX1 – In game 3, LA’s Hewett and Schneemann challenged Tereschenko and Hunter Johnson in a grinding battle. At side out, the Mad Drops were up 11-10. Consistency and patience from the Mad Drops brought the score to 17-13, prompting a time out from the Hustlers. 16-20 brought out incredible defense from Schneemann, winning them the point and slight frustration from Tereschenko. A shot hit at Rafa Hewett’s shoulder won the Mad Drops the game with a 21-17 finish.

MX2 – In game 4, Catherine Parenteau and Julian Arnold played Brenden Long and Anna Bright. In an incredible point played out at 13-12, Arnold and Parenteau played out one of the most intense and mind-blowing points with an incredible fire fight between both teams, LA coming out on top. That momentum continued to 17-13, when the Hustlers called a time out to break momentum. It briefly worked, when they brought the score to 16-18. Parenteau’s incredible defense brought the score to 20-16. A missed reset dink by Brenden Long cost them the game with a 16-21 finish.

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UPDATE 4:39PM – The Bay Area Breakers defend their title vs. Dallas Pickleball Club 3-1 and are your 2023 MLP Daytona Challenger Level Champions!!!

The Challenger Level final went down in dramatic fashion with the Bay Area Breakers coming out on top in 4 games. 3 out of the games finished close – 21-19, 21-19, and 21-18. 

Both were fired up and emotional and an unruly Dallas fan was antagonizing Pablo Tellez, who slightly lost his cool and was given the first ever Orange card / technical warning since MLP incorporated a rule update regarding conduct. The fan was escorted out of the building. Dallas’ Brandon French and De La Rosa were fired up and De La Rosa channeled the energy and made a couple impressive plays including an Erne and he looked over to the Bay Area bench and said “LET’S GO!!!” He helped Dallas win the Men’s Doubles game 21-15.

The Breakers put Tellez and second time MVP Ewa Radzikowska out on the court anchoring the second Mixed Doubles game and they beat Braverman and French 21-18 to win the Championship.

This is the second MLP Challenger Level Championship title for the Bay Area Breakers – Congrats!!!

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UPDATE 4:00PM – 45% of Challenger matches went to a Dreambreaker and 61% of Premier matches went to a Dreambreaker so far… for a combined overall total of 53%.

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UPDATE 3:35PM: The Premier Level Quarter-Finals are set & we have a bracket update! Seattle and BLQK earn a bye and head straight to the Semis. St. Louis, New Jersey, NY, and LA are set to play the Quarters at 5 and 7pm.

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UPDATE 3:00PM – LA Mad Drops beat St. Louis Shock in a Dreambreaker

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LA’s Parenteau and Tereschenko dominated Women’s Doubles to kick off the match vs. Jones/Jardim, winning 21-10. In game 2 of Men’s Doubles, Lange and Devilliers overpowered Arnold and sub Hunter Johnson 21-17. Then in Mixed Doubles, we had another momentum shift and each team won a game with the same score of 21-17. Ultimately, LA had a stronger performance in the Dreambreaker and won the match 21-13.

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UPDATE 3:05PM: ATX Pickleballers win 3-2 in Dreambreaker against Florida Smash. Florida is knocked out.

WD: Game 1, Florida smash came into Saturday’s match determined to win after tough losses the day before and ATX’s Pickleballers needed to win this in order to advance to the semi-finals on Sunday after a 1-1 match results the day before. A missed dink by Jorja Johnson and passing middle shot by Jade Kowamoto started off the game. A notable point at 14-13 won by Florida smash was a momentum shifter. At 15-14, Jessie hit a backhand roll putaway and let out an audible “yeah!” and she clenched her fist. A long dink rally between both teams tied the match  at 20-20. After some incredible points played out by both teams, the ATX Pickleballer’s came out victorious in game 1 with a 23-21 finish.

MD: In Game 2, Florida Smash’s Collin Johns and Travis Rettenmaier faced JW Johnson and Gabe Tardio. Rettenmaier put the Florida smash in some trouble with some dead dinks in the first half of the match, giving Tardio and Johnson the balls they needed for an east putaway. A lost hands battle by the Florida smash at 13-9, triggered a timeout to rethink strategy. During the second half of the match, Rettenmaier and Johns switched sides with Johns playing the left.  This strategy was not enough to beat the ATX Pickleballer’s as the Florida Smash lost 21-15.

