Women's Doubles Championship (Sunday, March 19th):
(1) Anna Leigh Waters & Anna Bright vs. (7) Meghan Dizon & Vivienne David.
Waters & Bright:
Def. Devidze & Black 11-1, 11-5.
Def. Goldberg & Schneemann 11-3, 11-4.
Def. Parenteau & Johnson 11-3, 11-6.
It was smooth sailing for the top seeded Anna Leigh Waters & Anna Bright today at the PPA Austin Showdown. The young duo were dominant throughout the day, not dropping a single game through their matches and winning the majority of them by a comfortable margin.
Waters & Bright were tested the most in their Semifinal showdown with the third-seeded Catherine Parenteau & Jorja Johnson. Parenteau & Johnson presented some challenges throughout, especially in game two, and the firefights up at the kitchen line were extremely fast, to the delight of the Austin crowd. Waters & Bright proved to be the most dynamic team, especially when it came to having powerful baseline drives available to drive mistakes from their opponents and set up offensive opportunities. They will be favored in their Championship Sunday matchup against Dizon & David.
Dizon & David:
Def. Bates & Rettger 11-8, 11-5.
Def. Kovalova & Smith 11-8. 3-11, 11-8.
Def. Tereschenko & Wright, 11-8, 4-11, 11-5.
Meghan Dizon & Vivienne David entered today's bracket as the seventh seed, and scored two big upsets on their way to punching their first-ever ticket to Championship Sunday as a pairing. They got off to a great start with a victory in the first round over Bates & Rettger.
They then battled through two very tough three-game matches, the first of which against the number 2 seed in Lucy Kovalova & Callie Smith. After edging out a close game one, they lost their rhythm in game two, falling 3-11. They rebounded incredibly, however, to edge out another close game 11-8 and secure the big underdog win. Dizon & David then continued that momentum to win a thrilling Semifinal match against the sixth seeded Irina Tereschenko & Etta Wright. Dizon & David present an intriguing stylistic pickleball combination, as Dizon's big power seems to pair well with David's elite ability to reset the ball into the kitchen and play defense. They will look to carry their great momentum from today into tomorrow's final.
"We wanted to play aggressive and let loose, and that's what we did to come out on top," said Meghan Dizon. "We are going to enjoy the moment in the final tomorrow, and we'll go out swinging."
Men's Doubles Championship (Sunday, March 19th):
(1) Collin & Ben Johns vs. (2) Matt Wright & Riley Newman.
Johns & Johns:
Def. Tamaki & Martinez Vich 11-7, 11-8.
Def. Alshon & Hewett 11-2, 11-5.
Def. Staksrud & Tellez 11-9, 11-3.
Def. Long & Cincola 11-3, 11-6.
The Johns brothers will make yet another Championship Sunday appearance together after working their way through today's bracket with little resistance and drama along the way. Their closest call came against Federico Staksrud & Pablo Tellez, who built an early lead in game one. The Johns brothers did as they typically do when they're behind, however, which is slowing the ball down to set up very long dink rallies, forcing their opponents into mistakes in high-pressure moments.
Johns & Johns then faced Brendan Long and Selkirk's latest signing, John Cincola, in the Semifinal round. Long & Cincola put together a career-best run to reach the Semifinal today, entering the bracket as the 20 seed and getting three big upset wins to take on the top seed. The Johns brothers proved too good, however, when they found their rhythm and stopped the Cinderella story in its tracks.
Wright & Newman:
Def. Smosa & Gonzalez 11-2, 11-1.
Def. Newell & De La Rosa 11-9, 11-9.
Def. McGuffin & Ignatowich 9-11, 11-7, 11-5.
Def. Frazier & Johnson 4-11, 11-9, 11-9.
Eyes were on the second seeded Matt Wright & Riley Newman throughout the day, as they haven't seen as much action together as of late due to each taking a brief tournament break. Despite the lack of games together over the last few weeks, Wright & Newman returned like they had never left, and looked to be in great form. The experienced partnership were tested in both their Quarterfinal & Semifinal matchups, outlasting Tyson McGuffin & James Ignatowich before taking on the red hot Dylan Frazier & JW Johnson. Frazier & Johnson have been an exciting young duo making noise as of late, and they pushed the second seeded Wright & Newman to two razor-thin 11-9 games.
Frazier & Johnson rebounded to win the bronze medal, and continue to be a force to be reckoned with on the PPA Tour. Matt Wright & Riley Newman have been the biggest rivals for the Johns brothers, and will go into tomorrow's final with confidence.
"In a match like that, it comes down to execution. Two or three points either way is the difference either way, and that's the difference in the match," said Matt Wright. "We were fortunate today, and those will go either way in the future."
The PPA Austin Showdown concludes tomorrow with Championship Sunday, and coverage begins on the PPA TOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL at 10:00am CT. All eyes will be on Catherine Parenteau as she looks to pull off a win over Anna Leigh Waters in singles at back-to-back PPA events, as well as a chance at mixed doubles gold for Anna Bright & James Ignatowich. Below are the matchups for Championship Sunday tomorrow:
Men's Singles:
Ben Johns vs. Federico Staksrud
Women's Singles:
Catherine Parenteau vs. Anna Leigh Waters
Mixed Doubles:
Waters & Johns vs. Bright & Ignatowich
Men's Doubles:
Johns & Johns vs. Wright & Newman
Women's Doubles
Waters & Bright vs. Dizon & David
