Danger Zone Pickleball Tournament: The Kenny Loggins Pickleball in the Danger Zone/American Riviera Classic brought local pickleball players together for a fun, competitive event at the Santa Barbara Municipal Courts. Held over three days, the tournament featured intense mixed doubles competition, with Andy Silverstein and Bryanna Ojeda winning the 5.0-level title. The event also included younger stars like 14-year-old Aline Morales, who showed impressive skill, and Jason Saltoun-Ebin, who connected with Morales after initially signing up separately.
Silverstein Family Dominates the Court
Andy Silverstein, a former tennis player from Dos Pueblos High School, discovered pickleball during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to his parents. After moving back to Santa Barbara, Silverstein, now an avid player, was quick to raise his level of play, competing at the 5.0-level mixed doubles competition.
“I never was in love with tennis, not like I’m love with pickleball.” – (Andy Silverstein)
“I’ve touched a tennis racket probably 10 times since I was 18. Then I discovered pickleball four years ago (during) COVID, when everyone discovered it. My parents discovered it first and introduced me, and probably from the first time I played, I was like, ‘OK, this is clearly something that I’m good at and is very fun.’” – (Andy Silverstein)
“For most people, once they step on a pickleball court, it’s hard not to smile and have a good time.” – (Andy Silverstein)
Alongside Bryanna Ojeda, the duo easily won their gold-medal match against defending champions Jason Saltoun-Ebin and Aline Morales, finishing 11-0, 11-5. Silverstein credits his ping pong background for his unique playing style, combining tennis strokes and fast hand movements typical of ping pong.
“I grew up playing a lot of ping pong, and pickleball is kind of a mix. There’s some other paddle sports that it mixes with, but I’m a unique pickleball player in just the way I play. I have the tennis strokes that you see from a lot of people here, but I’m a little funky in that I bring a lot of ping pong into it.” – (Andy Silverstein)
“I think that’s why I feel in love with pickleball because you get to use a lot of fun things from tennis, but it’s just a little quicker and requires some of the fast hand action that ping pong has. So, for me, it’s the perfect mix.” – (Andy Silverstein)
The tournament wasn’t just about Andy—his parents, Mark and Chris Silverstein, also claimed the gold medal in the 3.5 age 63-above division.
| Level | Age Group | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0 | Age 32-56 | Darcie McKnight/Mark Scher | Summer Battle/Alex Guillen | Mailynda Le/Rob Schiff |
| 3.0 | Age 57-64 | Melissa Costello/Stephen May | Amy Jennings/CJ Jennings | Niki Sawyer/Tom Habrock |
| 3.0 | Age 64+ | Bridget Jones/Randy Jones | Sandra Miller/John McGuigan | Eileen Crossley/Erick Trigueros |
| 3.5 | Age 51-56 | Lisa Loggins/Armen Majkus | Christine Chan/Michael Lyons | Lisa Streett/Hugh Margerum |
| 3.5 | Age 57-62 | Arlene Ozaki/Kevin Kunisaki | Frann Wageneck/Joel Banez | Bonnie Ocello/Kevin Ocello |
| 3.5 | Age 63+ | Chris Silverstein/Mark Silverstein | Carmen Lamp/Scott Lamp | Nancy Moondust Kaplan/Michael Jianuzzi |
| 4.0 | Age 5-51 | Kelli Brill/Brad Luton | Kym Paszkeicz/Davide Lomellini | Tristin Tracy/Jason Barbaria |
| 4.0 | Age 52-61 | Natasha Chen/Edgar Chen | Teresa Selzer/Kent Pierce | Lisa Oki/Richard Eppolito |
| 4.0 | Age 62-69 | Katie Clause/Jerry Jacob | Leslie Thomas/Joseph Lambert | Gigi Van Zanten/David Bader |
| 4.0 | Age 70+ | Diann Davisson/Brian Zagala | Cathleen Kaufman/Reuben Ruiz | Patricia Pinkin/Scott Burns |
| 4.5 | All Ages | Jill Sharkey/Jake Lounsbury | Sarah-Jayne Bedford/Tyrone Wells | GraceAnn Graumann/Kelly Vandever |
| 5.0 | All Ages | Bryanna Ojeda/Andy Silverstein | Aline Morales/Jason Saltoun-Ebin | Jill Roberts/Timothy Roberts |
Aline Morales’ Rise in the Sport
Aline Morales, now 14, is a rising star in pickleball. Last year, she won gold medals in mixed doubles and women’s doubles at just 13 years old. Morales, originally from Zihuatanejo, Mexico, has been training since she was eight after discovering pickleball through YouTube. This year, she returned to Santa Barbara to compete with Jason Saltoun-Ebin after the two separately signed up as singles competitors.