MX1: In Game 3, ATX Pickleballers sent out Jade Kowamoto and Gabe Tardio to compete against Florida Smash’s Travis Rettenmaier and Jorja Johnson. At 11-8 the Florida smash had the lead at side out. Down 11-16, atx Pickleballer’s called a time out. Jorja got a needed confidence booster at 19-12, hitting a backhand overhead roll and cheering after. Florida smash closed out the game 21-15.

MX2: In game 4, Florida smash’s Johns and Irvine wanted to close out the game against JW Johnson and Jackie Kawamoto and bring the match to a Dreambreaker. At 11-7 side out, atx pickleballers had the lead.  An ATP at 10-12 by Irvine was a momentum changer, with Johns yelling out an emotional “yeah!” And high diving irvine. An intense point at 12-14 between the teams caused an uproar of applause by the crowd. After a time out at 16-16, the crowd collectively yelled “SMASH!” Trying to get Johns and Irvine pumped up.  At 19-20, a unique call was made when a ball didn’t bounce after a putaway by JW, prompting a point replay. After some of the most nail-biting and adrenaline-filled points, the Florida smash won 23-21 and took the match to a game 5 Dreambreaker.

Dreambreaker: In game 5, jessie Irvine was paired up against Gabe Tardio, losing most of her points to him. Jade Kowamoto faced Collin Johns and had a questionable out call at 15-12, prompting a time out. The call was ruled out by the video challenge, bringing the score to 16-12. A putaway by Tardio of ATX Pickleballers against Smash’s Jessie Irvine put the score at 21-17, securing the match win for the ATX Pickleballers.

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UPDATE 2:30PM: The Bay Area Breakers and Dallas Pickleball Club chat strategy and predictions heading into the Challenger Level Final happening at 3pm on Championship Court.

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UPDATE 12:57PM: The California BLQK Bears just beat Milwaukee 21-9 in a Dreambreaker on Championship Court and are moving on to the Premier Level Quarter-Finals.

The California BLQK Bears took both gender doubles games vs. Milwaukee Mashers to kick off the match. The games were tight and Andrea Koop made some smart plays late in the WD game to come back for the win and the crowd was roaring behind her yelling “KOOOOOOP!” Milwaukee countered with an impressive 21-19 win from Smith/Young vs. Staksrud and Koop who fell a bit flat game 3. In the second Mixed Doubles game of the match, Daescu/Kovalova played just a little bit cleaner than Frazier/Brascia to edge out a win game 4. The Bears took an early 7-1 lead to kick off the Dreambreaker. Milwaukee swung the momentum back but ultimately fell short. The Bears won game five 21-9 and earned a spot in the Premier Level Quarter-Finals.

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UPDATE 12:05PM: Seattle Pioneers win 4-0 on Grandstand Court vs. Frisco Clean Cause and secure a spot in the Quarter-Finals.

WD: In the second match of the day on Grandstand Court, Seattle Pioneers’ Megan Dizon and Etta Wright played Frisco Clean Cause’s Lina Padegimaite and Yana Grechkina (Newell). Etta Wright was comfortable playing the left, with an aggressive court take over she had at 13-10. Grechkina and Padegimaite couldn’t seem to find court chemistry, as there was some confusion over middle balls at some points. Clean Cause couldn’t seem to find a groove or proper strategy and took a heavy loss with a final score of 21-12.

MD: In game 2, Seattle’s Ben Johns and Tyler Loong competed against Clean Causes’ Matt Wright and Zane Navratil. After Ben Johns missed a routine dink at 13-11, Matt Wright chuckled at the baseline before serving 12-13, and soon after took the game lead. A few unforced errors by Navratil and a wide lob from Wright at 20-18, put the score at 21-18, giving the Seattle Pioneer’s the win in game 2.

