It was an unseasonably cold Friday in San Clemente, but the action was hot. Day three was the last day of pool play. A few players were mathematically eliminated, but most spots in semifinal play for Saturday were still up for grabs. It was another day with some upsets, some surprising scores, and a lot of well-played pickleball.

 

1. Last but not least. In women’s doubles play, the team of Mari Humberg and Jessie Irvine had never played together and entered play as the eighth and last seed. But, they posted their second victory, taking down the veteran duo of Lucy Kovalova and Callie Smith. That punched a ticket to the Saturday semifinals for Humberg and Irvine. Irvine continued her steady play of all week, while Humberg supplied the power and offense. They now face the tough task of taking on top seeded Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau.

 

 

2. The Johns fall, again. In the super-tough men’s doubles pool play, the highlight of Friday play was a showdown between Ben Johns and Collin Johns against JW Johnson and Gabe Tardio. This was a battle of titans, with the winner advancing to the semifinals, while the loser had to go home. With both teams at 1-1, it was basically a playoff match to see who would move on. Johnson and Tardio dominated and won in two games. While the Johns not advancing from pool play was an upset, it was as predicted in my  pickleball.com tournament preview of a week ago. The Johns may still have an argument that they are the best team, but the gap to the next teams is now very narrow.

 

 

3. A showdown looms. As expected, both Waters/Parenteau and Anna Bright/Rachel Rohrabacher won their women’s doubles pools. Barring an upset in either semifinal, we will have another rematch of these top two women’s doubles pairs. It is definitely a match every pickleball fan wants to see.

 

 

4. Tyson is tough. It has been a good event for Tyson McGuffin. He defeated Connor Garnett in singles, to secure a Saturday spot in the semifinals. He followed that up with another men’s doubles win with partner Andrei Daescu. McGuffin/Daescu notched a rare double pickle against Matt Wright/James Ignatowich, winning 11-0, 11-0. That stomping secured McGuffin/Daescu a spot on Saturday.

 

 

Saturday will feature 10 semifinal matches, all on Championship Court. The players will be seeking a spot in the Sunday finals. It should be a nice day in San Clemente, so come out to see the action. Or watch at home on Pickleballtv.

 

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