DALLAS, TX - The latest MLP event comes to Salt Lake City, beginning Thursday.

Ten of the twelve Premier teams are in action, with New York and DC sitting this one out.

 

Every other team plays six matches in Salt Lake, so this event will go a long way to filling us in on who is and is not a playoff contender.

Let’s look at each of the four days of action and point out the highlight matches.

 

 

 

The first day of Premier action gives us six matches. The opening match is Orlando against a revamped Columbus team. Orlando will put out Federico Staksrud, Tyson McGuffin, Vivienne David, and Parris Todd, to face Riley Newman, Jay Devilliers, Andrea Koop, and Meghan Dizon. Orlando is the clear favorite in this one. David and Todd remain a mismatched pair, as both are better on the right side. Columbus traded for Koop, presumably so she could play left side and let Dizon move to the right; Dizon has struggled on the left side to date. Newman was not jelling with Connor Garnett, thus the trade for Devilliers. Devilliers is still coming off the ankle injury. If Devilliers can return to 100% and Dizon can return to form, this can be a match; if everyone plays as they have been to date, Orlando will win easily.

 

A match to watch on Thursday is New Jersey (Will Howells, Zane Navratil, Anna Leigh Waters, Mari Humberg) against Dallas (JW Johnson, Jorja Johnson, Augie Ge, Hurricane Tyra Black). New Jersey is coming off the big win in the mid-season tournament. Dallas finished fourth, continuing their consistent execution of inconsistent play. Dallas remains the most talented team on paper. They are the only team to put out four very strong doubles teams, combined with a strong Dreambreaker squad. But, unfortunately for Dallas, MLP keeps forcing them to play on a pickleball court and not on paper. On the pickleball court, Dallas has been utterly unpredictable, dominating one day then losing matches they should win. New Jersey played well as a team in the mid-season tournament. They showed the energy and team chemistry that has proven to be a big predictor of MLP success. Navratil in particular keeps playing far better in MLP events than he does in PPA events. The Dallas men outclass the New Jersey men, while the women are fairly even. Dallas should win 3-1 or 3-2, but you just never know what you will get out of the Dallas team.

 

One other item to note on Thursday play is that Arizona will welcome back Andrei Daescu. Daescu will certainly elevate his team quite a bit, but will he be rusty after his suspension?

 

 

Friday is jam packed with action, as there are nine matches scheduled. Lots of good matches on tap.

 

The opening match on Friday features Arizona (Daescu, Dylan Frazier, Lacy Schneemann, Kaitlyn Christian) against St. Louis (Hayden Patriquin, Gabe Tardio, Anna Bright, Kate Fahey). Daescu’s return gives AZ a chance against a strong STL team. The men’s doubles match should be a great one. This should be a fairly even match. If Fahey can continue her solid play, I give STL a small edge, especially if Daescu is a little rusty.

 

A revamped Carolina team is in action twice on Friday. Carolina now has Ben Johns, Collin Johns, Jessie Irvine and Brooke Buckner. LA will be missing Thomas Wilson again, and thus will play Hunter Johnson, Blaine Hovenier, Catherine Parenteau, and Jade Kawamoto. Buckner should help Carolina’s success rate in Dreambreakers. The loss of Wilson should lead to a Carolina victory.

 

 

Another jam packed day, with another nine matches. New Jersey plays St. Louis in what will feature the two teams who have the most chemistry and emotion thus far in MLP 2024. If team chemistry were a perfect predictor of MLP success, then this match would give us a preview of the MLP finals. The women’s doubles match in this one is the match of the day to watch. Waters/Humberg v Bright/Fahey will be a good one. As is usual, the NJ men appear to be the weaker pairing, so if STL can pull out the women’s doubles match, they should win the overall match; if NJ wins it, then a Dreambreaker is likely.

 

St. Louis continues their difficult Saturday by facing Dallas later the same day. STL, Dallas, and NJ are all title contenders, so the STL/Dallas match will be a battle.

 

A late Saturday match worth watching is AZ against Texas (Christian Alshon, Quang Duong, Etta Wright, Tina Pisnik). Texas has looked like a playoff team to date; if AZ wants to get to the playoffs, this is the type of match they need to win. The teams are evenly matched with AZ having the advantage on the men’s side, while the Texas women have an advantage. A Texas win would go a long way to cementing them as a likely playoff team.

 

 

The fourth and final day of MLP Salt Lake City has six matches. Hometown team Utah (Tyler Loong, Connor Garnett, Callie Smith, Alix Truong) will lead off against St. Louis, Utah appears badly outmatched in this one. The STL women have a big advantage, while the STL men have a small edge. This could be a 4-0 win for STL.

 

 

Carolina and Columbus will face each other on Sunday. This gives us a Ben Johns v Riley Newman matchup which is always entertaining. It also lets us see Koop and Buckner face off against their old teammates. Both teams will be desperate for a win to keep playoff hopes alive.

 

In summary, MLP Salt Lake City will have ten teams in action. Teams will be looking to garner at least ten points out of their six matches. A team netting 10+ points will be well positioned for a playoff run. If a team gets eight points or less out of their six matches, it will put them at a deficit in the standings.

Tune in beginning Thursday to see who can make a move toward securing a playoff spot.

 

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