Welcome back to your exclusive partner of the Continental Pickleball League for the weekly round up on all the league action. Week 5 featured a full slate of 6 matches and demonstrated the sheer athleticism of Continental’s finest couples. The action was fast and furious with not a single match requiring 3 games to decide the winner this week as all contests ended in 2-0 sweeps this week. Here’s how the madness played out:
Match 1: Louiselle’s vs Keck’s
Coming back after a couple week hiatus, the Louiselle’s looked to upset the top ranked Keck’s and spoil their perfect season so far. Despite some excitement early and in warmups, it just was not meant to be as the Keck’s would go on to win the match in 2 games, 11-3 and 11-4, respectively, behind the thunder and lightning teamwork of Scott’s power and Stephanie’s precision.
Match 2: Keck’s vs Morgan’s
For the second week in a row, the Keck’s volunteered to play a double header to help make up the games they will be forced to miss over the final 3 weeks of the regular season due to the need to pay the bills through actual work. Their opponent this time, was the Morgan’s with Ross enjoying Catlyn’s presence back in the lineup once again with no sings of a lingering foot injury. The Keck’s took advantage of being warmed up and jumped out to a big lead early en route to a 11-1 victory in Game 1. Game 2 would prove to be more competitive, however it was Team Keck pulling out the win to bring their regular season record to 6-0 and maintain their grasp at the top of the league standings.
Match 3: Brown’s vs Streicher’s
The third match of the night featured the Streicher’s looking for their first win of the season versus the Brown’s who were looking to continue their momentum after a big win last week. From the start, the Streicher’s showed no mercy showcasing some spinning skill shots and precision control to take Game 1 11-5. After switching sides of the court, Game 2 featured all the intensity one could handle. In the end, the Streicher’s would not be denied the taste of victory taking the game 11-7 to win the match.
Match 4: Sullivan’s vs Zimmerman’s
For the next match of the evening, the Slammin’ Sullivan’s brought back their trademark intimidating headbands hoping to stop the Zimmerman’s from getting their season record back to .500. Rob and Lisa had other plans, however and came out with a sense of urgency to build an early lead. After trading serves and points back and forth, Rob slammed the door and ensured Game 1 went the Zimmerman’s way 11-7. Game 2 featured more close action by both teams with Jami smashing winners every chance she had. Lisa and Rob just didn’t surrender enough chances though and took Game 2 11-8 to earn the “W”.
Match 5: Winkle’s vs Schmidt’s
It was time for the primetime match of the evening with Ryan recruiting Allison to fill in for Katie on Team Winkle to take on Team Schmidt, hungry to put their loss 2 weeks ago in distant memory. Allison proved once again to be quite the ringer and helped propel Team Winkle to a Game 1 win 11-6. Some amazing displays of pure athleticism by both teams kept the game close and the gym teacher’s intricate knowledge of the rules gave the early advantage to the Schmidt’s. However pure grit and determination shined through with Team Winkle taking the game and match 11-8 to remain undefeated on the year and reassert their spot in the regular season title hunt.
Match 6: Wagner’s vs Donaldson’s
In the final match of the evening, it was the Donaldson’s looking to also remain undefeated on the year, versus the Wagner’s who came out brandishing matching wristbands to show their unity. The teams engaged in joint practices early in the week and looked to use some of that insider knowledge against one another when it counted. Team Donaldson took the first serve and rattled off 11 straight points to take Game 1, 11-0 without giving the Wagner’s the opportunity to serve. Game 2 started out similar with Team Donaldson up 4-0 until the Wagner’s ratcheted up the octane. Some terrific shots for both teams kept the game close with the Wagner’s holding a 10-8 advantage with the serve late. Sarah Donaldson came through with a pure shot on defense to earn the serve back and never looked back. The game ended with a terrific volley with Juice diving for a beautiful save only to be greeted with a savage crush by Sarah while he was still on the ground to give the Donaldson’s a 12-10 win in Game 2 and the match.
Special thanks to the Morgan’s for bringing out popsicles for the all of best fans in the world! Next week will feature some additional entertainment for our favorite fans with water balloons and snappers to celebrate the birthday of our country! See you all then!