The SJPA held its first All Aboard Pickleball Tournament at the Rymer Courts on May 17th.
It was obvious from the start that this was going to be a close contest among four evenly matched teams.
At the end of the first round, Blue Thunder, captained by Andrea Velez, had a slim lead on Blazing Pickles, captained by Joe Langereis, with Pickle Peppers, led by Karin Langereis, and Loco Motives, led by Scott Nasiff, both within striking distance of the lead.
After the second round, the standings remained the same, but things had tightened up a bit. Then, in the final round of the round robin format, Pickle Peppers overtook Blazing Pickles for second place to set up the championship match with Blue Thunder. Playing for the Bronze would be Blazing Pickles and Loco Motives. Blazing Pickles took third place over a feisty Loco Motives team.
The championship round had Blue Thunder and Pickle Peppers tied with two wins each. So, it came down to tiebreakers. The first tiebreaker ended with the two teams tied at six games each, forcing another tiebreaker. In a very close finish, Blue Thunder secured the win with 104 points to Pickle Peppers’ second place win with 97 points.
Congratulations and thanks to all the players who signed up and played so valiantly and cheered so hard for their teammates; to the captains for their leadership and scheduling; and to the volunteers who kept the event running smoothly and on schedule.
SJPA’s volunteer photographer, Carolyn Graziano, once again, did an amazing job capturing many great moments! View them all here