Simone Secures Seventh Straight in Newport Beach
The APP tour returned to The Tennis and Pickleball Club at Newport Beach this past weekend for the APP Newport Beach Open. Simone Jardim paired up with Parris Todd in Women's Doubles in attempts of earning their 7th gold medal straight this year. While pickleball veterans fought their way to the podium, there were also some new faces and partnerships seen on Championship Sunday.
Professional play kicked off on Thursday with Men's and Women's Singles. On the men's side, the brothers of Hunter and Yates Johnson secured the first and second seed within their bracket, and both made their way to the semifinals. Newcomer Quang Duong fought his way past Roscoe Bellamy to also earn his spot in the semifinals. In the winner bracket finals, Yates Johnson dropped to his brother, Hunter, and then went on to lose to 12-10, 11-9 to Duong in the bronze medal match. In women's singles, Parris Todd and Megan Fudge earned their seed by also making their way to the winter bracket finals. Dominique Schaefer fought her way through the backdraw to face off against Megan fudge in the bronze medal match, eventually falling to Fudge in straight sets. On championship Sunday the experience of Hunter Johnson was too large of a match for Duong, and Parris Todd remained undefeated against Fudge for the year as they both made their way to gold medals.
The excitement continued as mixed doubles played out on Friday. With qualifiers playing out just a few hours before the main draw, the duo of Andre Mick and Allison Harris fought their way out of the qualifier and into the main draw. Carrying their momentum out of the qualifier, they made their way past Emily Ackerman and Wes Burrows as well as Vivian Glozman and Brendan Long. The qualifying duo eventually dropped to Simone Jardim and Yates Johnson but then went on to fight their way through the back draw and all the way back into Championship Sunday. On the road to the finals, Mick/Harris had to overcome Megan Fudge and Rob Nunnery in the bronze medal match, besting them 11-8, 4-11, 11-5. On the other half of the draw, Parris Todd and Hunter Johnson also earned their spot in Championship Sunday. Johnson/Todd, having played in multiple Championship Sundays already this year, were too good of a match for the newcomers, taking home gold in three sets 6-11, 11-3, 11-5.
With the last events of the weekend, Men's and Women's Doubles wrapped up on Saturday. On the men's side, the golden duo of Andre Daiescu and Pesa Teoni continued their streak by making their way to the finals. On the other half of the draw, newcomers Richard Livornese Jr and Spencer Lanier claimed a few upset victories over Johnson/Johnson and Ryler Deheart/William Sobek before dropping to Daeiscu/Teoni. Despite their loss in the main draw, Livornese/Lanier battled back to earn their spot in the finals. On the women's side, Parris Todd and Simone Jardim continued their undefeated season as they battled for the chance to earn their 7th gold medal straight this year. The second seed of Megan Fudge and Susannah Barr, dropping to Todd and Jardim in the winter bracket finals, then dropped again to the local partnership of Rianna Valdes and Genie Erokhina. After a great run through the back draw, Valdes and Erokhina were not able to close it out, as Simone and Parris claimed their 7th gold medal, with Parris also completing her Triple Crown performance for the weekend. Teoni and Daiescu also took gold over the newcomers of Livornese/Lanier.
The APP tour will travel to Salt Lake City, UT for its next stop in August.
Medal list:
Simone Jardim: Women's Doubles - Gold
Equipment list:
Simone Jardim: Simone Jardim Hyperion CFS 16 swift
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