
Orlando battles past Utah, sets quarterfinal clash with Dallas
The Orlando Squeeze closed out Thursday’s Round of 16 action with a 3-1 victory over the Utah Black Diamonds.
The Squeeze—who had lost six of their last nine matches coming into this week—dominated both gender doubles matches thanks to standout performances from Lacy Schneemann/Samantha Parker in women’s doubles and Federico Staksrud/Dylan Frazier in men’s doubles.
Allyce Jones/Connor Garnett defeated Schneemann/Staksrud 12-10 in the first mixed doubles game to keep Utah alive, but Parker/Frazier ended the contest with an 11-5 victory over Genie Erokhina/Yates Johnson (who was filling in for Tyler Loong).
The Dallas Flash, the only remaining undefeated team in MLP, await the Squeeze in Friday’s quarterfinal round.
Even though his team won’t be favored in that matchup, Staksrud knows that anything can happen in Major League Pickleball.
“We’re a great team,” he asserted. “We’ve been near the top of the standings every month, and yeah, we had a couple bad events in New York and Austin, but we know what we’re capable of and are just gonna try and do our best this week. We’ve got four amazing players, and today Sam and Dylan stepped up and played really well in that last mixed game. They played amazing the whole way through, and we advanced because of that.”
Action from Belknap Park continues on Friday with the Challenger level finals, followed by the beginning of the Premier level quarterfinals.
Related articles

Five things to expect from the 2026 MLP Auction Draft
Unlike last year, this draft has superstars available, and lots of depth.
9 hours ago
-Jim Kloss

HAWORTH TOPPLES JOHNS, WATERS DEFEATS FAHEY, #1 SEEDS TAKE DOUBLES TITLES
“You guys should know by now, we’re going to Korean barbecue and we might go to the casino. At this point, it’s kind of… how do you say it? Tradition.” —Gabe Tardio
1 day ago
-Hannah Johns

BRIGHT AND PATRIQUIN SWEEP WATERS AND JOHNS 3-0 FOR TITLE
"No one beats us seven times in a row" and "honestly, I'm going to cry" — big emotions after big win.
2 days ago
-Hannah Johns
Leigh Waters 'just in awe' of daughter's extraordinary success, maturity beyond her years
At only 19, Anna Leigh Waters has already built an impressive resume.
4 days ago
-Victoria Radnothy