The New Jersey 5s (Anna Leigh Waters, Noe Khlif, Jorja Johnson, Will Howells, Lina Padegimaite, Martin Emmrich) closed out MLP Austin presented by Waterdrop with a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Sliders (Danni-Elle Townsend, Andrei Daescu, Judit Castillo, CJ Klinger, Alex Crum) to win their 12th straight match and claim the Super Sunday Belt in the Texas Capital. 

The Sliders were competing without usual starter Parris Todd, who was forced to miss this week’s event with an illness. 

After teams split the two gender doubles games with New Jersey winning women’s and Columbus winning men’s, the 5s showed their strength by taking both mixed doubles games to secure the win and claim their second event win of the season. 

After Waters/Khlif dispatched Castillo/Daescu in the first mixed doubles game, the pairings of Johnson/Howells and Townsend/Klinger took the court to square off for the third time in 2026. 

Townsend/Klinger won the first meeting 11-7 in Dallas, and Johnson/Howells avenged that result with an 11-7 win of their own in Columbus. 

In the third edition of the matchup, Johnson/Howells triumphed once again 11-5 to seal the deal in regulation. 

“Jorja’s an amazing player. She’s an amazing partner, and we have an extremely supportive team,” Howells said of the effort. “It really comes down to just leaning on each and every one of us—that’s how we got it done.” 

The 5s have been on a rampage since falling to the St. Louis Shock in the third-place match at MLP Dallas, winning twelve in a row and earning the Super Sunday Belt in both Columbus and Austin. 

Despite this recent success, New Jersey co-owner and GM Ryan Harwood says that he’s proud of his team regardless of the results. 

“I’m proud of them every single day, day in and day out,” he affirmed. “MLP is a grind on any given day. I’m so proud of them in every single match, always sticking together as a unit and winning another title here. It’s huge for us.” 

Here is a look at the final standings from Austin:

1. 1. New Jersey 5s: 25 points 

1. 2. Columbus Sliders: 18 points 

1. 3. Texas Ranchers: 15 points 

1. 4. SoCal Hard Eights: 12 points 

1. 5. Miami Pickleball Club: 10 points 

1. 6. Bay Area Breakers: 8 points 

1. 7. California Black Bears: 6 points 

1. 8. Florida Smash: 4 points 

1. 9. Atlanta Bouncers: 1 point 

1. 10. Carolina Hogs: 1 point 

1. 11. Dallas Flash: 0 points
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The 2026 Major League Pickleball season continues this week at MLP St. Petersburg, which will run June 17-21 at St. Pete Athletic. 

Click here for tickets, and catch all the action on Pickleballtv.