Quarterfinal Friday in Virginia Beach was full of thrillers as pros battled for their spot in the semifinals. Let's breakdown what went on across the ground beginning with women's singles.
Women’s Singles: Todd pushes Waters in game 2
Anna Leigh Waters breezed through game 1 of her quarterfinal bout with Parris Todd but the underdog didn’t go away without a fight. The match got tight down the stretch with some light chirping to add to the drama but Waters was able to close the deal 12-10 in game 2 to advance to the semifinals. She’ll face Kate Fahey in the semifinals, who cruised over Lea Jansen 11-2, 11-5. On the bottom half Brooke Buckner will take on Kaitlyn Christian, both advanced in straights in their quarterfinal matches.
Men’s Singles: Staksrud unbeaten vs Duong
Federico Staksrud extended his winning streak against Quang Duong to seven winning 11-1, 11-8. Game 2 was much more competitive, as Duong dialed in his passing shots a bit more but the #1 seed took care of business down the stretch. He’ll face Hunter Johnson in the semifinals, who was down a game and 8-5 before storming back to beat #3 Connor Garnett. On the bottom half Ben Johns will meet Jaume Martinez Vich.
Mixed Doubles: Kawamoto/Newman survive ten match points
The mixed doubles match between Jackie Kawamoto/Riley Newman and Christian Alshon/Catherine Parenteau was an all-out war of attrition. Alshon/Parenteau secured game 1 and had ten match points in game 2 but couldn’t shut the door as Kawamoto seemingly didn’t miss a reset for a twenty-minute stretch. After a medical timeout at 12-12 Alshon/Parenteau lost game 2 and a tightly contested game 3 11-7. The former DC Pickleball Team teammates will face Ben Johns/Anna Leigh Waters in the semifinals. On the bottom half it will be the Johnson sibling’s vs Dekel Bar/Tina Pisnik.
Women’s Doubles: Rohrabacher/Bright win in a thriller
After a relatively comfortable game 1 victory, Rachel Rohrabacher and Anna Bright were in a dog fight the rest of the way vs Allyce Jones/Hurricane Tyra Black. It didn’t seem to matter how far the #2 seeds got ahead in a point the ball just kept coming back. After a game 2 victory by Jones, we were all knotted up at 11-11 in game 3 but the big game match experience took over from there as Rohrabacher/Bright survived the upset 13-11 in the 3rd. They’ll face Jorja Johnson/Mari Humberg in the semifinals. On the top half of the draw Anna Leigh Waters/Catherine Parenteau get Lea Jansen/Callie Smith.
Men’s Doubles: Cinderella story comes to an end
#32 seeds Max Freeman and Casey Diamond had a heck of a run this week taking down McGuffin/Martinez Vich along the way but it was too much Riley Newman in their quarterfinal bout. Despite Newman coming off a marathon of a mixed doubles QF he was flying around the court winning hands battles from everywhere. He and Hewett will need their best plus the energy from the crowd to the stun the Johns brothers tomorrow. Meanwhile, in the bottom half of the draw it will be a showdown between Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin and JW Johnson/Dylan Frazier. Johnson/Frazier had an impressive win over Andrei Daescu/Gabe Tardio 11-9, 11-4.
