It's Day 1 at MLP Virginia Beach, and I've got all the latest updates from this exciting Challenger-only event.

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 MLP YouTube, starting at 9am EST.

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4:40 p.m. ET: Breakers, Slice end Thursday with regulation victories

Day 1 of MLP Virginia Beach ended with convincing victories for the Bay Area Breakers and Chicago Slice.

Bay Area got the job done against the Frisco Pandas, thanks to strong performances in mixed doubles.

It looked like Frisco would force a DreamBreaker when Ewa Radzikowska and Stefan Auvergne had a 24-22 lead in the second mixed doubles game, but the Breakers had other plans. 

Thanks to some impressive defense and clutch saves, Allyce Jones and Collin Shick survived and eventually took it 29-27 to avoid the deciding contest.

Chicago had similar success against the California Black Bears. After taking the two gender doubles matches to open the encounter, the Slice secured the triumph with Megan Fudge and Jack Munro’s mixed win against Amanda Hendry and Brandon French.

The Slice (1-1 in Virginia Beach) will kick off Friday’s action against the SoCal Hard Eights, while Bay Area (2-0 on Virginia Beach) will next face the Miami Pickleball Club on Friday afternoon.

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2:30 p.m. ET: Smash continue DreamBreaker dominance with win over Aces

For the second time in four days, the Florida Smash defeated the Brooklyn Aces by way of a DreamBreaker.

Brooklyn had made some changes to their mixed doubles partnerships since that last meeting, this time having Pablo Tellez play with Layne Sleeth and Daniel de la Rosa play with Lina Padegimaite, but the match still finished the same way.

Travis Rettenmaier and Martina Frantova were clutch for Florida in the DreamBreaker; Rettenmaier saved two match points against Tellez to tie the score at 20-20, and Frantova took the next two points against Sleeth to close out the victory.

 

 

 

 

 

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Since adding Donald Young and Christa Gecheva during Waiver Period 2, Florida is 4-0 in DreamBreakers.

They’ll look to keep things rolling against the Frisco Pandas on Friday.

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12:30 p.m. ET: Loyd victorious in MLP debut, helps Frisco to regulation victory over Black Bears

Michael Loyd and the Frisco Pandas earned a 3-1 victory over the California Black Bears in both teams’ first match at Pickleball Virginia Beach.

More important than the score line, though, is the fact that it was Loyd’s first taste of MLP competition.

Loyd, who is filling in for the injured John Cincola for the Pandas at this event, picked up a key win alongside Tammy Emmrich in mixed doubles to close out the match.

“Stefan [Auvergne] and Tammy were lifting me up and keeping me positive and confident the whole time, and Ewa [Radzikowska] and John on the sideline were cheering me on and giving me good pointers as well,” he said of the experience. “It was a real team effort, and they made me super comfortable. It was the best situation that I could possibly step in to."

Competing in Major League Pickleball is a particularly special accomplishment for Loyd.

“I think MLP is one of the best things in all of sports, let alone in pickleball” he shared. “One of the biggest reasons why I started playing pro pickleball was because I wanted to make it here, so to come out and win for the first time as a team is huge.”

He and rest of the Pandas will go for their second win of the day when they face the Bay Area Breakers later this afternoon.

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10:50 a.m. ET: Hard Eights keep winning streak alive with win over Miami

In a match that featured two red-hot teams, the SoCal Hard Eights came away with a 3-1 victory over the Miami Pickleball Club.

Both squads brought impressive winning streaks into the encounter, with Miami having won its last five and SoCal having won ten straight.

In the end, it was the Hard Eights who continued their streak, led by two gender doubles wins to open up the match.

 

 

 

 

 

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They’ll take on the Atlanta Bouncers later on Thursday afternoon.

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10:35 a.m. ET: Emmrich shines in first match with Bay Area

In his first match with a new team, Martin Emmrich helped the Bay Area Breakers secure a 3-1 victory over the Florida Smash to kick off action at MLP Virginia Beach.

Emmrich picked up wins in men’s doubles with Collin Shick and mixed doubles with Jill Braverman to help the Breakers get the job done in regulation.

“It’s a new team for me, but we all know each other anyway,” Emmrich said of his new squad. “I’ve played with Jill in a few tournaments, and I’ve practiced with Collin a couple times. Allyce [Jones] has an insanely high pickleball IQ, and Scott [Crandall] is an amazing coach who helps me calm down during the match and focus on the right things.”

Bay Area’s next match will be later Thursday afternoon against the Frisco Pandas.

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9:55 a.m. ET: Loyd to replace Cincola for Frisco

Michael Loyd will compete in place of John Cincola for the Frisco Pandas this week, joining forces with Stefan Auvergne, Ewa Radzikowska, and Tammy Emmrich. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Frisco is currently in seventh place in the Challenger standings and will play seven matches this weekend. 

The Pandas' first match is against the California Black Bears.