LIVE BLOG: Friday's results and news from Pickleball Virginia Beach
The Stratusphere Gin Virginia Beach Cup continues with the quarterfinals on Friday.
Coverage of Humana Championship Court is available on PickleballTV.
Coverage of Grandstand Court is available on YouTube.
Stay tuned for updates throughout the day.
6:50 p.m. ET: Bright, Rohrabacher outduel Black, Jones in second straight quarterfinal classic
There must be something in the Atlantic Ocean air, because Virginia Beach is playing host to epic match after epic match on Friday.
In the latest women’s doubles contest, Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher outlasted No. 5 seeds Allyce Jones and Hurricane Tyra Black 11-5, 4-11, 13-11.
After teams split the first two games, the No. 2 seeds found themselves trailing 3-7 in the deciding game before they went on a run to tie things up at 9-9.
The bout continued to be tight from there, as both scores creeped up into the double digits; eventually, though, Bright and Rohrabacher closed out the affair at the eighth time of asking.
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The match, which was Humana Championship Court’s third three-game battle of the day, was filled with incredible defense from Black and Jones, as they time and again extended (and won) rallies that they seemed to have no business winning.
“[Allyce and Tyra] played unreal, it was great,” said Bright after the fact. “I just talked to Rachel and was saying that it was Hell out there. We couldn’t finish a point—no one could finish a point.”
Bright and Rohrabacher will continue their quest for their second consecutive title when they face No. 4 seeds Lea Jansen and Callie Smith in the semifinals on Saturday.
5:10 p.m. ET: Jk. Kawamoto, Newman save ten (!) match points to outlast Parenteau, Alshon
For the fourth time in Virginia Beach, Riley Newman is coming out of a three-game match with a win. He and Jackie Kawamoto defeated No. 4 seeds Catherine Parenteau and Christian Alshon by a 9-11, 14-12, 11-7 score line in an instant classic that lasted nearly two hours.
The battle certainly had its share of memorable moments, but none more significant than Kawamoto and Newman’s Game 2 comeback, which saw them save ten match points as they erased a 6-10 deficit.
After the No. 11 seeds evened the score at 12-12, Alshon called a medical timeout due to heat exhaustion. Nearly twenty minutes later, Kawamoto and Newman scored two in a row to bring on the decider.
They wouldn’t look back from there, eventually taking Game 3 to book their spot in the semifinals.
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Newman didn’t hold back when describing how dire the tandem’s situation was.
“It was looking pretty grim there,” he said. “I’m barely standing right now, but Jackie was just an absolute beast the entire time. She was the real MVP of this match.”
To that point, both Kawamoto and Newman came up with some incredible resets and blocks to extend key rallies time and again.
“We clutched up at the right time,” she said of the experience. “We both can play really good defense when it matters, and that’s what it took.”
Kawamoto and Newman will take on top seeds Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns on Saturday.
3:55 p.m. ET: Smith, Jansen power past Buckner, Wang
Callie Smith and Lea Jansen are into the women's doubles semifinals after an 11-9, 11-7 victory over No. 12 seeds Brooke Buckner and Zoey Wang.
After losing a tightly contested first game, Buckner and Wang jumped out to a 6-0 lead in Game 2 and threatened to force a decider.
Smith and Jansen—the No. 4 seeds in Virginia Beach—did not let that happen, scoring 11 of the match's final 12 points to clinch the win and move one step closer to Championship Sunday.
They will face either Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau or Parris Todd and Jade Kawamoto on Saturday.
3:15 p.m. ET: Waters, Johns down Irvine, Tardio in two games
Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns booked their spot in the mixed doubles semifinals with a 12-10, 11-7 victory over No. 9 seeds Jessie Irvine and Gabriel Tardio.
Irvine and Tardio—who have been in great form recently with a title in Salt Lake City—had a game point in Game 1, but Waters and Johns rallied to steal that game before comfortably taking the second.
The top seeds will face either Catherine Parenteau and Christian Alshon or Jackie Kawamoto and Riley Newman in the semifinals.
3:00 p.m. ET: Jorja, JW Johnson secure semis berth by defeating Dizon, Ignatowich
No. 2 seeds Jorja Johnson and JW Johnson defeated No. 5 seeds Meghan Dizon and James Ignatowich 11-6, 11-2 to advance to the semi-finals.
The Johnsons will face No. 7 seeds Tina Pisnik and Dekel Bar on Saturday.
