What a day of pickleball! Rain was threatening all morning but in the end, the sun burned through the clouds and steamed things up even more than was needed. The King Kong Tournaments Men’s Doubles Age 65 and Older saw some of the best play we’ve seen all year!
Brad Martin and Tom Mullins went 4-0 in their bracket, edging out Doug McClintock and Jim Locascio at 3-1. In the other bracket, we had a 3 way tie with each of the following teams going 3-1, with their only loses coming from each other: Frank Sweeney and Spencer Lampert; Patrick McCabe and Randy Shellhorse; and Dave Keller and Bill Harris. Given each split with each other, the next tie-breaker was Total Points, with #1 seed earning 41 points, and the other 2 teams both finishing with 39. In the final tie-breaker, only 2 points separated #2 from #3, with a +16 vs +14. Patrick and Randy earned the rop seed, followed by Dave and Bill.
In the Semis, Patrick and Randy gave everything they had but came up just short against Doug and Jim, 10-11. Meanwhile, on the other court, Brad and Tom made short work of Dave and Bill, winning 11-2. This setup the Finals to be a revenge match as both pairings were rhe same as from Game 5 of the round robin play.
In Game 5, Brad and Tom beat Doug and Jim 11-7 so Doug and Jim were looking to get even. They did a little better but Brad and Tom proved they were #1 today and took the Gold, 11-9. Doug was looking for his 3rd Gold in as many tourneys he’s entered over the last month but walked away with the Silver with Jim.
In the Bronze game, Dave and Bill lost to Patrick and Randy 6-11 in Game 5 and definitely got their revenge by finally prevailing over Patrick and Randy, 11-4. To Patrick’s credit, he soldiered on after turning his right foot in the closing points of the Semis. Now, there’s a player for you!
Kongrats to all the medalists and participants who played! Thanks again to my volunteers, Chas Popplestone and Diane Fuleky for managing the scoreboard and Moon Toomey for keeping us fed again! And thanks to all the fans who came to watch in person or on the live stream!
Up Next:
-Signups for the Mixed Doubles Age 65 and Over (Tue, Jul 30 @8:30p – this is a change in the schedule!)
-Pickle N’ Poker Palooza-Morning Crew, Fri, Aug 2, 8-10a
-Men’s Doubles Age 64 and Younger, Sun, Aug 4, 10a-2p
Here’s the link to all the photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBBFg4
Here’s the link to the playlist on YT with the full live stream and the additional videos from the GoPro on Court 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoLajlX-m3I&list=PLy0MUnaQ-KX8WmBR9knbbbUF3vP0xUd53
These are the timestamps for the GoPro footage:
- Game 1 (0:00:00) – Patrick McCabe and Randy Shellhorse v James Alswager and David Capp
- Game 2 (0:12:36) – Dave Keller and Bill Harris v Gary Jones and Michael Ciaravini
- Game 3 (0:24:20) – Frank Sweeney and Spencer Lampert v Patrick McCabe and Randy Shellhorse
- Game 4 (0:43:42) – James Alswager and David Capp v Dave Keller and Bill Harris
- Game 5 (0:54:13) – Gary Jones and Michael Ciaravini v Frank Sweeney and Spencer Lampert
- Semis (1:07:29) – Brad Martin and Tom Mullins v Dave Keller and Bill Harris
- Bronze (1:19:04) – Patrick McCabe and Randy Shellhorse v Dave Keller and Bill Harris (ATP Alert! Dave Keller ATP for the Winning Point! 1:28:08)
- Bonus: End of Gold – Silver (1:28:30) Brad Martin and Tom Mullins v Doug McClintock and Jim Locascio (picked up at 6-5-2, Jim serving)
