Parenteau & Ignatowich secured the incredibly difficult double crown acheivement, winning gold medals in both mixed doubles and singles. Dylan Frazier secures gold in men's doubles alongside partner JW Johnson, as Federico Staksrud & Pablo Tellez take silver.
It was a Championship Sunday to remember today, especially for Team Selkirk, at the PPA Indoor National Championships in Lakeville, Minnesota. In several hard-fought matches, many hardworking teams saw their longtime efforts pay off with many first-time PPA medals being awarded throughout the day.
Below are your Gold Medalists/Champions for the 2023 PPA Indoor National Championships:
Men's Singles: James Ignatowich.
Women's Doubles: Lucy Kovalova & Callie Smith.
Mixed Doubles: Catherine Parenteau & James Ignatowich.
Men's Doubles: Dylan Frazier & JW Johnson.
Women's Singles: Catherine Parenteau.
PPA Indoor National Championships Men's Singles Championship:
(3) James Ignatowich def. (8) JW Johnson:
11-1, 11-5.
James Ignatowich played absolutely lights out on the singles court today, never really allowing his opponent get started or find any sort of rhythm. Using the same recipe that got him to the finals, Ignatowich was relentless with his passing shot attempts, especially on his backhand side. Ignatowich painted lines and hit his spots throughout, cruising to victory for his first-ever PPA singles Championship. After a career highlight performance on Thursday where he upset the streaking Federico Staksrud, JW was unable to find his form in singles today and fell to the power and accuracy of Ignatowich.
Ignatoeich started the day off strong with his constant footwork and tremendous court coverage. Sliding into shots on the hard court when necessary, Ignatowich also utilized his length and proved to be nearly impossible to pass on third shot drives in today's final. His outstanding performance set the tone for what was an especially memorable Championship Sunday.
"This feels great. JW is a great friend of mine and he is so talented," said James Ignatowich. "I knew if I stayed as solid and played as well as I could that I would have a chance. Luckily I came away with the win."
PPA Indoor National Championships Women's Doubles Championship:
(1) Lucy Kovalova & Callie Smith def. (2) Lea Jansen & Allyce Jones:
3-11, 11-8, 13-11, 12-10.
In perhaps the match of the day, it was a tightly contested women's doubles final between the top two seeds. After a slow start dropping game one 3-11, Kovalova & Smith rallied to find their game and edge out their tough opponents with tight wins in the next three games to secure the Championship. This particular matchup displayed tremendous patience on both sides with extremely long dink rallies and defensive resets. In fact, this match had the longest rally of 2023 thus far when one point reached 93 strokes!
Despite falling to the experienced partnership of Kovalova & Smith, Jansen & Jones have had very encouraging results thus far in 2023, especially for a duo that hasn't been playing together for very long. They will look to make another deep run together when they return at the PPA Florida Open in a couple of weeks.
PPA Indoor National Championships Mixed Doubles Championship:
(4) Catherine Parenteau & James Ignatowich def. (14) Lauren Stratman & Julian Arnold:
11-4, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5.
The all-Selkirk duo of Parenteau & Ignatowich walked away with the ultimate prize today, defeating the feisty 14 seed of Stratman & Arnold. Parenteau & Ignatowich leaped out to a quick start, winning the first two games rather comfortably and committing almost no errors. Just as it looked like they might cruise to the win instraight games, Stratman & Arnold rallied to take game three by finding a few sequences that best suited their preferred hand speed combinations. Stratman provided extra topspin to her cross-court dinks with Parenteau, but Parenteau remained composed, and Ignatowich utilized his reach to attack and capitalize on any high balls both on his half of the court as well as down the middle.
Wielding their Vanguard Power Air Invikta paddles, the power and spin of the 4 seed proved unbeatable, as Parenteau & Ignatowich won their first PPA title together. With the win, Ignatowich secured the double crown and Parenteau set herself up for the double crown opportunity.
"Julian and Lauren had a really great run, so congratulations to them," said Catherine Parenteau.
PPA Indoor National Championships Men's Doubles Championship:
(4) Dylan Frazier & JW Johnson def. (11) Federico Staksrud & Pablo Tellez:
11-6, 11-3, 11-7.
Dylan Frazier & JW Johnson are an exciting team that has proven to be capable of doubles excellence at the highest level for years, or perhaps decades, to come. Frazier & Johnson came into today's final with some pressure after producing their best pickleball they have played thus far yesterday and toppling the 1 seed in Matt Wright & Riley Newman. The cool, calm and collected duo seized the moment, however, continuing their great form and winning today's Championship in three straight games.
Frazier & Johnson utilized their typical ridiculous hand speed to put rallies away, and they also remained calm and composed throughout the match, making very few mistakes. Staksrud & Tellez did have a few streaks of unforced errors, however, and tried a few strategic adjustments which brought them close in game three. Nevertheless, Frazier & Johnson proved too much and won their first PPA Championship as a team. Frazier completed the big accomplishment using the Selkirk Labs Project 002, a common choice among pro players.
"We had a game plan coming into this. We stuck to that game plan, and it worked out for us," said Dylan Frazier. "I also want to congratulate Federico Staksrud and Pablo Tellez. Some people may have been surprised to see them get here, but JW and I weren't. We knew they had what it takes to get to the final, and they've been playing really well, so congrats to them."
PPA Indoor National Championships Women's Singles Championship:
(2) Catherine Parenteau def. (1) Lea Jansen:
11-2, 6-11, 11-5.
Catherine Parenteau completed the double crown with a big win over the top seeded Lea Jansen in the women's singles final. The match was a thriller as both players found their form and had shining moments. Parenteau put together one of the great comebacks in PPA Championship history after going down 0-5 in the third game. From there, she found her form and rallied with 11 straight points to walk away from a very tough field with two gold medals. Parenteau was successful in finding passing shots on both the forehand and backhand side, and also did a tremendous job in dictating base line rallies to take control of points from the start, force her opponents to hit many shots, and work her way up to the kitchen line methodically.
Parenteau has had multiple Championship Sunday appearances thus far in 2023, and a double crown at the PPA Indoor National Championships is another feather in her decorated cap. She'll look to continue her great form in two weeks as the PPA heads to Florida.
"I feel amazing. It's been a bit of a struggle in singles, my mindset has been pretty negative recently," said Catherine Parenteau. "I had to fight really hard mentally, and Lea is a really tough player. I'm really happy to get the win today."
The PPA Tour will continue March 9-12 with the Florida Open from the Pictona facility in Holly Hill, Florida.