2:25 p.m. ET: Pisnik, Bar best Stratman, Arnold in mixed doubles
No. 7 seeds Tina Pisnik and Dekel Bar defeated No. 14 seeds Lauren Stratman and Julian Arnold 12-10, 11-6 to advance to the semi-finals.
Pisnik and Bar will face the winners of the match between No. 2 seeds Jorja Johnson and JW Johnson and No. 5 seeds Meghan Dizon and James Ignatowich.
2:15 p.m. ET: H. Johnson drops first game, but rallies to defeat Garnett
No. 10 Hunter Johnson defeated No. 3 Connor Garnett 6-11, 11-9, 11-4 to advance to the semi-finals.
The back-and-forth battle on Humana Championship Court lasted 71 minutes.
"Every time I've played Connor, I think we've gone three, so I always know what to expect," said Johnson. "If I can kind of get the momentum going in my favor, it can usually turn around, and luckily it did today."
Johnson will face top seed Federico Staksrud on Saturday.
1:15 p.m. ET: Martinez Vich dominates Bellamy, will face Johns in semis
No. 8 Jaume Martinez Vich defeated No. 13 Roscoe Bellamy 11-0, 11-2 in just 22 minutes to advance to the semi-finals.
A matchup against No. 2 Ben Johns awaits on Saturday.
Johns boasts a 4-1 all-time record against Martinez Vich in singles.
1:05 p.m. ET: Fahey downs Jansen, heading to semis against Waters
No. 11 Kate Fahey defeated No. 3 Lea Jansen 11-2, 11-5 to secure a spot in the semi-finals.
Fahey will face top seed Anna Leigh Waters in the next round.
It will mark their first head-to-head meeting since the women's singles final at the Las Vegas Pickleball Cup on Sept. 1 where Waters came away victorious 11-0, 11-6.
"I think everyone's first time is not great against her, but I learned a lot from the last time I played her," said Fahey. "I'm just going to try and go out and maybe do the same game plan, but execute a little bit better. I rewatched that match and have some new ideas to bring. I think it'll be a good match. I'm excited."
12:45 p.m. ET: Buckner defeats Devidze, heading to semis against Christian
No. 4 Brooke Buckner defeated No. 5 Salome Devidze 11-8, 11-2 to clinch a spot in the semi-finals.
The University of Michigan product will face No. 6 Kaitlyn Christian on Saturday.
Buckner is seeking her fourth singles title of the season on the PPA Tour.
12:25 p.m. ET: Staksrud sends Duong packing in straight games
Top seed Federico Staksrud advanced to the semi-finals with an 11-1, 11-8 victory over No. 7 Quang Duong on Humana Championship Court.
The Argentinian star remains undefeated against Duong with a perfect 7-0 record.
Staksrud will face the winner of the match between No. 3 Connor Garnett and No. 10 Hunter Johnson in the next round.
12:05 p.m. ET: Johns ends Green's solid singles run
No. 2 Ben Johns defeated No. 42 Max Green 11-1, 11-2 to oust the qualifier and advance to the semi-finals in the process.
Green had previously defeated No. 24 Luke Wasson, No. 9 JW Johnson, and No. 35 Zane Navratil before falling to Johns in the quarters.
Johns will face the winner of the match between No. 8 Jaume Martinez Vich and No. 13 Roscoe Bellamy in the next round.
11:45 a.m. ET: Waters downs Todd, punches ticket to singles semis
Top seed Anna Leigh Waters defeated No. 7 Parris Todd 11-3, 12-10 to advance to the semi-finals.
After Waters cruised in the opening stanza, Todd battled especially hard in the second.
That didn't surprise the best player on the planet at all.
"With Parris, if you come out winning that first game, you know the second game she's a real fighter. She can come back from any score. I think we're both people who can come back from anything," said Waters. "I was thinking about that at 10-7, but my mom gave me a good pep talk, and I came out and finished the match."
Waters will face the winner of the match between No. 3 Lea Jansen and No. 11 Kate Fahey in the next round.
11:35 a.m. ET: Christian heading to semi-finals after besting Wang
No. 6 Kaitlyn Christian defeated No. 13 Zoey Wang in straight games, 12-10, 11-2, to advance to the semi-finals in the women's singles draw.
Christian previously defeated No. 26 Jessie Irvine and No. 10 Line Padegimaite during her impressive run in Virginia.
Wang, meanwhile, had upset No. 2 Catherine Parenteau in the Round of 16 on Thursday before falling to Christian.
Christian will face the winnner of the match between No. 4 Brooke Buckner and No. 5 Salome Devidze in the next round.
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