The finals for gender doubles are set with Tyson McGuffin/Jay Devilliers playing against Ben and Collin Johns and Anna Bright/Jessie Irvine going against Catherine Parenteau/Lea Jansen. Tyler Loong/Callan Dawson and Jackie and Jade Kawamoto all took bronzes, winning hard fought matches in the opportunity brackets.
Saturday’s Highlights
- McGuffin dominated in his return after missing mixed doubles on Friday
- Anna Leigh Waters’ triple crown bid and unbeaten game streak ended
- No. 1 women’s seed missed out on hardware, lost 15-2 in the backdraw
Men’s Doubles
McGuffin was on a mission Saturday as he and his partner Devilliers came out electric in their first match and kept that style of play up throughout their run to the finals. The Selkirk man didn’t play in Friday’s mixed doubles action with his slated partner Leigh Waters, after dealing with some cramping coming off of his singles victory in the winner’s bracket semi-final on Thursday.
Devilliers has also been on a different level this tournament, possibly playing his best pickleball yet. He showcased this new evolution of his game on Friday in mixed doubles with Jessie Irvine and kept up that high-level play on Saturday.
Their toughest match of the day came in the second round against Jordan Kinney and Victor Upshaw. That was the only team that took the eventual finalists to three games. However, in the two games that McGuffin and Devilliers won, they did so 11-1, 11-2.
The Johns brothers came out of the other side of the bracket, also being taken to three games once by the cousins in Thomas Wilson and AJ Koller. Like McGuffin/Devilliers, the Johns brothers won their two games in that match in very dominating fashion 11-2, 11-2.
This will be the first time that McGuffin/Devilliers will play in the finals as a duo, which means, they don’t have much experience together playing in five game matches. The siblings will come into that Sunday showdown as the favorites and with a lot more experience. However, if McGuffin and Devilliers can play the way they played on Saturday, it will make for an extremely interesting match.
Loong and Dawson were the winner’s in the bronze games against Travis Rettenmaier and Patrick Smith. Loong/Dawson also got revenge in the consolation bracket over the team that took them out in the winner’s bracket: Wilson/Smith. Loong/Dawson won a total of four games in the backdraw to walk away with the bronze.
Women’s Doubles
Like the men’s bracket, we will see a different matchup in the women’s doubles final with Irvine/Bright playing against Parenteau/Jansen. Bright proudly announced in her post-match interview that it will be her first time in a PPA championship Sunday event. This matchup is extra interesting as former teammates will be battling it out against each other in Irvine and Parenteau.
Earlier this year, Irvine and Paraneteau separated after the gold medals weren’t coming in like they expected. Now, they both will be playing against one another for that very thing they are extremely hungry for.
Irvine and Bright had anything but an easy run on Saturday, as they had to beat the eventual bronze medalists in the Kawamoto sister’s and the number two seeds in Leigh and Anna Leigh Waters.
The three-seeded team did a great job isolating the mother in the duo, Leigh, attempting to keep Anna Leigh out of the majority of points. In addition, Irvine/Bright kept Bright on the left side of their formation, allowing her to constantly threaten with her lethal backhand.
Parenteau and Jansen had an upset of their own, beating the one seeds Lucy Kovalova and Callie Smith in straight games. The Canadian Parenteau and her partner were down big in the first game 8-3, but were able to come back with Parenteau speeding up balls at the non-volley zone and either her or Jansen closing the show with the following shot. In the third game, Parenteau and Jansen got the first point and didn’t look back, maintaining the lead the whole time.
The one seeds were then forced into the backdraw where they lost to the Kawamoto sisters 15-2. With the win, the sisters got themselves into the third place match, where they beat Meghan Sheehan-Dizon and Allyce Jones in two games. Both of these teams benefited from the Waters withdrawing after they lost in the winner’s bracket.