MX1: Clean Cause’s Matt Wright and Yana Grechkina lost to Seattle’s Loong and Megan Dizon in a landslide 21-10 finish. Wright and Grechkina couldn’t seem to find a groove the entire match. At 19-10, Dizon hit an aggressive inside out dink winner, bringing the score to 20-10. Clean Cause wasn’t able to make a side out and lost 21-10 and lost them the match.

MX2: Clean Cause’s Lina Padegimaite and Zane Navratil played the Seattle Pioneer’s Etta Wright and Ben Johns.  Clean Cause was looking to the leave the match with a game win under their belt and were heavily targeting the Pioneers’ Etta Wright. Zane Navratil was dialed in and Ben Johns showed why he is considered to be the GOAT of pickleball, with an incredible hands battle at 17-18. At 20-18, Ben Johns hit an incredible “Bert” putaway. And at 18-20 Navaratil responded with a cross court put away and wagged his finger at Johns, signaling he is not one to be messed with. Johns and Wright ultimately secured the win with a 21-18 finish.

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UPDATE 10:52AM: The NY Hustlers sub Brendon Long comes up big coming in for injured Tyson McMuffin & closes out the Dreambreaker vs. the SoCal Hard Eights! The Hustlers are are headed to the Quarters. 

WD: Schneemann and Bright of the Hustlers looked strong game 1 and beat Hard Eights women  Brascia and Newman.

MD: Newly drafted Brendon Long who was just picked up by Miami Pickleball Club came in as a sub for injured Tyson McGuffin for Hustlers and was a bit tight the first game vs. Newman/Koller of the Hard Eights – who took the game 21-14

MX1: Brendon Long gets loose and locks in with Anna Bright and the Hustlers took game vs Brascia/Koller of the Hard Eights 21-15.

MX2: Hard Eights long-time partners and siblings Riley and Lindsay Newman were fired up to win and dominantly took game 4 vs. the Hustlers 21-8.

Dreambreaker: The Hustlers simply outplayed the Hard Eights in this singles tiebreaker. The whole team was focused, locked in, had great court coverage, and ultimately Brendon Long comes up huge in the end to seal the win and send the Hustlers to the Quarter-Finals.

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UPDATE 10:37AM – SoCal Hard 8’s and NY Hustlers headed to a Dreambreaker on Championship Court!

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UPDATE 10:05AM – The New Jersey 5’s beat theLas Vegas Night Owls 3-1 and secured a spot in the playoffs (Grandstand Court)

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WD: In game one Saturday, world ranked #1 Anna Leigh Waters and her teammate Lea Jansen from the New Jersey 5’s took on the Las Vegas Night Owls’ Vivienne Davis and Lauren Stratman. Anna Leigh may have been playing the right side, but she wasn’t afraid to take over a majority of the court most of the game. Jansen and waters dialed in at 15-12, with a rally filled with aggressive backhand rolls by Anna-Leigh, cross court attacks by Stratman and impeccable resets by Jansen. In the end, the New Jersey 5’s came up on top with a 21-16 win.

MD: In game 2, The 5’s Hayden Patriquin and James Ignatowich faced the Night Owls Dekel Bar and Kyle Yates. Bar and Yates started out slow, with an 11-4 deficit at side out. Ignatowich and Patriquin didn’t seem to have any interest in slowing the pace of the game down, with hard drives and below the net speed ups. At 17-11, Ignatowich screamed “yeah!” after winning the point after winning the point off a counter-attack, prompting the night owls to call a time out to make some needed adjustments. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to stop the 5’s from finishing the game 21-15.

MX1: In game 3, Waters and Patriquin played Stratman and Yates in a close match. At 15-11, yates and Stratman played incredible offense at the kitchen line, trying to take advantage of Anna Leigh being off balance, but that was no challenge to world #1, who won the point when Yates put a routine drop shot into the net, flustering gates. Yates couldn’t seem to find his groove after that shot, and the 5s won 21-15 when Stratman hit a counter attack long.

MX2: While going into game 4, the 5’s already knew they had secured the match with their previous 3 game wins. That didn’t stop the 5’s from playing an aggressive match over the Night Owls’ Dekel Bar and Vivienne David. It was a close fight the entire game, and a backhand cross court put-away sailed wide, putting the game at 21-19, with Las Vegas taking the win.

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