Recap

Southwestern Ontario Brewers Win Key Match Over Prairie Pronghorns

Brewers Women Keep Shining with Big Victory

The Brewers pair of Victoria DiMuzio and Amanda Rosati, both CNPL rookies, had some mojo going heading into the second of back-to-back matches on Day 2 of the Eastern Split. DiMuzio, who was Player of the Match mere minutes earlier against Toronto United, put her best foot forward to a back-to-back in this one, teaming with Rosati to clip the Pronghorns Emma Li and Kim Brent, 21-17.

Li and Brent were not in sync early in this contest and smelling blood in the water, DiMuzio and Rosati pounced. They forced Li and Brent into the first of two timeouts with excellent dinking and well-timed shots, taking an 8-4 lead. The Pronghorns did mount a comeback, outscoring the Brewers 5-3 during a good stanza, but slipped again on unforced errors and had to take their last timeout down 14-9.

The Brewers did not let up on their opponents, smoothly transitioning from defense to offense and owning the Kitchen, increasing their lead to 19-13 after a blistering DiMuzio forehand. The Brewers did hold fast for a brief time but couldn’t hold off Rosati and DiMuzio.

Brewers Mount Massive Comeback in Men’s Game

If there was one game at the Eastern Split that epitomized professional Pickleball, it was this one. The Brewers Mark Cleminson and Kyle Hermetz waged a pitched battle with Pronghorns fiery veterans Brad Chapman and Jeff Elwood, coming back from a 19-16 deficit to win 21-20. This was also one the closest matches on record, as neither team took a two-point lead until very late.

Right from the first volley, all four participants got in on the action, with only the famously stoic Cleminson not showing much in the way of emotion. Any time one team would make a great shot or rally for a point, the other team came right back. By far, though, the Cleminson vs. Chapman back-and-forth battle was the highlight.

The Pronghorns had the upper hand late, increasing their first two-point lead to three after yet another Chapman forehand bomb. But an Elwood miss trimmed it back to two, the play of the game – or tournament – unfolded. Both teams made ridiculous recovery shots in an extended rally, only to have the Brewers come out on top. They used that momentum and Cleminson’s ridiculous forehand to come all the way back for the huge win.

Pronghorns Stay in Match with Stirring Mixed Doubles Triumph

Coming into this match, the Pronghorns were the class of Day 1, fashioning a table-leading 4-1 record. Not far behind were the Brewers at 3-2. Thus, down 2-0 in this match, the Pronghorns needed a big effort from Jeff Elwood and Kim Brent. The seasoned duo came through against Brewers Amanda Rosati and Kyle Hermetz, winning by a count of 21-16.

While the final score was a little more lopsided, this wasn’t the case during the game. Just like the previous men’s tilt, the two teams went hard, combining patient dinking and timely shot making leading to an 8-8 tie. Brent and Elwood then rallied to take a three-point lead at 13-10, only to have Hermetz and then Rosati send blazing shots for winners. However, just like the previous contest, the play that led to a timeout was epic. The Pronghorns came out on top after a huge rally, leading 15-12 and forcing a Brewers timeout. That seemed to sap a bit of the life out of the Brewers, with Brent and Elwood making just enough good plays to win it.

Brewers Hold Fast to Down Pronghorns in Tight Match-Winning Game

It was apt that two hot teams went down to the wire in this one, with Brewers Mark Cleminson and Victoria DiMuzio squeaking by the Pronghorns Brad Chapman and Emma Li, 21-20. The Brewers were probably counting their lucky stars that there was no tiebreaker needed, given the back-and-forth nature of this mixed doubles tilt.

DiMuzio, who was Player of the Match, and Cleminson owned the Kitchen from first volley, but it didn’t take long for Li and Chapman to answer as they erased a 5-2 deficit to go ahead 6-5. The game was truly a flip-flop battle of the titans, with two mixed doubles teams that could arguably be called at or near the top of the table. The most intriguing match-up was Cleminson vs. Chapman, as the two slugged it out with some amazing shots and dinking.

The Pronghorns got full points for making comebacks in this contest, however Cleminson and DiMuzio were just that little bit sharper. The Pronghorns did score two huge points to get the game to 20-20 freeze yet couldn’t seal the deal.