It was a day full of upsets at the TOC in Brigham City. Unfortunately the day ended with the action being postponed due to inclement weather. Matches will resume starting at 9AM MST so don’t miss out on the mixed doubles semifinals on PPA’s YouTube Channel. There was a lot of exciting matches that happened today though so let’s dive into them.
Mixed Doubles SF #1: (1) Riley Newman/Jessie Irvine vs (4) Tyson McGuffin/Catherine Parenteau
Riley Newman and Jessie Irvine were all business today as they didn’t drop a single game en route to the semifinals. They took out (17) Patriquin/Maggie Brascia 11-9 & 11-7 and followed it up by defeating (9) Arnold/Dizon 11-4, 11-8. Not the easiest of draws by any means but Newman’s athleticism paired with Irvine’s ability to put the ball in play were too much for either of their three opponents. They should be feeling confident heading into their matchup tomorrow.
Tyson McGuffin and Catherine Parenteau took out the dangerous team of (20) Christian Alshon/Jackie Kawamoto 11-7 & 12-10 to cement their spot in the final 8, which lead to a matchup with Callie Smith and Jay Devilliers. It was a highly entertaining QF but Parenteau’s defense in the big moments pushed them over the edge as they advanced with an 8-11, 11-1, 11-8 victory. The semifinal showdown with Newman/Irvine will be must see TV as points will be hard to come by for either side.
Mixed SF #2: (15) Zane Navratil/Andrea Koop vs Winner of (19) Tina Pisnik/Pat Smith and (22) Gabe Tardio/Hurricane Tyra Black
One of these three double digit seeds will be advancing to championship Saturday. That has only happened twice this year on the PPA Tour.
(15) Navratil/Koop started off the day defeating (18) Loong/Glozman in a hard fought three game battle which ended 11-8 in the 3rd game. In the round of 16 waited an unexpected opponent (31) Rohrabacher/Daescu, who upset (2) Ignatowich/Bright in round 1. They took them out 11-3, 11-2 and rode that momentum to another upset over (7) Frazier/Mary Brascia 6-11, 12-10, 11-9.
On the bottom half of the draw (19) Pisnik/Pat Smith got an easier than expected 3nd round match as (3) Thomas Wilson/Vivienne David were a late scratch. In round 2 they defeated (14) Connor Garnett/Irina Tereschenko 11-9, 11-1.
(22) Tardio/Black won a hard-fought marathon over (11) Yana Newell/Spencer Smith 9-11, 11-6, 11-7 then proceeded to beat (6) Federico Staksrud/Lea Jansen 12-10, 3-11, 11-6. Big win from those two as they were down big in game 1 of that match.
On The Horizon
Following the mixed doubles semifinals will be men's and women's doubles. It doesn't get much better than a full day of pro pickleball on a Friday so make sure to tune in as more upsets may be on the way.
