PPA Tour Takeya Showcase – Fantasy Draft Preview (including Parenteau Statement Reaction)

Catherine Parenteau Statement Follow-Up (Gritty) – This will probably be the last of me addressing the Parenteau partnership triangle for the time being, but I am addressing it in this space to follow up on my Monday takeaway as Catherine put out an apology on her social media Wednesday evening. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, which is interesting because of how overwhelming the disdain was a couple of days ago. It seems to be a bit of a mob mentality effect in both directions with the piling on of Parenteau followed up by the praise for this “apology”. It appears there were more people silently in Parenteau’s corner than I realized. Catherine had to come out with a statement of some sort, but I have issues with it.

The apology does nothing to address anything beyond this incident itself, which was the biggest reason for the outrage. It does not address the many people she has wronged over the past few years. Moreover, the statement begins by saying I am not making excuses, but immediately transitions to all the excuses she has for her actions, which includes indirectly refuting Allyce Jones’ version of events. Commendably, she says she apologized to Allyce in person, but I sure hope she actually apologized for her actions rather than apologizing for how her actions made Allyce feel as she does in the statement.

I may be seen as nitpicking someone who put themselves out publicly with an apology of sorts. However, in my opinion, this apology falls short. It lacks true remorse or a basic understanding of why the outrage was so harsh, especially from her peers. Call it harsh. Call it callous. Call it whatever you want. I’m calling it as I see it. Let’s see if Parenteau’s actions change at all from what she described as a “great learning experience”.

Anyway, we have another Fantasy Draft Preview for the weekend. We’re only doing one for the PPA as the World Pickleball Open is only somewhat affiliated with the APP and there are some thinner draws for a complete draft. Slim is 5 up on the year going into this weekend and won the toss, electing to pick first.

(1) Ben Johns (Slim)

(2) Ben Johns / Collin Johns (Gritty)

(3) Anna Bright / Parris Todd (Gritty)

(4)  Lea Jansen (Slim) 

(5) Catherine Parenteau / Ben Johns (Slim) 

Slim – I worry a little about Ben not being motivated in singles this week, but I take him first anyway with no Anna Leigh in the field this weekend. With no Anna Leigh, I really like Lea Jansen to take gold in women’s singles this week. I am also hoping that Ben and Catherine will be looking to make a statement this weekend in mixed, after getting absolutely beat down by Riley and Anna Leigh at Nationals.

Gritty – Ben and Collin won again after losing to Jay and Tyson at Nationals. They won’t get the benefit of a double dip here and I’m wondering how motivated Ben will be. Nevertheless, I go with them at #2. With Lea Jansen dropping Catherine and giving her a taste of her own medicine, it creates a clear top 3 women’s field, which is why I take Bright/Todd here.

(6) Lucy Kovalova / Callie Smith (Gritty) 

(7) Matt Wright / Riley Newman (Gritty) 

(8) Lindsey Newman / Riley Newman (Slim) 

(9) Salome Devidze (Slim) 

(10) Julian Arnold (Gritty) 

(11) Vivienne David / Andrea Koop (Gritty) 

Slim – I was tempted to take Riley and Lindsey ahead of Ben and Catherine, so I was glad they were still available when my picks came around again. I am really starting to think Riley may be the best mixed male player in the game. So it will be really interesting to see how and Ben each fair this weekend, with no Anna Leigh in the field. Riley could be very motivates to make an even bigger statement. Salome Devidze has become one of the more consistent female singles players and, again, without Anna Leigh this weekend, she could win it all.

Gritty – Lucy/Callie are right in the mix for a gold medal in this thinner women’s field. Matt and Riley are obviously in the mix for a gold medal as well. Julian Arnold is on a real heater so I’m hoping he can keep it going for another weekend. Finally, I went with Vivienne and Andrea to hopefully sweep that women’s draw, even though it leaves me vulnerable with Slim getting all the best women’s singles players.

