
Mad Drops find chemistry after Duong suspension, injuries, and team shakeups
The LA Mad Drops (Catherine Parenteau, Jade Kawamoto, Quang Duong, Hunter Johnson) have the band back together again and are having a good week out in Daytona, pulling off a decisive victory over the Carolina Hogs (Tammy Emmrich, Kaitlyn Christian, Ben Johns, Collin Johns) on Saturday morning. They won the match-up in regulation, only dropping one game to the duo of Johns and Johns.
Duong was missing from the Mad Drops’ roster for most of MLP Phoenix last weekend, due to suspension, and Hunter Johnson was not able to take part in MLP Orlando because of injury.
At the beginning of the year, the Mad Drops brought in Wes Burrows to cover for Thomas Wilson, due to Wilson's continued battle with health issues.
The Mad Drops also began the MLP 2025 Season with the announcement that they had promoted Catherine’s Parenteau’s wife, Athena Trouillot, from Head Coach to General Manager.
On May 27, after MLP Austin and just prior to MLP Phoenix, the Mad Drops announced that they had traded Angie Walker to the Bay Area Breakers in return for Danna Funaro and cash considerations.
The Mad Drops kicked things off Thursday by handing the #2 St. Louis Shock (Anna Bright, Kate Fahey, Hayden Patriquin, Gabe Tardio) their first loss of the season, winning women’s doubles and the second mixed matchup (Parenteau/Duong vs. Bright/Patriquin), but losing men’s doubles and the first mixed matchup (Kawamoto/Johnson vs. Fahey/Tardio). The Dreambreaker was fairly one-sided, thanks to the Mad Drops strong singles lineup, and ended with a scoreline of 21-12.
As lead broadcaster Michelle McMahon pointed out in the post-game interview after the Drops defeated the Hogs:
“You guys are fully healthy for the first time in a while and fully available … what does it mean to this team to be able to win this way with a full roster?”
“Honestly, I’m just focused on not letting the team down, that’s probably my biggest motivation,” Duong responded. “I just come out to the court, try my best, and let things happen.”
The Mad Drops are jockeying for playoff position now, jumping from #8 to #6 of the sixteen teams in Premier after their win this morning. They’ll play again on Saturday at 2:30pm ET against the Ranchers and have two final matches back-to-back on Grandstand Court on Sunday against the Hustlers (10:00am ET) and the Slice (11:45am ET).
This event is a big chance for the Mad Drops to lock down some serious wins and secure their spot beyond the regular season.
Click here to see MLP Team Standings.
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