NEW PARTNERSHIP OF PARENTEAU & MCGUFFIN FINISH 4TH, 11 SEED VIVIENNE DAVID & THOMAS WILSON SECURE BRONZE MEDAL ON DAY 2 OF PPA MASTERS FROM RANCHO MIRAGE, CA.
The 2023 PPA Hyundai Masters continued from the Mission Hills Country Club today with a historically deep professional field, which consisted of both a qualifier and main draw bracket. After about 12 hours of world-class mixed doubles pickleball, below is your Championship Matchup slotted for this Sunday:
(1) Anna Leigh Waters & Ben Johns vs. (2) Jessie Irvine & Riley Newman
Waters & Johns:
Def. Rayna Ash & Alec Weller 11-0, 11-2.
Def. Meghan Dizon & Christian Alshon 11-2, 11-5.
Def. Anna Bright & Dylan Frazier 11-3, 11-1.
Def. Catherine Parenteau & Tyson McGuffin 12-10, 11-3.
Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters entered today’s event after what was an extremely dominant 2022 campaign, where they only dropped one match together throughout the entire year. The powerhouse pair picked up right where they left off, showing world-class consistency, power, and even new wrinkles to their already world-class games. The toughest test of the day for the number 1 seed came from the hard-hitting and new Selkirk pairing of Catherine Parenteau and Tyson McGuffin. After fighting off a couple of game points in the first set, John & Waters came back to take game 1 12-10 and then won game 2 more comfortably 11-3.
Johns & Waters are favored to win it all on Sunday, and utilized their sharpshooter angles and creative kitchen all day long to move through the bracket. 15-year old Anna Leigh was especially comfortable and confident throughout, utilizing a backhand flick shot at the kitchen line to set up big counterpunch putaway volleys.
“It’s always difficult to play against a new partnership, but I think it’s good for the sport to see different matchups,” said Anna Leigh Waters. “We had a strategy in the beginning but then got away from it. We had to focus when we were down 10-7 in the first, and then we were able to switch sides to the better side and take it from there.”
Irvine & Newman:
Def. Jennifer Tavernier & Kyle Koszuta 11-0, 11-4.
Def. Mary Brascia & Hayden Patriquin 11-4, 11-6.
Def. JW & Jorja Johnson 10-12, 11-3, 11-6.
Def. Vivienne David & Thomas Wilson 9-11, 11-2, 11-6.
The new partnership of Jessie Irvine and Riley Newman couldn’t have asked for a better start in 2023, showing that their team chemistry and ability to work together will make them a premier team and Championship contender from the jump. The duo cruised through the first few rounds with little resistance until meeting up with the young sibling pair of JW & Jorja Johnson in the quarter finals. After dropping the first game 10-12, Irvine & Newman prevailed convincingly in games 2 and 3.
In the semifinals, they took on and defeated the underdog story of mixed doubles day in the 11th seeded Vivienne David & Thomas Wilson.
“It was tough and it came down to who wanted it more. Kudos to Thomas for battling through health conditions today, we have a lot of respect for him”, said Riley Newman. “We were able to get a few more points and get the job done.”
In a quarterfinal stunner over the 3 seed Lucy Kovalova & Matt Wright, David & Wilson overcame a stressful and dramatic match that saw Wilson overcome serious health complications. Battling against arrhythmia and a high pulse that wouldn’t subside, Wilson utilized multiple timeouts and a medical break to remain in the match despite looking uncomfortable and being unable to utilize his usual speedy movement and footwork. David & Wilson were able to show amazing resilience to complete the quarterfinal upset and return to take on Irvine & Newman in the semis, where Wilson looked much more comfortable. Despite falling in the semis, David & Wilson concluded a huge day for themselves by adding another upset to secure the bronze medal with an 11-8, 11-8 win over Parenteau & McGuffin.
PPA Hyundai Masters action continues tomorrow with pro men’s and women’s doubles. Tune in to the PPA Tour YouTube channel at 10am PT to catch the livestream, and visit the SelkirkTV Tournament Coverage page on Selkirk.com for your daily tournament recap.
