The Los Angeles Mad Drops have drawn first blood in the quarterfinals, ending the Dallas Flash’s 13-match winning streak with a 3-1 victory on Friday, August 14 at the Tennis and Pickleball Club at Newport Beach.
Mad Drops’ decision to choose Dallas as their opponents in the quarterfinal came under scrutiny after the Flash had beaten them in their most recent meeting. But the Mad Drops produced a composed playoffs performance, winning three straight games after dropping the opening women’s doubles contest to take control of the best two-out-of-three series.
Dallas Flash, which had defeated the Mad Drops in a DreamBreaker in San Diego less than a month ago, started strongly. Danni-Elle Townsend and Alix Truong beat Catherine Parenteau and Jade Kawamoto 11-8 to put the Flash ahead.
The Mad Drops fought back, with Ben Johns and Max Freeman edging JW Johnson and Augie Ge 11-9 in the men’s doubles match before Kawamoto and Johns comfortably beat Brooke Buckner and Johnson 11-6 in the first mixed doubles game.
Parenteau and Connor Garnett then completed the comeback, beating Townsend and Ge 11-6 to give LA a 3-1 victory and the upper hand in the series.
‘Knew it was going to be tough’
Johns was key to the turnaround. After going 0-2 against Dallas in the teams’ previous clash and being outscored 4-22, the former world No. 1 went unbeaten on Friday, winning both his matches.
“We went into it after the selection knowing that they’re a dangerous team,” Johns told Pickleballtv. “We were 1-1 with them in the regular season, and they beat a lot of good teams, so we knew it was going to be tough. Of course, in anyone’s mind you want to win 3-0, but we’re more than satisfied with the 3-1. We went to a DreamBreaker with them last time we played them, and I think all four matches can go either way, but we’re obviously happy to take it away before the DreamBreaker.”
Another major boost for LA came from the new Parenteau-Garnett combination in mixed doubles. Garnett joined the Mad Drops from the Utah Black Diamonds before the trade deadline specifically to provide a strong left-side presence alongside Parenteau, who had previously partnered Max Freeman.
Parenteau said she is increasingly comfortable on the right side.
“Sometimes playing the left in mixed is just a different game, and I’m feeling a little bit more comfortable on the right side now,” she noted. “I’m looking forward to seeing what Connor and I can do for the team for the rest of the season.”
Elsewhere, the St. Louis Shock opened their quarterfinal series against the Texas Ranchers with a 3-0 sweep.