Recap

Pronghorns Sweep Lions 4-0

Pronghorns Mount Fierce Comeback to Down Lions in Mixed Doubles

The Pronghorns mixed doubles team of Brad Chapman and Kim Brent rallied hard to escape with a 15-13 win over Lions Kim Layton and Cam Rich. The game started tamely, until undrafted Rich asserted his shot-making capability, sending a backhand flick and later hitting an overhand bomb for a 4-2 cushion.

After two unforced errors by Rick and one by Brent, Chapman smacked an overhand blast to tie it 5-5. However, Layton and Rich put a three-spot on the board, highlighted by a Rich Erne.

The Pronghorns fought back with team defense and profited from three Rich unforced errors to tie the at 9-9 and then a Lions timeout. The Pronghorns took over after, with Chapman nailing an overhand to get the score to 13-9.

Layton then won a point with an overhand, answered quickly by a Chapman shot for a 14-11 freeze and then a Lions unforced error to end it.

Pronghorns Crush Lions 15-9 to Take Stranglehold on Match

In a lopsided affair, the Lions pair of Grace Thomas and Eric Gagnon were thumped soundly by Matty Stodola and Player of the Match Pam Clarke. Clarke got her team off to a blazing start with a wicked flick, followed by a great forehand to allow the Pronghorns to take a 5-1 lead and force a timeout.

Gagnon did answer after the break to the Pronghorns onslaught, smacking a nice cross down the line for a point to make it 7-2. However, Stodola replied with a forehand winner of his own and before anyone knew it the score was 12-4, courtesy of a seamless transition from defense to offense by the Pronghorns and an unforced error by the Lions.

Gagnon tried gamely to get his team back in the game, scoring three consecutive points on a cross, a forehand and then a backhand that hit net cord and eluded the Pronghorns. But Stodola got the game to freeze at 14-7 with a net cord shot and then won it on a searing backhand a little later.

Pronghorns Women Come Through Against Lions in Match-Winner

It needs to be said, this was textbook Pickleball. In what would be a game to decide the match, the Pronghorns women’s doubles team of Clarke and Brent, against Lions Thomas and Layton, featured outstanding offense, defense, dinking and shot making. The Pronghorns won in a thriller, 15-12.

Needing a victory, Thomas and Layton took an early 5-1 lead, forcing a Pronghorns timeout. It worked, as Player of the Match Clarke whistled a cross by the Lions and later Brent hit an overhand and a brilliant set up that the Lions sent side out for a 6-5 Lions lead. The Pronghorns then proceeded to tie it at 7-7, with Clarke supplying another overhand point and Brent a sweet forehand winner. The Lions, sensing a shift, called a timeout.

After the break, the Lions held on to the lead, with Layton supplying the shooting fireworks. But the Pronghorns quickly took over when Clarke set the Lions up with a forehand for a side out and a 10-10 tie.  The Pronghorns then scored five of the next seven points to win it, highlighted by a brilliant Clarke cross.

Pronghorns Men Finish Sweep with Nailbiter over Lions

For what was essentially a nothing game, you wouldn’t have known it watching the Pronghorns and Lions men do battle on the Pickleroll floor. As in the women’s doubles, the Lions pair of Rich and Gagnon jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead over Pronghorns Stodola and Chapman, only to see lose it late, 15-13.

Rich and Gagnon dominated play early, both showcasing hard shots that Stodola and Chapman couldn’t return, but the Pronghorns quickly turned it around, a big blow coming off Stodola’s paddle to give the Pronghorns their first lead at 7-6. The lead changed hands twice, preceding a 9-9 tie, with offensive to defensive charges responsible for points.

After both teams made unforced errors, Stodola provided the turning point blow, returning a difficult ATP down the line for a 11-10 Pronghorns lead they would not relinquish. Even still, the Lions refused to lie down, playing excellent defense to tie it.

Heading down the home stretch, Chapman showed his mettle with a fantastic set-up that Rich put into the net for a 14-12 freeze in favor of the Pronghorns. Rich redeemed himself right after, blasting an overhand to get to within one. Gagnon also made a superb set-up to keep the game at freeze again, but three plays later Chapman ended this tilt with a sharp backhand.