LIVE BLOG: Monday's results and news from MLP Las Vegas
It's Day 1 at MLP Las Vegas, and I've got all the latest updates from the penultimate regular season event of 2024.
Check back here throughout the day, as this article will be modified as results come in.
You can watch the action for yourself on the Pickleballtv and the MLP YouTube, starting at 10am PDT.
5:20 p.m. PDT: St. Louis dominates Carolina in DreamBreaker for second win
The Carolina Pickleball Club recently traded Jessie Irvine to the AZ Drive in exchange for Kaitlyn Christian in a move that was meant to make it an exceptionally strong DreamBreaker team.
The St. Louis Shock didn't seem to care about that on Monday, though, when they took down Carolina in a DreamBreaker by a 21-12 score line.
As expected, the Shock's Anna Bright and Carolina's Ben Johns each won both of their matches to bring on the singles competition.
But in that deciding contest, St. Louis won all four rotations to earn win number two on the day and stay atop the Premier level standings.
For Carolina, on the other hand, this is a devastating result; it's their second loss of the day as they try and catch the New York Hustlers for the final playoff spot.
Both teams will be in action on Tuesday; Carolina will take on the AZ Drive in the first match on Championship Court, while the Shock will take on the Texas Ranchers right after that.
3:35 p.m. PDT: Dizon goes 2-0 in first match with Orlando
Meghan Dizon's tenure with the Orlando Squeeze began about as well as it could have, with wins over the Utah Black Diamonds in women's doubles and mixed doubles.
That helped the Squeeze earn a clean sweep to open their campaign in Sin City.
This is a crucial time for Orlando; they still have ten matches to play in the regular season, the most of any team.
They would miss the playoffs if the season ended today, but they have the most opportunity to gain ground in the final two events in Las Vegas and Miami.
The Squeeze will look to build off their strong start when they face the Columbus Sliders later Monday evening.
3:20 p.m. PDT: Scarpa, Ranchers take opening match over Mad Drops
Despite being without first-round draft pick Christian Alshon, the Texas Ranchers still secured a 3-1 victory over the LA Mad Drops in their first match on Monday.
Anderson Scarpa—who is replacing Alshon at this event—picked up a key mixed doubles win with Etta Wright over Catherine Parenteau and Hunter Johnson.
From there, Quang Duong and Tina Pisnik took the second mixed doubles game to close out the match in regulation.
“I have awesome teammates, and they take a lot of the pressure off of me,” Scarpa said of the effort. “I’m just happy to be a part of the team and hope I can continue to play well.”
Texas will need him to keep playing well as they now enter a three-match gauntlet against top teams at the Premier level: the New Jersey 5s Monday night, followed by the St. Louis Shock and Dallas Flash on Tuesday.
1:30 p.m. PDT: New Jersey takes care of Carolina for third time in 2024
The New Jersey 5s picked up their third victory of the season against the Carolina Pickleball Club, thanks to two wins from Anna Leigh Waters and a surprise men’s doubles triumph from Will Howells and Zane Navratil over Ben and Collin Johns.
Like several players competing in MLP this week, Waters is fresh off a busy Championship Sunday at the PPA’s Rate Championships.
The 17-year-old had a two-and-a-half-hour epic in the women’s doubles final, and she credits her teammates for helping her keep her energy up for MLP.
“It’s just hard not to have energy with these guys,” she shared. “I think they really helped me to get locked in—especially this morning in practice—because today is usually my rest day where I’m doing nothing but laying in my bed and watching TV.”
There won’t be any TV—at least for now—for Waters, since the 5s have one more match on Monday against the Texas Ranchers.
11:55 a.m. PDT: Shock, Drive cruise to regulation victories in opening matches
The St. Louis Shock and AZ Drive began their Las Vegas campaigns with regulation victories.
St. Louis defeated the Utah Black Diamonds 4-0 to spoil Genie Bouchard's MLP debut, while AZ took down the LA Mad Drops 3-1 in Jessie Irvine's first match with the team.
Both teams will be back in action later Monday afternoon, with the Shock set to face the Carolina Pickleball Club and the Drive set to take on the Dallas Flash.
11:10 a.m. PDT: Ranchers tap Scarpa to fill in for injured Alshon
Anderson Scarpa is the newest (temporary) member of the Texas Ranchers. He will take the place of Christian Alshon, who will miss MLP Las Vegas due to injury.
Scarpa started the year on the Las Vegas Night Owls at the Challenger level before being waived during Waiver Period 2.
He will compete alongside Quang Duong, Etta Wright, and Tina Pisnik on a Ranchers squad that is currently in fourth place in the standings on a points-per-match basis.
They will play their final five regular season matches this week, starting with a bout against the LA Mad Drops later Monday afternoon.
8:30 a.m. PDT: Mad Drops bring in Koller to replace Wilson
AJ Koller will take the place of the unavailable Thomas Wilson for the LA Mad Drops this week, the team announced on social media.
This will be Koller’s second time filling in for a Premier team this season; he also did so for the AZ Drive at the Mid-Season Tournament back in July, where he finished with a 3-5 record.
He will join forces with Hunter Johnson, Catherine Parenteau, and Jade Kawamoto as the Mad Drops—currently in eighth place in the standings based on average points per match—look to work their way into the playoff picture over their ten remaining matches in Las Vegas and Miami.
Their opening contest against the AZ Drive will be streamed on the MLP YouTube, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time.
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