(12) Catherine Parenteau (Slim) 

(13) Tyson McGuffin (Slim) 

(14) Lucy Kovalova / Matt Wright (Gritty) 

(15) Hunter Johnson (Gritty) 

(16) Jay Devilliers / Tyson McGuffin (Slim) 

(17) AJ Koller / Thomas Wilson (Slim) 

Slim – I loaded up on women’s singles. I think anyone of Lea, Salome or Catherine could take gold, so I decided to take all three. Tyson should be able to find his way to the podium this weekend, in singles. And speaking of Tyson, you have to wonder if he and Jay Devilliers are just finally finding their form together as a partnership.

Gritty – Lucy and Matt had a solid Nationals and in a field without Anna Leigh/Ben together, they have as good a shot as anyone to find their way to Sunday. Hunter Johnson will not get the benefit of good seeding, but he’s as much a threat as anyone out there right now in singles.

(18) Tyler Loong / Callan Dawson (Gritty) 

(19) Jessie Irvine / Jay Devilliers (Gritty) 

(20) DJ Young / Spencer Smith (Slim)

(21) Dylan Frazier (Slim) 

(22) Parris Todd / Tyson McGuffin (Gritty) 

(23) Callie Smith (Gritty) 

Slim – DJ Young and Spencer Smith are intriguing partnership as DJ offers high level attacks and shot making, while Spencer provides a high level of consistency. Dylan Frazier has shown he can beat pretty much anyone in singles this year, but it has been a little while since he made a podium.

Gritty – I had Callan/Tyler as my #3 team for men’s doubles and they have been bronze machines. Jessie/Jay don’t look right, but the 2022 consistency is too much to pass up on in this spot. The Parris/Tyson choice may have been a little aggressive with Anna/Dylan and Koop/Koller out there, but I’m going with the Parris mixed talent in this spot combined with Tyson’s consistency. It’s a thinner women’s singles field so Callie Smith could find another Sunday surprise.

(24) Anna Bright / Dylan Frazier (Slim) 

(25) Lea Jansen / Jillian Braverman (Slim) 

(26) Jay Devilliers (Gritty) 

(27) Anna Bright (Gritty) 

(28) Etta Wright / Irina Tereschenko (Slim) 

(29) Jessie Irvine / Lindsey Newman (Slim)

(30) Mary Brascia (Gritty) 

Slim – Anna and Dylan have had success together on the APP Tour. I’ll be curious to see how they do this weekend in a slightly softer mixed PPA field. I am also curious which side of the court they will each play. Jillian Braverman doesn’t play a lot of pro pickleball these days, but she has as much talent as almost anyone in the women’s game. It will be interesting to see how the rising star Etta Wright does this weekend with Irina Tereschenko. Jessie Irvine and Lindsey Newman, probably have the best defense of any team in the field. I just fear the partnership does not have enough offence.

Gritty – Jay Devilliers should get the benefit of some better seeding and he’s going to grind out that backdraw – the other option I considered was Yates Johnson. Anna Bright lacks upside against the better players, but a podium is not out of the question for her in singles. Mary Brascia has struggled in singles of late, including at Nationals, but her results on the whole are better in the state of California. Let’s see if that California home cooking helps her out this weekend.

Agree or disagree? Let us know in the comments below or email us at nmlpickleball@gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook too!

21 thoughts on “PPA Tour Takeya Showcase – Fantasy Draft Preview (including Parenteau Statement Reaction)

  • November 16, 2022 at 8:55 pm
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    CP’s body of work speaks for itself. The real ones know.

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  • November 16, 2022 at 8:56 pm
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    CP’s history speaks for itself. The real ones know.

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  • November 16, 2022 at 8:58 pm
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    Now that Etta is a signed PPA player, we’ll be seeing a lot of her. The new match-up of Todd/McGuffin is interesting. I wonder how long that’s been planned. Mixed could be the most interesting day.
    No splitsville between DUPR and PPA after all. I wonder if that means PPA changes how it does the seedings.

    Reply
  • November 16, 2022 at 10:31 pm
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    I am hoping the good sportsmanship players won’t play with CP (hopefully) and won’t forget. Unfortunately, most people forgive and forget (they are lazy). That is one reason bad people get away with unsportsmanlike conduct. IMO, everyone who forgives CP, players, and management, is just like her, not very professional, honorable, or trustworthy. Period. I just get tired of this kind of crap.

