Utah Black Diamonds Stuns SoCal Hard Eights: The 2025 Major League Pickleball season continued this week at the 2025 MLP Phoenix, held at the Arizona Athletic Grounds. The Utah Black Diamonds won their third match of the weekend by defeating the SoCal Hard Eights 3-1. Despite SoCal’s strong start, Utah fought back to claim the victory.
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SoCal Hard Eights Take Early Lead
The SoCal Hard Eights began the match by winning the women’s doubles. Judit Castillo and Irina Tereschenko beat Utah’s Allyce Jones and Genie Erokhina with a score of 11-2. This gave SoCal the first point and an early advantage in the match.
Utah Black Diamonds Rally to Win
Utah quickly responded by winning the men’s doubles. Connor Garnett and Tyler Loong defeated Blaine Hovenier and Ryan Fu 11-8. Following that, Utah secured the next two mixed doubles matches.
Connor Garnett teamed with Allyce Jones to beat Blaine Hovenier and Irina Tereschenko 11-9. Tyler Loong and Genie Erokhina also won their match 11-4 against Judit Castillo and Ryan Fu. The Dreambreaker match was not played.
This victory improved the Utah Black Diamonds’ record to 3 wins and 5 losses, earning them 10 points. The SoCal Hard Eights remain without a win this season, with a record of 0-7 and 2 points. Both teams have one last game in the desert; SoCal will face the Phoenix Flames, and Utah will take on the Brooklyn Pickleball Team.
Utah’s win showed their strength and determination to come back after dropping the first match. SoCal will need to regroup and push for their first win in their next game.
| Match Type | Utah Black Diamonds | SoCal Hard Eights | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women’s Doubles | Allyce Jones / Genie Erokhina | Judit Castillo / Irina Tereschenko | 2-11 |
| Men’s Doubles | Connor Garnett / Tyler Loong | Blaine Hovenier / Ryan Fu | 11-8 |
| Mixed Doubles 1 | Connor Garnett / Allyce Jones | Blaine Hovenier / Irina Tereschenko | 11-9 |
| Mixed Doubles 2 | Tyler Loong / Genie Erokhina | Judit Castillo / Ryan Fu | 11-4 |
| Dreambreaker | Connor Garnett / Tyler Loong / Allyce Jones / Genie Erokhina | Blaine Hovenier / Ryan Fu / Judit Castillo / Irina Tereschenko | 0–0 |
News in Brief: Utah Black Diamonds Stuns SoCal Hard Eights
The Utah Black Diamonds beat the SoCal Hard Eights 3-1 at the 2025 MLP Phoenix. SoCal took the first match, but Utah won the next three. Utah now has 3 wins this season, while SoCal remains winless. Both teams have one more match this weekend.