Recap

Prairie Pronghorns Trump Northern Rollers 3-1

Pronghorns Ladies Storm Back to Beat Rollers

This game started innocently enough, but when the chips were down the Pronghorns and Rollers Ladies Doubles teams put on a show.

Now, the Pronghorns did eventually win 15-14, but Kim Brent and Pam Clarke had to be resilient in overcoming the Rollers Emma Li and Jessica Kawamoto.

The two teams traded quick plays through the first eight points, with the Rollers picking up the offense to tie it 4-4 and then take a 5-4 lead. Brent and Clarke, though, used a sweet lay in shot and a smash to go up 6-5. This is where the Rollers took over, scoring three straight to go into side change ahead 8-6, and then they rallied superbly and go another scorching shot in to lead 10-6.

Seemingly facing defeat, Brent and Clarke staged a furious comeback featuring great offensive prowess and hard shots to tie it up 11-11. The Pronghorns then, improbably, went into a freeze leading 14-12, but this time the Rollers didn’t give up knotting the proceedings at 14-14 with a huge smash. The two teams then couldn’t settle things through three plays, with the Pronghorns finally winning it when the Rollers sent a final shot long.

Pronghorns Men Battle Hard to Trim Rollers

In a near mirror image of the Ladies Doubles game, the Pronghorns and Rollers men staged a great back-and-forth contest where the Pronghorns duplicated the 15-14 winning score.

The first half saw three separate lead changes with the Pronghorns Ravi Prakash and Matty Stodola benefiting from shots sent by the Rollers Rob Krizmanich and Jonas Dahler going long or into the net. To the Rollers credit, they were a much better dinking team and won three points with paddle efficiency.

The teams went into side change with the Pronghorns leading 8-7 and then the two squads battled back and forth to put the score at 10-10 and leave the result up in the air. That’s when the Rollers took commanding, reeling off three straight points to put a stranglehold on the game and force the Pronghorns to take a time out.

The break worked for the Pronghorns, who trimmed the lead to 13-12. The Rollers Krizmanich and Dahler took it in stride and then dinked their way to a freeze at 14-12. Yet, Stodola and Prakash weren’t fazed, battling back to break serve twice and then win it when the Rollers sent one wide.

Pronghorns Finish Rollers in Straight Games

Needing a big victory to keep their team in this hard-fought match, the Rollers Jonas Dahler and Jessica Kawamoto gave it their all, but ultimately fell short. The Pronghorns Matty Stodola and Kim Brent had to overcome multiple Rollers’ leads in the early going.

Brent was the catalyst with her pair down 4-2, recording straight laser-like shots to even it up at 4-4. Her ladies’ counterpart Kawamoto did her level best to put a mark on the game, delivering a hard smash to tie the game at 7-7, prior to the Rollers taking the lead at 8-7 before side change.

After the break, the Selkirk net was bent four straight times by Dura balls, with the Rollers holding a 10-9 edge. The Rollers took their last lead at 11-10 when the Pronghorns sent one wide, however, the Pronghorns employed deft dinking knot it up and then overwhelming offensive play on two consecutive points to force the Rollers to take a time out.

With momentum in their favor, Stodola and Brent did not wilt after the timeout, putting the Rollers on the defensive and forcing them to hit one long and another into the net to seal the match-clinching triumph.

Rollers Salvage Pride with Close Win over Pronghorns

In a game that meant nothing, the Northern Rollers mixed pair of Rob Krizmanich and Emma Li sure didn’t play like it. With the Pronghorns having already won the match in the previous game, Ravi Prakash and Pam Clarke came out with some fire, nonetheless, taking a stranglehold on the final game. While both Prakash and Clarke played complementary dinking games, Prakash delivered both a forehand and a backhand smash to propel his duo to an 8-5 lead at side change.

Initially, the short breather went the Rollers’ way, with Krizmanich and Li displaying great defensive acumen to turn that deficit into a 9-8 lead. Prakash and Clarke, though, brought the fireworks on the next three points, trading scorching shots that eluded Krizmanich and Li, on the way to an 11-9 lead and a Rollers timeout.

Refreshed and invigorated, the Rollers came out swinging, literally, forcing the Pronghorns to play defense, only to find the net twice and see the score swing to 13-11 in the Rollers favor. Prakash fired right back, launching a magnificent cross court shot and another overhand banger to tie the score at 13-13.

The Rollers finally caught a break on the 14^th point when Clarke hit the net and then a final exchange seeing the Pronghorns send one wide to hand the Rollers their one and only win in an entertaining match.