Life Time Fitness in San Clemente hosted back-to-back PPA and MLP events. The weather was near perfect for both. The MLP event featured hot LA, injured Brooklyn, well-rested Columbus, scrappy Utah, and laggards Phoenix and SoCal. With so few points separating fourth from seventh place, every match involving LA, Columbus, and Brooklyn took on extra significance for playoff seeding. There were some close matches and some upsets that highlighted the weekend.

 

 

Riley Newman was expected to be out with an injury, but Brooklyn’s task was further complicated by unexpected illnessses to Dekel Bar and supersub Pat Smith. Brooklyn had to go with not one, but two on site subs, picking up AJ Koller and Rafa Hewett.  Koller has been playing well, so my preview predicted tha he and Bar or Smith would do just fine. Well, with the unexpected scratches of both Brar and Smith, no one was prepared for a Koller/Hewett combo. The Brooklyn men went only 1-3 in men’s doubles, but the Brooklyn women, Rachel Rohrabacher and Jackie Kawamoto, stepped up big time. They went 4-0 in women’s doubles, and the mixed teams were 6-2, leading Brooklyn to a 3-1 record on the weekend. More importantly, Brooklyn scored 10 team points in their four matches, causing Brooklyn to move up to a solid fourth place in the standings. If Newman and Bar can return healthy for the playoffs, this team is dangerous as they run out four very soild doubles teams every match.

 

 

 

LA had been the hottest team in MLP, but San Clemente cooled them off a bit. Catherine Parenteau and Jade Kawamoto had been carrying the team, but they lost twice in San Clemente, including a shocking 11-3 loss to Phoenix’s Jessie Irvine and Alex Walker. When Parenteau and Kawamoto lose, LA really struggles, as their other three doubles teams are not as strong as the other top teams. LA did scratch out a DreamBreaker win over Columbus in an important match. That match showed LA’s strength. They won women’s doubles and then looked for one upset in the other three matches. They got a mixed win and then relied on their DreamBreaker skill. Columbus put up a very strong fight, with LA winning 21-19. Even the win though again demonstrated LA’s overall relative weakness in doubles, so that even when they win, they do not get three team points very often. Thus, their points per game fall and they are now in 6th place. With matches remaining against Dallas, St. Louis, and New Jersey, LA may not be able to hang on for the sixth spot and a first round bye.

 

 

 

Columbus has not played many matches this year and few with Andrei Daescu, CJ Klinger, Parris Todd, and Lea Jansen all healthy. They were this week, and Columbus responded with a 3-1 record and 10 team points. That pushed Columbus up to fifth in the standings. If Columbus stays healthy, they should finish fourth or fifth in the standings and an expected first round match in the playoffs against Brooklyn. The Columbus men swept their matches this weekend. Jansen and Todd struggled some, in part because they seem unsure about the proper alignment. They switched back and forth with Todd and Jansen, instead of sticking with Todd on the right full time where she is stronger.

 

 

 

Utah’s week started with Tyler Loong taking a bad fall in an accident, requiring stitches in his leg and a cast on his non-playing hand. Loong struggled a bit and thus so did the team. Utah lost a very winnable match to SoCal, and ended up with only four team points in five matches. Utah is still in ninth place and probably can hold that spot. They do need to be careful, as Miami, Chicago, and Atlanta are all fairly close behind.

 

 

 

I was pretty close in predicting how LA, Brooklyn, and Columbus would all do. I missed badly on Utah, as they disappointed. SoCal with five points, and Phoenix with four points were a little more competitive than I had anticipated. The end result is that Dallas, St. Louis, and New Jersey all retain their status as the top three teams. Brooklyn amd Columbus now look like the teams we expected, and they should be able to finish fourth and fifth. LA has faded slightly to sixth and they look like the 7th place team I had predicted before the season started. LA, Texas, and Orlando are going to fight over the 6-8 spots. Finishing sixth is important as that nets a first round bye. Utah should hang on for ninth. The 10th and last playoff spot is wide open, with Miami and Chicago in the best position to claim it, but even the lower teams have a shot if they get hot.

 

Next up is MLP New York on July 3-6. What a great place to be on the Fourth of July!  Playoff contenders Brooklyn, Columbus, and Orlando will all be in action, with important matches. Watch it all on Pickleballtv.

 

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