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  • November 16, 2022 at 10:32 pm
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    I am hoping the good sportsmanship players won’t play with CP (hopefully) and won’t forget. Unfortunately, most people forgive and forget. That is one reason bad people get away with unsportsmanlike conduct. IMO, everyone who forgives CP, players, and management, is just like her, not very professional, honorable, or trustworthy. Period. I just get tired of this kind of crap.

    Reply
  • November 17, 2022 at 4:43 am
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    Thanks NML for a great blog. Knowing you have full time occupations, and you do this for the love of the sport, it’s impressive. Your blog is always my go to, because it’s insightful and usually answers questions that are on my mind re the pro tour. As for the CP incident, I couldn’t agree with you more. I read her statement last night and thought “ you said you weren’t making excuses “…. I think CP, the Waters ( especially parents) , and USAPA are all culpable. I also think nothing will change unfortunately ( but hope I’m wrong).

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    • November 17, 2022 at 9:43 pm
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      Thanks for the really nice comment. We can be a little slow catching up to comments but really appreciate all the interaction from everyone to the blog and in the comments. We read all of it eventually.

      Reply
  • November 17, 2022 at 5:22 am
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    As always a solid article. When I first read CP’s apology I was not impressed whatsoever. Really weak. I think she was mostly addressing her sponsors. Then I read through all the responses and I was very surprised that 99% were supportive of her. They all gave her a pass. I would love to hear what Allyce Jones thought of the apology. I applaud Lea Jansen for not playing with CP.

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    • November 17, 2022 at 11:11 am
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      It’s a combination of the weird attention seeking behavior by Dayne Gingrich, and the few creeps on the forum who just will not let it go and post nasty memes about CP every few hours — talk about creating a backlash. The outsized reaction to dropping a partner you’d only had for 2 days, when that partner said it was not a problem, has certainly raised a lot of eyebrows. Nasty, nasty stuff by the people who like to lecture us on how PB is about love and inclusivity.

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      • November 17, 2022 at 9:45 pm
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        The ongoing stuff is not needed but it’s not an outsized reaction to an ongoing pattern of horrible treatment of others

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    • November 17, 2022 at 9:44 pm
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      No pros were giving her a pass or applauding her apology

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  • November 17, 2022 at 7:01 am
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    I was also surprised how how positive most of the responses were to CP’s apology that to me seemed to miss the mark. She can try to excuse away what happened as a mistake or an accident but at the end of the day she has seemingly done it multiple times to ,multiple partners, always in a callous and unapologetic manner, including very recently attempting to dump Lea. I’m viewing the apology as a PR move and nothing more.

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    • November 17, 2022 at 9:44 pm
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      Again, no pros were applauding her apology. It will always be a PR move, which is fine. But more ownership of the situation and responsibility is needed

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  • November 17, 2022 at 10:41 am
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    I will not be surprised if any one of the 6 mixed teams you drafted takes gold. AL not playing really shakes things up.

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  • November 18, 2022 at 7:48 am
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    Does pro pickleball prevent contracts between doubles teammates? Seems like an easy way to prevent CP from dumping you as a partner for tournament X.

    Speaking of doubles teammates, what are the top choices for potential new partners for both TM and JD, if JD is really having a hissy fit about TM’s serve?

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    • November 18, 2022 at 8:51 am
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      The contract idea is clever. Explicit discussions about expectations are better in almost every single context!

      I’d argue that Jay actually handled this beautifully. If you care about your singles career and *also* don’t want to implode your MD partnership, you couldn’t have handled it better than he did. He did a few wildly illegal serves, but was also completely calm and collected when he was called on them, and also calm and collected when Tyson was getting worked up about the out/redo issue. He didn’t argue with the ref, throw a tantrum, or go mouthing off on Facebook. Very, very classy way to handle a difficult situation.

      Reply
      • November 18, 2022 at 9:23 am
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        Contract idea is interesting and wonder if that is used in any other sports. Do you want someone as your partner who is done playing with you though because of a contract? It’s an interesting discussion

        Your point on Jay is interesting. I imagine either way Tyson is not happy but that does not really matter if the partnership is ending, who knows what is happening there. It’s possible Jay wanted to make a bigger point about borderline illegal serves in general, and if that is the case it’s probably a good way to show how dumb the replay rule is

        Reply

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