PPA Indoor National Championships Allows for New Faces on the Podium

There may have been a major snowstorm in Lakeville, Minnesota, but things were heating up at the PPA Indoor National Championships this past weekend. The tournament offered a rare opportunity to players as typical medal winners, Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns, were not in attendance. The dynamic duo of Allyce Jones and Lea Jansen continued their strong tournament showings with a run to championship Sunday where they lost a tight four set battle to the top seed. JOOLA player Etta Wright also had a great showing in women’s doubles alongside partner Yana Grechkina as they made their way to bronze.

The most unexpected results came from the mixed doubles bracket as first-time partners, James Ignatowich and Catherine Parenteau walked away with gold. Ignatowich and Parenteau barely edged out Anna Bright and Riley Newman in the semifinals, knocking Bright/Newman down to the bronze medal match where they fell to a fourth-place finish. 

The men’s doubles bracket also saw two new teams in the finals as the duos of J.W. Johnson/Dylan Frazier and Federico Staksrud/Pablo Tellez fought their way to Championship Sunday. Johnson and Frazier were able to take out PPA veterans Riley Newman and Matt Wright to secure their spot in the gold medal match. On the other half of the bracket, Staksrud and Tellez took out Jay Devilliers and D.J. Young in the semifinals 11-5, 11-9. Although they put up a good fight, Staksrud and Tellez took home silver after losing in straight sets, 11-6, 11-3, 11-7.

The PPA Tour returns to warm temperatures March 9-12 at the PPA Florida Open in Holly Hill, Florida.