Mohaned Alhouni hits a forehand.
Mohaned Alhouni competing for the Las Vegas Night Owls at MLP D.C. Major League Pickleball

Still perfect: Night Owls oust Hard Eights in DreamBreaker to make semis

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - The Las Vegas Night Owls kept their undefeated season alive Thursday afternoon with a DreamBreaker victory over the SoCal Hard Eights.

The DreamBreaker has been a staple of Las Vegas’ success so far this season, as four of their five wins coming into Grand Rapids had been by way of the deciding contest.

It looked like that perfect record might be in serious danger early on when SoCal jumped out to an 8-4 lead through three rotations, but a key 4-0 rotation from Judit Castillo against Irina Tereschenko tied the score at 8 and changed the tide.

Las Vegas had full control from that point, and Mohaned Alhouni, Anderson Scarpa, and Zoey Wang would go on to win three consecutive rotations as the top seeds raced towards an eventual 21-15 triumph.

 

“Doubles could have gone either way, but in a DreamBreaker, I know that each one of us is capable,” Alhouni said of the effort. “I think we all just fed off each other’s energy. I saw my teammates hit amazing shots, so then I had to follow with some amazing shots of my own, and it just went from there.”

Las Vegas will face the Atlanta Bouncers on Friday with a spot in the finals on the line, while SoCal moves to the consolation bracket.