SoCal Hard Eights Breaks Losing Streak: The Major League Pickleball season continued this week at the 2025 MLP Phoenix, held at the Arizona Athletic Grounds. The SoCal Hard Eights earned their first win of the season by defeating the Phoenix Flames 3-1 in regulation play.
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SoCal Starts Strong and Holds the Lead
The SoCal Hard Eights (1-7, 5 points) came out strong against the Phoenix Flames (3-10, 9 points) with impressive performances in women’s and men’s doubles.
Judit Castillo and Irina Tereschenko easily won their women’s doubles match against Genie Bouchard and Jessie Irvine, 11-2. Blaine Hovenier and Ryan Fu followed by taking the men’s doubles 11-3 over Jack Sock and Tyson McGuffin.
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Mixed Doubles Battles and Closing the Match
The Phoenix Flames got on the scoreboard when Jessie Irvine and Tyson McGuffin won the first mixed doubles match, defeating Ryan Fu and Judit Castillo 11-7.
However, the Hard Eights quickly regained control. Blaine Hovenier and Irina Tereschenko won the second mixed doubles match 11-7 over Jack Sock and Genie Bouchard, securing the win for SoCal without needing the DreamBreaker tiebreaker.
| Event | Winning Team (SoCal Hard Eights) | Score | Losing Team (Phoenix Flames) | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women’s Doubles | Irina Tereschenko / Judit Castillo | 11 | Genie Bouchard / Jessie Irvine | 2 |
| Men’s Doubles | Blaine Hovenier / Ryan Fu | 11 | Jack Sock / Tyson McGuffin | 3 |
| Mixed Doubles 1 | Ryan Fu / Judit Castillo | 7 | Jessie Irvine / Tyson McGuffin | 11 |
| Mixed Doubles 2 | Blaine Hovenier / Irina Tereschenko | 11 | Jack Sock / Genie Bouchard | 7 |
| Dreambreaker | Blaine Hovenier / Ryan Fu / Judit Castillo / Irina Tereschenko | 0 | Jack Sock / Tyson McGuffin / Genie Bouchard / Jessie Irvine | 0 |
What’s Next for Both Teams
With this victory, the SoCal Hard Eights improve to three wins and have no more matches left for the weekend. The Phoenix Flames, holding one win, will face the Brooklyn Pickleball Team later on Sunday afternoon. The Carolina Hogs remain the only team without a win in the 2025 season.
News in Brief: SoCal Hard Eights Breaks Losing Streak
The SoCal Hard Eights earned their first win of 2025 with a 3-1 victory over the Phoenix Flames at the 2025 MLP Phoenix. SoCal showed strength in doubles matches while Phoenix’s mixed doubles effort was not enough to overcome. Phoenix will next face Brooklyn, while SoCal’s weekend is complete.