D.C. Pickleball Team Dominates MLP: The D.C. Pickleball Team earned a 4-0 win against the Florida Smash on Wednesday during the Edward Jones Major League Pickleball Mid-Season Tournament. The match was held at Belknap Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as part of a five-day tournament featuring all 22 MLP teams—16 Premier and 6 Challenger.
With this victory, the D.C. Pickleball Team improved to 3-0 in the Challenger division. Florida Smash, still looking for a win, dropped to 0-3. The D.C. team secured all four games, making the DreamBreaker round unnecessary.
Strong Play from D.C. in All Matches
In the women’s doubles match, Christa Gecheva and Andrea Koop defeated Paula Rives and Martina Frantova 11-4, giving D.C. an early lead.
The men’s doubles match followed with Daniel De La Rosa and Rafa Hewett taking down Cason Campbell and Travis Rettenmaier 11-6.
D.C. kept the momentum going into mixed doubles. Daniel De La Rosa and Christa Gecheva edged out Cason Campbell and Paula Rives 11-9 in a tight match.
The final mixed doubles match was all D.C., as Rafa Hewett and Andrea Koop shut out Travis Rettenmaier and Martina Frantova 11-0.
Since the D.C. Pickleball Team won all four matches, there was no need for the DreamBreaker tiebreaker round.
| Match | D.C. Pickleball Team | vs | Florida Smash | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women’s Doubles | Christa Gecheva / Andrea Koop | vs | Paula Rives / Martina Frantova | 11-4 |
| Men’s Doubles | Daniel De La Rosa / Rafa Hewett | vs | Cason Campbell / Travis Rettenmaier | 11-6 |
| Mixed Doubles 1 | Daniel De La Rosa / Christa Gecheva | vs | Cason Campbell / Paula Rives | 11-9 |
| Mixed Doubles 2 | Rafa Hewett / Andrea Koop | vs | Travis Rettenmaier / Martina Frantova | 11-0 |
| DreamBreaker | Rafa Hewett / Daniel De La Rosa / Andrea Koop / Christa Gecheva | vs | Cason Campbell / Travis Rettenmaier / Martina Frantova / Paula Rives | 0-0 |
D.C. Builds Momentum, Florida Struggles
The D.C. Pickleball Team showed strong teamwork and control in every match. With their third straight win, they have put themselves in a good position in the Challenger bracket.
Florida Smash has yet to win a match at this tournament. Despite changing their mixed doubles pairings, the team was unable to challenge the more consistent D.C. squad.
Both teams will now look ahead to their next matchups. D.C. will try to keep their undefeated streak alive, while Florida Smash hopes to bounce back and get their first win.
News in Brief: D.C. Pickleball Team Dominates MLP
The D.C. Pickleball Team defeated Florida Smash 4-0 at the Edward Jones MLP Mid-Season Tournament in Grand Rapids. With strong wins in all matches, D.C. moved to 3-0 in the Challenger division. The DreamBreaker was not needed as Florida Smash fell to 0-3.
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