After months of anticipation, the Continental Pickleball League finally kicked off its second season Sunday evening with a bevy of high-flying, wrist-snapping action. If you wanted highly compensated individuals laying on the ground for 83 seconds for an eye scrape or water bottles flying 3 feet past someone’s head, watching the NBA Playoffs on your couch was the place for you. But if you wanted to see the pure passion and joy from your local Pickleball heroes, then the CPL was the place to be tonight.
Here’s a rundown on how the season kicked off:
Game 1: The Keck’s vs The (soon-to-be) Weisenburger’s
Season 2 started with the reigning champions, The Keck’s looking to welcome the expansion team of the Weisenburger’s to the league. There was no taking it easy on the newbies as Scott and Stephanie looked to make a statement early and often against Curtis and Rose. Game 1 was all Team Keck as they pickled the Weisenburgers with an 11-0 drubbing. Scott and Stephanie refused to let off the pedal and kept the hammer down in Game 2 as well en route to picking up another 11-0 win to take the match. Despite the rumors of hazing by having the newbies take on the champs, League officials have confirmed that the schedule was made at random. Team Keck could be heard after the match letting everyone know that this was a statement win and the trophy was not going to be changing hands easily.
Game 2: The Morgan’s vs Team Van Vennekotter
Action was intense in the second match of the night as we saw Ross and Catlyn Morgan taking on Team Van Vennekotter comprised of Mark Van Ham and his partner for the year Jessica Vennekotter. Unfortunately, vigorous racket activity is not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, so it was best to have Kelly take a mulligan for the season. Game 1 started out as a slobber-knocker with both teams feeling one another out. Defensive stops made points hard to come by. A huge jumping slam by Ross was enough to propel the momentum for Team Morgan and secure the first game 11-8.
After Switching sides of the court, Jessica settled into a zone with some powerful howitzers down the line for Team Van Vennekotter to start game 2. Ross and Catlyn would counter with strong shots and great placement of their own, but Mark and Jessica held on to force to decisive third game, taking game two 11-9.
Game three was more of the same with some terrific volleys n a fun back and forth match. Heady play and court awareness by Ross and Catlyn and budding team chemistry between Mark and Jessica led to a fun finale. When it was all said and done, Mark and Jessica came out on top 11-5 to earn the match victory.
Game 3: The Winkle’s vs The Wagner’s
Fresh off an undefeated regular season last year, the Winkle’s were looking to shake off an early tournament loss and start the season out hot against the Wagner’s who came into the season with their own Pickleball paddles, ready to go to work. USAPA rule changes regarding the elimination of service lets seemed to impact Ryan and Katie, throwing them off of their gameplan early. Sensing despair, Juice and Sarah pounced on the opportunity and took a commanding lead early. Despite the Winkle’s resilience and some long volleys with excellent shots by all four Pickleballers, The Wagner’s secured game 1 by a score of 11-1.
The intensity in game 2 picked up dramatically as both teams were covering all angles of the court and points were coming at a premium. The effort level from Juice was in tournament mode already as he could be found diving all over the court covering on defense. Despite some nifty teamwork by Ryan and Katie, Sarah and Juice were able to go on a little run and the margin held for an 11-6 victory to take the game and earn the win.
Game 4: The Brown’s vs The Donaldson’s
A matchup of two teams that each lost in the semifinals last season was on tap to close the action for the evening. Teamwork was at the top of mind for both squads as the each wore matching team colors to try to gain the upper hand. Points were hard to come by as each team felt one another out in the opening serves with the ladies putting on a show with some powerful slams by Chelsea and some pinpoint placement by Sarah. After a quick scolding of Brian by Sarah, the Donaldson’s began to pull away and earned the first game victory 11-4.
Game 2 saw some long volleys and great shots by each team. However, it seemed that each close break like the ball hitting the net and going over went Brian and Sarah’s way and they took the second game 11-1 to earn the match win.
Next week should be a full slate of action with some crowd favorites making their returns along with the debut of our second expansion franchise. Practice games are always welcome throughout the week so reach out if interested. See you there!