“It’s a really fun tournament and I hope to come back next year and keep coming back.” – (Aline Morale)
“I saw the game and I liked it, so I said to my dad, ‘Can you please take me?’ And he said, okay.” – (Aline Morale)
“Last year, I got a request, from him and I said, Okay. We didn’t meet until the day we played. Then this year, he sent me a message: ‘Hey, I saw you’re coming to Santa, Barbara, do you want to play again?’ And I said, of course.” – (Aline Morale)
Morales demonstrated remarkable skill and maturity during the tournament, earning praise for her calm and cool attitude on the court.
“She doesn’t act like a kid. She’s the calm and cool and collected one out there. I’ve never seen her get down. In our first game, we were down like 8-1 and there was never anything negative. She had this great positive attitude and we ended up coming back and winning it.” – (Saltoun-Elbin)
“It’s a very unusual maturity to go along with almost like a once-in-a-generation-type athleticism.” – (Saltoun-Elbin)
Saltoun-Elbin, her doubles partner, shared his admiration for Morales’ maturity and athleticism, noting her ability to stay positive even during tough matches, including a comeback from an 8-1 deficit in their round-robin match.
“It’s really weird, in pickleball tournaments, you can sign up by yourself without a partner. So, she had signed up by herself and I had signed up by myself. And before the tournament started, I think there was three or four women in there who also had signed up by themselves. I emailed all of them and said, ‘Hey, I’m looking for a partner if you want to play. She’s the only one who wrote back.” – (Saltoun-Elbin)
“I had no idea what was going to happen. I thought in the back of my mind this could be something really special or it could be a total bust, but if someone’s gonna come here from Mexico to play that level of pickleball, there’s a chance that there could be something really special. And she is the definition of really special.” – (Saltoun-Elbin)
Jason Saltoun-Elbin’s Transition to Pickleball
Former tennis coach Jason Saltoun-Elbin discovered pickleball during the pandemic when his tennis group shrank. He quickly became hooked on the sport and was impressed with the growing pickleball community in Santa Barbara.
“I tell people I’m a long-time tennis player in town and my same tennis group kept getting smaller and smaller.” – (Saltoun-Elbin)
“I’m like, ‘Where did everyone go?’ And, after a year, someone’s like, ‘Oh, we’re playing pickleball, come join us.’” – (Saltoun-Elbin)
“I mean, it’s kind of true. It’s like, ‘I don’t know where my tennis rackets are anymore.’ That’s how addicting it is.” – (Saltoun-Elbin)
Saltoun-Elbin noted that the local pickleball culture, supported by people like USA Pickleball Ambassador Richard Salzberg, has helped the sport thrive.
“You meet people like Richard out there (at the Municipal Courts), and you see their passion and enthusiasm for it, and then you just see how crazy big the tournaments are getting, and not just the tournaments. I mean, it’s busy here every morning. And, you know, compared to tennis, where it’s a lot of arranging and you really need to work hard at it, they’ve done an amazing job of building a culture here of ‘come down and play pickleball, come meet people, have fun.’” – (Saltoun-Elbin)
Saltoun-Elbin found the sport refreshing, saying,
“There’s no question about it. To be able to, in your mid to late 40s, find a new sport and feel like you can get better every day at it and be very good at it, it’s really unusual.” – (Saltoun-Elbin)
A Successful Event for the Community
The tournament, organized by Barb Kloos, attracted over 400 players. Kloos expressed her love for creating positive experiences for the pickleball community, saying,
“I love doing it. I love creating really nice experiences for people, yeah, and I love pickleball. I think the pickleball community is a really positive and has just really created a lot of really wonderful friendships and just relationships for people.” – (Barb Kloos)
The event’s growing popularity was evident as it reached full registration six weeks before the competition, an unusually early sell-out for tournaments.
“Usually, tournaments don’t fill up until like two weeks before, and six weeks before this tournament we were full, so there’s just been a lot of excitement about it.” – (Barb Kloos)
“And then the celebrity component, Kenny and Lisa (Loggins) have been really excited about it.” – (Barb Kloos)
The celebrity fundraiser, featuring eight celebrities and six professional players, raised money for the Unity Shoppe, a local charity. Kloos highlighted the event’s explosive growth, saying,
“It all came together because about a little over a year ago, when Kenny had his last concert, he had told Richard (Salzberg, Santa Barbara’s USA Pickleball Ambassador) that he wanted to do a pickleball tournament. Richard and I have done tournaments together here, and so he asked me if I would be involved.” – (Barb Kloos)
“So, it started out as an idea, and then it kind of grew, and then it kind of exploded, and it is what it is today. And we’ve got eight celebrities coming and six pros, and everybody’s pretty excited.” – (Barb Kloos)
News in Brief: Danger Zone Pickleball Tournament
The Kenny Loggins Pickleball in the Danger Zone/American Riviera Classic, held at the Santa Barbara Municipal Courts, showcased local pickleball talent. Andy Silverstein and Bryanna Ojeda won the 5.0 mixed doubles title. Young stars Aline Morales and Jason Saltoun-Elbin impressed with their performances. The event also raised funds for local charity Unity Shoppe.