OVERLAND PARK, KS - The D.C. Pickleball Team kicked off Monday’s action at MLP Kansas City with a commanding 3-1 victory over the Arizona Drive.

James Ignatowich and Dekel Bar helped D.C. off to a strong start by taking down the Drive’s Andrei Daescu and Dylan Frazier in men’s doubles.

The women’s doubles match, however, was a bit more complicated.

D.C.’s Rachel Rohrabacher and Vivian Glozman trailed Lacy Schneemann and Kaitlyn Christian 8-13 when the teams switched sides, but they turned it on from there to escape with a 25-22 win to go up 2-0.

Rohrabacher and Ignatowich would go on to clinch the victory by beating Christian and Frazier in the first mixed doubles match to guarantee three standings points.

With this win, D.C. moves into fifth place in the premier level standings. Even though the team would make the playoffs if the season ended today, Rohrabacher knows that there is a lot of pickleball left to be played in the regular season.

“We don’t have as many matches under our belt as other teams that are higher up in the standings, so these matches are super important,” she said. “It’s nice that we can grow together as a team and establish rapport that will help us throughout the season.”

The Drive—now ninth in the premier level standings—finished their time in Kansas City with a 1-2 record, while D.C. will face the Texas Ranchers later Monday afternoon.